Following an upturn
in the global economy, here we examine two of the highest grossing companies
worldwide. Investors the world over like
entrepreneur Tony Freeman will be keeping a keen eye on up and coming companies
throughout 2015, forging ahead amongst the green shoots of recovery.
Toyota Motors
Toyota Motor
Corporation is based in the city of the same name in Aichi, Japan. Founded on 28th August 1937 by Kiichiro
Toyoda, this public company employs some 338,875 workers worldwide. As at November 2014, the company was ranked
the 12th largest in the world by revenue.
In 2012, Toyota was the largest producer of automobiles in the world,
placing them ahead of General Motors and the Volkswagen Group. Toyota reported the production of its 200
millionth vehicle in July of that year.
The company is the first car manufacturer to produce over 10 million
vehicles a year. As at July 2014, the
Toyota Motor Corporation was listed as the largest in Japan by market
capitalisation.
Kiichiro Toyoda
created the company in 1937 as a spinoff from his father's Toyota
Industries. Whilst Toyota Industries manufactured
automobile and truck parts, Kiichiro Toyoda wanted to concentrate solely on the
production of automobiles.
In the 40s and 50s,
Toyota's small-sized cars were sold under the name "Toyopet". Toyopet production went on to include light
trucks. When the Toyopet was released on
the American market the name proved unpopular and was later dropped, though it continued
to be used in other markets until the mid 60s.
In the 1990s,
Toyota branched out from the manufacture of reasonably priced compact cars and
light vans, adding many more larger and more luxurious models. These included several lines of SUVs, a
full-sized pickup branded the T100 (later renamed the Tundra) and the Scion
brand which was a range of sporty yet affordable cars targeted at young
adults. In 1997, Toyota began production
of the world's best selling hybrid car: the Prius. This award winning car is definitely one for those
watching the market like Tony Freeman to keep an eye on, proving popular
with both the general public and celebrities alike as an environmentally
responsible alternative to relying solely on petroleum
Toyota ranked eighth
in the Forbes list of leading companies in 2005. In 2014 Toyota achieved a $230,201 million
revenue for the sale of motor vehicles and car parts, equating to sales of over
$7,000 per second.
BP
BP, or British
Petroleum as it was formerly known, is one of six of the world's
"supermajor" gas and oil companies.
Its headquarters are situated in London.
The company deals with not only oil refining and production but also
distribution and marketing, power generation, petrochemicals, trading and
exploration. BP also has interests in
renewable energy including wind power and biofuels.
The company,
original trading as the Ango-Iranian Oil Company and Iraq Petroleum Company,
was founded in 1908 after a team of British geologists discovered a substantial
amount of oil in Masjid-i-Suleiman, Iran.
This was the first commercially significant discovery of oil in the
whole of the Middle East. The Shah of
Iran granted William Knox D'Arcy a concession, enabling Britain to drill for
Iranian Oil. Following the establishment
of the Burmah Oil Company, a subsidiary of Anglo-Persian Oil, the Abadan
Refinery was constructed in 1912 and the pipeline from Abadan to Masjid
started. In 1915, the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company established the British Tanker Company, enabling them to distribute
petroleum all over the world.
The Deepwater
Horizon Explosion
On 20th April 2010
an explosion and subsequent fire on the semi-submersible Deepwater Horizon
Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit caused both an environmental and a public
relations disaster. Located some 40
miles to the southeast of the Louisiana coast in the Macondo Prospect oil
field, the rig was operated by Transocean, a company drilling for BP. The explosion injured 16 workers, killed 11
and sinking the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
A total of 115 people were evacuated, 98 by lifeboat and 17 by
helicopter to trauma centres. The
accident resulted in a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which
is considered to have been the largest US environmental disaster to date and
the biggest accidental marine oil spill in global history. In the wake of the incident, BP were
criticised heavily for their involvement.
BP filed $40 billion in lawsuits against the rig owner, Transocean,
alleging that the irresponsible behaviour of contractors and failed systems had
led to the explosion. On 4th September
2014, District Judge Carl Barbier attributed 67% of blame for the incident to
BP, ordering the company to pay fines per barrel spilled which, under the Clean
Water Act can be awarded up to $4,300 per barrel, at the discretion of the
judge. The court contended that some 4.2
million barrels were spilled, causing an ecological disaster on Louisiana's
beaches and a PR nightmare for BP. BP's
appeal is ongoing.
In 2004, the company topped sales of over $9,000 per second, amounting to a $291,438 million annual revenue.
