????《財富》雜志將推出系列報道聚焦今年美國500強的員工、公司和發展趨勢，本文為系列報道之首。

????當一個公司正式成為財富美國500強一員時，會發生怎樣的變化？這樣的地位提升對公司是不是一件變革性的大事？人們會不會覺得公司自助餐廳的食物突然變得更美味了？員工走在辦公室里有沒有頭抬得更高，接電話的語調更莊重了？

????當我在星期一驅車向西，從紐約市前往阿特維斯總部所在地——新澤西的帕西帕尼地區時，心里一直琢磨著這些問題。這家仿制藥和特種制藥公司剛成為24家新晉財富美國500強企業之一，名列第432位。

????2013年的新晉公司涵蓋面頗廣。有社交媒體巨頭Facebook，它在頗具爭議的IPO后不到一年的時間里躋身榜單第482位；也有煉油商Phillips 66，從康菲石油（ConocoPhillips）剝離后一舉登上榜單第4名的位置。

????但我還是決定去阿特維斯進行首場財富美國500強探訪。這倒不僅是因為我喜歡新澤西綠茵叢叢的小鎮和花園式辦公區，更重要的是阿特維斯最近發生了很多事。該公司生產立普妥（Lipitor）和維柯丁（Vicodin）的仿制藥。它擁有十分暢銷的多動癥（ADHD）和低睪丸素治療藥品，口服避孕藥業務規模也相當龐大。要說最大的一件事，還是這家制藥商在完成并購案后從華生制藥更名為阿特維斯之舉，這方面一會兒再詳細闡述。

????我抵達后和阿特維斯CEO保羅?比薩羅坐進了會議室，那天早上剛發布了新的財富美國500強名單。我想知道阿特維斯有沒有在等待這個消息，主管們有沒有意識到2012年59億美元的收入已經能讓公司從2011年的第515位躍進500強？在我把財富美國500強的帽子和徽章贈送給比薩羅時，他說道：“實際上，這個消息對我們來說是個驚喜。我沒有特別關注這事，但知道阿特維斯進入了500強，我很高興，對我們來說它的意義會很深遠。”

????這并不是我想象中會得到的答復。不過鑒于阿特維斯正處在忙季，我也就原諒了比薩羅沒有那么高度關注500強的新聞。兩周前，阿特維斯的股價首次突破每股100美元。昨天阿特維斯的股價已經達到每股107美元，自2011年初以來上漲超過一倍，輕松跑贏對手邁蘭（Mylan）和梯瓦制藥（Teva Pharmaceutical）。上周阿特維斯發布第一季度財報，宣布上調2013財年盈利預期。

????實際上，在我來之前，比薩羅正和一些投資者在開會。當然投資者都很想知道比薩羅手上的數據，但他們更關心的是，最近關于阿特維斯可能會被加拿大Valeant國際制藥公司（Valeant Pharmaceuticals International）收購的報道。Valeant是一家并購型公司，在過去的5年里完成了逾30起交易。“當然每個人都想聊聊這個傳言，”比薩羅說道，“但我們也絕不談論任何傳言，所以會議很短。”

????This is the first in a regular series of stories that will be focused on people, companies, and trends in the Fortune 500.

????How do things change for a company on the day when it officially joins the Fortune 500? Is the status upgrade a transformative event? Does the food in the cafeteria suddenly taste better? Do employees walk around the office with their heads held a little higher and answer the phone with a bit more gravitas in their voice?

????I found myself pondering these questions on Monday as I drove west from New York City to the Parsippany, N.J., headquarters of Actavis (ACT), the generic and specialty pharmaceutical company and, at No. 432, one of 24 new members of the Fortune 500 this year.

????The list of newcomers in 2013 includes companies as diverse as social media giant Facebook (FB), which made it at No. 482 less than a year after its controversial IPO, and oil refiner Phillips 66 (PSX), which debuted at No. 4 after being spun off from ConocoPhillips (COP).

????But I decided to spend Fortune 500 day at Actavis -- and not just because I like leafy New Jersey towns with office parks. A lot has been going on lately at the company, which makes generic versions of Lipitor and Vicodin, has big-selling medications that address ADHD and low testosterone, and is huge in oral contraceptives. The single biggest development is that the drugmaker recently changed its name from Watson Pharmaceuticals to Actavis after a merger -- but more on that in a moment.

????I arrived and sat down with CEO Paul Bisaro in a conference room. The new 500 had just been released that morning. Had Actavis been waiting for the call, I wondered? Did the executives realize that the company's $5.9 billion in 2012 revenue would be enough to make the jump from No. 515 last year to full 500 status? "Actually, it was a surprise," said Bisaro, after I presented him with a Fortune 500 hat and lapel pin. "I hadn't focused on it. But I'm just happy that we're here. I think it's going to be great."

????Not precisely the answer I was looking for. But knowing that it's been a busy time at Actavis, I was willing to forgive Bisaro for letting the 500 news sneak up on him. Two weeks ago the company's stock price passed $100 per share for the first time. At $107 yesterday, the stock has more than doubled since the beginning of 2011 and has easily outperformed that of rivals Mylan (MYL) and Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA). And when the company released its first-quarter results last week, it boosted its earnings projections for 2013.

????In fact, moments before I showed up Bisaro had been meeting with a group of investors. They were interested in his numbers, of course, but mostly they wanted to ask about recent reportsthat Actavis might be bought by Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX), a particularly acquisitive company that has done more than 30 deals in the past five years. "Of course everyone wanted to talk about the rumor," said Bisaro. "But of course we don't talk about rumors so it was a very short conversation."