In a book filled with lists of companies, lists of people and lists derived from other lists, here is one more list to consider:
• Acushnet Co.
• Alex and Ani Inc.
• American Partners Inc.
• Citizens Financial Group Inc./Citizens Bank
• CVS Caremark Corp.
• Electric Boat Corp.
• FM Global
• Narragansett Bay Insurance Co.
• Ocean State Job Lot
• Synet Inc.
• The White Horse Tavern
These are the companies that stand at the top of the 12 lists in this section, lists that cut across most SIC codes and represent some of the best of what the region has to offer.
The Top Companies section of the 2012 Book of Lists contains Providence Business News’ collection of the region’s largest private companies, the fastest-growing private companies, the largest public companies and the oldest companies, among others. These hundreds of companies employ tens of thousands and describe a diverse economy filled with success stories.
For instance, Alex and Ani is the fastest-growing company in the smallest grouping of that family of lists (this year we broke the fastest-growing into three lists by revenue to be able to compare companies in similar situations). Yet it represents Rhode Island’s storied jewelry-making past. Is Alex and Ani leading a renaissance of that sector just as Providence turns the Jewelry District into the Knowledge District?
Of course, if you want to talk about a storied history, The White Horse Tavern has been serving customers since 1673 – that’s right, more than a century before the Declaration of Independence. Considering how high the failure rate for restaurants is, the White Horse’s longevity is beyond astounding.
Of more recent vintage, but much different scale, is CVS Caremark, Rhode Island’s only $100 billion (that’s right, with a “B”) company. From modest regional beginnings, the company has grown to now be one of the two largest pharmacy retailers in the United States, as well as an enormously influential pharmacy-benefit manager. It is likely that the future of health care in the country will be heavily influenced by what the Woonsocket company does, with the added potential benefit of more jobs being created here.
The only significant piece of the region’s economy not included in this section is the public sector. And given how poorly it is faring these days, which one would fit in lists of high-flying companies?
That is as it should be, because even though there are many obligations that government must take on (and reasonable people can disagree on just what those should be), the engine driving progress forward is decidedly private.
So, as you peruse the lists in this section and in the rest of the Book of Lists, let them paint a picture of Rhode Island’s economy. Think of your competitors, of your suppliers, of your customers. And think of how many of them you could start to do more business with in the coming year and beyond.
And most of all, think of what it would take for your company to earn a spot at the top of one of PBN’s Top Lists. •
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