My finance view

1. ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS

600 Corporate Park Drive

Clayton, Mo. 63105

314-512-5000

www.enterprise.com

Sales $12.1 billion

CEO Andrew C. Taylor

Founded 1957

Main products and services

Jack Taylor started his leasing business out of the basement of a St. Louis car dealership in 1957. The company now owns and operates the largest fleet of passenger vehicles in the world today — more than 1 million cars and trucks, operating more than 8,000 car rental locations including every major airport worldwide.

2. APEX OIL CO.

8235 Forsyth Boulevard, Suite 400

Clayton, Mo. 63105

314-889-9600

www.apexoil.com

Sales $5.5 billion

CEO Paul Novelly

Founded 1932

Main products and services

Apex is engaged in wholesale sales, storage and distribution of petroleum products including asphalt, kerosene, fuel oil, diesel, heavy oil, gasoline and marine bunkers. The company has terminals in the Midwest, East Coast, Gulf Coast and California.

3. GRAYBAR ELECTRIC CO.

34 North Meramec Avenue

Clayton, Mo. 63105

314-573-9200

www.graybar.com

Sales $4.4 billion

CEO Robert A. Reynolds Jr.

Founded 1925

Main products and services

Graybar distributes electrical, communications and networking products. One of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, it has a network of about 6,900 employees and nearly 240 locations across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

4. EDWARD JONES

12555 Manchester Road

Des Peres, Mo. 63131

314-515-2000

www.edwardjones.com

Sales $3.5 billion

CEO James D. Weddle

Founded 1922

Main products and services

Tracing its roots to its first branch office in Mexico, Mo., investment house Edward Jones now has more than 10,000 offices in the U.S., Canada and Britain. Believing that online trading encourages rash decision-making, the company instead prefers to have one-broker offices and personal contact with investors. Edward Jones, which is the largest U.S. financial services company in terms of number of offices, serves more than 7 million clients.

5. CENTER OIL CO.

600 Mason Ridge Center Drive

Town and Country, Mo. 63141

314-682-3500

www.centeroil.com

Sales $3.3 billion

CEO Gary R. Parker

Founded 1986

Main products and services

Center Oil distributes gasoline and other refined petroleum products throughout the U.S. by pipeline, ship, barge and truck to and from 10 petroleum-product terminals in the Midwest and East Coast.

6. McCarthy Holdings Inc.

1341 North Rock Hill Road

St. Louis, Mo best payday advance. 63124

314-968-3300

www.mccarthy.com

Sales $3.1 billion

CEO Michael D. Bolen

Founded 1864

Main products and services

McCarthy Holdings Inc., comprised of McCarthy Building and MC Industrial, provides construction services from coast to coast with full-service offices in Missouri, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. An employee-owned company, McCarthy was ranked the 20th largest U.S. construction firm in trade publication Engineering News-Record’s 2010 listing of top 400 contractors.

7. SCHNUCK MARKETS INC.

11420 Lackland Road

Maryland Heights, Mo. 63146

314-994-9900

www.schnucks.com

Sales $2.5 billion

CEO Scott C. Schnuck

Founded 1939

Main products and services

The family-owned grocery chain operates more than 100 supermarkets in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Mississippi and Iowa. Nearly all are operated under the Schnucks brand.

8. WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY INC.

60 Weldon Parkway

Maryland Heights, Mo. 63043

314-569-7000

www.wwt.com

Sales $2.2 billion

CEO James P. Kavanaugh

Founded 1990

Main products and services

The St. Louis area’s largest minority-owned business, World Wide Technology provides technology and supply chain solutions to commercial, government and telecommunications customers.

9. ALTER TRADING CORP.

700 Office Parkway

St. Louis, Mo. 63141

314-872-2400

www.altertrading.com

Sales $1.8 billion

CEO Robert Goldstein

Founded 1898

Main products and services

Alter Trading is a fourth-generation family-owned company. Its principals also own 40 percent of Isle of Capri Casinos. Alter is one of the nation’s largest scrap metal recyclers and brokers, with processing plants and office locations throughout the central U.S. Alter has rapidly expanded, offering full product recycling capabilities and trading directly with consumers. It operates 32 scrap recycling facilities with shredders, shears and balers.

10. UNIGROUP INC.

One Premier Drive

Fenton, Mo. 63026

636-305-5000

www.unigroupinc.com

Sales $1.6 billion

CEO H. Daniel McCollister

Founded 1987

Main products and services

UniGroup is parent of moving companies United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit. It also controls a global mobility management service company, and an insurer for trucking companies and movers.

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RESEARCH: Matthew Fernandes | Post-Dispatch

Data on Apex and Alter compiled from Sorkins.com

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