Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/469117
www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal 33 25 YEARS: IMPACTFUL COMPANIES Attorneys & Business Advisors W W W . D A R R O W E V E R E T T . C O M P R O V I D E N C E | B O S T O N | W O R C E S T E R | S O U T H C O A S T deal·mak·ers ˈdēlˌmākər/ noun 1. (See DarrowEverett LLP) Eagle Cleaning Corporation 997 Millbury Street, Suite A Worcester, MA 01607 Toll Free: (866) 45.EAGLE Office: (508) 799-0700 Fax: (508) 799-0072 • Nightly Janitorial Service • Day Porter Service • Carpet Shampooing • Window Washing • Stripping and Refinishing Floors • Restroom Sanitation • Post Construction Cleaning • 24 Hour Emergency Service "We provide Superior Cleaning and Restoration for Commercial, Industrial and Institutional accounts. Our corporate office is located in Worcester, MA and we service accounts throughout Massachusetts. At Eagle, we continue to be one of the fastest growing companies in our industry. This is a direct result of our innovation, commitment and dedication to excellence in every building we maintain." — Jeff Johnson, President & CEO COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL • INSTITUTIONAL Services Include: C ommerce Insurance, the leader in the Bay State auto-insurance sector, continues to play an influential role in Central Massachusetts and beyond, even though six years have transpired since it was acquired by Spain-based MAPFRE for $2.2 billion. Arthur Remillard Jr., who founded Commerce in 1971, noted with pride and humility the growth and impact of his company when he retired in 2006. "Our small-town startup business now has more than 1.3 million policies in force, employs over 2,100 hard-working people, writes business through more than 2,000 agents across the country and is owned by more than 6,800 stock- holders," he told Insurance Journal at the time. "I am both immensely proud of and humbled by these facts." Gerald Fels, a longtime Commerce executive, succeeded Remillard as CEO until he retired in 2010, two years after the MAPFRE takeover. But he has stayed on as director of MAPFRE USA, the Webster-based parent of Commerce. Commerce wields considerable clout on Beacon Hill. As The Boston Globe reported in 2008, Commerce was the biggest spender in the political influ- ence market for the first six months of that year, paying $475,000 in lobbyists' salaries as it adjusted to new regulations allowing competition in the car-insur- ance market. In that span, Commerce spent 63 percent more than the next highest spender, the Massachusetts Teachers Association. Commerce Group's influence-spend- ing extends well beyond the State House. The company remains quite involved in the local community. Last year, MAPFRE's U.S. employees assisted six families as part of an Adopt-a-Family program through three charitable non- profits, including the United Way of Webster & Dudley. The program helps struggling families enjoy the holidays through the support of family sponsors. Commerce Insurance M any in the region who work for large employers commute some distance to their jobs. With its urban commitment, Unum bucks that trend, which has benefited Worcester. Unum, a provider of employee-bene- fits and disability-insurance products and services, has had a long history in Worcester as Paul Revere Life Insurance, and has deep roots here. So much so that the Worcester Business Journal in 2009 named its local leader, J. Christopher Collins, its "Corporate Citizen" Business Leader of the Year. Though Unum is based in Chattanooga, Tenn., it treats Worcester with the kind of charitable largesse, civic participation and respect for history that's rare even for native companies. The company also has a deserved repu- tation for treating its employees — 700 of whom work in Worcester — well and offers generously flexible schedules and work-from-home options. All that doesn't seem to even nick the Fortune 500 firm's bottom line. For 2013, the publicly traded Unum posted net income of $858 million, or $3.23 a diluted share, on $10.4 billion in reve- nues. Those results were quite similar to those of 2012, when net income was $894 million, or $3.17 cents a diluted share, on revenues of $10.5 billion. Other Fortune 500 companies may treat locations other than their corpo- rate headquarters as distant outposts. But Collins and Unum's other local employees have a strong sense that their company has a great stake in, and responsibility for, Worcester. In 2009, Unum boldly decided to remain in downtown Worcester at a time when other firms were bailing out. The company signed a 17-year lease for 194,000 square feet of space in a newly constructed building in the 12-acre CitySquare mixed-use development. Unum moved in early last year. Unum Group J. Christopher Collins serves as senior vice president and general counsel at Unum Group's offices in Worcester. >> Continued on Page 34 20 21