Ten companies to watch in 2014

Some are planning major expansions or restructuring. Some are poised for explosive growth. Others are facing some daunting challenges. But we expect all of them to be making news next year. Here are our picks, in alphabetical order, for the 10 Northern Colorado companies to watch in 2014:

1 Advanced Energy Industries Inc.

Advanced (Nasdaq: AEIS) has emerged from a restructuring that it believes will reduce costs by $72 million in 2014. Analysts have noted the company’s progress, with Needham & Co. rating the stock as a buy and raising its price target to $27 from $23. The company has a three-year goal to achieve $3 growth in earnings per share.

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2 Advantage Bank

This Loveland-based institution has been under strict supervision by banking regulators since 2009. Key health indicators steadily deteriorated during 2013, and 2014 may be a make-or-break year for the bank.

3 Avago Technologies Inc.

Avago (Nasdaq: AVGO) plans to buy data storage and network company LSI Corp. (Nasdaq: LSI) for $11.15 per share in a $6.6 billion cash transaction. Avago, a major player in the wireless communications business, already has a strong presence in Fort Collins with three expansions announced at its Ziegler Road campus within the past three years. Once the LSI acquisition closes during the first half of 2014, Avago will have combined employment of more than 1,000 people in Fort Collins and $5 billion in revenue. Details of how the merger will affect both companies aren’t yet known, but employees say they hope they learn more soon.

4 Banner Health

The health system’s construction of a hospital in Fort Collins could be seen as a power play by competitors, and will bolster membership numbers for its partner in the Northern Colorado region, Kaiser Permanente passed 10,000 members in Northern Colorado in 2013 and is poised for even more growth as Banner Health’s reach widens.

5 Brinkman Partners

The real estate construction, acquisition and management company has nearly doubled its staff since the recession ended and has opened a new office in downtown Fort Collins. The year 2014 will see the construction of a new headquarters for the company, with space for even more growth.

6 CBRE

The world’s largest commercial real estate company laid its claim to Northern Colorado in 2013, adding an office filled with brokers poached from existing Northern Colorado firms. The Fortune 500 company will have an impact on both the face of real estate and economic development in the region in 2014.

7 Encana Corp.

Encana (NYSE: ECA), which drills natural-gas wells around Erie, returned to profitability this year after posting losses. The company earned $188 million during the third quarter versus a $1.2 billion loss during the same period a year earlier. Led by a new chief executive, former BP executive Doug Suttles, the company plans to ramp up liquids production by 30 percent in 2014. Encana is suspending drilling in the Piceance Basin on the Western Slope, but in Northern Colorado it will invest $250 million to $300 million in 2014.

8 Noble Energy Inc.

Noble (NYSE: NBL) will invest $2 billion in Northern Colorado in 2014, up from $1.4 billion in 2013 as it aims to capitalize on the ongoing oil boom. It’s not alone, of course. Anadarko, based in The Woodlands, Texas, will invest $1.7 billion, up from $1.5 billion in 2013. Denver-based PDC Energy will invest $469 million, a 72 percent increase from the $272 million invested in 2013.

9 OtterBox

In 2013, Fort Collins-based OtterBox acquired its largest rival, mobile-case manufacturer LifeProof, for $325 million, according to Moody’s Investors Service. OtterBox says it has set aggressive goals for 2014, with plans to expand its manufacturing internationally and maintain its position as a global industry leader. Meanwhile, it is contesting a lawsuit filed by a former employee turned whistleblower who accused the company of underpaying import taxes from products manufactured in China. OtterBox is vigorously contesting the matter and has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

10 University of Colorado Health

UC Health is growing up and down the Front Range, with hospitals from Colorado Springs to Cheyenne, Wyo. The organization will find a new leader in 2014 to replace its CEO and president who stepped down in 2013, and to help guide the massive system into a new, reformed future.