Worcester Business Journal Special Editions

4 Worcester Business Journal • Book Of Lists 2015 www.wbjournal.com of B usinesses come and go, and some shrink while others grow. If you look past the acci- dental alliteration (which I welcome you to do), it's an apt statement to describe the constant change in the world of business. On the other hand, there are things that stay the same amid the constant shift of business – which brings us to the cover of this year's Book of Lists: the image of the Hook Organ at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. The organ, which dominates the Great Hall inside the downtown landmark, marked its 150th anniversary last year, while the hall preceded it by seven years. The instrument and the hall are both symbols of Worcester's past that continue to thrive in the present. The hall drew 200,000 people to its events last year, placing it sixth on our list of top tourist attractions in Central Massachusetts (Page 59), and it also ranks as one of the region's top meet- ing facilities (Page 56). So, we find Mechanics to be an appropriate venue to host our annual 40 Under Forty Awards event every September, merging the business leaders of tomorrow with a long-standing symbol of the region's history. Our thanks to Mechanics Hall and photographer Will Sherwood for the use of the photo. About the contents Beyond the cover, you'll find what you've come to expect from the Worcester Business Journal's biggest special issue. This year, as always, we deliver the industry-specific lists you've come to rely on. The issue is split into nine sections for easy navigation. They are: Banking & Finance; Health Care; Education; Real Estate; Manufacturing & Technology; Tourism & Hospitality; Professional Services; Communications; and General Interest. Within each category, we explore various industries, providing you with a scorecard on which companies are growing and innovating. We added two new lists this year: Top skilled nursing facilities (Page 22) and Top physician groups (Page 25) in the health care section and tweaked a few others. For example, we combined Top HMOs and Top PPOs into one category: Top health insurers (Page 24), and we streamlined our list of the largest human services organizations by focusing only on those that deliver services as part of their missions. You can find that list in the General Interest section, on Page 80. Expanded listings in print and online Full digital copies of all 38 lists that appear on the following pages will be posted to our website, WBJournal.com, in both PDF and Excel spreadsheet formats. In the case of some lists, additional companies have been added that could not be included in the print publication due to space con- straints. We hope you'll find the 2015 Book of Lists to be a useful resource throughout the next year. As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please call or email me with your comments. Rick Saia, Editor rsaia@wbjournal.com 508-755-8004, ext. 256 Table Contents The past and the present BANKING & FINANCE ..................................... 7 Banks ............................................................................................8 Credit unions ..........................................................................12 Mergers and acquisitions ...............................................15 SBA lenders ...............................................................................16 SBA loans ..................................................................................17 Venture capital deals .........................................................18 HEALTH CARE ................................................. 21 Skilled nursing facilities ....................................................22 Health insurers ........................................................................24 Physician groups ..................................................................25 Hospitals ....................................................................................26 EDUCATION .................................................... 29 Colleges and universities ...............................................30 Private schools ........................................................................32 REAL ESTATE ................................................... 35 Commercial leases .............................................................36 Commercial sales ..................................................................38 Green Buildings ....................................................................39 MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY ............ 41 Biomedical companies ....................................................42 Clean energy companies ................................................44 Manufacturers .........................................................................46 Plastics companies ..............................................................47 Software and hardware companies .......................48 TOURISM & HOSPITALITY ............................. 51 Golf courses ..............................................................................52 Hotels ............................................................................................54 Meeting facilities ...................................................................56 Tourist attractions .................................................................59 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ............................ 60 Insurance agencies ..............................................................61 Law firms ....................................................................................62 IT services providers............................................................63 Accounting firms ..................................................................64 COMMUNICATIONS ....................................... 65 Advertising and public relations firms ..................66 Web design firms ..................................................................68 GENERAL INTEREST ....................................... 69 Central Mass. 100 ..................................................................70 Chambers of commerce ..................................................76 Highest-paid CEOs ...............................................................77 Highest-paid nonprofit chief executives ..............79 Human service nonprofits ..............................................80 Private foundations .............................................................81 Shopping centers .................................................................82 Women-owned businesses ..........................................83 INDEXES Ad Index ..................................................................................... 84 Book of Lists Index .............................................................. 86 INDEX BY INDUSTRY CATEGORY Accounting firms ........................................................................64 Advertising and PR firms .......................................................66 Banks ......................................................................................................8 Biomedical companies............................................................42 Central Mass. 100 ........................................................................70 Chambers of commerce ........................................................76 Clean energy companies.......................................................44 Colleges and universities .......................................................30 Commercial leases .....................................................................36 Commercial sales ........................................................................38 Credit unions .................................................................................12 Golf courses ....................................................................................52 Green buildings ...........................................................................39 Highest-paid CEOs .....................................................................77 Highest-paid nonprofit chief executives.....................79 Health insurers ..............................................................................24 Hospitals ...........................................................................................26 Hotels ..................................................................................................54 Human service nonprofits ....................................................80 Insurance agencies ....................................................................61 IT services providers ..................................................................63 Law firms ..........................................................................................62 Manufacturers ...............................................................................46 Meeting facilities .........................................................................56 Mergers and acquisitions ......................................................15 Physician groups .........................................................................25 Plastics companies .....................................................................47 Private foundations ...................................................................81 Private schools ..............................................................................32 SBA lenders .....................................................................................16 SBA loans ..........................................................................................17 Shopping centers .......................................................................82 Skilled nursing facilities ...........................................................22 Software and hardware companies ...............................48 Tourist attractions .......................................................................59 Venture capital deals ................................................................18 Web design firms ........................................................................68 Women-owned businesses .................................................83 ALPHABETICAL LIST INDEX COVER PHOTO: Will Sherwood

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