DATE: Thursday, October 16, 1997            TAG: 9710160559

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY AKWELI PARKER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   67 lines

VIRGINIA RANKS 3RD NATIONWIDE FOR FASTEST-GROWING COMPANIES FOUR REGIONAL FIRMS ARE AMONG 33 NOTED STATEWIDE IN INC. LIST

In the unforgiving jungle of business, Virginia teems with gazelles - entrepreneurial slang for companies growing 20 percent a year or more.

The commonwealth ranks third in Inc. magazine's list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the nation,, with 33 firms represented. California (94) and Texas (39) took the top two spots.

The list hits newsstands today in a special edition of the magazine.

Hampton Roads has four representatives: ACS Systems & Engineering and S3 LTD, both of Virginia Beach; Remtech Services in Newport News; and College & University Computers in Williamsburg.

As was the case nationwide, Virginia computer and technology firms dominate the Inc. 500 slots. Nearly a third of all the ranked companies are technology-related; 22 percent provide business services; and 9 percent sell other services or consumer goods.

``I think Virginia has shown that it's being vigilant'' in nurturing technology, said Del. Alan Diamonstein, a member of the General Assembly's Joint Commission on Technology and Science.

Despite what many see as a critical statewide shortage of high-tech workers, Diamonstein said the outlook for tech companies will only get better in coming years as the legislature pours millions into bringing educators ``as up to date in electronic commerce as they are in English, spelling and math.''

Virginia, and particularly Hampton Roads, can claim several advantages when it comes to being an incubator for high-tech entrepreneurial firms, said Terry Riley, director of the Hampton Roads Technology Council.

A few advantages include the high density of universities and colleges, NASA-Langley Research Center and the Thomas Jefferson Laboratory.

And at least a portion of the 10,000 people who leave the military here each year are a ``ready pool of skilled resources,'' said Riley.

``We've enjoyed phenomenal growth,'' said W.A. ``Wes'' Gibson, executive vice president of ACS Systems & Engineering - number 379 on Inc.'s list. Begun in 1990 with just two employees, the company now does business around the world with offices in Virginia Beach, San Diego and Tacoma, Wash.

ACS does information systems support - helping companies and government deal with their complex computer networks - and installs high-capacity cable and fiber-optic lines.

Far-flung as its locations are, the company - under the direction of co-founder and president Tim Miller - has a methodical plan for its growth.

``We do it slow and we don't want to lose the quality,'' said Gibson.

Slow to them, maybe. Their sales ballooned 694 percent between 1992 and 1996, according to Inc. That's nothing compared to the 1,873 percent five-year sales growth the company had in last year's ranking.

To qualify, a company must have been independent and privately held since 1996, had at least $200,000 in base-year sales and showed a sales increase from 1995 to 1996.

For Inc. 500 alumni, ``the survival rate is about twice as high as traditional small businesses,'' said Inc. senior editor Josh Hyatt.

And, ``By identifying the fast-growing niches, it can help people who are thinking about starting a business,'' he said.

It also identifies things entrepreneurs should avoid. One article delves into the seamy underbelly of small-business politics and how internal feuds have brought down Inc. 500 gazelles like a ravenous cheetah.

The Inc. 500 database will be on the magazine's website (www.inc.com/500) beginning Oct. 31. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

INC. 500 COMPANIES IN HAMPTON ROADS

[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]

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