The basics:

• SHI International takes the No. 1 spot on the 2026 NJBIZ Top 100 Privately Owned Companies list
• Imperial Dade, NFI, Saker ShopRites and NJM round out the top five
• Stillwell-Hansen posted the biggest gain, with revenue up 119%
• Sweetwater Construction had the largest decline, falling 41%

A new company takes the No. 1 spot on the 2026 NJBIZ Top 100 Privately Owned Companies list.

Somerset-based SHI International Corp. posted $16 billion in 2025 total global revenue, the ranking criteria for the roster. The $1 billion boost marks a 7% year-over-year increase.

Overall, the top five represents a slight shakeup over last year’s. Acquisitive Imperial Dade of Jersey City moved from fourth to second, with $5.31 billion in revenue. NFI took third place, up from fifth last year, and with a 3% increase in revenue. And Saker ShopRites Inc. and NJM Insurance Group followed, respectively fourth and fifth, with the latter boosted by 10% year-over-year revenue growth.

Biggest gains

On this year’s list, 18 privately owned New Jersey companies posted revenue gains of more than 20%.

An Edison-based leader in mission critical data center solutions, including specialized Vertiv air and power, traditional HVAC, fire protection and health and safety products and services, Stillwell-Hansen Inc. had the largest increase, with 119% revenue growth.

The company also jumped the most places (27).

The next-closest, global specialty chemicals and metals supplier GE Chaplin Inc. of Flemington, increased its earnings by 86% and jumped to No. 44.

A closer look at the top 10 suggests strong firm – rather than sector – growth, with professional service firms making the most significant moves.

Biggest drops

Those that did post dips in revenue did so at a much smaller scale than this year’s gainers.

Sweetwater Construction Corp. had the largest drop by percentage on this year’s list. The 41% decline took the Cranbury-based builder from No. 49 to No. 62 in 2026. Meanwhile, Vericon Construction Co. LLC posted a 38% revenue drop year over year.

While mid-size firms made the most gains on the overall list, declining firms represent a mix of both large and small companies highlighting sector and/or project-specific headwinds.

Taken with the gains made by others in construction and contracting, such as Jingoli-DCO and REDCOM Design & Construction, the data highlights volatility in the sector amid increasing and inconsistent costs, geopolitical tensions and labor constraints. Through midyear, JLL reported construction costs above the forecast range it established in November, “with anticipated relief mechanisms gone from the outlook.”

Staffing services also showed some weaknesses, according to the information. Both Equiliem (-21%) and Astir IT (-14%) appear in the top 10 decliners.

Feeding into the “small firm effect,” size seemed to also impact how much companies can scale. Several smaller and mid-size firms (less than $500 million revenue) emerged as those with the top growth by percentage on the 2026 list, while most billion-dollar businesses, such as SHI, Imperial Dade, NFI and Saker ShopRites, posted single digit growth.

The complete NJBIZ Top 100 Privately Owned Businesses ranking begins on p. 10 of the print issue. Want to get listed? Head to njbiz.com/data-center for additional details and to submit your information.

Provident Bank is the Premium Publication Sponsor of NJBIZ’s 2026 Book of Lists. Go to the NJBIZ Leads & Data Center to download the complete Privately Owned Companies list (which will be available Aug. 19, 2026) or any other NJBIZ list. Subscribe to NJBIZ’s Leads & Data to gain year-round access to the data from NJBIZ lists.