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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 BO O K O F L I S T S 2 0 1 8 I n the movie "High Fidelity," record store owner Rob Gordon (played ex- pertly by John Cusack) takes Top lists to a level of obsession: Rob's Desert Island Top (favorite songs), Rob's Top Dream Jobs and, because the movie is also about a string of romantic heartbreaks, Top Most Memorable Breakups. is edition of the Mainebiz Book of Lists does not have any of those lists. But even Rob Gordon might appreciate the breadth of the lists we do o er — some three-dozen in a range of industries and categories, including corporate, education and nonpro ts, nance, health, hospital- ity and entertainment, industry, profes- sional services, real estate and salary data. You don't have to be a list geek to appreciate the "List Toppers" on Page . is is the list of lists, if you will. Cianbro tops three lists: Largest con- struction rms, as you might expect, but also the list of Maine's largest em- ployee-owned businesses, or ESOPs. Cianbro indirectly tops the list of top Maine-based transportation projects: the project is the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge replacement, whose contractor is, you guessed it, Cianbro. L.L.Bean tops the list of Maine's largest family-owned businesses. IDEXX Laboratories Inc. continues to hold the spot as the largest Maine-based public company, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc. again holds the distinction as the larg- est non-Maine public company doing business here. IDEXX CEO Jonathan Ayers tops the list of Maine's highest- paid public company executives. Maine Medical Center tops two lists: It is Maine's largest private employer, taking over from Hannaford, and is also Maine's largest hospital. New wrinkles is year we have added some new features to the Book of Lists. Readers have frequently asked us to include context like how the list lead- ers ranked in previous years, and we've responded. On the list of Maine-based banks, we go back ve years to look at how the landscape has changed. On other lists, we include "nuggets" that provide additional context. One example is Maine's largest commer- cial property sales, where we add detail about the size and scope of the deals. Connections Readers may see connections between companies and organizations at the tops of lists and Mainebiz stories you have read through the year. Atop the list of Maine's largest Small Business Administration loans, you'll see Maine Beer Co. Anyone driving by the brew- ery's Freeport headquarters can see the ,-square-foot expansion going on; readers might have also taken note that Mainebiz honored the company's founders, Daniel and David Kleban, with a Next award. A note of gratitude is would not come together with- out the editorial team behind the Book of Lists: Stephanie Meagher, our Worcester, Mass.-based research direc- tor; Heide Martin, research assistant; Mark Jeanneret, project manager; and Matt Selva, Mainebiz art director, who can take a shoebox full of random infor- mation and put it together in a logical way that looks good. I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge our sales sta : Ken Hanson, Andrea Tetzla and Betsy VanderPloeg, led by Publisher Donna Brassard. I also want to thank the lead- ers who have taken part in Mainebiz "On the Road" roundtables, literally from Kittery to Fort Kent. It's those leaders, many of whom are astute read- ers of our print and digital editions, who provide critical feedback that informs our decisions. My thank-you list would not t into a Top . Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz You don't have to be a list geek to love the BOL F R O M T H E E D I TO R Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently Readers have frequently asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include asked us to include context like how the list leaders ranked in previous years, and we've responded.

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