Alexander & Baldwin makes Fortune list

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. usually doesn't get a lot of attention in national business circles because of its remote Hawai'i location and odd diversification in ocean transportation, real estate and agriculture.

But the Honolulu-based company recently made a Fortune Magazine list of America's most admired companies, and received the highest overall score in one of eight judging criteria: social responsibility.

"First thing I thought was that somebody was kidding me," said Allen Doane, A&B president and chief executive officer. "In my wildest dreams I did not think we would be rated with the largest companies in the country."

It was the first time A&B made the list, published since 1985. This year's list, published in Fortune's March 3 issue, was created by 10,000 executives, directors and securities analysts who considered qualities of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies based on revenue.

A&B in a few previous years had qualified for consideration with more than $1 billion in revenue, but was always judged in categories where it did not stand out.

This year, A&B was grouped in a new transportation category, one of 66 industry groups, and it earned a spot on the list by placing second in its industry. A&B is the parent company of Matson Navigation.

The list does not order the roughly 600 finalists because voting executives, directors and analysts scored only other companies in their category. But Fortune, which noted that some industry groups tend to grade more generously than others, did list the top three companies in each of the eight criteria.

For social responsibility, A&B had the highest score, ahead of Johnson & Johnson and American Express. A&B also received high marks in financial soundness and management quality.

In the transportation category, A&B ranked second of four companies, behind C.H. Robinson Worldwide, and ahead of ATA Holdings and Hub Group.