Friday, September 27, 2013

Viettel Group: From Vietnam to the World

Founded in 2004, Viettel has grown to become one of the world’s fastest growing telecom operators. It is currently ranked and named by GSMA’s Wireless Intelligence as one of the top 15 telecom enterprise in terms of cellular connections.

Viettel Group is a state-owned enterprise and as such, it is wholly owned and operated by Vietnam’s Ministry of Defence. It was initially set up as a GSM launcher, the fourth of its kind in Vietnam, following Mobifone, Vinaphone, and S-Fone. In 2010, the company started to offer 3G services, covering video call, mobile broadband, TV mobile, online music, and video-on-demand.

Currently, Viettel has operations in six different markets across Asia, Latin America, and Africa. This makes them able to reach a total population of about 170 million customers. In 2011, their revenue was reported to reach 6 billion US dollars, servicing 60 million subscribers globally.

Viettel is also the first group in the world to provide free Internet services and connections to public schools, benefiting 27 million teachers and students in the countries where they are operating in.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Crowley Maritime Corporation: The People Who Know the Industry

US-owned and operated, Crowley Maritime Corporation is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company is primarily family and employee-owned and is known for providing transportation and logistics services in the US as well as several international markets. Their services are deployed through their six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean liner services; Latin American liner services; marine contract solutions; logistics; deep sea petroleum transportation; and last but not the least, petroleum transportation, distribution, and sales in Alaska. The company supports all of its business segments by maintaining centralized corporate operations that cover human resources, information technology, purchasing, training, public relations, advertising, and facilities development, among other processes.

Crowley’s six lines of business offer various primary services. Some of these are shipping and logistics, vessel management, ocean towing, engineering, naval architecture, and project management. They also offer petroleum and chemical transportation, harbor ship assist and tanker escort, as well as marine salvage, wreck removal, and emergency response. Clients in need of heavy lift barge transportation and OPA 90 compliance, as well as project logistics and global freight management can also consult Crowley Maritime for efficient and high quality services.

Crowley was founded by Thomas Crowley in 1892. The founder, who is the grandfather of the company’s current CEO Thomas Crowley, Jr., started the business with his purchase of an 18-foot Whitehall boat to be used as transport for personnel and supplies to the ships anchored on the San Francisco Bay. After a few years, the company has expanded to provide other services. They have also acquired more, larger vessels.

The company was incorporated in Delaware as Crowley Maritime Corporation on December 1, 1972. As of 2012, Crowley was reported to be made up of 5,300 employees, with revenues amounting to $1.8 billion. They also maintain strong partnerships with numerous companies from various industries.

Friday, September 20, 2013

CONSOL Energy Inc.: Largest Producer of High-BTU Bituminous Coal in the United States

Coal and natural gas production are the two main interests of CONSOL Energy Inc., an American energy company based in Cecil Township, Pennsylvania. The business was able to produce a total of 64 million tons of coal in 2010 alone.

CONSOL Energy is also the largest producer of high-BTU bituminous coal in the United States. It is also considered as the largest underground coal mining business in the nation. The business was created way back 1860 as Consolidation Coal Company. This was the result of the decision of several small mining companies in Western Maryland to combine their operations. It was also in Maryland that the company held its headquarters for 85 years. Though the company’s assets lie on its coal and natural gas divisions, the company also has other interests including its subsidiaries: River Division, Baltimore Marine Terminal,  Land Division, Research and Development, and Fairmont Supply Company.

As of 2011, the company has reported that it’s sitting on 4.4 billion tons of proven reserves and natural gas reserves amounting to 3.7 trillion cu. ft. It has a total of 8,800 employees as of 2011.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Comerica Inc.: Largest US Bank Headquartered in Texas

There are currently more than 9,000 people employed by Comerica Inc., the largest US bank headquartered in Texas. The company is considered to be one of the 25 largest US banking companies and has retail banking operations in states like Arizona, California, Florida, and Michigan.

Other than the states that the company has operations in, it also has an international presence in countries like Canada and Mexico. Major operations are in Dallas, Detroit and Auburn Hills, Michigan. It’s also in Michigan that the company was founded in 1849. It was Elon Farnsworth who created the business as Detroit Savings Fund Institute. The institution changed its name several times before it adopted its current name in 1982. It was called the Detroit Savings Bank in 1871, The Detroit Bank in 1936, and The Detroit Bank & Trust Company in 1956. The latter was used after the business merged with three other financial entities: Birmingham National Bank, Detroit Wabeek Bank and Trust Company, and the Ferndale National Bank. The company is also known as one of the surviving banks after the Great Depression.

The business grew through various acquisitions of financial servicing institutes. In 1983, it acquired the Bank of Commonwealth which gave way to their entrance into the Florida market. Through the acquisition of Grand Bancshares in 1988, it was able to enter the Texas market. The adding of Plaza Commerce Bancorp and InBancshares  in 1991  marked the company’s penetration of the California market.

Comerica also made a merger move with Manufacturers National Corporation in 1992. This somehow doubled the financial stability of the business as both banks have almost the same size in assets. For more than 162 years in the business, the company has always placed their customers first among other things. It now holds assets amounting to $62.9 billion, $51.4 billion in total deposits, and $44.8 billion in total loans.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Univision Communications: A Diversified Spanish-Language Media Company

Considered as the most-watched Spanish-language television network in the United States, Univision Network is able to reach out to about 96% of the Hispanic households in the country. The business used to be one of the subsidiaries of Hallmark Cards.

It was  in 1992 that Univision Communications was created when businessman A. Jerrold Perenchio, purchased Univision Network together with partners Televisa and Venevision. As a diversified communications company, its interest is in television, radio, and the internet. It was in 2001 that the company’s growth made a significant development. This happened through the acquisition of USA Broadcasting, a group of USA Networks which is comprised of 13 full power television stations.

The company was open to the public from 1996 to 2007 wherein it was traded in the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UVN. It was privatized in March 2007 when it was sold to Broadcasting Media Partners, Inc.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Plastipak Holdings: A Plastic Business

The Young family still owns and has been operating Plastipak since its inception in 1967. The business specializes in the manufacture of plastic containers and other packaging products, supplying them to big names like Kraft Foods and Proctor & Gamble.

It was Bill Young who created the company out of the water delivery business of his parents. His idea was meant to address the challenge of their family enterprise in terms of containing water in five-gallon jugs. The container, when filled with water, would likely weigh around 50 pounds. This is where his innovation came in and he was able to make the most out of plastics.

After the business was bought by Beatrice Foods in 1973, the family continued working on the enterprise as if it’s still their own. Bill Young was made regional director and around this decade, he was able to cut a deal with their first major client, Pepsi. At that time, they were already manufacturing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Some time around 1979, the company experienced some difficulties and of course, the Young family was quick to buy the business back from Beatrice Foods.

With the Young family back in control, they were able to significantly make the business grow. To make room for the expansion of their business, they launched a new company, Whiteline Express. This subsidiary is a trucking service established in 1983 and has been providing the business the much needed cost saving transportation service. Two years later, the business made an acquisition that would expand the support of the business to the Chicago and Wisconsin Markets. This asset was the Buffalo Don’s Artesion Wells. The business has also made several acquisitions, pushing their revenue to swell up to $2.3 billion.

Through constant innovation and experiments, Plastipak was able to create better containers to replace those heavy 5-gallon water jugs. Now, they are the go-to name for companies in need of ready supply of plastic containers for production lines.

Friday, September 6, 2013

ANSYS, Inc. and Their Innovative Engineering Solutions

ANSYS, Inc. is a company known for their engineering simulation software that enables computer-aided engineering (CAE). Their headquarters is located in Cecil Township, Pennsylvania, USA.

The company was founded by Dr. John A. Swanson in 1970 as Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc. (SASI). Primarily, the company focused on developing and marketing finite element analysis software for use in structural physics, to be able to simulate static, dynamic, and heat transfer problems. The company kept itself up-to-date with the advancements in computer technology and the ever growing engineering needs.

Since its establishment, the company grew by 10 to 20 percent every year until it was acquired by TA Associates in 1994. The new owner adopted the company’s premier software called ANSYS and eventually decided to name the company after it.

ANSYS itself has acquired several companies starting in the year 2000. Their acquisitions include ICEM CFD Engineering, Century Dynamics, and Apache Design Solutions, among others.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Indesit Company: Bringing Efficient & Reliable Home Appliances for Decades

Established and headquartered in Fabriano, Ancona province in Italy, Indesit Company is an Italian multinational company that offers reliable, efficient, and functional household appliances. It was founded as Merloni Elettrodomestici SpA in 1975 by Vittorio Merloni to be a spin-off from Industrie Merloni. In 2005, the company settled to operate under its current name which they adopted from another firm that they were able to acquire.

The 1980s served as a great year for other Italian companies that distributed foreign groups of appliances. Merloni’s company was then recognized as the first domestic manufacturer in the industry. It was not always easy for the company. They underwent a crisis stage from 1981 to a984. However, with enough determination and proper management, their profits rose, eventually driving the Merloni family to pursue entry into the stock market in 1986.

In 1987, Merloni Elettrodomestici, they acquired a rival company, Indesit, which has already established a global presence back then. They also garnered 33% of Philco Italy. The next year, Merloni was able to have a turnover of 1.059 billion dollars under the Indesit and Ariston brands. In 1989, they acquired the French company Scholtes.

The following year, they entered Marcegaglia, their supplier of steel tubes. They also penetrated Star SpA in 1995. They also acquired stickers manufacturer Panini through the Merloni family’s holding Fineldo. In 2000, they were able to acquire Philco’s entire capital and they also took Stinol, the first Russian appliance manufacturer.

In 2005, the company was renamed to Indesit Company and in 2010, Vittorio’s daughter Andrea Merloni succeeded him as Chairman. That same year, they also announced an investment of 120 million for the consolidation of their presence in Italy.

As of 2011, Indesit posted sales amounting to € 2.8 billion. They currently operate 16 production facilities in Italy, and eight in different locations abroad.