Layoffs and factory closings make plenty of headlines, but Midwestern states are quietly making admirable progress in exporting more manufactured products, according to Bill Testa, chief economist of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Manufacturing exports likely increased 11 percent last year, Testa said in a new blog posting. That would be the third consecutive […]
A Greenfield distribution center operated by M&M Restaurant Supply will close by Memorial Day as the work is spread to other M&M warehouses, according to the Daily Reporter of Greenfield. The facility employs 83 serving Indiana and Kentucky McDonald’s restaurants. M&M is owned by privately held Keystone Foods LLC, headquartered in the Philadelphia suburb of […]
Emmis Communications Inc. announced yesterday that it made the first in a series of small investments in new technology by buying a “significant” stake in a Vancouver, Canada, developer of online interaction for sports and entertainment. Exponentia Communications Corp. also develops applications for sports and entertainment, and recently signed National Hockey League rights to connect […]
Chris Hamm will leave his post as director of economic development for the city of Noblesville to start a consulting firm called NorthStar LLC. Hamm, whose last day is March 14, has worked for the city 11 years.
Chances could be as high as one-in-three that federal transportation officials will put on a fast track a request by Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio to add special truck lanes along Interstate 70. This summer, the U.S. Department of Transportation plans to pick as many as five projects for its Corridors of the Future program. […]
A proposed study that would look at adding special lanes for trucks on Interstate 70 has cleared its first hurdle at the U.S. Department of Transportation, and now is competing with 13 other projects for a final nod from the federal government. Indiana along with Illinois, Missouri and Ohio applied to the federal Corridor of […]
St. Elmo Steak House spin-off Harry & Izzy’s won unanimous approval for a liquor permit this morning after Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi withdrew as an investor in the $4 million venture, said Dave Heath, chairman of the state’s Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. Questions arose last week about the legality of Brizzi’s 10-percent stake in […]
After WellPoint Inc.’s board last week passed over Chief Financial Officer David C. Colby for the CEO’s job, it gave him a new title and agreed to award him 60,000 shares in restricted stock and stock options if he stays three more years. In addition to continuing as CFO, Colby will be vice chairman, an […]
GM Construction Inc., the Indianapolis construction contractor, has been renamed Garcia Construction Group as part of a reorganization that includes receiving ISO 9000 certification, according to President Charlie Garcia. The company had 55 employees in 2005, ranking as the 13th largest minority-owned business in the Indianapolis area, according to IBJ’s 2006 Book of Lists.
A Collins Aikman Products Co. auto parts plant in Morristown will close by the end of the month, according to The Shelbyville News, quoting a union representative. The plant east of Indianapolis employs 325. Collins-Aikman, of Southfield, Mich., has ended efforts to reorganize under bankruptcy protection that it sought in May 2005, and now is […]
Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to buy Hypnion Inc., a Lexington, Mass., neuroscience drug research firm focused on sleep disorder. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the month.
Kokomo and Tipton are the only Indiana cities where German automotive companies Daimler-Chrysler and Getrag Corporate Group have applied for air-quality permits to build a transmission factory, according to the Kokomo Tribune. The plant would employ 1,200 to make a fuel-efficient dual wet clutch. A representative of United Auto Workers Local 685 told the newspaper […]
College students across the state are avoiding computer science, a field where starting salaries often range from $50,000 to $80,000, because their parents think the jobs are scarce. At Purdue University, for example, only 550 are majoring in computer science fields, down 40 percent since 2002. Nationwide, the number is down 29 percent. In reality, […]
TS Tech North America might create 900 jobs in New Castle as it ramps up to supply seats to the Honda Motor Co. auto assembly plant at Greensburg, according to New Castle Mayor Tom Nipp. The Japanese company will hire 500 jobs with its first shift, then add 350 workers through a second shift. Ultimately, […]
Med Institute Inc., a medical research company in Purdue Research Park, is asking for tax abatements from the West Lafayette Economic Development Commission on $15 million in equipment in order to add 130 positions to the 130 it now has. The jobs would be created over several years, according to the Journal & Courier of […]
Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings Inc. has renewed employment contracts with its three top executives and sweetened their compensation. Salary and minimum bonus for CEO and Chairman Bryan Bedford increased to $787,500 from $510,000. His minimum bonus nearly doubled, to $337,500. Bedford’s contract, which was to expire in July, now extends through June 2008. Smaller boosts […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. and Kobe Steel of Japan plan to build a plant in northern Minnesota to make iron nuggets that burn more efficiently in steel electric arc furnaces than traditional pig iron. The Fort Wayne steelmaker started anew after negotiations on the project with other steel companies sputtered in November. The $235 million project, […]
A Las Vegas investor has injected $300,000 into Standard Management Corp. by buying 3 million shares, according to the Indianapolis company, which sells pharmaceuticals to the long-term care industry. Sam Schmidt and other investors agreed to buy another 17 millions shares if certain collateral conditions are met related to a $2.5 million loan Schmidt made […]
Four complaints have been filed with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office against car dealer Payton Wells since he padlocked his three dealerships in late January. The number is a flurry compared to his record in recent years of only occasional complaints. Wells abruptly closed his Chevrolet dealership at 1510 N. Meridian St. and his Chrysler […]
Fort Wayne steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc. said today it will invest $35 million to boost production of steel bars at its recycling mill at Pittsboro west of Indianapolis. The “debottlenecking” will increase production 45 percent, to 750,000 tons a year. However, the company wasn’t certain whether employment would climb much beyond the 350 now working […]
