A company's image at home isn't everything
William Patalon III -- The Economy

When homebuilder Ryland Group Inc. opted last year to take its Columbia headquarters to California, it left a big hole in the community, since the company was a solid employer and great corporate citizen - it was always being good about participating in charitable and civic efforts.

That move struck a chord with local pollster Carol Arscott, co-owner of Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies Inc. of Annapolis. For Arscott, who lives in Howard County, the announced move drove home the importance of corporate headquarters to a community, and to the state - a point economic-development experts everywhere have tried to drive home for years.

"These corporate headquarters end up being important to the pride of a community," Arscott says.

Thanks to this epiphany, Arscott's firm did its own study - using registered voters - of state-based companies in January, looking at how well Marylanders recognize and perceive some of the 15 largest public companies (by revenues) in their midst. The results are interesting from several perspectives. For one thing, recognition tended to be fairly high - particularly for companies that market products or services to consumers. But even more interesting was that, despite fewer than 10 months having passed since the study was finished, a number of the companies with strong image ratings among Marylanders have already seen their fortunes change, demonstrating that even local companies are not immune to national, or even global, market forces. Consider these companies:

Look first at McCormick & Co., which was viewed favorably by 84 percent of those polled - the highest of any Maryland-based public company. Its stock was recently at 1991 levels - despite record sales and profit - because the food sector is out of favor with Wall Street. Investors may also be penalizing the Sparks-based spice-and-seasonings company for being reticent about enlarging its scope of business, despite McCormick's record of fine management.

Black & Decker Corp. of Towson has had its shares halved from their 1998 high of just above $65, in part due to worries that a housing slowdown might bite the company's power tools business. It was viewed favorably by 82 percent of those polled, placing it second.

Then there's BGE Corp., the fourth-most-admired company, viewed favorably by 79 percent of those polled, which is going through deregulation.

Other companies have felt the push of market forces, too.

Snyder Communications Inc., the Bethesda-based direct marketing company, anticipated a consolidation in its industry and in February agreed to sell out to a French firm for $2.1 billion. Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed viewed this company favorably, ranking it 11th.

Columbia-based U.S. Foodservice - ranked 12th and admired by 37 percent of those polled - agreed in March to be bought by Dutch food giant Royal Ahold NV for $3.6 billion.

Then there's Integrated Health Services, the Sparks-based nursing home operator, which filed for bankruptcy protection in February. The company - ranked 15th and viewed favorably by 61 percent of those surveyed - was the victim of changing Medicare regulations and overly aggressive management. Its stock, which traded above $39 in April 1998, traded this week at 14 cents.

Not that the news for the Maryland economy - or state companies - is all bad. New companies have come here: W. R. Grace & Co., one of the world's best-known chemical companies, and Magellan Health Services Inc., the largest manager of mental health care plans, have both moved their corporate headquarters to Columbia. And the Maryland's economy remains one of the best performers of the 50 states. So, if there's a message behind the changes these companies have seen in the not quite 10 months since this survey was done, it's this: Market forces - like time - wait for no one. Even local firms are not immune from what's happening across the country or around the world.

"If we do the list again next January, it will be entirely different," Arscott says.