Thor Industries, Inc.: World’s Largest Manufacturer of Recreational Vehicles

Mid-sized commercial buses and recreational vehicles are the products manufactured by Thor Industries, Inc. Combining all its operating subsidiaries will give you the world’s largest manufacturer of recreational vehicles.

Since its founding in 1980, the business has drove excellence and led the pack in the industry of manufacturing recreational vehicles. The name “Thor” was taken from the combined first two letters of the name of the founders Thomson and Orthwein. Their business started out as Airstream and was re-branded in the late 1970s. It was in 1984 that the business went public and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1986. In that same year, Forbes noticed the growth of the business and ranked it 6th out of the “200 Best Small Companies in America.” As of, the business is a $2.32 billion company with operating subsidiaries, namely: Airstream, Crossroads RV, Dutchmen Manufacturing, Inc., Heartland RV, Keystone RV Company, Livin Lite and Thor Motor Coach.

In 2013, the business let go of its ambulance manufacturing company, SJC Industries. The business was taken over by Allied Specialty Vehicles. The acquisition was made together with other brand names McCoy and Miller and Marque.

Thoratec Corp: Supporting Patients with Heart Failure

Supporting patients with heart failure is the business that Thoratec Corp is engaged in. The company stands as a leader in mechanical circulatory support that has a broad range of portfolio to treat various clinical needs of these patients.

Some of the company’s well known products are the Thoratec VAD (Ventricular Assist Device), HeartMate LVAS (Left Ventricular Assist System) and CentriMag Blood Pumping System. The latter is used for patients with acute heart failure while the first two devices are implanted in the patients with advanced heart failure. While heart transplantation is deemed as the most effective means of survival, only 2,100 patients with heart failure problems receive this treatment while the some 250,000 need to venture to other methods of treatment. This is where Thoratec is able to reach out to those in need of their service. The company works directly with surgeons, cardiologists and VAD coordinators, providing them training, educational materials regarding the treatment, building community awareness and offering patient support. They also push for advancements in MCS therapy through charitable and educational grants.

Thoratec Corp’s HeartMate IP LVAD product was used for bridge to transplantation and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1994. The product became the first commercially implantable LVAD in the United States. The European Conformity Mark (CE Mark) gave their approval in 1994 and Canada followed suit in 1998. The HeartMate family brand of the business remains to spearhead technological upgrades in the VAD market. Part of this innovation is the Thoratec HeartMate XVE which remains to be one of the most used LVADs in the world.

The company holds its headquarters in Pleasanton, California. Its manufacturing sites are located in California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and in the United Kingdom. The business remains to be a publicly traded enterprise with common stocks traded on the NASDAQ since 1981.

Aloha Air Cargo: Say Hello to Excellence

Headquartered in Honolulu CDP, Aloha Air Cargo is a US cargo airline operating out of the Honolulu International Airport. It used to be part of Aloha Airlines but it went on to become an independent cargo operator when the passenger airline closed in 2008. Along with Aloha Airlines though, Aloha Air Cargo was founded in 1946. Several companies showed interest in buying the cargo division, but it was Seattle-based Saltchuk Resources that won out, purchasing Aloha Air Cargo for $10.5 million.

When Aloha Air Cargo resumed operation, Saltchuk Resources set up a new subsidiary called Aeko Kula Inc. to handle management. Within its first two years, the cargo airline was transformed, undergoing rebranding and launching a slew of new products and services to give Aloha Air Cargo a boost. The management's efforts were not for naught because during this time Aloha Air Cargo managed to win a number of awards, including Hawaii's Cargo Airline of the Year in 2008.

Beechcraft Corporation: Pride in Manufacturing Aircrafts in the United States

In 1932, Walter Beech and his wife Olive Ann decided to create their own aircraft company. As such, they began their operations in an abandoned Cessna factory and the Beech Aircraft Company was born.

The company’s first aircraft called the Model 17 Staggerwing took to air for the first time in November 1932. Over the years, the company would build 750 Staggerwings with the private sector comprising the bulk of their customers. However, the US military also became interested in their aircraft and purchased 250 units.

In 1937, Beech Aircraft started production of the Model 18. Little did they know that this aircraft would play a huge role in the coming conflicts that the United States would be fighting in foreign lands. Although the Model 18 would not become actively involved in the front lines, it would provide training to about 90% of the bombardier pilots who fought in the war.  Their training would take place in derivatives of the Model 18, called the AT-7 and the AT-11.

Although the war provided much success for the Beech Aircraft Company, success did not end when the war ended. In fact, the war’s end marked the beginning of future success for the company when they unveiled the Model 35 Beech Bonanza in 1947. The high-performance single-engine aircraft would become the longest producing aircraft in history as it is still being produced to this very day.

In 1950, Walter Beech died of a sudden heart attack and his wife Olive Ann replaced him as president of the company. She would relinquish her position after Raytheon purchased the company in 1980. Raytheon would later merge Beechcraft and Hawker, another company acquired from British Aerospace, thus forming Raytheon Aircraft Company.

Over the years, the company has produced over two dozen civilian aircrafts and around 15 different models for the military, most being used as trainer aircrafts.

Air Tractor: Producing High Quality Airborne Tractors

Air Tractor, Inc. is an American aircraft manufacturer. It was founded by Leland Snow in 1978. Originally, it was established to develop a new agricultural aircraft derived from the S-2B aircraft, which was designed by Snow Aeronautical. Snow’s own aircraft, the AT-300 Air Tractor, first flew in 1973. By the year 2004, the company’s 2000th Air Tractor was introduced and delivered.

Leland Snow began designing his first airplane in 1951. The plane, called the S-1, completed test flights in 1953. It was used for dusting and spraying jobs in the Texas Rio Grande Valley as well as in Nicaragua until the year 1957. Snow then created S-2A and S-2B, which were built when the founder moved to the production facilities in Olney, Texas in 1958.

In 1965, Snow’s company was purchased by Rockwell-Standard. Snow was appointed as Vice President of the Aero Commander division. The company continued to develop air tractors that offered both quality and functionality.

Ally Financial: People’s Ally in the Financial World

Previously known as General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC Inc.), Ally Financial Inc. is an American bank holding company with a headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. It has over 15 million customers worldwide and offers a range of financial services such as financing, insurance, online banking, and mortgage services. During the financial crisis of 2007-08, the company was bailed out by the US government, taking over from General Motors. On December 24, 2008, the Federal Reserve accepted the company’s (then GMAC) application to become a bank holding company. In 2010, as Ally Financial, it returned to profitability, garnering a net profit of $1.075 billion for the said fiscal year. Ally planned to make the company public but did not execute an initial public stock offering in 2011.

Ally was founded in 1919 as General Motors Acceptance Corporation by General Motors Corporation. Originally, it was established to provide financing services to automotive customers. Over the next years, the business expanded to offer insurance, mortgage, online banking, and commercial finance. In its founding year, GMAC opened offices in Detroit, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Toronto.

In 1985, GMAC launched GMAC Mortgage after it purchased Colonial Mortgage Service’s mortgage loan operations and Norwest Mortgage’s servicing arm. In the following years, the division acquired additional mortgage-related operations such as ditech.com. The division was reorganized in 2005, forming Residential Capital (ResCap). At the time, the company was heavily focused on subprime lending.

In 2000, GMAC acquired conditional approval to form the GMAC Bank. The year after, General Motors Corporation sold a 51% interest in GMAC to Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity company. In 2006, GMAC divested a majority stake of GMAC Commercial Holdings to KKR, Goldman Sachs, and Five Mile Capital Partners.

On December 29, 2008, GMAC received a $5 billion investment from the United States Department of the Treasury from its Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Advent International: A Prestige Global Private Equity Firm

Originally founded in Boston, Massachusetts as a spin-out from TA Associates, Advent International is an American global private equity firm that specializes on buyouts of companies in Central and Western Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. The company focuses on international buyouts and is known for their work in growth and restructuring in five core sectors.

Although officially founded in 1984, Advent’s history can be traced back to 1968 when Peter Brooke established TA Associates. In 1985, Advent raised its first fund worth $14 million for a corporate venture capital program for Nabisco. In 1987, the firm became known for raising the $225 million International Network Fund, which served as the company’s first institutional private equity fund. In 1989, Advent raised its first European fund, the $231 million European Special Situations Fund. During this year, the firm also opened its London office.

Since its establishment, Advent International has already raised $26 billion worth of private equity capital. Furthermore, through the firm’s buyout programs, it has completed over 250 transactions in 35 countries.

Eastman Chemical Company: World-Class Manufacturer

The Eastman Chemical Company is a Fortune 500 company based in the United States. Founded in 1920 by George Eastman, the company is engaged in the manufacture and sale of plastics, fibers, and chemicals all over the world. To date, Eastman Chemical has 43 manufacturing locations across the globe, with employees reaching 13,500 individuals. Some of the countries where manufacturing sites are located include: Belguim, China, Estonia, France, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Products made and sold by Eastman Chemical are split into five operating segments. These segments are: Additives & Functional Products, Advanced Materials, Adhesives & Plasticizers, Specialty Fluids & Intermediates, and Fibers.

When World War I broke out, it resulted in a lot of raw materials being scarce. George Eastman, the company's founder, found himself looking for an independent chemicals supply for his other company, Eastman Kodak. His own search for materials to address his needs led to the roots from which Eastman Chemical started out from. From organic chemicals and acetyls, the company's product portfolio grew in the following decades, the most recent of which is the Eastman Tritan copolyster. Developed in 2007, the Tritan copolyster allows for innovative applications thanks to its toughness and clarity and resistance to heat and chemicals.

Aside from addressing the needs of various manufacturers around the world, Eastman Chemical also shows it cares for the environment by becoming a member of Responsible Care. Responsible Care is a global voluntary initiative that was autonomously developed by the chemical industry in order to improve the health and safety of its employees and communities around manufacturing sites, as well as boost environmental performance. In 2009, Eastman Chemical was recognized by the US Environmental Protection Agency with the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, an award recognizing green chemistry principles incorporated into the design, manufacture, and use of chemicals.

Liberty Property Trust: The Nation’s Leading Provider of High-Performance Green Buildings

Known for their high-performance green buildings, Liberty Property Trust has maintained its good position in the market through their expertise in marketing, management and development of its portfolio of industrial and office spaces.

As a real estate investment trust (REIT), the business manages assets totaling to $8.4 billion. They own 83.6 million square feet of industrial and office spaces. These 700 offices and industrial properties are located across the United States and in the United Kingdom. It started its operations in 1972 and keeps its headquarters in Philadelphia. Since its inception it has grown to become one of the largest REIT in the country with focus on making people’s lives more efficient and more convenient by providing extraordinary work environments.

Through the years it has developed, leased, acquired and managed properties that are not just flexibly designed and packed with amenities but are also located in marketable areas. In addition they also incorporate state of the art technology to their facilities and at the same time merge it with cost efficient operations.