5 Area Firms Make List Of Top Minority Businesses

5 area firms

make list of

top minority

businesses

Five area firms are among the nation’s leading African American-owned businesses, according-to Black Enterprise magazine’s 29th annual report on black business.

Of the 290 companies listed on this year’s BE 100s Annual Report on Black Business, 37 are in Michigan, the largest group in any one state. The companies are grouped in seven lists.

Area firms included in the report are:

■ Exemplar Manufacturing Co. Anthony L. Snoddy, CEO; based in Ypsilanti; 2,500 employees; $165 million in sales; remained in 21st place on the industrial/service list.

■ Gilreath Manufacturing Inc. Leon E. Tupper. CEO; based in Howell; 430 employees; $43 million in sales; moved from 84th to 75th place on the industrial/service list.

■ Engineered Plastic Products Inc. Gerald D. Edwards, CEO; based in Ypsilanti; 220 employees; $37.5 million in sales; moved from 75th to 79th place on the industrial service list.

■ Briarwood Ford. Eddie Hall Jr., CEO; based in Saline; 150 employees; $116 million in sales; moved from 31st to 23rd place on the auto dealer list.

■ Bradley Automotive Group. James H. Bradley, CEO; based in Ann Arbor; 98 employees; $52 million in sales; moved from 43rd to 59th on the auto list.

According to the magazine, sales for the top 100 industrial/service firms and top 100 auto dealerships totaled $19.7 billion, up 23 percent from 2000.

Based in New York, Black Enterprise has a circulation of three million.