HD Supply: One of North America’s Largest Industrial Distributors

Serving Canada and the North American region, HD Supply supports more than 500,000 professionals by providing them a broad range of products and services. The company is based in Atlanta, Georgia and has approximately 650 facilities in the regions. It is a publicly traded venture with common stocks on the NASDAQ.

As one of the largest industrial distributors in North America, the business has strong ties with companies that lead in the industry of infrastructure and power, specialty construction, maintenance, repair and operations. They have over 1 million products offered with the highest quality and reasonable costs. Their operations are divided into 4 major segments, namely: HD Supply Power Olutions, HD Supply Waterworks, HD Supply Facilities Maintenance and HD Supply Construction and Industrial.

The business is also powered by their 16,000 associates who are capable of supporting their customers with the utmost customer service. Their localized and customer-driven approach makes them the preferred partner by both residential and non-residential contractors.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals: Developing the Cure for Liver Diseases

One of the pharmaceutical companies that have taken on the challenge of providing novel therapeutics to some unmet areas of medicine is Intercept Pharmaceuticals. This biotechnology business got started in 2002 and focuses its research and development in the creation of synthetic bile acid analogs to treat various chronic liver diseases.

The main product of the business is referred to as the Obeticholic acid (OCA). This product is also referred to as the INT-747 or the 6-ethyl-chenodeoxycholic acid and is listed as a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist. This product offering is intended to create a combatant that would treat various common diseases that have limited to almost non-existent therapeutic solutions. These illnesses include non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, cirrhosis, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), bile acid diarrhea, portal hypertension and primary sclerosing cholangitis. This product hasn’t reached the market yet and is still on its phase III studies for primary biliary cirrhosis. There are also other products that the business is in the process of developing for intestinal and chronic liver diseases.

Through the research and development efforts of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, people who are suffering liver diseases are given hope that they can soon live a normal and quality life. The innovative and breakthrough therapeutics that the company is developing intends to reverse the damage done to the liver of these patients. The FXR agonist that they are developing can also be a potential cure for several other diseases that impacts the intestine and kidneys.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals works closely with other research organizations, including the University of Perugia. With their strong ties with experts in the subject matter, the business has maintained their leading position in the research and development of therapeutics for bile acid chemistry.

The business is a publicly held company with common stocks traded on the NASDAQ. It holds its main office in New York City.

W. R. Grace and Company: A Specialty Chemical Company

W. R. Grace and Company employs more than 6,700 employees in 40 countries. This Columbia, Maryland-based company is registered as a chemical conglomerate and generates more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue.

The operations of the business are divided into three segments: Grace Construction Products, Grace Catalysts Technologies and Grace Materials Technologies. They produce Raney nickel, concrete pigments, concrete admixtures, air and vapor barriers, fireproofing materials and those coatings that are used in soft drink cans and canned foods. Some of the products they manufacture are also certified kosher free. The specialty chemicals that they market are used by various industries, especially in the construction and can manufacturing businesses.

It was in Peru that the business got started by William Russell Grace in 1854. Back then, he worked as a ship’s chandler for Bryce and Company. His company initially started as a shipping business that transported guano and sugar from Peru to North America.

Equinix: Connecting the Cyber World

Around 950 network service providers around the world rely on the services provided by Equinix. The company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ and is a global provider of carrier-neutral data centers and internet exchanges since its inception in 1998.

Giant companies like Sprint, Yahoo, Google, AOL, AT&T, Sony, Sprint and IBM among others, rely on the services provided by Equinix. The company is best known for providing traffic exchange, colocation, IBX (Internet Business Exchange) and interconnection services. They also provide their services to various systems integrators, enterprises and content companies. To accommodate the services required by their clients, the business has strategically positioned their 101 data centers across 15 countries. These hubs are located in 32 major metropolitan areas with their headquarters in Redwood City, California.

Over 90% of the world’s internet route are are managed by their IBXs peer IP traffic. As outlined on their website, the company exists to provide storage, power and connection to the internet. More than the acquisitions it has made, Equinix is able to maintain its top position in the global market through its capacity to leverage network effects. Its network neutral policy has served as the main attraction of the business which has drawn in huge businesses. Through this business strategy, they are able to connect two different networks to each other as long as both parties are customers of the business. With this set-up, they are able to grow the networks they are managing and continue to push telecommunications provider to join the ecosystem they have created. Majority of huge companies like Google and Microsoft are also after the data centers of the business that would serve as a preventive measure for disaster avoidance and off-site data backup.

Equinix is the brainchild of Al Avery and Jay Adelson, who foresaw the growth of the internet and the need for a better and much bigger data centers to be deployed. Both gentlemen were one facility managers at Digital Equipment Corporation prior to putting up the venture.

The Cooper Companies: Changing the Way You See the World

Thriving in the industry of medical devices, The Cooper Companies is one of the billion dollar businesses that are based in the United States. Headquartered in Pleasanton, California, the company generates more than $1.33 billion in annual revenue.

There are two segments of the business: CooperSurgical (CSI) and CooperVision (CVI). The former focuses on the production and marketing of products that are geared toward women’s health. The latter is involved in the production of contact lenses. Of the two business units, CVI generates about 80% of the company’s revenue, especially through their soft toric lenses. This product is intended for use to correct astigmatism.

Founded in 1958, the company started out as Martin H. Smith and later on changed its brand name to Cooper Laboratories, before adopting the company label Cooper Companies in 1987. Other than their famous contact lenses, they also carry products for family planning, fertility assessments and related products and other devices that are used for surgery.

CVS Caremark: U.S.’ 12th Largest Company

There are more than 7,000 store locations in the United States that CVS Caremark operates. The company is listed as part of the Fortune Global 500 businesses and is ranked as the 40th largest company in the world with annual revenue of more than $126.7 billion.

The business is listed as a retailer and health care company that has its main office located in Woonsocket, Rhode Islands. Their pharmacy services are marketed under the brand names CVS Pharmacy and Longs Drugs stores. It further operates three major subsidiaries: MinuteClinic, a retail-based health clinic; CVS.com, their online pharmacy and Caremark Pharmacy Services, their mail order, specialty pharmacy and benefit management business arm. In the United States alone, the company is listed as the 12th largest business and is made part of the Fortune 500 companies. Overall, the business is known as the largest company listed in Fortune that has its operations focused within the United States.

The formation of the company is the result of the merger between CVS Pharmacy and Caremark Rx in 2007. The two businesses are considered as one of the largest in their respective niches. It was brothers, Stanley and Sidney Goldstein, who founded CVS in 1963 while Caremark was established by James M. Sweeney in 1979. The rapid growth of the company is also attributed to the various acquisitions it has made. Their MinuteClinic is now the largest walk-in medical clinic in the country and operates within the perimeter of their CVS Pharmacy stores.

Starting out as Melville Corporation, CVS once stood for Consumer Value Stores but is now re-profiled to stand for Convenience, Value and Service. It was their former CEO, Thomas Ryan, who initiated this change to further push the image of the business as a reliable source of valuable medicines, exceptional service and convenient locations.