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Plant left with hazy future: Ex-Visteon factory employs 2,000-for now

A struggling auto plant on Indianapolis’ east side has quietly shed 300 workers in the past year, reducing employment to 2,000, and analysts say it remains vulnerable to closing. If the steering-components plant on English Avenue meets that fate, employment losses would exceed the 1,500 jobs Indiana hopes to win by persuading Honda Motor Co. to build a $400 million plant in the southeastern part of the state. Before last fall, the east-side plant was part of Visteon Corp., a…

PROFILE ALEX INTERMILL: Life is an ongoing adventure for local attorney

PROFILE ALEX INTERMILL Life is an ongoing adventure for local attorney As an attorney, Alex Intermill is used to the hectic pace of corporate law. So you’d think that in his spare time, he’d just want to kick back and relax. You’d be wrong. The 33-year-old is an environmental and real estate attorney with Indianapolis-based Bose McKinney & Evans as well as the town attorney for Pendleton, in Madison County. He gets his adrenalin pumping by competing in mountain bike…

Standard Life turns page, rolls with changes: A year after sale, firm improves rating, makes profit

Standard Life Insurance Company of Indiana has much to celebrate as it passes the one-year anniversary of its sale to Capital Assurance Corp. Profitability, a rating upgrade and product launches all are among the positives the company can tout since it gained new life and left behind old owner Standard Management Corp. last June. Standard Life notched a $15.8 million profit last year, due mostly to a gain from the sale of its life insurance business. Subtract that, though, and…

Entrepreneurs keep day jobs: Moonlighting helps owners mitigate startup risks

Inventions at various stages of development are scattered around Qamar Shafeek’s ranch-style home on Indianapolis’ east side. An unnamed doohickey attached to a curtain rod pulls drapes open and shut along with the sliding glass door. A voice box gadget tells the single father when the garage or side doors open, alerting him to his children’s comings and goings. And a plastic pinwheel with tennis balls attached to the ends is making its way from a napkin-sketch idea to a…

VIEWPOINT: To be a logistics leader, state needs a plan

Indiana is poised to become the country’s logistics center. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion on that topic. Now is the time for business, government and education to come together and make it happen. SupplyNet 2006-the recent statewide conference that brought together not only transportation, distribution and logistics industries, but also representatives from manufacturing, retail, information technology, government and academia-detailed the broader picture of supplychain management. As a cutting-edge business strategy, supply-chain management integrates internal and external logistics…

SPORTS: Child of city fears demise of program that saved her

You can sense the ache in Rochelle Taylor’s heart, the knot in her stomach. She goes to bed at night wondering, “What are we going to do?” She wakes up thinking, “What are we going to do?” Kids are her passion. Not just any kids, but the ones who live in the city neighborhoods … often underserved, undeserving victims of circumstances into which they were born. And circumstances in which they might remain, unless someone extends a hand. Taylor is…

Beer permit battle brews: Convenience stores scurry to sell alcohol, worrying liquor shops

Gas station and convenience store owners are seeking permits to sell alcohol at an unprecedented clip this year, alarming operators of traditional liquor stores. The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers, which represents liquor stores, counts 102 permit applications in the state so far this year, d o u b l e t h e n u m b e r f o r all of 2005. Speedway gas stations alone have filed 40 permit applications, including 19 in Marion County,…

Good banking relationship can help business:

Capital is the lifeblood of any business. But fresh infusions of money are particularly important for startup and small businesses, since they often can’t fund new equipment, employees or facilities out of their cash reserves or profits. The top three sources of new capital for small business are owner’s equity (33 percent) bank loans (20 percent) and trade credit (15 percent). Let’s focus on bank loans and simple ways that small-business owners can improve their chances of getting a loan…

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE: EXPRESSIONS SOFA STUDIO: Following her heart CPA-turned-retailer trying out a new way to sell furniture

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE EXPRESSIONS SOFA STUDIO Following her heart CPA-turned-retailer trying out a new way to sell furniture When Jennifer O’Connor graduated from the University of Dayton in 1990 with an accounting degree, the Fort Wayne native began navigating the fast track toward partnership at a public accounting firm. But O’Connor’s plans to marry and have children didn’t mesh with her 70-hour work weeks, so she quit her position with Ernst & Young and settled into decorating the Meridian-Kessler home…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: IUPUI grads help tsunami victims

Many parents today fret over their kids’ obsession with computers, video games and the Internet. “All he does is sit at that stupid computer.” If I heard that once, I’ve heard it a million times. But sometimes, when young people’s passion for the digital frontier intersects with compassion for their fellow man, great things can happen. Such is the case with Chris Podell and Zachary Shields, two recent graduates of the new media and arts program at the IUPUI School…

Colts, Tribune sign deal to air shows on WXIN: WISH makes own adjustments in wake of change

The Indianapolis Colts have signed a two-year deal with Tribune Co., moving the team’s two television shows from Lin TV Corp.’s WISH-TV Channel 8 and WNDY-TV Channel 23 to Tribune’s WXIN-TV Channel 59. “The Bill Polian Show” will air 10:30 p.m. Saturdays starting this fall, and “Colts Up Close” will air Fridays at 11:30 p.m. To beef up its Colts affiliation, local Tribune officials also are working independently on a Colts post-game show, which will air on WXIN sister station…

Insurance compact clears big hurdle: Initiative’s aim is to cut red tape, improve speed

A nationwide effort that would let some insurance sectors push products to market quicker is set to become reality, after Ohio became the decisive state to enter the consortium earlier this month. The multistate compact for life insurance, disability, annuity and long-term care products creates a single point of filing for providers. The object is to cut down on the time it takes insurers to seek approval from every state in which they operate before introducing or setting rates for…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Wanted: a broader view on public-policy issues

There’s nothing wrong with self-interest in politics. We elect representatives to look out for our interests, after all. So when legislation and policies affect things that matter to us-especially if it’s a matter of financial interest-many of us squawk, scream or otherwise throw a fit. And we hope to get noticed. But in policy debates in Indiana in recent years, we’ve been getting lazy. It’s easy enough to defend your interests, of course, but it’s much harder to convince those…

Vacancies and sales spike at Circle Centre: Analysts say mall attracting higher-end shoppers

Vacancies at Circle Centre mall hit a five-year high in 2005. But so did salesper-square foot. How does one reconcile the discrepancy? Observers say the mall is luring more high-end consumers with trendier shops despite having a big chunk of open space. “They’ve been incorporating and attracting more productive and upscale retail concepts,” said Terry Sweeney, vice president of real estate development for Indianapolis Downtown Inc. The 10-year-old mall posted $393 in sales per square foot in 2005, up from…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Association health plans are destined for failure

As the cost of health care rises, legislators in Washington, D.C., look for ways to make health care insurance more affordable for everyone. The Indiana State Association of Health Underwriters applauds the efforts of legislators to accomplish this. But the attempt to accomplish this through Association Health Plans, while commendable, ignores history and fails to address the underlying issue-the rising cost of health care. The idea of AHPs has gained in popularity in Washington on the belief that large groups…

NOTIONS: The spark of one soul relights a somber space

It’s 9 a.m. midweek in late May. While it’s cool enough to warrant the wearing of wool socks, faded jeans and an old sweatshirt, the sun shines from a cloudless sky into my little downtown courtyard. After ostensible eons of dreary, drizzly, rainy days, the bright stuff factors mightily into my mood this morning. In its midst, I write to you from my living room sofa, my feet propped on a colorful, oversized ottoman piled neatly with magazines, newspapers and…

INVESTING: Hold on tight! Stock market carnage is coming

People love suspense. A little uncertainty creates excitement and holds people’s interest. This is true to some degree with investors in the stock market, despite the claim from experts that investors despise uncertainty (as if you can be really sure about something as crazy as the stock market). Success in the stock market is all about probabilities, and having the fortitude to live with a lot of mistakes. In December, I wrote that I did not think 2006 was going…

ACCOUNTING: Don’t be fooled by incomplete offers for your business

“Based on the numbers you have shared with me, I think the business should fetch about $5 million.” This statement was made to one of my clients by a business broker after an hour-long meeting and a brief review of a couple of years of my client’s financial information. I sat quietly in disbelief observing my client’s body language change from anticipation to relief and joy. I could see him doing the math in his head-$5 million was the number…

Insurers go to the dogs, cats: Pet policies rise as owners show growing willingness to spend on their animals

Max the golden retriever has lymphoma. But fortunately for him, the disease is not a death sentence. That’s because a pet insurance policy covered most of the $4,000 in chemotherapy and drug treatments needed to keep the canine alive. While the pet insurance industry remains relatively small, it is gaining popularity. From 1994 to 2003, the number of people purchasing health care coverage for their four-legged friends rose 76 percent, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance in Brea, Calif. Dr. Jim…

Part-time manager experiment working: Pilot program could be expanded beyond Indianapolis

The bell outside Michael Goldberg’s office rang, and the OmniSource Marketing executive exchanged a knowing glance with part-timer Rob MacDonald. One of the company’s 17 sales representatives had just closed a deal. And MacDonald deserved some of the credit, since he has managed OmniSource’s sales force for about a year-working four hours a day twice a week. It’s a concept MacDonald developed as part of his full-time job at Sales Team, an Indianapolis-based consulting firm. The aptly named Part-Time Sales…