The past several years saw many commercial real estate service firms retrenching. Yet while its counterparts were cutting costs and announcing mass layoffs, Transwestern found itself doing just the opposite. The Houston-based commercial real estate services, investment and development firm took advantage of the dislocation in the market to embark on an aggressive growth plan that, according to company officials, has positioned it well for the upturn.

While the private company doesn’t report earnings, president and CEO Larry Heard reveals last year was a record-breaking one for Transwestern in terms of profits, and “I believe in 2012 we will report our highest gross revenue earnings in the company’s history. That is with significant investment tied to it, but it’s indicative of the kind of growth we’ve signed up for and the quality that we’ve continued to insist upon from a service delivery standpoint for our clients.”

Today, Transwestern boasts over 1,800 team members in offices in 33 cities nationally. Through the second quarter, the firm has 271 million square feet under lease and management; 1,312 projects completed or under way; and a track record of 19.9 million square feet of leasing transactions closed, with $2 billion in investment sales and financing transactions. It counts some of the biggest names in the institutional investment world among its client base, and Transwestern professionals are on a first-name basis with decision-makers at many of the largest and most sophisticated commercial real estate owners in the world.