Fremont: Recession is looked as a dull period, where companies report record losses, or have to leave the market. Here are few companies that took a positive approach, started off during the economic downturn, and have emerged successfully.

FedEx

FedEx was founded in 1973, during the recession in 1973-75 by Frederick W. Smith. Recognizing the need for a fast and efficient airfreight, owing to a stint in the Army, Smith purchased a controlling interest in Arkansas Aviation Sales and founded Federal Express, now known as FedEx. On the first day of business itself, FedEx managed to deliver 186 packages across 25 cities in U.S. With revenue of $39.3 billion in 2011, FedEx now delivers more than 7.5 million packages to more than 375 destinations in almost every country, everyday.