Jupiter Telecommunications: Japan’s No. 1 Cable Provider

Another Japanese-based company made it to Forbes 2000 Leading Companies. Focusing on cable television services, Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd is the #1 cable provider in the country. They do their business under the name J:COM and has 20 managed franchises.

Founded in Japan in 1995, the company currently employs a total of 11,536 employees and is generating sales of $4.72 billion. It is the joint venture between Liberty Global an Sumitomo.

The company has two business segments which provide different services: The Cable Television segment and The Program Supply Segment.

The Cable Television segment is responsible for high-speed internet connection, cable television and telephone services in three metropolitan areas: Kanto, Kansai and Kyushu and as well as in Sapporo an Sendai. Their Program Supply segment engages in pay television services through various channels including sports channels, foreign film channel and other shopping and entertainment channels.

Their subscribers total to more than 3 million making their competing companies look too small in terms of revenue and number of consumers.

Winnebago Industries: Providing America with Recreational Vehicles Since 1960

One of the most popular names in the recreational vehicle (RV) industry is Winnebago Industries. The company has been a statement of quality for RVs for over 50 years.

Winnebago was established in Forrest City, Iowa, in 1960, when the city was going through a rough economy. In an attempt to pull the city out of the economic downturn, businessman John Hanson convinced a travel trailer company to open a factory in the city.

In  1960 Hanson, together with four other businessmen, purchased the factory and renamed it to Winnebago Industries. In addition to manufacturing the motor homes, the company also manufactured all the furniture and components that went inside. The much improved motor homes went on sale in 1966 for a considerably cheaper price than models available in the market.

By 1977, Winnebago Industries had produced 100,000 units and was considered the first manufacturer to ever build that many units. The company continued to grow stronger and it doubled its production almost 10 years later.

During the company’s 50th anniversary in 2008, they declared that they had completed the 400,000th unit, and introduced a new class of motor homes at the same time. Winnebago Industries went through several changes over the years, but one thing remains – quality. The company has held on to their tradition of producing quality motor homes, and though many of their units have a modern design, the quality, both exterior and interior, remains the same.

Winnebago Industries still has its headquarters in Forrest City, but today, they have a total of 235 dealer locations in the United States, and 230 locations in Canada. Not only does the company produce motor homes, they also produce OEM parts of vehicles produced by other manufacturers. The company is currently being led by Randy Potts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals: Marketing Medicines for Unmet Medical Needs

As of January 2014, there are about 480 people that are employed by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. These employees are also equity holders that carefully protect the business resources. The company is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is in the business of developing and marketing of different types of medicines.

Formerly known as Microbia, Inc., the company adopted its current brand name in 2008. Among its marketed products are Linaclotide and LINZESS, both FDA-approved drugs. The former is a medication that focuses on the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and related symptoms. This condition affects about 20% of the American population, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There are also several medicines that are in the pipeline and are already in various clinical test phases.

The name of the company is taken from the ironwood tree which can survive for thousands of years in the harshest desert. Ironwood is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol IRWD.

Louisiana-Pacific Corp: Your Best Source of Building Materials

May it be for remodeling, repair or for constructing your new homes, you will surely find all the things you will need at Louisiana-Pacific Corp. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the business is registered as a manufacturer of high quality building materials. Known as a leading name in the industry of construction, the business offers their products and services via distributors, professional lumberyards, dealers and retail home centers.

Founded in 1973 in Portland, Oregon, the business is not just a trusted name in the industry, but is also known as the world’s largest producer of oriented strand board (OSB).  They have pioneered the production of this material in the United States. In addition, they also manufacture engineered wood building products from their 24 mills that are located in the United States (15), Canada (6), Chile (2) and in Brazil (1). The company also takes pride of their name for being one of the safest companies to work for in America.

The formation of the company was the result of Georgia-Pacific Corporation spinning off its wholly owned subsidiary. Back in the 1960s the latter was accused of monopolizing the softwood plywood industry after it has acquired 16 smaller businesses in the southern United States. As part of its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), they were forced to let go of 20% of its assets.

They are known for their “smart man’s plywood,” a stronger alternative to plywood sheathing and sub-flooring. It is through this breakthrough that the company was able to revolutionize the construction industry. This product was first introduced to the market as Waferwood. This OSB was created by slicing logs into wafers, the product is then mixed with resins and then pressed into sheets. Later on, this product was re-branded as Inner-Seal. It was in 1980 that Louisiana-Pacific opened its first Inner-Seal mill.

The TIAA-CREF: Ensuring Teachers Have the Future They Deserve

The TIAA-CREF, or the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund, I a Fortune 100 financial services institution functioning as the leading retirement services provider for people in the academe and related fields. The institution has over 3.5 million active and retired employees in its fold and boasts of nearly $490 billion in combined assets being managed as of March 2012. The TIAA-CREF operates out of a headquarters in New York City but has major offices in Texas, North Carolina, and Colorado amongst other states.

The TIAA-CREF was developed as a replacement for the free pensions system offered by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. When the original fund was deemed inadequate, the TIAA-CREF stepped in as a stock life insurance company that would provide retirement income to participants. One of the most recent purchases for the organization is a 50% stake in the Grand Canal Shoppes with net proceeds of $410 million.

The Hospital Corporation of America and the Business of Improving Lives Through Healthcare

When HCA Holdings was founded in 1968, the Hospital Corporation of America was one of the first of its kind in the nation as a hospital company. Today, HCA is the leading provider for healthcare services in the country, made up of locally managed facilities including 115 freestanding surgery centers and 165 hospitals employing about 204,000 people. It is approximated that up to 5% of inpatient care provided in the country today is coursed through HCA facilities.

HCA is serious about providing care and improving human life so the company strives to deliver the highest quality in cost-effective healthcare within communities it serves. Guided by the principles provided by the company's mission and values, HCA puts customers—its dear patients—first and constantly works to improve what it can do for them by following measures that support caregivers and ensure patient safety, translating into the best level of care possible. The company understands how important it is to invest in products and services for the community so it sets aside around $1.5 billion annually in order to keep facilities up-to-date with the latest in modern technology and expand where possible to add services offered. Two of the HCA founders were physicians so this is why the company highly values the strong relationship it has with local doctors, providing them with a range of services and facilities to aid them in offering the best kind of care for the communities.

In recent years, Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, together with the Frist family and Merrill Lynch, completed an acquisition worth $31.6 billion to become a privately held company again for nearly two decades. In 2010 though, the HCA went public again with a $4.6 billion IPO. The company also has facilities in London and these include the Lister Hospital, the Harley Street clinic, the Princess Grace Hospital, The Wellington Hospital, and the Princess Grace Hospital.

GlobalFoundries: A Semiconductor Foundry

GlobalFoundries is a semiconductor foundry with a headquarters in Santa Clara, California. It was developed through the divestiture of the manufacturing arm of AMD or Advanced Micro Devices on March 2, 2009. It expanded by acquiring Chartered Semiconductor on January 13, 2010. The company is owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and is operated through the latter’s subsidiary, Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC). AMD announced in March 2012 that they divested the last 14% stake that they had. This concluded AMD’s multi-year plan of divesting its manufacturing arm.

GlobalFoundries develops integrated circuits in high volume primarily for semiconductor companies such as Broadcom, STMicroelectronics, Qualcomm, and eventually, AMD. The foundry has five 200mm and one 300mm fabrication plants in Singapore, while having one 300mm fabrication plant in Germany. It also has a new 300mm fabrication plant in Malta, New York.

Currently, it is spearheaded by CEO Sanjay Jha, employing around 13,000 employees.

Fisker Automotive and the Rough Road It Has Went Through

Fisker Automotive is a U.S. automotive maker based in Anaheim, California. The company was co-founded by Henrik Fisker with Bernhard Koehler and Quantum Technologies in 2007. They were first supported by the small investment from Gianfranco Pizzuto, an Italian businessman, and Palo Alto Investors. Fisker designed a number of premium cars including the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vintage, BMW Z8, and Artega GT. He was also a design director at Aston Martin.

The first product of the company was the Fisker Karma, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, one of the world’s firsts. This vehicle debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. It created the premium car segment wherein most manufacturers have announced that they would compete. However, the production was halted in November 2012 due to financial issues. Since 2011, there were 2,450 Karmas that were built.

The company originally planned to sell the Karma in late 2009. However, after repeated delays, the Environmental Protection Agency was only able to certify the car’s vehicle emissions and drive range in October of 2011. After that, the delivery of production vehicles commenced in the USA.

In the summer of 2012, the company stopped the production of the vehicle, hoping to acquire new investment. Matters were further complicated after its battery supplier, A123 Systems, declared bankruptcy, the costs of which involved a recall and repairs to customer cars, and the resignation of the company’s CEO and co-founder Henrik Fisker.

With the production not re-commencing after five months, without announcing a date of going back to production, the planned production of the second model Fisker Atlantic was postponed.

In November 2013, the company filed for bankruptcy. In February 2014, it was acquired by Chinese auto-parts conglomerate Wanxiang Group. The new owner claimed that it can restart production, estimating that they can sell more than 1,000 Karmas in the first 18 months in the U.S., and 500 in Europe.

Haemonetics Corp: A Global Provider of Blood and Plasma Supplies and Services

In 1971, Dr. Jack Latham started a business that has something to do with blood. His business involved the manufacturing of containers and bags that are required to store blood. His business was named Haemonetics Corporation and would soon become a global success.

Founded in Braintree, Massachusetts, the company now has a presence in 16 countries in three major markets – Asia, the Americas and in Europe. From a container and bag manufacturer, the business is now a global provider of blood and plasma supplies that are marketed in over 50 countries. Through acquisition of similar businesses, they have expanded their business internationally. Operations of Haeomonetics are divided into two broad units: Donor and Patient. The Donor division is marketed to the blood donation industry while their Patient unit markets to the surgical suite for blood loss management for those who are to receive medical treatment.

With more than 1,800 employees around the world, they manufacture surgical field blood suction systems, autrotransfusion devices and products that support pathogen inactivation, test blood hematocrit, automate the processing of blood and other related products.