Black Enterprise list taps two bay area companies

By SCOTT BARANCIK

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 4, 2001

Two Tampa Bay area companies made Black Enterprise's annual list of the largest African-American-owned businesses, and one of them is a newcomer.

The magazine ranked Brandon Dodge 26th among black-owned auto dealers, down from 20th last year. And Sun State International Trucks Inc. made its first appearance, ranking 70th among the top 100 industrial/service businesses nationwide. The Tampa company, a franchisee of International Truck and Engine Corp. of Chicago, sells, leases and repairs commercial trucks.

Sun State has been around since the early 1980s, but the company didn't become black-owned until former International executive Oscar Horton bought it in January 2000.

Horton, who joined International in 1974, began by selling trucks, worked his way up the finance department and eventually served as vice president of labor relations, among other divisions. When company officials decided several years ago to do something about its monochromatic franchisee base -- none of the approximately 450 members was African-American -- they came to Horton.

The offer: International would buy out a franchise in the city of his choice, then sell it to him with company financing. Horton chose Tampa, moving his family here from Chicago.

"After 25 years, I thought it might be an opportunity to try something different," he said.

Since arriving, the Arkansas native has revamped the company. He renovated its Tampa headquarters and a branch in Sarasota, replaced its antiquated computers and gave his 140 employees a more generous pension plan.

Revenues have followed. Sun State took in $46-million in 2000, up 20 percent.

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