New Way Air Bearings (USA:5251R9N7; privately held; website) has been ranked on the Inc. Magazine annual list of 5000 fastest-growing private companies. New Way is the world's largest independent air bearing manufacturer.

Coming in at No. 3245 New Way has had revenue growth of 80% from 2005 through 2008.

President and CEO, Nick Hackett, said: "This is the third year in a row we've made the Inc. 5000 list. This is especially gratifying because, as a capital equipment component manufacturer, a number of our key markets -- the semiconductor industry and flat panel manufacturers, for example -- were among the first casualties of the economic downturn. Yet we were able to maintain strong growth even through the end of 2008. Market diversification served us well and positions us well for future growth."

Despite the recession, the Inc. 5000 list for 2009 showed aggregate revenue for those companies was up $214 billion, more than $29 billion higher than 2008. In all, the Inc. 5000 companies have created more than 1 million jobs since their founding.

The Inc. 5000 is developed by ranking private companies according to percentage revenue growth from 2005 through 2008. Revenue in 2005 must have been at least $200,000, and revenue in 2008 must have been at least $2 million.

There were only 342 manufacturing companies on the Inc. 5000 list for 2009. New Way ranked 170th of those.

Founded in 1994, New Way said its growth accelerated with the 2005 launch of new products engineered for the non-contact glass handling, processing and inspection needs of flat panel video display and solar panel manufacturers worldwide. In 2007, New Way's radial air bearings were introduced as chasm-crossing technology for medical Computed Tomography (CT) equipment, which the company expects to help it grow with a more diversified base of applications. In late 2008, New Way received ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Chairman and CTO, Drew Devitt, said: "We made the list again because more and more engineers recognize the advantages our technology provides. When you get down to the details, it's downright humbling. We're the 170th fastest-growing manufacturer in the country; we're 13th in the mid-Atlantic Region, and 8th in Pennsylvania. For manufacturing companies our size ($5-25 million, 50-200 Employees), we rank 35th in the country, 4th in the region, and 2nd in Pennsylvania."

New Way's market success hasn't made it immune to the global recession, however. The company has seen its share of problems as its customers have struggled. Going through three separate rounds of layoffs totaling 38 workers, New Way has shrunk from 75 employees down to 37. The remaining workers have been on 4-day workweeks, or have taken a 20% pay cut.