The recession didn't appear to hurt the region's biggest grocery chain last year. In fact, revenues at O'Hara-based Giant Eagle jumped by nearly 13 percent to $8 billion in 2008 as the retailer held firmly to its place as the largest private company in the Pittsburgh area.

		Top 50 rankings • See the rankings for this year's Top 50 in Business report.

But the economy did take its toll on building supply company 84 Lumber, which shuttered stores last year in the wake of the housing market downturn. The company's revenues fell by 32 percent as it slipped from second to fourth on the private companies' list.

Westinghouse Electric moved to the No. 2 spot with revenues of $3.2 billion, up 45 percent from the prior year. Westinghouse, one of the region's bright spots in a sour economy, has maintained a robust business, winning contracts to build nuclear power facilities in China and the United States and building a new headquarters for several thousand employees in Cranberry.

Climbing to third was Tube City IMS, the Glassport company that provides services to steel makers and mills. Its revenues jumped to $2.98 billion from $1.6 billion.

Rounding out the top five was Education Management, which owns art institutes and culinary schools, with revenues of $1.68 billion.

Among those that fell off the list was GNC, the vitamin and health supplements provider ranked fifth last year with sales of $1.5 billion. It did not report results in time to be included in this year's rankings.

Duquesne Light Holdings also disappeared as result of its merger with an Australian-based private investment consortium.

A new player on the list is Pittsburgh Glass Works, which manufacturers and services automotive glass and was wholly owned by PPG Industries until last year when PPG sold 60 percent of the business to investment firm Kohlberg & Co.