Welcome to the NorthBay biz Top 500 bonus issue. To say the least, 2012 was a challenging year for business. As the year began, the news was driven by the ongoing depressed housing market, mortgage meltdowns, an unprecedented credit crunch and economic uncertainties in the stock market, manufacturing, retail and auto industries. The National Bureau of Economic Research states in a report that the recession that began in late 2007 is now officially over, but try telling that to the 8 percent unemployed nationally and the 10 percent out of work in California. The financial bailouts, originally instituted to support failing financial institutions, have been extended as a hoped for panacea to other areas of our stressed economy. Despite claims by the federal government to the contrary, there’s little hard evidence that these billions have done much to turn things around.
But even amid all the negative national and state news, we in the North Bay are fortunate to live where we do. Overall, things are getting better here. Of course, the local economy has taken a hit, but it’s holding up remarkably well, especially when compared to other locales. In a survey released in 2010 by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Sonoma County residents are happier and healthier than anywhere else in California—and are rated fifth overall in the entire nation. The North Bay’s diverse economy works in our favor, as does the area’s beauty and myriad natural resources. The tourism/hospitality industries are healthy and most are growing. A new crop of green industries are sprouting up even in these tough times. It’s becoming plain that energy, the economy and the environment are intertwined, and letting them work in concert is a winning solution. The North Bay has an excellent start in becoming a leader in creating green jobs in the sustainable business industry.
Despite the fact that the overall business climate in 2012 still had many challenges, the bright spots grew and it remains a very competitive environment. So, we’d like to congratulate each company that made this year’s Top 500 list. It took creativity and courage to make the difficult decisions that resulted in positioning each company for success.
We strive to make the NorthBay biz Top 500 list as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Our database has really grown and improved over the past 12 years as we’ve migrated to assembling more information online, simplifying the process and enhancing accuracy.
Some companies provide their revenue numbers as estimates because their fiscal years are incomplete. We report those numbers as verified because the company supplied them. When the company can’t or won’t divulge revenues, we estimate based on history, research and comparative industry data. If a company is headquartered here, we count all its revenues. If a company does business here but is headquartered elsewhere, we count only its North Bay-generated revenue. Six zeros have been omitted from all the revenue numbers on the list because of space constraints. Therefore, the first five companies on this year’s list reported revenues in the billions, and every other company reported revenues in the millions.
And finally, because of available space restrictions, we were unable to publish every company profile that was submitted. We will post the complete set of Top 500 company profiles on our website. We work hard on this issue to make it as complete and accurate as possible. If you discover any inaccuracies, or if we’ve overlooked a company that merits inclusion, please let us know and we’ll correct it for the future.
We certainly hope you enjoy perusing the Top 500 and find it interesting, informative and useful in running your business. The North Bay possesses tremendous economic power and vitality, and with a little luck and continued hard work, let’s hope 2013 turns out to be a good year for us all.
