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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Upon further review … new reasons for old buildings

Buildings, just like people, have lives. They’re born, they do their jobs, they take on new roles and, after about 75 years, most of them reach the end. Sadly, some beautiful ones die too soon, while a few ugly ones live too long. How should we decide when to save a building or when to tear it down? And have the reasons changed? The terms of renovation are well-known (adaptive re-use, mixed-use development and historic preservation). When our actions meet…

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Increasing demand for land surveyors sparks changes: Despite some criticism, Purdue University moves program into different department to attract more students

Purdue University is mapping out a controversial strategy to produce more land surveyors amid growing demand for graduates entering the profession. The number of Purdue students interested in pursuing a surveying career has dwindled to just a dozen out of roughly 500 enrolled in the university’s School of Civil Engineering. M. Katherine Banks, head of the school, attributes the dearth to a lack of visibility the surveying program endures tucked within the larger department. “We need a fresh start,” she…

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PROFILE: Electro-Spec: Aerospace niche helped business’ revenue skyrocket Decades later, Franklin electroplating firm working to diversify its customer base

Electro-Spec Aerospace niche helped business’ revenue skyrocket Decades later, Franklin electroplating firm working to diversify its customer base It all started with spoons. These days, Franklin-based Electro-Spec is a $5 million a year electroplating company that produces components for the automotive, telecommunications and medicaldevice industries. That’s quite a change from its origins in 1959, when the company focused on spiffing up antique silverware. “It did silver and gold plating of family heirlooms,” said President Jeff Smith, who bought the company…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: What propelled American worker to the top of heap?

The Labor Day holiday, coming as it does on the first weekend in September, was conceived to recognize the American worker, but also to contrast to the May Day holiday so popular in socialist circles. As Labor Day passes, most of us don’t mentally make the connection between the U.S. labor movement and the traditional end of summer. We’re far more worried about the college football schedule and lamenting the seemingly too-early start of school for our kids (as a…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: What gossip is the Web spreading about you?

In 2003, Barbra Streisand sued photographer Kenneth Adelman to try to force him to remove an aerial photo of her beachfront house from a public photo collection Adelman said was chronicling beach erosion in California. Suddenly, an obscure house on a shoreline jammed with rich people’s homes was highlighted all over the Web, along with the story of how Streisand was leaning on Adelman. Her attempt at intimidation detonated right under her manicured fingernails. Streisand lost three ways. Her $50…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Choosing renovation or new construction a tough decision

Sooner or later, in the life of almost every building owner, there comes a time when a structure has outlived its usefulness in its current condition. A choice between two options must be made. Do we renovate or do we demolish and build something totally new? The answer is by no means easy or automatic. Confronted with these options, an owner must grapple with a host of issues. The following sample is not exhaustive but may prove helpful as a…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Indiana needs to develop more technology workers

Far from its older perception of a backoffice function, information technology today is cutting edge and business savvy, driving innovation in virtually every industrial sector. As an industry, IT in Indiana has seen significant growth in the past few years. In fact, the state’s tech nology sector has grown so quickly that the industry faces a new challenge-employers are experiencing explosive growth and cannot find enough qualified individuals to fill these new positions. As documented by the Indiana Department of…

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Aiming to save, Children’s Museum goes it alone: In-house construction crew builds exhibits from scratch

A sign on the basement wall reads “Construction Zone.” Nearby on the router table, window frames are taking shape along with decorative pieces that will adorn the façade of a World War IIera brownstone. Behind a red plywood wall a few floors up, hammers knock and saws shrill as workers erect a 13,500-square-foot homage to three children who changed the world. It’s just another day at the office for the production crew at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. For months,…

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IN THIS ISSUE:

I N T H I S I S S U E FOCUS:Insurance&BenefitsQuarterly19-24 Employerslooktohealthsavingsaccountsforpremiumrelief19 OneAmericaingoodpositiontogrowthroughacquisition19 NOTSTRICTLYBUSINESS45-47 15 A&EbyLouHarry:FringecharacterspopulateaFringeFilmhighlight45 Dining:FritesatBruggeBrasserie45 FunnyBusinessbyMikeRedmond:TheWorldofTomorrowhovers,preparestoland46 SportsbyBillBenner:Plentytochewonforsportsfansofeverystripe47 PERIMETER15-18 HendricksCounty:Brownsburgluresdrag-racingfirms15 45 BehindtheNews:Andrews4OPINION & EDITORIAL HowmortgagemeltdownsankOakStreet,Commentary:ChrisKatterjohn10othersIBJ’sEnterpriseAwardhits25 EconomicAnalysis:Barkey28AEditorial10 PartingthoughtsonIndiana’sstrengths,Dunnexitshowsboarddoingjobweaknesses EyeonthePie:Marcus11ClassifiedsandInternetDirectory34-35LifegoesondespitepropertytaxesPeople18Viewpoint:DeborahJ.Daniels11ReturnonTechnology:Altom32Helpingex-offendershelpsallofusSavingprinterpaperdoesn’tsavemuchmoneyRECORDS SmallBusinessProfile40Calendar33FundRaising41It’sadog’slifeConventions33InRecognition41 LISTS LargestIndianapolis-AreaRetirementSTOCKS Communities26Investing:Hauke28LargestIndianapolis-AreaAssisted-LivingDominoeffectworsenedwoesinsubprimeFacilities37market ProxyCorner:IrwinFinancialCorp.31 COMPANY INDEX This index does not include companies mentioned in letters to the editor, lists, charts and records. The page numbers listed refer to the pages where articles begin. 3S Karting Supply ………………17 Conseco Inc……………………….30 Interactive Intelligence Inc……10 Precedent Commercial 96th Street Steakburgers……….1 Crowe Chizek…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Saving printer paper doesn’t save much money

At one company I know, the head of information technology took note of rising printing costs and took decisive action. He immediately asked everyone to start printing on both the front and back of each printed sheet. Every time I saw people in meetings flipping pages up and down trying to read front-and-back, I wondered if he’d done the math, because it’s highly probable he didn’t save much at all. The big cost in copiers and printers isn’t paper, but…

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OneAmerica methodical in approach to new deals: Flush with capital, local insurer on the lookout for acquisitions

Don’t expect OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc.’s purchase of a $700 million annuity portfolio last month to be its last big-ticket buy. The Indianapolis-based insurance holding company says its executives and heads of its various product lines are constantly on the prowl for acquisitions. But don’t hold your breath for the company’s next deal. Its purchase of annuities from Iowa-based Transamerica Life Insurance Co., announced July 24, took two years to come together. So did its previous acquisition, the 2005 purchase…

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OrthoPediatrics looks to kids to set it apart: Larger implant manufacturers focus on adults

But that’s changing now, as the orthopedics juggernaut in Warsaw has spawned another company. Formed a year ago, OrthoPediatrics in October will launch its first 10 orthopedic implants designed especially for kids. The startup hopes to do research at the offices and hospital of OrthoIndy, a group of orthopedic physicians in Indianapolis. OrthoPediatrics’ niche is one that has been shunned by the larger orthopedic implant companies based in the northern Indiana city-Zimmer Holdings Corp., Biomet Inc. and DePuy Orthopaedics Inc….

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INVESTING: Strange time for business: Bad, good news abounds

There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says, “May you live in interesting times.” The saying possesses a sort of electric connotation, with hopes that one experiences an exciting lifetime. Yet in the historical use of this proverb, the interpretation of “interesting times” hasn’t always meant “good times,” with some recitals implying “dangerous times.” For investors, our times are certainly interesting. We have a global economy that is booming. Economic growth across the planet has never been in such harmony….

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Greener Indianapolis buildings could be within reach

In case you’ve missed it, energy dependence and environmental preservation are among the most pressing issues here at home and around the globe. The issue is forcing all of us to take a hard look at nearly every aspect of how we live. This self examination of sorts, extends point on building costs can sometimes move as a strategy to draw down life-cycle costs. Typically the increased front-end investment can be recovered within a relatively short period. In order to…

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Fantasy football leagues concern employers

The kickoff of the National Football League season this month has many central Indiana employers fearful that fantasy will
encroach on reality. The fretfulness revolves around the start of the fantasy football season, where fans draft real players
onto make-believe teams and track their individual performances via organized Web sites.

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INVESTING: Better times lie ahead for embattled investors

The last full week of July turned out to be exciting for the stock market. Not long after the Dow Jones industrial average topped 14,000, a solid correction came flying in. The speed and power of the pullback deserve some respect, but so does the tenet of perspective. If it wasn’t already, it now is probably apparent why I have been harping all year that you should concentrate investments in energy, industrials, materials and select technology. The market suffered through…

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Against the odds, Emmis grows publishing division: Unsung unit now one-fourth of company’s revenue

At a time when many print publishers are wringing their hands at the prospect of losing readers to the Internet, Emmis Communications Corp. is experiencing surprising growth in its magazine division. With the acquisition of Orange Coast last month, Emmis owns seven city-based magazines and one nationally distributed magazine. And the publishing division, with 406 of Emmis’ 1,300 employees, is the company’s fastest-growing. “City magazines like the ones Emmis has are doing quite well,” said Abe Peck, chairman of journalism…

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Software startup Vyante measures online chatter: Two-man firm lands $200,000 in grants, readies for product launch through beta tests with corporations

To make money on new software, sometimes you have to give it away. Thanks to that counterintuitive approach, tiny local IT startup Vyante Inc. has persuaded companies like Eli Lilly and Co., Roche Diagnostics, Dow Agro-Sciences and 5MetaCom to test the beta version of its new software, which tracks and measures the impact of their brands online. Vyante hopes eventually to convert the companies into paying customers. “We’ve persisted against the odds,” said Vyante Senior Technologist Benjamin Ranck. “It was…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Cell phone technology still socially backward

I’m standing in the Convention Center downtown, looking down sourly at my cell phone. The designers of the phone have failed me, and I want to know why. It was the IUPUI graduation last May, and the hallways were filled with thousands of people in fancy dress and black robes. I was trying to contact just one of those thousands, but I didn’t know his cell number. I knew he was there, and probably within a hundred yards, but without…

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SURF THIS: With tech tasks, define success before measuring it

I had a boss once who was infamous for his adages, always having one of these nuggets immediately at the ready. True, he would occasionally misfire, tossing off a “let’s throw it against the wall and see what sticks” when the situation may have clearly called for something more genteel like “run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.” But most of the time, he was right on the money. One of his favorites was the old “How do…

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