Fulfilling a wish list was how Mike Fry came to found Indianapolis-based Fancy Fortune Cookies, by all accounts the only non-Asian-owned
fortune cookie operation in North America. Fry started Fancy Fortune Cookies near Fort Wayne in 1989. He moved the company
to Indianapolis in 1992.
The diversification of the state’s two enormous public pension funds into private equity is transforming Indiana’s venture capital sector. And their $155 million Indiana Investment Fund is the largest factor in the equation. If it’s successful, the Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund and the Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund will save Hoosiers untold millions of dollars and help launch a host of new high-tech companies. If it’s not, taxpayers will one day have to foot the bill. Indiana State Budget…
It was 1980 when then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan asked audiences whether they were better off than four years earlier. It was smart politics-1980 was a recession year. But politics aside, it’s always a relevant question. For if the economy is not growing the pie that we all share, then those who manage it, not to mention those in political leadership roles, have cause for concern. But how do we answer such a question? With the due date for tax filings…
Williams Beck & Hess Inc. Demand fueled growing pains When quality suffered, Camby firm slowed down to work out the kinks At 24, Harry Beals turned down a job working for a once-prominent petroleum tank company that had lost its luster following its founder’s retirement. Four months later, he bought it. After 30 years under Beals’ control, Williams Beck & Hess Inc. has grown into a business that generates nearly $1 million in revenue each year-not a bad return on…
Globalization, like all sweeping economic trends, provokes a widespread disquiet. Specifically, we fear that somehow, if it continues unchecked, people in the United States will lose their high-paying jobs and we will devolve into a lowwage service economy. As China gains, we lose. To borrow a phrase from Thomas Friedman, they’re frightened that the flattening of the world economy will flatten us. It is true that traditional manufacturing jobs are fewer now than before. And, lots of things are made…
Even with the U.S. auto industry under pressure and the North American manufacturing market experiencing relatively slow expansion, Indianapolis-based Hurco Cos. Inc. is on a tear. The maker of metal- and machine-cutting tools and software has stayed ahead of the curve by growing aggressively overseas while keeping a lid on expansion costs. That double feat is easier said than done, said Ananth Iyer, professor of operations management at Purdue University and director of the Dauch Center for the Management of…
What’s the news on Indiana employment? Odd as it might seem, that phrase is almost a contradiction in terms. For while we do receive very timely, detailed information on how many jobs are carried on Indiana employers’ payrolls each month, the practical challenges in keeping close tabs on the latest zigs and zags in the 3 million-strong Hoosier labor force make the interpretation of the fresh data difficult. Only after the data have sat on the shelf for half a…
The professor of cytomics-the study of cell systems-is leading an effort to develop a low-cost device that would help more Africans get tested for the deadly disease. His goal, bolstered by his Cytometry for Life not-for-profit, is to build thousands of units that can be delivered to third-world countries around the globe. Robinson has completed the prototype and returned in March from a weeklong trip to Nigeria, where he and fellow university researchers met with government and health care officials…
Amid sagging profits, locally based Delta Faucet Co. has parted ways with two of its top executives. And some analysts think
Delta’s parent corporation–tiring of its sagging performance–is considering selling the faucet manufacturer.
Playing guitar seems much more alluring than building one-unless you’re a member of the Instrument Manufacturing and Testing class at Purdue University. The course is the creation of Mark French, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology, who introduced it just last year. It is already striking a major chord with students. Eighteen are enrolled now, which is as many as the professor can handle, and the waiting list for next spring’s session is full. French is teaching the class…
Mention modular housing and the first image that comes to mind is probably a TV reporter standing in front of a devastated trailer park in Tornado Alley. The “double-wide” with the screened-in porch somewhere in Florida may offer a much more comforting image. Nonethe- Americans their first chance at homeownership by manufacturing houses in factories and shipping the prepackaged kits to home sites. The visionary homes featured open floor plans, modern appliances, lighting fixtures and mechanical equipment. Sears sold more…
After almost 60 profitable years that saw Elliott-Williams Co. install walk-in refrigerators and freezers in almost every
Indiana school, hospital and hotel, the venerable firm was brought to its knees last year. But an unlikely savior, a new locally
based venture capital firm, bought EW out of bankruptcy for $507,000, about the cost of 10 EW walk-ins.
Indiana’s automotive manufacturing employment for the last decade peaked at 142,000 in 1999. Since then, the sector has shed
20,300 jobs-a staggering one-seventh of its total. Another 5,220 are slated to be cut soon. And there’s no end in sight.
Don’t rest the chopsticks on your food. Don’t blow your nose during the meal and never pour the soy sauce on your rice. These and other tidbits of Japanese dining etiquette had to be digested before our first trade mission to Japan in 2005. That 74-person mission, led by Gov. Mitch Daniels, was the largest delegation of Indiana business leaders and state and local officials ever on foreign shores. Indiana is the No. 1 manufacturing state in the union. More…
A few weeks ago, I heard Ben Stein speak about politics and the economy. The noted lawyer, writer, actor and economist spouted off various positive statistics about the U.S. economy and then lamented that the public seemed morose about the financial sunshine. Even though our standard of living is at an all-time high, it seems as if Americans like to grovel and complain. Stein said, in his best Ferris Bueller drone, the American public was the most “unhappy happy society”…
On Feb. 20, Plainfield-based cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. announced a blockbuster deal to buy Dangaard, its largest
European rival, for $308 million, a reversal of fortunes from five years ago between the competitors.
Indianapolis-based Norwood Promotional Products is facing legal challenges from a half-dozen former executives who say board
members and investors conspired to fire them, withhold severance pay and cheat them out of as much as $3.6 million in company
stock.
Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana supports its job and educational programs by reselling used clothes, household items and even cars. But the virtues of reuse and recycle aren’t confined to the not-for-profit’s 34 local thrift stores. Goodwill has adapted its headquarters several times since it was built in 1960, to fill a variety of needs. Some of the same space within the 195,000-square-foot building has served as a retail store, an office full of cubicles, an industrial packing facility and…
As struggling General Motors Corp. tries to raise cash by unloading Allison Transmission, the fate of the city’s third-largest
manufacturer hangs in the balance. But analysts say its market dominance, strong management team and abundance of private
equity could spare it the fate of other auto plants here.
Autobase Inc. has inked a partnership with tech heavyweight Microsoft Corp. that might fuel growth for the Indianapolis-based
marketing-software maker. The deal will allow Autobase to piggyback its software on Microsoft’s as the Seattle company launches
products aimed at auto dealers.
