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Venture Center’s Beck plans seed capital fund: Former Rose-Hulman Ventures prez returns to town

Over the last three years at the helm of Indiana Venture Center Inc., one thing became all too clear to Steve Beck: Not much money is available locally for early-stage companies. So he’s going to raise some himself. Last week, Beck, 59, announced he’s stepping down as Indiana Venture Center president to become co-managing director of IVC Equity Partners, a new local seed capital fund. His IVC Equity cofounder is Scott Prince, 38, a Columbus native and Indiana University graduate…

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Ethanol backer harvesting investors: Cardinal, others see biofuel potential, while skeptics see risk 982 1372 1071 1392IBJ’s Life Sciences & Biotech Magazine looks at the future of biofuel production in Indiana. SECTIONB

IBJ’s Life Sciences & Biotech Magazine looks at the future of biofuel production in Indiana. SECTIONBDuring one day this month, Randolph County farmer Troy Prescott drove hundreds of miles to visit three western Ohio towns-gladhanding potential backers gathered at a VFW hall, an armory and a restaurant. And just a few days ago, in Fishers, he spelled out his vision to more than 50 people, some wearing suspenders and down-on-the-farm twangs. Prescott isn’t running for Congress, but his 25-city road…

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Bank boss eyes No. 1: New Fifth Third chief plans expansion, faces tough Chase

The view from John Pelizzari’s 14th-floor office in downtown’s Capital Center is a good one. The recently hired president and CEO of Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp’s central Indiana operations can see the rooftops of many of downtown’s landmarks. And he likes it that way. He’s used to the view from the top. From 2001 to 2005, Pelizzari, 50, captained the ship for Fifth Third’s northern Michigan affiliate, which enjoyed a whopping 28-percent market share, more than 10 percentage points higher…

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Indiana Rail Road on track for customer growth: Acquisition of Canadian Pacific line brings more jobs

What little some people see of active railroads these days is when they catch a glimpse of Indiana Rail Road Co.’s Ferrari-red engines pulling hopper cars from downstate coal mines up to Indianapolis Power & Light’s Harding Street generating station, south of town. “People feel like railroads are a dying industry,” said Thomas Hoback, founder and CEO of Indiana Rail Road, the 20-yearold freight concern based in Indianapolis. Looks can be as deceiving as the speed of a locomotive approaching…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Tattoos aren’t only things we hide

I admit I don’t understand the world in which I live. For example, a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology reports that 24 percent of Americans age 18 to 50 have one or more tattoos. That rises to 36 percent when we look at just those 18 to 29. I don’t get it. Is this body art, a message to the world, a commitment to oneself or someone else? Tattoos do fill in all that empty…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Reflections on DST, Governmentium

I love it. It makes summer even better than it already was. I don’t believe, as a friend of mine recently suggested, that DST is a plot by Republican businessmen to play more golf in the summer. No, it was a sound economic development move, and I’m glad the Legislature wised up and made it happen. Big picture, it’s good for business. Speaking of which, I haven’t talked to a single businessperson who’s seriously complaining about the time change. If…

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Aquaculture industry set to cast bigger net: Ag officials hope Indiana spawns more fish farmers

Forrest Gump owned a shrimp boat. Tim and Julie Connor have a shrimp farm instead. The couple, who live on 22 acres near Monrovia, are in their third season raising prawn, or large shrimp, from a pond on their property. The $4,000 they earned last year from selling 350 pounds of the crustaceans to the public is hardly enough to cause Tim, 47, to retire from the job he’s held at Allison Transmission for 28 years. But if the sideline…

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Car event ‘astonishing’: In 4th year, local show already one of nation’s largest

Economic development leaders and corporate executives thought Roger Brummett was spinning his wheels when he launched a classic car show in Indianapolis four years ago. But Brummett and partner Tim Durham find themselves at the wheel of such a fastgrowing enterprise that they hope to expand it into a multiday event, with an auction and classic-car race, that they believe would draw 100,000 attendees. The pair also plans to replicate the show in other markets, starting in Naples, Fla., in…

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$20M overhaul for City Market?: Culinary school may replace east wing

City Market officials are trying to pull together an ambitious plan to transform the century-old downtown lunch spot into a virtual paradise for foodies, complete with an Ivy Tech culinary school campus. But they still have a couple of big hurdles to clear before giving the green light to the nearly $20 million project. Plans include razing the east wing and replacing it with a five-story, $18 million building that could house Ivy Tech State College’s culinary programs. A separate…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Motor-vehicle jobs: a path to the future?

Would landing a new Honda plant be a plus for the Indiana economy? You bet it would. In fact, it’s hard to think of any similar-size investment that holds the same immediate potential for supporting additional jobs beyond those inside the plant walls. The project scores well on just about every objective measure you can come up with to assess its attractiveness. It draws on skills and occupations Indiana already has. Its activities hold great promise for new business for…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Program opens eyes to community needs

In 1973, an automobile accident inspired a mother to create a dynamic memorial to the accomplishments of her son and for the benefit of the community in which he lived. For 30 years, the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series has offered a unique perspective to 25 individuals on the issues confronting our city and region. Guided by a moderator through tours, seminars, reading and interaction with experts, the participants debate education, government, health and human services, the justice system,…

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Geographic restrictions could backfire for PERF: $105 million fund carries lots of potential, risks

By restricting the new $105 million Indiana Investment Fund I to deals within state lines, Gov. Mitch Daniels hopes to simultaneously spur economic development and earn a spectacular return for Indiana’s retired public employees. But venture-capital experts warn it’s nearly impossible to have it both ways. “You need to be very, very clear what your objectives are when you invest [pension] money. Is it for economic development or to help the pensioners earn better pensions?” said John Taylor, vice president…

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Proposed resource center targets science, tech, math: BioCrossroads wants to help build strong foundation Pulling things together

Only 64 percent of Indiana’s fifthgraders passed the latest ISTEP+ test in science. A little better-76 percent-passed the math component. Unfortunately, as children advance in grades, their ISTEP+ math scores worsen. By eighth grade, only 64 percent passed the math portion of the test. Yet, economic development officials in Indiana-and much of the country-want young students to choose to study in college areas of advanced manufacturing, life sciences, informatics, agribusiness and an array of disciplines that require a strong foundation…

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DANIELS’ DEAL CLOSERS: IEDC generating jobs, but economy shares part of credit

It would have been big. Just last month, a team of officials from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and The Indy Partnership, its local equivalent, were furiously negotiating with South Carolinabased fire-engine maker American LaFrance. Intrigued by a mix of economic incentives and Indiana’s central location, American LaFrance considered moving its operations to Marion County. In formal negotiations, the company dangled promises of 653 jobs and a capital investment of $18.5 million. State records don’t reveal what incentives Indiana offered…

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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…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Good transportation paves the way for strong economy

“Like it or not,” noted author Richard Florida opined as he looked out over a crowd that recently gathered in Indianapolis to discuss economic development issues in central Indiana, “you are all part of the greater Chicago region.” That might come as news to you who pay taxes, follow sports, or subscribe to a newspaper. But the point is well made. In the larger scheme of things-the so-called Shanghai perspective one would take in looking at our economy from the…

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VIEWPOINT: Illiteracy is a hot economic issue

“Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?” So goes the refrain from the musical “1776,” when George Washington communicates his frustration with how badly the Revolutionary War is going while the Continental Congress continues to debate the pros and cons of declaring independence from the British crown. Does anybody in Indiana see what I see? I see an economy, slowly recovering, but not booming like the rest of the country. I see state tax collections…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Improving state’s economy requires a team approach

More than 50 years ago, the famous economist Joseph Schumpeter told a simple story that perfectly captured the essence of market capitalism. It’s a turn-of-the-century tale of a railroad being built in a part of the country where none had existed. The new investment rapidly upsets the order of everything-once ideally situated towns are left high and dry, while others move up in stature as they exploit newfound advantages. It’s messy and it’s painful, but the result is for the…

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Battle of the brands: Planners go back to drawing board after city slogan nixed

They thought they had a winner with The New Midwest. They even had the logo-a stylized “I”-all figured out. And a color palette. But then they hit a bump in the road. When Mark Miles became CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership in January, he joined the big group and said the slogan was a dud. At the least, he said, participants should run it by focus groups. They only had to run it by two before they realized…

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