Family Business Awards 2013: Midsize Firms

WINNER: B.E. Meyers & Co.

Redmond | 80 employees | bemeyers.com

From the heavens to the battlefields. Thats the story of B.E. Meyers Co., which found its niche as a military contractor during the nations forays into Iraq and Afghanistan. Back in 1974, Brad Meyers began selling telescopes to amateur astronomers and had a brainstorm: Why not couple them with image intensifiers? Night vision and telescopes: a natural fit. And thus was born a company that would expand to police-surveillance night-vision scopes, and would couple them with infrared lasers to provide invisible illumination. From there, it added specialty lasers: weapons-mounted targeting lasers, infrared lasers that direct aircraft to their targets and green lasers that blind drivers who ignore warning signs at military checkpoints. My dad, hes always been the mad inventor, says Matt Meyers, the companys director of marketing and communications.

Matt Meyers, who spent his teenage years snipping wires in the family factory, used the companys products in the field himself during nine years in the Army. At the height of hostilities, B.E. Meyers grossed $60 million in annual sales. That figure has declined as military orders have softened and the company has had to retrench. Its as if the military bought 30 years worth of equipment in a 10-year period, Meyers says.

So whats next? Thats not entirely clear. The war on terrorism isnt over, but the market for military weapons systems is on the decline. Yet the company has always excelled in finding the newest technology and developing unique applications. We didnt plan to get here from astronomy, but here we are, Meyers says. Who knows where were going to be in 10 years?

SILVER: Goodfellow Bros. Inc.

Wenatchee | 68 employees | goodfellowbros.com

Founded in 1921 by brothers Jack, Bert and Jim Goodfellow Sr., Goodfellow Bros. is an earthmoving company with an extensive resume: road projects, airports, bridges,golf courses and the first excavation of the Grand Coulee

dam site. Now in its fourth generation of family management, the firm offers a wide range of contracting services, including drilling and blasting, asphalt and concrete paving, rockcrushing and mass excavation. It has offices in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Hawaii. Recent innovations include

the use of satellite-guided equipment and GPS surveying capabilities. Better known as GBI, the firm also has expertise in the creation of wind-turbine farms, public/private harbors and marinas and luxury resort communities.

SILVER: Peninsula Truck Lines

Federal Way | 250 employees | peninsulatruck.com

Stan Vander Pol, the owner of Peninsula Truck Lines, has the original purchase agreement his father and uncles signed in 1936 when they bought the company that became Oak Harbor Freight Lines. For roughly $4,000, they acquired an enterprise that now does roughly $200 million in business annually. Peninsula, formed in 1951 to accommodate an additional partner, split away from Oak Harbor in 1973 and accounts for $43 million annually. The unionized firm operates a fleet of 180 trucks with 13 terminals in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Though the company suffered a big blow in the recession, its fortunes have dramatically improved with the economy. Last year, Vander Pol sold 40 percent of the company to his son, Tim. My job at 65 is to prepare the next generation to take over the business and continue on, he says.