Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1537483
76 Worcester Business Journal | Book of Lists 2025 | wbjournal.com F O C U S G E N E R A L I N T E R E S T Largest family-owned businesses Ranked by number of local employees, then year founded ((11)) Business Local employees/ statewide/ companywide Generations active (2) Type of business Head(s) of company/ year founded 1 W.E. Aubuchon Co. Inc. 95 Aubuchon Drive, Westminster 01473 978-874-0521 • hardwarestore.com 1,500 N/A N/A 3rd, 4th, 5th Hardware store chain William Aubuchon IV 1908 2 Wachusett Mountain Ski Area 499 Mountain Road, Princeton 01541 978-464-2300 • wachusett.com 1,400 1,400 1,400 3rd Ski resort Jeff Crowley 1934 3 Polar Beverages 1001 Southbridge St., Worcester 01610 508-753-4300 • polarbev.com 900 1,300 2,300 5th Soft drinks Ralph Crowley 1882 4 Davis Farmland and Davis Mega Maze 145 & 142 Redstone Hill Road, Sterling 01564 978-422-6666 • davisfarmland.com; davismegamaze.com 500 (3) N/A N/A 6th, 7th Children's Discovery Farm and sanctuary of endangered farm animals, zero-depth water spray park, Davis Mega Maze, Davis BBQ Burgers & Brews, fast casual dining, U-pick apples & pumpkins Laurence Davis 1846 5 Sterilite Corp. 30 Scales Lane, Townsend 01469 978-597-1800 • sterilite.com 500 (4) N/A N/A 3rd Plastic housewares David Stone 1939 6 Milton CAT (5) 100 Quarry Drive, Milford 01757 508-634-3400 • miltoncat.com 500 (4) N/A 1,000 3rd Power generation & energy storage Chris Milton 1960 7 Seaman Paper Co. 35 Wilkins Road, Gardner 01440 978-632-1513 • seamanpaper.com 471 N/A 900 4th Decorative tissue paper Ken Winterhalter 1946 8 Flexcon Co. Inc. 1 Flexcon Industrial Park, Spencer 01562 508-885-8200 • flexcon.com 440 N/A 900 2nd, 3rd Coated and laminated films and adhesives Aimee Peacock 1956 9 R.H. White Construction Co. 41 Central St., P.O. Box 404, Auburn 01501 508-832-3295 • rhwhite.com 373 405 525 4th Construction David White James McCarthy Thomas White 1923 10 The DAVIS Cos. 241 Boston Post Road West, Marlborough 01752 508-305-6000 • daviscos.com 317 353 639 1st, 2nd Staffing solutions and talent advisory services Robert Davis 1986 11 Southwick's Zoo 2 Southwick St., Mendon 01756 800-258-9182, ext. 211 • southwickszoo.com 287 287 287 5th, 6th More than 850 wild animals; educational presentations, rides, picnic grounds, food and gift venues; events for large and small groups Cindy Brewer-Lavoie 1965 12 Atlas Distributing 44 Southbridge St., Auburn 01501 508-791-6221 • atlasdistributing.com 200 200 200 1st, 2nd Beer and beverage wholesaler Joe Salois 1933 13 Koopman Lumber Co. 665 Church St., Whitinsville 01588 508-234-4545 • koopmanlumber.com 185 474 474 3rd Building materials and hardware Dirk Koopman 1939 14 Vibram Corp. 18 School St., North Brookfield 01535 508-867-7731 • vibram.com 180 N/A 900 3rd Supplier of Vibram soles Fabrizio Gamberini 1937 15 Ski Ward Ski Area 1000 Main St., Shrewsbury 01545 508-842-6346 • skiward.com 175 N/A N/A 2nd Recreation Stephanie LaCroix 1939 16 Hendler Family Brewing Co. (6) 100 Clinton St., Framingham 01702 508-872-0900 • hendlerfamilybrewco.com 175 250 260 1st Brewery Andy Grant Jack Hendler Sam Hendler 2011 17 Indian Ranch and Samuel Slater's Restaurant 200 Gore Road, Webster 01570 508-943-3871 (Indian Ranch); 508 943-1639 (Samuel Slater's Restaurant) • indianranch.com; samuelslaters.com 150 N/A N/A 2nd Summer concert series along Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in one of the country's oldest outdoor amphitheaters; Indian Princess paddlewheel riverboat tours; RV resort campground with 200 sites, ample event space; home to Samuel Slater's Restaurant Suzette Robert Julie Welch 1946 18 Maki Building Centers (7) 160 Massachusetts Ave., Lunenburg 01462 978-343-7422 • makicorp.com 150 150 150 2nd, 3rd Fabrication of vinyl, aluminum and wooden doors & windows with stores in Gardner, Lunenburg and Sterling James LeBlanc 1949 19 Green Gold Group 60 Prospect St., North Brookfield 01535 774-251-9888 • greengold.group 150 165 N/A 1st Marijuana business Ralph Aronov 2018 20 Incom Inc. 294 Southbridge Road, Charlton 01507 508-765-9151 • incomusa.com 122 122 152 1st, 2nd, 3rd Fused fiber optic solutions for the medical, scientific, display and defense industries Michael Detarando 1971 21 Ostrow Electric Co. 9 Mason St., Worcester 01609 508-754-2641 • ostrowelectric.com 121 (8) N/A 202 (8) 3rd Electrical contractor for semi-conductor, hospitals, life science and higher education installations Matthew Ostrow 1939 Source: Each business via survey as of Q2 2025. Note: N/A=not available. (1) Businesses headquartered in Central Mass. were considered for this list. First-generation operated businesses must have at least two family members active in the business, with at least one holding an equity stake, to qualify for the list. (2) Some businesses changed ownership throughout their history, but have remained family-owned. (3) Seasonal workforce (4) Local employee count falls within a range of 500 to 999, according to Mass. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. (5) Includes MC2 Renewable Energy Services, a full-service renewable energy division of Milton CAT (6) Hendler Family Brewing Co. includes Framingham-based Jack's Abby Craft Lagers, Everett-based Night Shift Brewing (acquired January 2025) and Worcester-based Wormtown Brewery (acquired July 2024). Each brewery retains individual locations and branding. (7) Includes Top Notch Truss and Specialty Wholesale Supply (8) Employee counts from WBJ's 2024 survey -Compiled by: Stephanie R. Meagher, research@nebusinessmedia.com