Harman-Becker Automotive Systems Inc. plans to shut down its operation in Martinsville in phases this year, and close completely by next January, according to The Reporter Times. The first cuts will begin in April. The plant, which makes Infinity, JBL, Harman Kardon speakers and speaker systems, employs about 340. Last year, the company cut about […]
Roche has successfully turned a hostile takeover bid into a friendly one, winning over the board of Ventana Medical Systems Inc. by hiking the price it would pay by 19 percent. Swiss-based Roche, which operates its North American diagnostic division out of Indianapolis, would pay $3.4 billion under a merger agreement signed by the boards […]
A pair of local high-tech heavyweights are scheduled to speak today at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Bob Laikin, CEO of Plainfield-based wireless device distributor Brightpoint Inc., will visit the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Bloomington as a distinguished entrepreneur-in-residence. Laikin will speak at a faculty lunch, then spend the afternoon visiting […]
Emerson Motor Co. has laid off nearly a third of the workers at an electric motor plant in the southern Indiana town of Princeton, the St. Louis company said late last week. Fifty-two of the 170 employees were put on temporary layoff after the market softened, Emerson said. The plant makes motors for hospital beds […]
Board members of Johnson Memorial Hospital in Franklin are willing to work with outside parties but have no plans to sell or merge the facility, the Daily Journal of Franklin reported today. In a statement, the board of the 149-bed, county-owned hospital asked Johnson County residents for patience as it evaluates its short- and long-term […]
If General Electric Co. follows through on its plan to close its Bloomington refrigerator plant, local not-for-profits are likely to feel pain. Employees at the sprawling facility donated $54,000 and the company gave $21,500 last year to the Monroe County United Way. That made GE the second-largest work place contributor, according to The Herald-Times of […]
Civic boosters in Delphi fear the town northeast of Lafayette will become just another bedroom community, so they’re fighting back. They want the town, population 2,977, to become more of a destination for shoppers and tourists, according to the Journal & Courier of Lafayette. Once a commercial hub on the Wabash and Erie Canal, Delphi […]
Small businesses in the Muncie area are struggling to compete for employees against IBM and Sallie Mae now that the giants have opened locations in the region. Sallie Mae has hired 70 workers since opening a call center in Muncie in late 2006, and an IBM customer service center in Daleville has hired about 200 […]
While the rest of the state struggles to hold its own through the national housing downturn, the Columbus area is thriving. Bartholomew County, where Columbus is the seat, saw the median house price rise 8.7 percent, to $139,000, in the third quarter, according to The Republic, the city’s daily newspaper. Nationally, the median price fell […]
Columbia City-based 80/20 Inc., which makes modular aluminum framing for industry, plans to spend $5 million to expand its manufacturing and distribution center and add at least 40 jobs by 2010. Machining and manufacturing technology will be upgraded as part of the project. 80/20 Inc. employs 210 workers in its design, manufacturing and distribution center […]
The new owners of Lafayette Square Mall plan to add entertainment on weekends as part of their efforts to revitalize the property, the mall said today. New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition, which closed the deal early this month, has set about filling the empty space. But it also wants to rejuvenate the property to make it […]
Just when Interactive Intelligence Inc. was enjoying an extended run up in its stock price, more than half its value has been lost in the past few weeks. Shares in the Indianapolis-based software firm have fallen to $13, down from $28 in late December. The stock had undergone a sustained recovery after the technology bust […]
Community Hospitals of Indiana Inc. has named Mark Dixon president. Dixon had served as Community’s chief operating officer since 2003. Community spokeswoman Lynda de Widt said Dixon is not replacing another executive, but she would not elaborate. The Community system includes campuses on east, north and south sides of Indianapolis as well as Community Home […]
Former Indianapolis Colts tight end Ken Dilger, in a plan pitched yesterday to Anderson city officials, said he aims to buy and revitalize foreclosed houses, and then sell them to low- and moderate-income buyers. The Spencer County native, who played seven seasons with the Colts, owns Legends Title, a title insurance company, and Dilger Financial […]
Property near the Cabela’s outdoor store under construction in Greenwood will be developed with a cinema, grocery store, restaurants and other shops. Lopp Properties, a developer based in the southern Indiana city of New Albany, signed a contract recently for rights to build on the 100-acre property, according to the Daily Journal of Franklin. The […]
The new car assembly plant Honda Manufacturing of Indiana is building at Greensburg might make more than the Civic compact. In an interview this week with the trade publication Automotive News, a Honda official said the plant initially will make Civics. That will allow the company’s East Liberty, Ohio, plant to boost production of its […]
The Midwestern economy continued a pattern of slow growth in December and early January, the Federal Reserve Bank said today in its Beige Book report. Businesses made few changes to their spending plans and consumer spending was mixed, the report said. Home construction continued to decline and nonresidential construction began to slow. A modest expansion […]
New York-based Crown Properties Inc. has bought out its joint-venture partner on downtown’s First Indiana Plaza. The partner, an affiliate of Connecticut-based Greenfield Partners LLC, said today that it has sold its ownership interest in the 425,000-square-foot skyscraper at Ohio and Pennsylvania streets. Greenfield did not disclose a price. Crown has been trying to sell […]
Governor hopeful Jill Long Thompson told a group in Bloomington yesterday that she supports the Interstate 69 extension from Indianapolis to Evansville. The former congresswoman is running to become the Democratic nominee to face Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels in the general election this fall. She said the extension is needed to link Evansville to Indianapolis, […]
Locally based Fusion Alliance said today it plans to spend more than $2 million to expand its headquarters and add at least 110 jobs by 2010. Fusion Alliance employs 190 in Indianapolis and 30 in Cincinnati. It expects to begin hiring consultants, application developers, Web designers, business analysts and project managers this year, with most of […]
