Top 10 Companies in the South the Last 10 Years

By Lee Burlett

Methodology: The top 10 companies hiring and investing in the South over the last 10 years were chosen based on the results of the SB&D 100 between 1993-2002 (1992-2001 calendar years). Under SB&D 100 rules, states, counties and markets receive points for each corporate expansion, relocation or startup that makes the SB&D 100. We chose the top 10 companies investing and hiring in the South over the last 10 years by simply giving points to companies as opposed to sites. For example, if a company turned eight Job or Investment 100 deals over the course of the last 10 years, they earned 80 points in that category. Points from "Just Missed Deals," which are those from 200 jobs to the Job 100 threshold and $30 million in investment to the Investment 100 threshold, were not used simply because we didn't have all of the data from the last 10 years (if only we knew back in '93 and '94, we wouldn't have nuked those files to gain space on our 386 PCs). So these companies are ranked by data from the largest 1,000 deals made in the South the last 10 years exclusively.

No. 1: Wal-Mart (22 SB&D 100 Deals: 220 Points)

Unbeknownst to many, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart is the largest employer in most Southern states. But since we don't allow retail announcements in our annual SB&D 100, you'd think the Arkansas-based, 900-pound retail gorilla wouldn't have a chance to be named the No. 1 company hiring and investing in the South over the last 10 years. But that's not the case. The only deals making the SB&D 100 over the last 10 years from Wal-Mart were its distribution centers -- all 22 of them. Those deals alone propelled Wal-Mart to the No. 1 company in the South with 220 points. Interestingly enough, Wal-Mart does not report expansions at its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., where it employs approximately 8,000 workers. So no points were earned for Wal-Mart there.

Few companies have had a greater spin-off effect than Wal-Mart in the South. The total number of Southern jobs created by suppliers to the No. 1 Fortune 500 company are probably impossible to calculate. Furthermore, no other company in the South has spread the wealth like Wal-Mart. Its distribution centers are mostly located a mile or two off an interstate, in rural areas throughout the region.

No. 2: (ouch!) WorldCom/MCI (19 SB&D 100 Deals: 190 Points)

To make this Top 10 list, it makes no difference if you implode right before the ranking is published. Remember, this ranking is based on companies hiring and investing in the South over a 10-year period. In that time, WorldCom/MCI was the second-largest dealmaker in the South. In fact, in the last edition of Southern Business & Development (spring 2002), which featured the 2002 SB&D 100, WorldCom's announcement of 3,600 jobs in Fairfax, Va., was named Deal of Year by this magazine. Too bad that deal is probably a dog. Strike "probably."

WorldCom, headquartered in Clinton, Miss., has had a tough go of late. But for most of the 1990s it wasn't WorldCom announcing deals like mad in the South. It was MCI, the company WorldCom acquired in 1998, that launched WorldCom/MCI to such a lofty position in the South's top 10 companies over the last 10 years. Prior to its acquisition, MCI had 11 deals make the SB&D 100 between 1993-1998. WorldCom/MCI turned but 8 mega-deals after the merger. Could it be that the mouse ate the cat in that deal?

No. 3: Capital One (15 SB&D 100 Deals: 150 Points)

Few companies have hired more folks in the South than Capital One in the last five years. During that time, Capital One, based in Falls Church, Va., has turned 12 big SB&D Job 100 deals. Started as an independent company in 1995, Capital One has hired nearly 13,000 people in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Spotsylvania, Va. The company has significant operations in Tampa and in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex as well.

So far this year, Capital One has been ranked in Fortune's 100 Best Places to Work in America for the fourth consecutive year, the Sunday Times' 100 Best Places to Work in the U.K. for the second consecutive year and was named the Salvation Army's Corporate Philanthropist of the Year.

No. 4: AT&T (13 SB&D 100 Deals: 130 Points)

Incorporated in New York in 1885, AT&T has had more spin-offs and splits than any company in the Top 10. Most of the deals that made the SB&D 100 from 1992-2001 were from AT&T, AT&T Wireless, AT&T Broadband, AT&T Solutions and AT&T WorldNet. Over the years, the nation's largest telecommunications company has spread its hiring and investing to several states in the South including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma. The company has shown an affection for Dallas, where it sited three SB&D 100 deals in the last 10 years.

No. 5: West Corporation (13 SB&D 100 Deals: 130 Points)

Founded in January 1986, Omaha-based West Corp. has evolved from an inbound telemarketing service bureau to a large-scale provider of integrated customer contact solutions, including inbound, outbound, interactive and Internet services. The call center industry has generated more SB&D 100 deals than any other industry since the "100" was first published in 1993. West Corp./West Teleservices has been the company that has led the call center charge in the American South over the last 10 years.

West has not shown a specific interest in a certain region of the South. Operations that made the SB&D 100 over the years are scattered throughout the South including large call centers in Pensacola, Hampton, Va., Baton Rouge and Beaumont and Lubbock, Tex.

No. 6: FedX (11 SB&D 100 Deals: 110 Points)

Memphis-based FedX has announced some significant deals in the South over the years. In fact, its 11 deals that made the SB&D 100 since 1993 created exactly 11,000 jobs. Most of those jobs were created in Memphis and adjoining Collierville, Tenn. However, two big deals were made in Fort Worth and one in Clayton County, Ga.

FedX's air cargo distribution hub in Greensboro, N.C. was announced in 1998, but has not broken ground as of yet. That facility has received all of its permits except for two water permits. After those are secured, the long awaited project should finally get off the ground.

No. 7: Citicorp/Citigroup/Citibank (10 SB&D 100 Deals: 100 Points)

Like AT&T, there have been plenty of mergers and spin-offs of New York-based Citicorp, formerly First National City Bank of New York. One noteworthy deal involving one of the world's largest companies occurred in 1998 when Citicorp and Travelers Group merged to form Citigroup.
The company has picked some of the South's hottest markets for its largest deals over the last 10 years. Citicorp/Citigroup/Citibank has large facilities operating in Tampa, Jacksonville, San Antonio and Florence, Ken., just outside Cincinnati.

Top 10 Manufacturers in the South 1992-2001

* Based on number of SB&D 100 deals turned between calendar year 1992-2001

Top 10 Services in the South 1992-2001

* Based on number of SB&D 100 deals turned between calendar year 1992-2001

No. 8: BellSouth/Cingular Wireless (9 SB&D 100 Deals: 90 Points)

A former "Baby Bell," BellSouth opened for business in 1984 with 96,000 employees and assets of more than $21 billion. Today the Atlanta-based company is one of the South's telecommunication leaders, opening new data centers, call centers and network operations throughout the region. It formed Cingular Wireless in 1999. That company has chosen six Southern markets for large customer centers: Ashland, Ken; Ocean Spring, Miss; Fayetteville, N.C; Johnson City, Tenn; Lafayette, La; and Ocala, Fla.

No. 9: Boeing (8 SB&D 100 Deals: 80 Points)

Chicago-based Boeing would have climbed well past No. 9 on this list if Kansas' and Missouri's deals from 1993-1998 were allowed to be counted. Unfortunately, Kansas and Missouri were not part of our coverage area until 1999, when we struck a deal with the Southern Economic Development Council. But Boeing, the only manufacturer in the Top 10 Companies in the South the Last 10 Years, is well represented with some impressive deals announced since 1992 in San Antonio (two SB&D 100 deals), El Paso, Tulsa, Decatur, Ala., and Houston. The company is currently manufacturing rockets in Decatur and floating them to the Gulf of Mexico via the Tenn-Tom Waterway.

No. 10: UPS (7 SB&D 100 Deals: 70 Points)

In 1993, when the first SB&D 100 was published, United Parcel Service was delivering 11.5 million packages and documents per day for more than one million customers. The Atlanta-based air courier operates its main air hub in Louisville. That's where UPS announced in 1998 an $860 million expansion that would add 6,000 employees. That deal made the top 10 deals in the South over the last 10 years. UPS has made its mark on the "100" in other locations. In 1995, the company announced a 1,000-employee tracking center in Newport News, Va., and in 1996 it added 1,000 jobs to its secondary hub in Fort Worth.

Honorable mention: Nextel, Target, Convergys, Nissan, IBM, Sprint, Ford (60 points); Lockheed Martin/Martin Marietta, GM, Motorola (50 points).