Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1545756
72 Worcester Business Journal | Book of Lists 2026 | wbjournal.com Largest family-owned businesses Ranked by number of local employees, then year founded ((11)) Business Local employees/ statewide/ companywide Generations active (2) Family ownership/ type of business Head(s) of company/ year founded 1 Aubuchon Co. 95 Aubuchon Drive, Westminster 01473 978-874-0521 • hardwarestore.com 1,500 N/A 2,100 3rd, 4th, 5th Aubuchon family/ Hardware store chain William Aubuchon IV 1908 2 Wachusett Mountain Ski Area 499 Mountain Road, Princeton 01541 978-464-2300 • wachusett.com 1,477 1,477 1,477 3rd Crowley family/ Ski resort Jeff Crowley 1934 3 Polar Beverages 1001 Southbridge St., Worcester 01610 508-753-4300 • polarbev.com 750 N/A 2,500 5th Crowley family/ Soft drinks Ralph Crowley 1882 4 AA Transportation Co. Inc. 605 Hartford Turnpike, Shrewsbury 01545 508-791-9100 • aatransportation.com 650 650 650 N/A Ernenwein family/ Transportation Ron Ernenwein 1996 5 Kens Foods Inc. 1 D'Angelo Drive, Marlborough 01752 508-229-1100 • kensfoods.com 600 (3) N/A N/A 2nd, 3rd Hanna & Crowley families/ Processed salad dressing, mayonnaise and other sauces Brian Crowley Mark Holbrook 1958 6 Sterilite Corp. 30 Scales Lane, Townsend 01469 978-597-1800 • sterilite.com 500 (4) N/A N/A 3rd Stone family/ Plastic housewares David Stone 1939 7 Flexcon Co. Inc. 1 Flexcon Industrial Park, Spencer 01562 508-885-8200 • flexcon.com 500 500 1,200 2nd, 3rd McDonough family (5)/ Coated & laminated films and adhesives Neil McDonough Nick Tucci 1956 8 Milton CAT 100 Quarry Drive, Milford 01757 508-634-3400 • miltoncat.com 500 (4) N/A N/A 3rd Milton family/ Power generation & energy storage Chris Milton 1960 9 R.H. White Construction Co. 41 Central St., P.O. Box 404, Auburn 01501 508-832-3295 • rhwhite.com 490 N/A 502 4th White family/ Construction David White Thomas White 1923 10 Davis Farmland and Davis Mega Maze 145 & 142 Redstone Hill Road, Sterling 01564 978-422-6666 • davisfarmland.com; davismegamaze.com 400 400 400 6th, 7th Davis family/ 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 Nicolette Sacco 1846 11 Seaman Paper Co. 9 Leominster Connector, Leominster 01453 978-632-1513 • seamanpaper.com 355 500 1,000 4th Jones family/ Decorative tissue paper Ken Winterhalter 1946 12 Koopman Lumber Co. 665 Church St., Whitinsville 01588 508-234-4545 • koopmanlumber.com 353 491 584 3rd, 4th Koopman & Brookhouse families/ Lumber, building materials, hardware, paint Denise Brookhouse 1939 13 Southwick's Zoo 2 Southwick St., Mendon 01756 800-258-9182, ext. 211 • southwickszoo.com 287 (6) 287 (6) 287 (6) 5th, 6th Southwick-Brewer family/ More than 850 wild animals; educational presentations, events, rides, picnic grounds, food & gift venues Cindy Brewer-Lavoie 1965 14 The DAVIS Cos. 241 Boston Post Road West, Marlborough 01752 508-305-6000 • daviscos.com 285 326 651 1st, 2nd Davis family/ Staffing solutions & talent advisory services Robert Davis 1986 15 Polyvinyl Films Inc. 38 Providence Road, Sutton 01590 508-865-3558 • stretchtite.com 214 214 214 3rd Baldwin & Connor families/ Manufacturer Nicholas Kourtis Maria Connor 1954 16 Jeffco Fibres Group Inc. (7) 12 Park St., Webster 01570 508-943-0440 • jeffcofibres.com 209 209 301 3rd Lonstein family/ Polyurethane foam, mattress, furniture & bedding, textiles Eric Lonstein 1971 17 Atlas Distributing 44 Southbridge St., Auburn 01501 508-791-6221 • atlasdistributing.com 200 (6) 200 (6) 200 (6) 1st, 2nd Salois family/ Beer & beverage wholesaler Joe Salois 1933 18 Comfort Home Care LLC 255 Park Ave., Suite 410, Worcester 01609 774-823-3540 • chcnursing.com 200 N/A N/A 1st Howes family/ Medical model of psychiatric home health care with nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and more Brandon Howes 2007 19 Vibram Corp. 18 School St., North Brookfield 01535 508-867-7731 • vibram.com 180 (6) N/A 900 (6) 3rd Bramani family/ Supplier of Vibram soles Fabrizio Gamberini 1937 Source: Each business via survey as of Q2 2026. 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) From kensfoods.com (4) Local employee count falls within a range of 500 to 999, according to Mass. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. (5) Owners of 44 Maple Group, the family-owned holding company of Flexcon, Arlon Graphics and Blueshift; McDonough is executive chair, and Tucci is CEO of Flexcon. (6) From WBJ's 2025 survey (7) Additional location in Worcester -Compiled by: Stephanie R. Meagher, research@nebusinessmedia.com F O C U S G E N E R A L I N T E R E S T F O C U S #2 Wachusett Mountain Ski Area has brought in about 3.5 million visitors in the past five years and employs around 1,500 at peak season; it's the most popular ski area in southern New England. #5 The Kens Foods brands include Sweet Baby Ray's, Sticky Fingers, and Kogi by Chef Roy Choi. #3 Polar Beverages, the iconic Worcester brand, also holds real estate in Texas, where the company operates a manufacturing facility. #1 Aubuchon Co. has acquired 25 locations since September 2023. #10 The Davis Family has ventured into almost every area of farming, including dairy, fruit stands, vegetables, and a cider mill.