Jamba, Inc.: Promoting Simple, Healthy Living

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Emeryville, California, Jamba, Inc. is a leading restaurant operator that provides the goodness that we all need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ and is listed as part of the Russell 3000 Index. Common stocks are traded under the symbol JMBA.

As the need for healthy food heightens, the business is there to address the population’s demand for organic and all natural food. Jamba restaurants provide food and beverage that are freshly prepared using the finest and freshest food items. They offer freshly squeezed juices and blends, whole fruit smoothies, oatmeal, wraps and sandwiches, teas, baked goods and snacks and their famous Artisan Flatbreads. They also continue to expand their product offering by adding something fresh on their menu every now and then.

Jamba offers its products all throughout the United States. They have also penetrated the international markets and has offered its brand names for franchise in various countries. In addition to their freshly baked and squeezed food items, they also offered packaged goods that are made of the finest and freshest ingredients. These products are marketed through retail channels like convenience stores, clubs, groceries and even through their online shops.

Thousands to millions of people are able to take advantage of the goodness that Jamba offers. Their products are marketed through their 862 store locations around the world. Expansion of the business is also made readily available through franchising. They have locations across the Philippines, in Canada, Mexico, South Korea and in the United Arab Emirates.

What started out with a bunch of fruits and a trusty blender, is now a multi-million dollar venture that is starting to sweep the four corners of the world with its healthy offerings. Anchored on the concept of a balanced and healthy lifestyle, Jamba continues to produce quality products that promote wellness.

HNI Corporation: World’s Third Largest Office Furniture Supplier

Formerly referred to as HON Industries, HNI Corporation is considered as the world’s third largest manufacturer of office furniture based on revenue. The company is comprised of several brand names that have etched its mark in the office furniture and hearth markets.

HNI Industries is headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa and is the parent business of brand names like the HON Company, Quadra-Fire, Heat &GLo, Harman, Paoli, Allstell, Maxon, Gunlocke, Sagus, HBF and Heatilator. Other than the quality of products they market, the business’ capabilities in selling and fulfillment remained unmatched. Because of the winning buying experience they provide to their consumers, they were able to create a loyal and growing customer base.

Its history started in 1944. It was founded by Engineer C. Maxwell Stanley. The business continues to be on the lookout for possible acquisition of companies that are in the same industry. Its steady growth is strongly attributed to their capacity to pick up new brand names to help diversify their offerings.

IDT Corporation: A Global Telecommunications Company

Howard Jonas was a young entrepreneur, who has been traveling the world to enhance his venture. When he was in his office in Israel in 1990, he received a huge amount of phone bills for his international calls. It is that phone bill that sparked his idea to find means of lowering the cost of international calls by re-originating them in the United States.

It was in that year that he founded IDT Corporation. The business is listed as an American telecommunications company that has helped millions of immigrants cut back on their expenses when it comes to international calls. The name IDT once stood for International Discount Telecommunications. It is a multi-billion venture that generates more than $1.6 billion annually. It trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol IDT.

Through the entertainment, communication and financial services offered by IDT, they are able to enrich the lives of their consumers. It continues to expand its operations through acquisition to give more value to their end users and shareholders. It was in 1996 that the company made a technological breakthrough that leveraged some of the mobile applications nowadays. It was in that year that the company introduced the first PC2Phone, the first VoIP service that allows its users to connect using a phone and the traditional PC. This means that even before Skype and Viber dominated the social media platforms we have today, more than 10 years back, Howard Jones and his team already introduced the first method of connecting using two different devices.

In 1997, the company made another milestone by starting to sell prepaid phone cards. It didn’t take long for the company to become the largest supplier of these cards around the world. As technology evolves, the business also finds means to compete globally. IDT continues to publicly trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Heartland Payment Systems: The Trusted Partner in Payment Systems

Starting out in 1997, Heartland Payment Systems provides services to small and mid-sized enterprises and merchants. The company provides a wide range of payment services and processes to more than 11 million transactions on a daily basis.

Rooted in the company’s values of honest and fully disclosed payment solutions, Heartland Payment provides prepaid, debit and credit card processing. They also offer security technology, mobile commerce, billing services, lending services, payroll services, checking processing, marketing services and other industry-specific business facilitation solutions. They have strong partnership with financial institutions, banks, referral service providers, resellers and dealers and POS developers. There are more than 275,000 businesses across the country that have entrusted their more than $80 billion worth of transactions to Heartland’s systems.

The company is a component of the Russell 3000 Index and is a component of the Fortune 1000 companies. It generates a revenue of more than $2.1 billion and trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange.

Global Telecom & Technology: A Global Internet Service Provider

As a global provider of internet services, Global Telecom & Technology (GTT) has a presence in 80 countries around the world. The business was founded in 2006 and is listed a multinational telecommunications and internet service provider company.

The business is the result of the merger of two companies: Global Internetworking, Inc. and European Telecommunications & Technology (ETT) in October 2006. Through several acquisitions, the company has grown to become one of the largest providers of IP transit and MPLS transport services. The business also operates a Tier 1 Network and offers its services to carrier customers, enterprises and government entities. The Points of Presence (PoPs) of the company numbers to 200 and are located in major metropolitan markets in 24 countries. This makes the business as one of the most interconnected Ethernet service platform providers in the world. One of the key features of GTT is their flexibility to provide hybrid cloud network solutions, private and public connectivity to any site around the world. They are also able to support just about any application in the cloud.

As a global connection provider, the business is ranked as part of the Top 5 Networks in the World. Because of its strategic locations, immensity of operations and flexibility of support, more and more companies trust the services provided by GTT. The business is able to provide the performance, flexibility and reliability that every corporate enterprise needs to be globally competitive. The billing options that they offer also provide businesses the maximum usage they can get from the company. Because of this method of doing business, their partners are no longer paying for any idle capacity. Their payment schemes include tiered, flat rate and burstable service. GTT has perfected the trade of providing connectivity for more than 15 years.

In June 2013, the company made its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. It continues to trade publicly on the exchange using the symbol GTT. The venture is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.: Serving the Oil and Natural Gas Industries

The products that are designed, manufactured and distributed by Forum Energy Technologies are most useful to the oil and natural gas industries. These products are not only marketed within the United States as these are also exported internationally.

The formation of the company happened in 2010 after five companies merged together: Subsea Services International, Global Flow Technologies, Forum Oilfield Technologies, Triton Group and the Allied Technology. The products they offer to the market are used in drilling, subsea, production, completion and infrastructure sectors of the gas industry. The company is the owner of brand names like Blohm + Voss Oil Tools, Davis-Lynch, Perry and Sub-Atlantic, Pipe Wranglers, P-Quip and Cannon and Merrimac.

Headquartered in Houston,Texas, the company’s products are manufactured from different parts around the globe. Currently, there are more than 3,500 associates that are employed by the business. These individuals have helped shape the future of the international energy sectors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties: A Gaming REIT

When Penn National Gaming, Inc. spun off some of its properties in 2013, it led to the creation of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI) a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in operating casino properties. Though registered as a REIT, the company elected to be subject to federal income tax.

Currently, there are 21 casino properties that the business owns. Of these assets, 19 are leased back to Penn National. The spin-off sprouted from Penn National’s move to increase investor returns by taking advantage of the lack of federal income taxes on REITs. This, however, proved to be a moot point as GLPI opted to be subjected to taxes for federal income tax purposes starting January 2014. The primary business of the company revolves around the acquisition, development and financing of real estate properties. These properties are in turn leased to gaming operators like Penn National on a “triple net” lease agreement. Under this set-up the tenant will be held responsible for all the expenses in maintaining the property, which includes all the applicable taxes and insurances. Any services that the property needs are also handled by its tenants.

By electing to become a real estate investment trust firm, GLPI will become the first gaming-focused REIT in the country. Their product portfolio includes the brand names Hollywood Casino, Argosy, Boomtown, M Resort, Casino Queen and 6 other Racinos (a combination of race tracks and casinos). The latter’s portfolio includes names Mahoning Valley Race Course, Dayton Raceway, Charles Town Races, Bangor Raceway, Zia Park and Penn National Race Course.

GLPI projected that they would eventually venture outside the confines of the gaming industry. The growth of the business relies strongly on the acquisition of different properties that they intend to lease to third parties, mostly under “triple net” lease agreements.