Toyota Motor Corp. probably will look closely at Indiana as it adds assembly plants to meet its rising sales, according to Kim Hill, associate director of the not-for-profit Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. Now ramping up its Tundra pickup truck plant in San Antonio, the Japanese automaker is thought to be considering sites […]
A drug Eli Lilly and Co. is developing to prevent blood clots is the most important in Lilly’s pipeline, according to a report on TheStreet.com this morning. Prasugrel, which aims to prevent heart attacks and strokes, faces important clinical trials this year, and could yield several billion dollars in sales. However, its impact on the […]
Warsaw orthopedic equipment maker Symmetry Medical Inc. paid $10 million for U.K.-based Whedon Ltd. and its subsidiary, Clamonta Ltd. The deal was announced Jan. 9 but the price was not disclosed at the time. Symmetry disclosed the price in a Securities and Exchange filing late yesterday. The company, which forges parts for airplane engines, is […]
Hat World, the Indianapolis subsidiary of Nashville, Tenn.-based Genesco Inc., has closed its acquisition of Hat Shack Inc. for $16.6 million. Marietta, Ga.-based Hat Shack operates 49 retail hat stores, mostly in the Southeast. Genesco bought Hat World Corp. in 2004 for $177.4 million. Hat World was one of Indianapolis’ top entrepreneurship success stories, having […]
Several auto-parts suppliers have avoided locating plants in Shelby County because they don’t want to compete against Honda Motor Co. for workers, Shelby County economic development chief Dan Theobald told The Shelbyville News. The Japanese auto maker is building a $550 million assembly plant in adjoining Decatur County. However, Shelby County, which is southeast of […]
Outspoken General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Robert Lutz told reporters yesterday that it is being out-muscled in Washington, D.C., by Toyota lobbyists. Toyota, the nation’s third-largest automaker behind GM and Ford Motor Co., is treated well because its sales are rising and it has a growing number of factories in many states, Lutz said in a The New […]
Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it was unable to find a buyer for its east-side Indianapolis steering-systems plant and thus will close it by the end of next year, The Associated Press reported. The plant employs more than 1,500 workers. Ford spokeswoman Della DePietro told AP the plant was too large to attract buyers. The automaker […]
Eli Lilly and Co. revealed in a regulatory filing today that the recent settlement of a Zyprexa class-action lawsuit cost $495 million, according to Bloomberg. The Indianapolis pharmaceutical company announced Jan. 4 that it had reached the agreement on 18,000 claims, leaving 1,200 remaining to resolve. The plaintiffs claimed the drug caused them to gain […]
Champps Entertainment Inc., which operates two of its casual dining eateries in Indianapolis, has agreed to be bought by Kinderhook Industries LLC for $75 million. Kinderhook Industries is a New York-based private-equity firm. Champps plans to reinvest the sale proceeds in another business. There are about 65 Champps restaurants in 22 states.
Eli Lilly and Co. said today it will invest “significant resources” in biotechnology manufacturing in Indianapolis and offer voluntary buyouts to 250 workers in Lafayette as part of a shake-up of global manufacturing operations. The Indianapolis drug maker said it will expand Indianapolis operations in order to turn active ingredients made at an expanded site […]
Interactive Intelligence opens regional office in Virginia Interactive Intelligence, the Indianapolis-based business software developer, has opened an office in Herndon, Va., to oversee service, sales support and education in the Eastern United States. The office is half hour’s drive west of Washington, D.C., where Interactive counts the military and several government agencies as customers.
Fortune Industries Inc.’s first-quarter profit fell 14 percent, to $726,000, from the year-ago quarter. The Indianapolis-based holding company for wireless technology and human resources companies attributed the drop to an increase in interest expense and stock dividends. Revenue in the period ended Nov. 30 grew 12 percent, to $40.7 million.
An affiliate of IBM wants to spend $2.5 million to open a customer service center in a former school in Marion. The center, which would be part of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ privatization of the collection and management of data for the Family and Social Services Administration, would answer questions about Medicaid, welfare and other FSSA […]
Armor Metal Group plans to lay off 112 workers at its plant at Madison in southern Indiana, according to a filing the company made with the state. The layoff will be carried out by March, the filing said. Officials for the Mason, Ohio-based company were not immediately for comment. Armor Metal’s Web site said 160 […]
Northwest Airlines Corp. and Delta Air Lines Inc. have engaged in talks about merging after they emerge from bankruptcy protection, according to The Wall Street Journal. Northwest is the largest carrier at Indianapolis International Airport, carrying approximately 22 percent of all passengers. Earlier today, US Airways Inc. said it boosted its offer for Delta to […]
Pierceton-based Paragon Medical Inc., which makes orthopedic surgical products, has acquired OMC Precision Products Ltd. and Tutela Medicus Inc., reports the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne. The purchase price for the two Indianapolis-based firms was not disclosed. OMC makes spinal implants and Tutela is a product development firm for the medical device industry. The 70 […]
An owner of Royal Spa Corp. is upset about a release the Indiana Attorney General’s Office issued today saying the Indianapolis company agreed to give consumers two written copies of their right to cancel orders when selling at fairs and other events. Bob Dapper, who owns the company with Rick Bartlett, said he was surprised […]
An ethanol company in Morgan County is investigating using sawdust and other wood waste instead of corn to make ethanol. Heartland Renewable Fuels LLC hopes Purdue University can help it learn to make the fuel from green hardwood cellulose, according to the Reporter-Times of Martinsville. The company believes competition for sawdust would be less intense […]
Lebanon’s city council voted Monday to annex 578 acres immediately south of Interstate 65 and east of State Road 39, according to the Reporter. A final vote is scheduled Jan. 22. Denison Properties told the IBJ it plans to develop 115 of the acres as bulk distribution and light industrial similar to nearby Lebanon Business […]
An Imax movie theater will open later this year in the Kerasotes ShowPlace 16 on the south side of Indianapolis, Imax Corp. said today. The agreement between Canada’s Imax and Chicago-based Kerasotes ShowPlace Theatres LLC will give Indianapolis its second Imax theater. The city’s existing Imax is at the Indiana State Museum downtown. A far-northside […]
