Two Irish companies, SmartForce and Saville Systems- have made it into the top 1 per cent of fastest-growing companies in the world.

Two Irish companies, SmartForce (formerly CBT Group) and Saville Systems - which was bought by ADC Telecommunications last year - have made it into the top 1 per cent of fastest-growing companies in the world and are on the list of the world's top 200 growth performers, according to the results of a new Deloitte & Touche survey. Some 25,000 of the world's largest companies were surveyed and their sustained performance over a three-year period measured according to revenue growth, employee growth and total shareholder return. SmartForce, an e-learning company, achieved 114th place in the world with a revenue of $162.23 million, a 60 per cent revenue growth and 66 per cent employee growth. Further down the list with a ranking of 194 was Galway-based telecoms company Saville Systems with a revenue of $167.71 million, a revenue growth of 73 per cent and 54 per cent employee growth. Evident from the survey were the high rankings of US businesses with substantial manufacturing and internationally traded service centres in Ireland. These include Dell in 10th place, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in 17th place, Compaq 24th place, AOL in 55th place and Microsoft in 59th place. German company Daimler Chrysler was ranked as the fastest growing global company.