Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.: A Fabless Semiconductor Company

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (MPS) is one of the fabless semiconductor companies that are headquartered in San Jose, California. Founded in 1997, the company is now publicly traded on the NASDAQ, under the ticker symbol MPWR.

The success of the company in the semiconductor industry is strongly attributed to the team of experts employed by the business. These associates are considered as veterans in the industry that have strong expertise in sophisticated system, IC level designing, customer application experience and highly-technical knowledge in the industry. These experts are working closely with their business partners to come up with solutions for their unique needs. The base customers of Monolithic Power Systems include companies in the industries of communication, consumer electronics, industrial, storage and computing and automotive.

The primary product of the company is their direct current (DC) to DC converter integrated circuits that are mainly used in the conversion of control voltages of electronic systems. Their lighting control ICs are also used in systems that provides lighting to LCD panels in car navigational systems, notebook computers, LCD monitors, televisions and even on smart phones. Other offerings include their AC/DC power conversion solutions and their (AC)/DC offlines solutions for lighting illumination applications. By providing these high performance analog semiconductors to their business partners, they are helping their clients market their products much faster, support various applications and even come up with ideas for possible new products.

By integrating the use of BiCMOS signal transistors with DMOS power transistors, MPS is able to create smaller single-chip power management ICs that are capable of delivering highly accurate results and efficiency in power usage. The technological platform used by the company to create their products starts the simplification process of designing ICs which are useful in a wide range of analog applications.

With global operations, MPS employs more than 1,000 associates around the world. Their facilities are located across the United States, in Europe, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Korea and in Japan.

Medifast: Making Dieting Easier and Fast

Doctor William Vitale is the man behind the creation of Medifast, Inc., an American venture that is focused on nutrition and weight loss. With a market capitalization of more than $250 million, the company publicly trades on the New York Stock Exchange (MED).

Starting out by selling his products directly to doctors, Medifast, Inc. now has five subsidiaries that market its Medifast diet products. In addition, the company has their own disease management products on top of their weight management programs. The five businesses include Jason Properties, LLC, Seven Crondall, LLC, Take Shape for Life, Inc., Jason Enterprises, Inc. and Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Named by Forbes Magazine as America’s #1 Small Company, the business now markets its products directly to its customers.

Medifast is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland. The company has over 360 employees and generates an annual revenue of more than $165.62 million. It continues to operate under the slogan “easy, fast…”.

Maximus, Inc.: Enhancing Communities, Transforming Lives

The high quality services and solutions that are provided by Maximus, Inc. are most helpful to the government sectors. For more than 40 years, the state, federal and local governments have benefited from the services by the company. The business is a global venture that employs more than 13,000 associates that are dedicated in making communities around the world better, safer and more progressive.

Maximus is a for-profit public service company that is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The business has operations in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, in Saudi Arabia and across the United States. It primarily provides business process, health and human services to government agencies. Since its inception in 1975, the company aims to champion the administration of government-sponsored programs. It has strong knowledge and administration skills of all the works related to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare, Medicaid, health care reform, child support enforcement and welfare-to-work programs of the government.

Its services are categorized into two major segments: human services and health services. Their human services operations have been cited as the top performing provider of welfare-to-work services in the United Kingdom. Under the Flexible New Deal program in the country, the company has assisted job seekers land on long-term sustained employment. Its human services include helping out people with disabilities look for employment and an environment that will help them grow as better individuals. This business segment is also a champion in child care services and has helped thousands of children and parents get the much needed child support payments. The health services unit of the business is considered as the largest provider of administrative services for the CHIP and Medicaid in the United States. In fact, the business has 50% market share in this segment.

Through the services provided by Maximus, Inc., the company is able to transform lives and help the government reach their program goals. It aims to strengthen communities through their partnerships with the government.

Lifeway Foods: Manufacturer of Kefir

Kefir is a fermented milk that is made from the kefir grains that originated in the Caucasus Mountains. Although not the originator of the product, Michael Smolyansky was able to make a fortune out of this item.

Smolyansky first stumbled on this product at a food show. Falling in love with this milk product, he started his company that would market this item. He named his business Lifeway Foods. What started out as a small venture from his basement has turned into a multi-million venture that generates more than $58 million annually. To further diversify his product, he created a variety of kefir. Today, his offerings include low-fat, Greek, organic, non-fat and low-carb. These varieties are also offered in different flavors.

When Smolyansky passed away, his daughter Julie took over the business and continued to grow his legacy. Today, Lifeway Foods is a publicly traded business on the NASDAQ. It continues to provide the world a healthier and tastier alternative to yoghurt and milk.

Lennar Corp: A Diversified Construction Company

Lennar Corporation is one of the largest companies in the United States that thrive in the industry of construction. The main focus of the company is in the creation of single-family attached and detached homes. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, where the company was founded, Lennar started out F&R Builder in 1954.

Starting out as a single-family homebuilder, the company today has grown into a diversified construction company. Through its financial arm, Rialto Capital Managements, the business offers and manages funds that invest in real estate properties. In addition, this segment also offers closing services, mortgage financing and title insurance. The main business is engaged in the creation of residential housing. Through its LNR Property Corporation business arm, they also venture into the commercial segment of construction. Among its notable projects include Mountain Crest in North Metro Atlanta and Coto de Caza, California. These projects are ranked among the wealthiest communities in the country. Lennar Corporation also invested a huge chunk of its resources on closed military bases. These properties are then converted into neighborhoods. Among the bases they purchased are Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Tustin Marine Air Base, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Treasure Island in San Francisco, March Air Reserve Base and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Cleaning up these properties revealed that there is a great potential for construction of both residential and commercial units.

The founders of the business were Gene Fisher and Arnold Rosen. With the investment that Leonard Miller made on the company, he was able to replace Gene Fisher and eventually moved to rename the business. Lennar Corporation was formally created in 1971 and is a combination of the names Leonard and Arnold. It was also in this same year that the business went public.

Today, Lennar Corporation is traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange. It is a component of the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000 Indices. The business is currently listed as part of the Fortune 500 companies.

KB Home: Top of the Class Homebuilding Company

Listed as one of the Fortune 500 companies between 2000 and 2008, KB Home is the first homebuilding company that got traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company was founded by Donald Kaufman and Eli Broad as Kaufman & Broad.

Created in 1957, the business has created more than 550,000 houses since its founding. Its primary market are those first-time home buyers. As part of its environmental movement and sustainability project, the company has launched its GreenHouse program in January 2011. They also have their ZeroHouse 2.0 program, which succeeded their GreenHouse project. These units are a combination of solar panels and energy efficiency measures that help achieve their net-zero energy usage.

Every unit created and sold by the company come with a 10 year limited warranty to provide their customers peace of mind. All the materials are top of the class and have undergone various checkpoints and inspections before being deployed for use.