These 3 Brighton Companies are Among Fastest-Growing in U.S.

Three Brighton companies are among the 5,000 fastest-growing in the country, according to an analysis released last week by Inc.com.

The companies, Energy Design Service Systems, Pillar and Sterling Commercial Credit, all were ranked based on growth over the past three years. 

The fastest-growing private company overall was Unified Payments, a payment-processing service based in North Miami Beach, Florida. The Plymouth-based Marketplace Homes was the top Detroit-area company on the list (it ranked 189). 

Here's a look at the fastest-growing companies in the Brighton area:

Sterling Commercial Credit

• What it is: Provides factoring services to a variety of industries to supply them with funding. Purchases accounts receivables as a form of financing. Also provides financing for large purchases of equipment and machinery.
• 3-year growth: 40 percent.
• 2011 Revenue: $6.8 million.
• Founded: 2004. 
• Employees: 32, including 20 added in past three years. 
• Ranks: 3,885 overall; 65 in Detroit; 197 in industry.

Pillar

• What it is: Provides application development, IT systems modernization and transformation, and the Electronic Card Wall, an agile card wall with computer-based tracking.
• 3-year-growth: 11 percent.
• 2011 Revenue: $10.2 million
• Founded: 1996
• Employees: 92, including 28 in past three years.
• Ranks: 4,826 overall; 84 in Detroit, 679 in industry.

Energy Design Service Systems

• What it is: Designs and implements lighting and energy systems to save its clients money and enhance the appearance of their environments.
• 3-year growth: 8 percent.
• 2011 Revenue: $5 million.
• Founded: 2007.
• Employees: 69, including 63 added in past three years.
• Ranks: 4,913 overall; 86 in Detroit; 103 in industry.

The rankings span 25 industries and 50 states; they included 144 companies in Michigan and 89 in the metro-Detroit area. According to the introduction to the report on Inc.com, "Since the economy scraped bottom three years ago, consumers were pulling back, businesses large and small were hunkering down, but these scrappy enterprises were kicking into gear."

The 5,000 companies have grown from $196 billion in sales in 2008 to $299 billion in 2011, which is an average growth rate of 355 percent.