Production of a new engine at Caterpillar Inc.’s engine plant in Lafayette will require adding an undisclosed number of workers to the 1,600 who are staffing the facility, the Peoria, Ill., company told The Journal & Courier of Lafayette. The new C175 engine, which will sell for about $500,000, is used for powering electricity generators. […]
Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. is telling 75,000 members that an unencrypted compact disc with their personal and medical information has been lost, according to The New York Times. The members are part of its Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield arm in New York. The disc was sent to Magellan Behavioral Services, a Connecticut firm that […]
Detailed reviews of Chrysler Group have begun by the Canadian auto parts giant Magna International Inc., Cerberus Capital Management LLC and a team of two other leveraged-buyout firms, Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Partners LP, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the discussions. Chrysler’s German parent, Daimler-Chrysler AG, is considering a sale of its American […]
Trustees of Ivy Tech Community College have narrowed their search for a new president to a former Remy International Inc. executive and a U.S. Air Force colonel—and passed over Executive Vice President Carol D’Amico. Internal documents obtained by IBJ show the trustees plan to conduct a fourth interview with the two candidates March 22 to […]
Boston Scientific Corp. said today that it is exploring an initial public offering for its Endosurgery group, which focuses on less-invasive surgery. The group operates an 800-employee manufacturing plant in the southern Indiana community of Spencer. The spinoff would be majority-owned by the Massachusetts company, and the $1 billion-plus in IPO proceeds would be used […]
Gregory J. Scharnott, executive vice president of operations at Patrick Industries Inc., has resigned immediately to “pursue other options,” the Elkhart company announced this morning. Chief Financial Officer Andy Nemeth said Patrick would only say Scharnott left yesterday. Patrick manufactures components for manufactured homes and recreational vehicles.
An Evansville-based maker of plastic cups has absorbed another plastics company to form what might be the continent’s largest plastic packaging firm. Berry Plastics Group Inc. announced yesterday it had merged with Covalence Specialty Materials Holding Corp. of Bedminster, N.J., in a stock swap arranged by the owner of both companies, the New York private […]
Indiana steel jobs could suffer as China exports more and more subsidized steel to keep its people employed, according to The Times of Munster. The 480 million metric tons of crude steel China is expected to send abroad this year would be at least 13 percent more than 2006 and triple 2000 levels. The subsidies […]
The state of Montana has sued Eli Lilly and Co. for marketing its Zyprexa antipsychotic drug for off-label uses—the seventh state to make such claims. The lawsuit alleges the Indianapolis drugmaker owes the state for drug costs and harming patients after promoting the drug to sedate nursing home patients and giving kickbacks to doctors, according […]
SPX Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., has sold its Contech Inc. division to Marathon Asset Management LLC, a New York private equity firm, for $146 million. Contech, which is headquartered in Portage, Mich., has one plant each at Pierceton and Auburn near Fort Wayne and another at Mishawaka. SPX said the manufacturer of aluminum auto parts […]
A developer has asked for tax abatements on a medical complex and office buildings he hopes to build in the Eastport Centre industrial park in Valparaiso, according to The Times of Munster. George Uzelac envisions the project, which has been approved by the city’s Redevelopment Commission, to include six buildings employing 450. City economic development […]
Copperfield LLC, a Bremen-based maker of copper wire and cable, has been bought by Coleman Cable Inc. of Waukegan, Ill., for $213 million in cash. Copperfield, which bought International Wire Group insulated wire plants in Avilla, Ind., and El Paso, Texas, in late 2005, was owned by Spell Capital Partners of Minneapolis. The Coleman acquisition […]
Job numbers increased 1.6 percent in the Indianapolis area in January from the same month last year, according to new figures from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. The region, which includes Marion and surrounding counties as well as Brown and Putnam counties, had 911,200 jobs. The increase was broad, as categories ranging from transportation […]
The best undergraduate business schools in the state all slipped several notches in the latest ranking released today by Business Week magazine. The University of Notre Dame fell to 7th from 3rd place in 2006, the first year the magazine undertook undergraduate rankings. Indiana University slid to 18th from 10th; and Purdue University tumbled to […]
A request to rezone 425 acres near the Honda Motor Co. plant near Greensburg was turned down in a 5-4 vote yesterday by the Decatur County Area Plan Board. California-based Panattoni Development LLC asked to change the zoning from agricultural to industrial in order to develop the land for light manufacturing and warehousing. Projects like […]
WellPoint Inc.’s California subsidiary drove down prices to “artificial levels substantially below market value” for doctors caring for workers’ compensation patients, according to a lawsuit filed by physicians today in a state court in Los Angeles. The suit seeks class-action status and triple damages from WellPoint Health Networks and Blue Cross of California, which are […]
Developers are launching speculative building projects in the Fort Wayne area because industrial space is becoming scarce, according to The Journal Gazette. Citing an annual report by The Zachary Co., the newspaper said the vacancy rate fell to 8 percent from 12 percent in 2005. Buildings with at least 60,000 square feet are in particularly […]
Indiana gambling regulators have fined Casino Aztar in Evansville $160,500 after arriving at a settlement over inaccurate counts on admissions, according to The Courier-Journal of Louisville. Tax payments are based on admissions. Indiana Gaming Commission Executive Director Ernie Yelton said Aztar would have been fined more had it not cooperated.
M2M Holdings Inc. has been renamed Consona Corp. to reflect growth it has experienced through seven acquisitions, the Indianapolis software maker said today. Consona was taken from the concept of “consonance,” meaning alignment of elements in a single entity. The company has been restructured into three divisions, one of which sells Made2Manage software for manufacturers. […]
International Outsourcing Services of Bloomington and 11 individuals have been charged in a 25-count indictment by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin for allegedly participating in a “wire-fraud scheme to defraud” manufacturers that use coupons in marketing products to consumers. Bloomington individuals charged include CEO Bruce A. Furr, Executive Vice President Lance […]
