WCI Communities: Providing Florida the Ultimate Lifestyle Experience

Considered as one of the most successful home builders businesses in America, WCI Communities, Inc. has been around since 1995. Though the company is fairly new in the industry, it has created its name in the market and is now generating more than half a billion dollars every year.

Based in Bonita Springs, Florida, the company’s strong focus is on the development of home communities within the state. Their operations include title businesses, mortgage and realty. They also manage several restaurants, marinas, clubhouses and golf courses within the community they develop. Their offerings are mostly just between single family units and condominium homes. In addition to home building, they also extend their services to include community management services, marketing, financing, construction, design and land purchases.

There are currently 9 communities that the business is maintaining while they go about strategically expanding their portfolio. These communities are located in the cities of Tampa, Venice, Bonita Springs, Naples, Bradenton, Coral Springs and in Perdido Key. Before the real estate downturn in 2005, the business has seen very solid growth and generated a revenue of more than $2.6 billion. Back then, they have focused on luxury and second homes. Because of this attainment, the company was named as “America’s Best Builder” by both the Builder Magazine and the National Association of Home Builders.

More than 150,000 residents are now enjoying the communities that the company has created. These properties are populated with amenities that cater to the lifestyles of their residents. These master-planned communities are what sets the business apart from their competitors in the market. They have also partnered with large organizations like Wells Fargo and Audubon International.

The company was once traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange before it was reorganized as a private entity in September 2009. The initials WCI stand for Westinghouse Communities, Inc. where most of the foundation of the company was purchased from.

Universal American: Serving the Seniors and the Self-Employed

The senior and the self-employed are the target markets of Universal American, a Fortune 500 company that offers health insurance and also transacts dealings related to Medicare prescription drug benefits and Medicare managed care plans.

This Rye Brook, New York-based company is registered as an insurance, Finance and administrative services business and has offices across the United States. Heritage Health Systems, Inc. is a subsidiary of the company. The strategy of the business is to focus on the largest and fastest growing demographic in the country, the seniors. This strategic approach of the business made them the 3rd largest Medicare Prescription Drug Plan organization and is also listed as the 5th largest Medicare Advantage Private-Fee-for-Service organization in the country.

The company has fortified its place in the market by partnering with the federal government to continue offering its services to its intended market. As of, Universal American is listed publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UAM.

Universal Statuary Corp: Makers of Well-loved Figurines

Step inside any household and you are most likely to see a piece or two of figurines made of chalkware or plaster. In the United States, one of the famous businesses that manufacture these products was Universal Statuary Corp.

Although the business no longer exists, the products they manufactured remains to be among the favorites of collectors. The company was created by the Lucchesi family who started their production in the late 1930s. They started out with piggy banks and then expanded their offerings to include plaques. Considered probably as their most valued pieces are the Indian statues that are usually produced by the hundreds. These products are created by immigrant artisans who are mostly from the country of Guatemala, where Jack Lucchesi’s wife came from.

Jack Lucchesi, together with his brother Leo were responsible for the family business and they never employed more than 100 workers at a time. Through their consolidated efforts, they were able to make a name in the industry of home ornaments. Advertising firms like Sears and Wards also offered them contracts for their display and promotional items. Their Early American Colonial Wall Plaques and Statues and as well as their Ornate Italian Wall Plaques are among their sought after items today.

Back then, they had two factory locations both in Chicago, Illinois. Their artists are not known outside the facilities of Universal and they kept the company profile as such until the brothers sold the venture to James L. Dorman in the 1980s. From the ownership of Dorman, the business was later on sold to another entrepreneur until the business eventually died.

Although the products today are not valued highly in monetary terms, collectors continue to scour antique shops and other stores for these antique items. Their products, especially those whimsical figures of animals and children still hold a charm that no other item in the market contains.

Jazzercise: Jazzing Up Exercise for Business Success

Jazzercise is a company offering a dance-based fitness program of the same time, a 60-minute routine featuring resistance training, jazz dance, yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, and Latin-styled movements set to today’s most popular music. The company started out in 1969, established by Judi Sheppard Misset. Today, the company has 7,800 instructors teaching in over 32,000 classes in 50 states and more than 30 other countries every week. Many Jazzercise instructors are also franchise owners so sometimes class hours and prices may differ.

In 2009, MSNBC ranked the company as one of its picks for top five franchises proven to provide growth opportunity. In 2011, Jazzercise made it to Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list, bagging the top spot in fitness franchises and 17th place overall. In 2010/2011, the company had its most successful run after being in business for more than 40 years, posting system-wide sales amounting to $97 million.

Frontier Airlines: Soaring Above Change and Challenges

Frontier Airlines is based in Denver, Colorada, an ultra low-cost carrier operating as a subsidiary of Indigo Partners, LLC. It caters to more than 75 destinations, offering flights around the US and to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. A Frontier Airlines hub is located at the Denver International Airport, serving focus cities like Cleveland, Ohio; Trenton, New Jersey; Wilmington, Delaware; and Washington, D.C. An agreement with the Great Lakes Airlines also allows the airline to connect passengers to the Rocky Mountain States.

Incorporated in 1994, the current Frontier Airlines was established by a group of executives from the previous Frontier Airlines company in response to the gap that Continental Airlines left when it shut down its Denver hub in 1993. Scheduled flights began on July 1994, a few months after incorporation, using Boeing 737 jets. Flying out of Denver, the airline’s slogan “The Spirit of the West” was apt.

In 2008, Frontier Airlines filed for bankruptcy when First Data, the airline’s credit card processor, said it would be withholding ticket sales starting May 1. While First Data’s actions terribly hampered operations for the airline, it was able to continue uninterrupted because its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy status protected its assets and allowed restructuring. It wasn’t until November of the same year that Frontier Airlines posted profit since it filed for bankruptcy.

Several bids to acquire the airline was placed but Frontier Airlines ended up with Republic Airways Holdings in August 2009. Republic consolidated administrative positions to accommodate the acquisition, moving airline executives to Indianapolis. Frontier Airlines kept its headquarters in Denver though for training, marketing, scheduling & planning, and customer reservations.

In October 2013, Indigo Partners acquired Frontier Airlines from Republic for $145 million, completing the transaction in December. As of June 2014, Frontier Airline’s fleet includes the Airbus A319-100, Airbus A319neo, Airbus A320-200, and the Airbus A320neo.

Taser International: World’s Most Common Electroshock Gun Manufacturer

The most common brand of electroshock gun is the Taser, which is produced by Taser International, Inc. This American company is based in Scottsdale, Arizona and is the developer, manufacturer and distributor of Taser.

Brothers Rick and Tom Smith started the business in 1991 as Air Taser, Inc. The idea behind the product came to them when two of their friends were murdered in a road rage. Collaborating with Jack Cover, they were able to come up with a non-lethal weapon which was patterned after the early version of Taser created by Cover. It was in 1994 that they were able to create a non-firearm version of the product which allowed them to bypass federal and state laws that only applies to firearms.

The name Taser was taken from a fictional weapon: Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle. The initial of the words were taken to create the company and brand name.