I am writing a Blog post about sites that have been sandboxed by the SE's. If anyone knows of a big company that has been sandboxed for any reason then please let me know. All contributions are greatly appreciated
The sandbox is an aging filter that applies only to new/newer domains, and only to certain competitive keywords - Most "big companies" have had a web presence for quite some time - and the sandbox wouldn't even apply.
Sandbox is only applied to new domains and it is not a penalty. you can call it a probation period during which google will observe your site if you are following proper rules or not.
Sandbox is temporary. We don't need to worry that much. Keep building links, when time to come you will get uot of sandbox.