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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Talent, education are keys in competitive field of design

“Individuals with little or no formal education in design, as well as those who lack creativity and perseverance, will find it very difficult to establish and maintain a career in the occupation,” warns the department through its currently posted Bureau of Labor Statistics Outlook. While I do suggest that designers of the future should take their career outlook seriously given the current and expected competition, I certainly would not want to discourage them. Creativity and perseverance are among those traits,…

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There’s more to logistics than forklifts and sweat: Colleges offer degrees for white-collar jobs in the field

It’s not sexy, but it’s where the jobs are. Ivy Tech Community College will offer an associate’s degree in logistics management, the latest effort in Indiana aimed at cultivating a work force for the transportation-distribution-logistics sector, known as TDL. Meanwhile, the University of Indianapolis is preparing a concentration in supply chain management that will have key applications in logistics careers. Experts say the educational push is sorely needed, yet it’s still a challenge to get young people interested in the…

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Startups offered a fast track: Motorsports-themed incubator gets green light in Brownsburg

Hendricks County officials hope a new business incubator there revs the engines of local entrepreneurs. The motorsports-themed facility, to be known as Fast-Start, got the green light after a year-long feasibility study concluded the project was a logical fit for a community that already houses Prudhomme Racing, John Force Racing and Bill Simpson’s Impact Racing. “It would help achieve some of our goals in Brownsburg,” said Jeanette Baker, town council president and treasurer of the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership,…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: State’s economy humming, so why do we feel gloomy?

The days are shorter, the temperatures are colder, and the leaves are falling off the trees. For most normal people, that means it’s time to start carving pumpkins, planning for holidays, or even watching the World Series. But for economists, it means something else entirely. It is the beginning of forecasting season. It’s a time when organizations of all kinds are thinking about what they can expect in the coming year. For most of us, the state of the economy…

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Somerset enjoying freedom: Firm grew under First Indiana, but independence brings control, president says

Leaders of Somerset CPAs PC are soaking in the single life, one year after they split from First Indiana Corp. Twenty-one Somerset partners bought the assets of the accounting firm from the locally based public company on Oct. 25, 2004, ending a four-year relationship in which bad timing contributed more to the breakup than bad karma. The corporation is the holding company of First Indiana Bank. At a time when the Sarbanes-Oxley Act mandates auditor independence, Somerset President Patrick Early,…

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Lathering up for a buyout?: Local hair care products biz Kenra could fetch $80 million

Kenra LLC, a locally based hair-care products manufacturer that has nearly tripled its revenue in six years, is looking for a buyer. New York-based Giulliani Capital Advisors LLC is helping the 76-year-old company find a suitor, according to sources familiar with the situation. Kenra reported its annual sales doubled last year to $80 million on the strength of a new line called Kenra Platinum, an upscale haircare collection. Company officials told Women’s Wear Daily in March sales could increase another…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Bankruptcy of Delphi Corp. isn’t all bad news for state

The long-anticipated bankruptcy filing of Delphi Corp. has sparked yet another discussion of the viability of manufacturing as a pillar of the Indiana economy. Such discussions, unfortunately, have become commonplace in many communities across the state in the last 10 years, in the wake of other troubling developments. Most of us know the face of manufacturing has changed across the state, but to see the world’s largest auto-parts manufacturer-once part of mighty General Motors Corp. itself-succumb to this fate is…

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In a race for robotics: Crash doesn’t quell Jones’ hope of building new industry

One day in the not-so-distant future, robot drones will drive the military’s supply vehicles through dangerous war zones. They’ll pilot tractors across farm fields and steer plows as they scrape snowy highways. Automatic cars will even whisk you to and from work. High-tech entrepreneur Scott Jones, 44, believes with a zealot’s fervor this all will happen. More than a gee-whiz observer, the man who helped invent voice mail hopes to establish a robotic vehicle business-and ultimately the robotic vehicle industry-in…

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Pathway to growth: Production firm’s storytelling attracts national attention

Despite a wall lined with Emmy Awards and a client list including ESPN and VH1, Pathway Productions founder Michael Husain is as eager to talk about corporate work and Web site development as his firm’s latest Peyton Manning documentary or his work showcased in this year’s Heartland Film Festival. “The new media side of our business, and that includes Web site development, grew 100 percent in each of the last two years,” Husain said. “So you can see why we’re…

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Backing home again: CID changes out-of-state course, invests $50M in Indiana

Indiana’s flagship venture capital firm has changed direction. Often criticized for not investing frequently enough within state lines, CID Equity Partners over the last five years has quietly put nearly $50 million to work in 10 Indiana companies. In the decade before, CID invested in just a half-dozen local deals. And after struggling to weather the 2001 recession, CID’s managers believe the wind is finally at their back. Three years ago, massive losses threatened to sink the firm. Since then,…

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Child-safety concerns lead to new division: Company uses R&D to manufacture innovative car seat

Indiana Mills & Manufacturing Inc. is creating a new division, launching a new product, and cutting a new path straight to retail consumers. It’s a big departure from the 45-year-old company’s historical path to profitability. Westfield-based IMMI has long made its money supplying a lengthy list of manufacturers and distributors in the transportation and heavy-equipment sectors with its innovative seat belts, rollover systems for heavy trucks, and restraint systems for school buses and on- and off-road commercial vehicles. But company…

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Bob Wilson & Associates Inc.: Consultant helps companies predict workers’ potential Personality test provides key information to guide businesses’ personnel decisions

Personality test provides key information to guide businesses’ personnel decisions It may not be fortunetelling, but the Predictive Index gives important clues about an individual’s success or failure in certain jobs. In Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, the trademarked personality test is licensed to Bob Wilson & Associates Inc., a Carmel consulting firm that works with more than 200 companies, helping with hiring, retaining, managing and motivating employees. The firm also works with corporations on strategy and other management services. Wilson,…

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New Citizens chief faces tough crowd: High gas prices, cranky industrial customers await Lykins

For seven days each July, Carey Lykins hikes a leg over his Trek touring bike in hopes of conquering Iowa. The [Des Moines] Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa is a grueling 471 miles between the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers. “It can be brutally hot, but it’s a real adventure,” said the 53-year-old Lykins. The same could be said for the tour Lykins began Oct. 1 as president and CEO of Citizens Gas & Coke Utility. The 32-year…

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Biz groups join forces: Agencies hope to reach more minority-, women-owned firms

Two organizations that aim to increase business opportunities for minorities and women have formed a united front, hoping to foster even greater diversity among companies. Indiana Business Diversity Council and the National Association of Women Business Owners’local chapter aren’t only sharing knowledge and resources-they’ll also share space when NAWBO moves in with IBDC later this fall. NAWBO hopes the partnership will enhance its networking capabilities. It also will give the all-volunteer organization it first-ever place to call home. For its…

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Are you prepared for DISASTER?: Despite warnings, many businesses fail to plan for the worst

Are you prepared for Despite warnings, many businesses fail to plan for the worst Frank Hancock didn’t have a disasterrecovery plan when a tornado tore past his east-side printing company two years ago, causing $5 million in damage. Severe wind gusts from the Sept. 20, 2003, storm shredded Sport Graphics Inc.’s 5-month-old warehouse and manufacturing facility and tore 13 1,800-pound air-conditioning units from the roof, dumping them on the parking lot below. One was never recovered. Amid the mayhem that…

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Succession plans overlooked by biz owners: Preparing for inevitable difficult but necessary

Go ahead. Ignore the inevitable. Refuse to imagine a future where anybody else could take over that corner office of yours with the big mahogany desk. You won’t be the only one. But you’ll regret it. “The biggest mistake people make-they don’t let go soon enough. They need to get other people involved along the way, maybe get them some equity along the way,” said Glenn Scolnik, CEO of locally based Hammond Kennedy Whitney & Co. Inc., the state’s largest…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Innovators shouldn’t forget the importance of protection

Technology-based companies depend on their intellectual property to protect innovations, but many fail to plan beyond the initial patent filing and leave key intellectual property unprotected. Some companies put off filing a patent application only to discover the delay prevents them from obtaining a patent for their invention. Here are a few tips that every technology-based company should follow to protect its intellectual property. File early Entrepreneurs and start-up companies are eager to present their innovations to investors and the…

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Interest high for soon-to-be-shuttered foundry: Size, location make redevelopment promising

When the workers at DaimlerChrysler Corp.’s Indianapolis Foundry clock out for the last time at the end of the month, they’ll leave behind 756,000 square feet of factory space, tons of equipment, and more than 52 acres of industrial land on the city’s west side. Rather than becoming a rusting industrial relic along Interstate 70, however, the buildings will be razed and real estate experts expect the land will soon find a new use, albeit likely not for a factory….

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Economic developer for hire: Miller’s brain trust spreads advice from town to country

It’s about soybeans and high hopes. Clinton County has only 34,148 residents, nearly half of them living in the county seat of Frankfort. Most of the labor force works in either farming or auto-parts manufacturing. Neither is generally considered the field of the future. Enter economic development consultant Thomas P. Miller & Associates. Since Clinton County is the state’s fifth-largest soybean producer, TPMA counseled a strategy based on what it already does well. Starting next year, federal regulators will require…

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Bomar Industries: Metal fabricator builds on expertise Bomar Industries’ owners started without a business plan, but succeeded anyway

Bomar Industries’ owners started without a business plan, but succeeded anyway Brothers Bob and Mark Buchanan have parlayed their passion for drag racing and metal bending into a $3 million enterprise with only growth on the horizon. The brothers started Bomar Industries like a lot of entrepreneurs-with no business plan and their own money and equipment. The Buchanans already had lathes, mills, welders and other supplies for their work on dragsters and other hobby projects. Bob, 50, was an engineer…

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