The Business Journal comes out with its list of the 100 fastest growing companies in L.A. County and surrounding areas. Of the 100, 56 were repeaters and 27 have made the list for three consecutive years. That's quite a feat since fast growing companies tend to slow down after a year or two or are acquired. The list is part of a special report that's online but only available to subscribers. Many of these companies get little or no coverage because they're privately held and often quite small. But considering that L.A.'s economy is made up of so many small- to mid-size businesses, they're worth some attention. See the jump for the top 10.

Also worth noting is the Forbes list of largest private companies in the nation, which includes several in L.A. County. Those are on the jump too.

BUSINESS JOURNAL'S TOP 10 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES

1. Major Properties - A real estate firm brokerage and investment first that has cleaned up downtown.

2. Strix Systems - Manufacturer of modular wireless Internet mesh networks, which compete against cable-based systems.

3. Oversee.net - High-tech media company that provides search engine optimization, advertiser-sponsored consumer portals and data-driven Web site optimization.

4. Kern Organization Inc. - After getting a chance to work with Microsoft, this 25-year old direct marketing and response advertising agency took off.

5. SCI Real Estate Investments LLC - Commercial real estate investment and acquisition specializing in tenant-in-common and 1031 (tax deferred) deals.

6. Odesus Inc. - Information technology staffing and consulting firm.

7. Athena Engineering Inc. - A general contractor that specializes in construction management, building automation systems and mechanical HVAC systems.

8. Exaktime Inc. - Provides battery-powered time clocks to construction sites.

9. Eforcity Corp. - Integrated e-commerce Web site retailer of accessories for electronic devices.

10. Kurtzman Carson Consultants - Administrative-support services and technology solutions for corporate restructurings, mergers & acquisitions, litigation matters and class action proceedings.

FORBES LARGEST PRIVATE COMPANIES IN L.A. COUNTY (number indicates ranking)

20. Capital Group - Downtown mutual fund giant

22. Platinum Equity - Venture capital investments

30. Murdock Holdings - Dole Food and real estate; controlled by David Murdock

74. JF Shea - Homebuilder and general contractor

236. Red Chamber Group - Seafood importer

242. MGM - movie studio

258. Roll International - Stewart Resnick's agribusiness and floral delivery empire

270. Latham & Watkins - L.A.'s venerable law firm

300. Newegg.com - Online vendor of computers, electronics

314. Topa Equities - Beverage and winery distirbutors

320. Viewsonic - computer peripherals