Super 60, now in its 27th year, honors 60 local companies, 30 for revenue growth and 30 for total revenue, each year.
Lee Verdakes, at Aegis Energy Services, standing next to the Aegen TP-75, combined Heart and Power Module, which the company makes at its Holyoke location. They will be one of the Super 60 companies being honored by the Affiliated Chambers. SPRINGFIELD — A desperate desire to cut energy costs in this economy has helped Holyoke-based Aegis Energy Services and made its investment subsidiary one of the fastest-growing companies in the region.
“When the economy turned down five years ago, our business took off,” said Lee Vardakas, general manger of Aegis. “We shield our customers against high energy cost.”
Founded 28 years ago, Aegis designs, builds, sells and, in some cases, owns cogeneration plants that use natural-gas-powered engines to generate electricity. Waste heat from those engines is used to heat buildings and provide hot water, Vardakas said.
Aegis power plants are located at Springfield Housing Authority, Glenmeadow Retirement Community in Longmeadow and the Springfield Jewish Community Center, Vardakas said.
While the generating units cost about $250,000, Vardakas said they can save enough money to return the investment in about four years or so.
Powervesters LLC is the investment arm of Aegis, Vardakas said. It owns a number of these generating systems and sells the power and heat to the places where they are located. Powervesters doesn’t have any employees, Vardakas said. But he said Aegis has 60 workers and farms out a lot of production work to local machine shops.
Powervesters is No. 1 for total revenue growth for the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield’s Super 60 program. Super 60, now in its 27th year, honors 60 local companies, 30 for revenue growth and 30 for total revenue, each year. Companies are nominated, often by banks, accountants or law firms. They have to provide the chambers with information, but the dollar amounts of revenue or growth for individual companies are not released.
The annual Super 60 luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 26 at Chez Josef in Agawam. Reservations for the luncheon are $50 for ACCGS members and $70 for nonmembers. Reservations are required by Oct. 24 and may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com, by calling (413) 755-1313 or by email to larose@myonlinechamber.com.
O’Connell Oil Associates Inc. was tops in terms of revenue. Based in Pittsfield, O’Connell has 38 gas stations in Western Massachusetts. Most are Shell stations but O’Connell also has some Mobils and one Citgo.
Companies don’t have to be chamber members, said Jeffrey S. Ciuffreda, president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield.
Many of the names on the top-30 revenue list belong to longtime stalwarts of the local economy, such as W. F. Young Inc. in East Longmeadow, makers of Absorbine and Absorbine Jr., Atlantic Fasteners of West Springfield and Savage Arms of Westfield.
“A lot of them are manufacturers,” he said. “It’s great to see some strength there.”