[Top 100] Covers Through the Years

January 2002

PCT’s first Top 100 issue. Since this was the first time a pest control industry Top 100 list had been published, we wanted it to be clear and concise. Thus, the cover read, "Who made it? Who didn’t? PCT presents its inaugural list of the 100 largest pest management firms." This cover was straight-forward with a rich, leather background. Classic.

Fun Fact: This Top 100 list, while published in January 2002, reflected 2000 revenues.

May 2003

This second cover had the Top 100 company names in the background which meant it couldn’t be done until the list was complete (always last minute — sorry, art department). The big red type told you right away what this issue was (this was the first time we had run the list in May).

Fun Fact: This is some of the largest type ever used on a PCT cover. (The March 2009 cover above rivals it for big type, don’t you think?)

May 2004

The second black and red cover in a row. The concept was good but the execution didn’t work. We put "Top 100 Pest Management Firms" subtly in the background. The black background was supposed to have a varnish and the text was supposed to be "flat," but it didn’t print properly and just looked bad. Ugh, a painful lesson.

Sad Fact: By far the PCT staff’s least favorite cover. Ever.

May 2005

Inspired by "Wheel of Fortune," this cover featured no additional cover text (apparently we thought readers knew what this issue was the fourth time around). This cover was the first Top 100 cover illustrated specifically for the issue. The illustrator argued with then-PCT Art Director Andrea Vagas about the fact that "1" and "100" were next to each other. The perspective was off, he said, and there was no way there were 100 slots on our wheel based on how wide they were. We took artistic license and made the cover look good vs. a real wheel. Sorry Vanna.

Fun Fact: Favorite cover of PCT’s Jodi Dorsch.

May 2006

More creative license. Obviously there aren’t numbers in Scrabble. And if there were numbers, would they have points associated with them? No matter. We liked it! The illustrator added the "double critter score" and put a cool metallic sheen on the pieces. (And yes, we know zero and the letter "O" don’t work together in a real Scrabble game. See first sentence above.)

Fun Fact: The illustrator also created the previous month’s cover — "The British are Coming!" about Rentokil’s purchase of J.C. Ehrlich.

May 2007

This is our most unusual Top 100 cover. Again, we’re playing off the "numbers" aspect of 100 with the strong man carnival game. What we liked most about this concept was the spread on the inside of the magazine. There were lots of little details the illustrator incorporated — the flags featured caterpillars; the prizes in the ring toss were insects; the man swinging the hammer was a technician (equipped with a flashlight and phone). The rides in the background featured ladybugs, spiders and more.

Fun Fact: The illustrator painted, drew, airbrushed and used pencil to create an actual piece of art that we scanned in. No digital image here — this is old school art!

May 2008

The economy was heading south so this was no time for a "cute" cover (see May 2007). We tailored the content in this issue for all of PCT’s readers, not just those in the Top 100. The cover read, "Despite tough economic times, Top 100 firms continue to grow through savvy business tactics and a focus on continuous improvement. How do they do it?"

Fun Fact: Although the economy was bad, we tried to present a silver lining. That’s why it’s not a dark, depressing cover.

May 2009

Another "numbers" cover. We went with a race car theme and this was the first issue we incorporated a theme. Notice yet another black/red/grey cover. Note to ourselves: Stop with these colors on Top 100 covers!

Fun Fact: This issue was the first in which we featured the map that plotted all of the Top 100 companies.

May 2010

This theme was based on the fact that PCT and Univar USA were hosting the first Top 100 event at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and we wanted the issue to reflect this awesome night. We featured a record on the cover, used text that looked like "Billboard" magazine and included cover text supporting the theme — "Rock the House" and "Climbing the Chart."

Fun Fact: Favorite cover of PCT’s Dan Moreland and Brad Harbison.

May 2011

PCT’s tenth Top 100 cover! After many discussions, the staff decided the theme of this issue was "10." Since Bo Derek was not available, we went with a subtle Roman Numeral X and "snap coated" the cover (that shine that makes the cover so glossy). This issue also includes our first-ever Top 100 poster (see page 35). The red PCT logo really stands out on this navy image.

Fun Fact: Our first type-only cover since that disaster in 2004. We recovered nicely!