Driving the Economy

Mosing. It’s the name most synonymous with Lafayette’s oil patch — the one that’s behind the company comfortably No. 1 on the list of Acadiana’s Top 50 Privately Held Companies. Nearly three quarters of a century in business, this family-owned operation generated $850 million in revenues in 2011, a 31 percent increase from 2010. Headed by a third-generation Mosing, with the fourth generation starting to make its mark, the Lafayette-based conglomerate has grown into the largest privately held oil and gas service company in the world.

“My father, grandfather and family instilled a strong work ethic and common sense business practices that have given us a solid foundation,” says Keith Mosing, chairman and CEO of Frank’s Casing Crew and Rental Tools and Frank’s International. “Our decision to continue growing internationally and in the U.S. has been the key to our success.”

Increasing energy exploration around the world and ongoing development of new products is fueling the company’s impressive growth, according to Chief Financial Officer Mark Margavio, with the most notable expansions in Australia and Africa. It’s worth explaining that last year Frank’s ranked No. 8, having reported $240 million in annual revenues. Those numbers were reported from the Lafayette office and only included local operations, Margavio says. For the first time this year, Frank’s is reporting revenues for all of its worldwide operations.

Last year’s top company, Moreno Group, which in February of this year announced a name change to Dynamic Energy Services International, or DYNESI, falls to No. 2. Dynamic’s revenue drop to $552 million puts emergency management firm Schumacher Group, which grew 25 percent from 2010 to 2011, within $2 million of the No. 2 spot. Rounding out the top five are Stuller Inc., $448 million in 2011 revenues, and Acadian Cos., $381 million in revenues. These two bellwether companies expanded their revenue base by 16 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

Four businesses on this year’s list experienced revenue growth exceeding that of Frank’s: Apex Freight Services (a newcomer to the list), 46 percent, AGI Industries, 41.7, CLM, 39, and Courtesy Automotive Group, 34.

In all, the companies performed exceptionally well, with 41 of them posting year-over-year increases, seven reporting decreases and two showing no difference in revenues. Combined these enterprises provide almost 32,000 jobs, with nearly 14,300 of those positions held by people living right here in Acadiana.

By just about any measure, it was a good year for the Top 50, and ABiz staff was hard-pressed to find any local execs who don’t think this year will be even better. Mosing, for one, is so upbeat about Frank’s prospects that he thinks the company’s revenues could double in the next five years, which would put the annual figure beyond $1.5 billion. Read more about Frank’s success and that of other companies on the list on the pages that follow.

Click on the link below to download ABiz's list of Acadiana's Top 50 Privately Held Companies:

http://www.theind.com/extras/ABIZ_Top50.pdf