Building Indiana News May/ June

MAY/JUNE 2012

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42 Construction | Center of Care 44 Cover Story | A Growth Device 52 Real Estate | Core of Strength

THE AMERICAN GROUP OF CONSTRUCTORS

FOUNDATION STONES Determination in our Commitment to Safety Pride in our Workmanship Trust in our Relationships Care in our Stewardship

“A sure foundation inspires confidence, encourages creative thinking, and enables us all to achieve wonderful things...”

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Publisher’s Desk

219.226.0300 • 317.632.1410 www.buildingindiananews.com www.buildingindianablog.com

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS 1330 Arrowhead Court Crown Point, IN 46307

Constructing a Winner Once again, this issue Building Indiana News magazine covers the annual CAF/NWIBRT awards banquet honoring the best and safest contractors in Northwest Indiana. I would like to add my congratulations to the winners of this year’s honors, as well as the recently announced winners of the ISA and MICCS awards in Indianapolis. When it comes to construction, Indiana is blessed with some very talented companies and individuals.

More encouraging than awards, however, are jobs – and the first half of the year brought some of the most positive news on that front in some time.

Particularly in central Indiana, the real estate and construction markets are generating momentum, both in terms of residential home construction and in new industrial space.

According to April data from Reed Construction’s Expansion Index, which looks ahead at activity for the next 12 to 18 months, five of the seven major markets the Index monitors were projected to have more construction activity in the next year and a half. Two, Fort Wayne and Lafayette, were classified as “hot.”

(To put that is some perspective, Illinois had just one “hot” market and Ohio had none.)

Here at Building Indiana, we’ll be watching those projects, writing about them and nominating them for awards. If you have a project you think we should cover, drop us a line at editor@buildingindiananews.com. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Publisher/Editor Andrea M. Pearman andrea@buildingindiananews.com Vice President, Business Development Chrischelle Schmidt chrischelle@buildingindiananews.com Director of Advertising Liza Hilliard liza@buildingindiananews.com Senior Writer David Wellman dave@buildingindiananews.com Creative Director Jen Labriola jen@buildingindiananews.com Special Projects Coordinator Amber Price amber@buildingindiananews.com Director of Events Jo Sutton kristin@buildingindiananews.com Director of Creative Media Sumer Evans sumer@buildingindiananews.com Accounting Lindsey Andershock la@buildingindiananews.com

Indianapolis Office Business Development Manager Lee Ann Richardson 888.226.0330

Warsaw Office Business Development Manager Julie Monteith 888.226.0330

Kind Regards,

Building Indiana News is published by Diversified Marketing Strategies

Andrea M. Pearman Publisher

Visit us at 3dms.com Subscriptions: Standard rates: $25.95/year Single copy price: $6.95

2006 Communicator Awards’ Award of Distinction 2009 Communicator Awards’ Award of Excellence 2011 Communicator Awards’ Award of Distinction

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2007 Summit Creative Award 2010 Summit Creative Award

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2009 Davey Awards Silver Award

2008 Hermes Gold Award 2009 Hermes Gold Award 2010 Hermes Gold Award 2011 Hermes Gold Award

2006 Marcom Gold Award Winner 2007 Marcom Gold Award Winner 2008 Marcom Gold Award Winner 2010 Marcom Gold Award Winner

Andrea M. Pearman 2009 Small Business Journalist of the Year

2006 APEX Award for Publication Excellence

2009 Nichee Magazine Award

2008 APEX Award for Publication Excellence

2009 Silver Award 2010 Gold Award

Copyright ©2011 Building Indiana News is published six times a year. Address correspondence to: 1330 Arrowhead Court, Crown Point, IN 46307. Publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matter. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts or art. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise duplicated without the written permission of the publisher. For general reprint information, contact Building Indiana News at andrea@buildingindiananews.com. All opinions and views are solely those of the participants or editors and are not necessarily the views of magazine sponsors.

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IN SAFETY, QUALITY & SERVICE SINCE 1938!

INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTOR OF THE YEAR 2012 CAF

TAUC AWARDS OUTSTANDING SAFETY PERFORMANCE 2010/2011

EXCELLENCE AWARD 2011 NWIBRT

Contents M AY / J U N E

2012

E V E RY I S S U E

04 Publisher’s Desk 08 Contributors 09 Business Buzz 26 People News E X P E RT A D V I C E

32

34

36

D E PA RT M E N T S

40

CONSTRUCTION PARKVIEW REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

32

State of the Industry A Field Trip for Adults

Center of Care

48

Construction THE MAMMOTH

Building a Mammoth

52

REAL ESTATE

Core of Strength

54

RULE OF LAW Contracting Safety

ONSITE

Southern Selection

57

The bottom line Take a Breath

LOGISTICS

Sky’s the Limit

72

F E AT U R E S

28 38

PHOTO FEATURE Small Business Spotlight

40

Money Tree

44 cover story

46

60

CAF AWARDS Building Distinction

66

NWIBRT AWARDS

6

78

Marketing

Twitter #Tips

81

75

Economic Development

Making It

Healthcare Statistics

Welcome Center Lookin’ Good

84

Facts & Stats

Spine Care Gets Special

A Growth Device

75

YOUR WELL-BEING

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

Correct Construction, Inc.

86 the last word

Patch Adams vs. Dr. House

Safey Leadership

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All Our Workers Are Certified in OSHA & Subpart “R” Steel Erection SPECIALITY WORK AREAS: • Aluminum Framed Tent Structures • ABS & AWS Certified Welders • Bleachers & Stadium Seating • Canopies • Curtain Wall • Concrete & Reinforcing Rebar • Doors • Nelson Stud Shooting • Decking and Standing Seam Roofs

ory t a n g i s r o f l l Ca t: contractor lis

0 0 9 7 3 6 7 9 21 .com 5

9 3 s r e k r o w n o ir

• Fencing • Handrailing (Glass, Ornamental etc.)

• Sheeting and Firewalls • Field Fabricated Insulated Panels • Steel Mill, Powerhouse & Refinery Maintenance • Windows and Window Walls • Overhead Crane Install & Repair • Precast Concrete • Structural Steel Erection • Pre-Engineering Metal Buildings • Ornamental Iron • Jacking/Shoring of Bridges & Buildings • Heavy Rigging and Machinery Setting

Contributors DAVID BRENNER Dave Brenner is President and CEO of Innovation Park at Notre Dame, a state-of-the-art facility offering aspiring entrepreneurs business accelerator services. Dave has 30 years of experience in leading successful start-up companies, acquisitions, and partnerships. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, and has been active with Notre Dame’s IrishAngels network since its inception in 2000. He has also taught entrepreneurship classes in the Mendoza College of Business since 2005.

MATTHEW J. STRAUB Matthew J. Straub is an attorney in the Construction Industry Group of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak &

Stewart, P.C. He concentrates his practice on the representation of general contractors, design builders and subcontractors but also represents owners, and design professionals. He also represents clients in commercial disputes unrelated to the construction-industry.

RYAN GRAFT Ryan Graft, CHST, CHSP, joined Safety Management Group in April 1999 as a Safety Advisor and currently serves as the Account Manager for the Health Services Group. Ryan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Safety and Health from Indiana University in 1998 and achieved the Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) Certification in February 2005 and the Healthcare Safety Professional Certificate (CHSP) in 2007.

THE NEW STANDARD OF THE WORLD

ADAM HILLIARD Adam Hilliard is a Consultant based out of the Pittsburgh office of Select International. His specialties include competency modeling, competencybased job analysis, selection system design and customization, recruitment, person-job fit, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), and interview training. Select International develops assessment solutions that help companies find, hire, and retain top talent throughout their organization. For more information visit www.selectinternational.com.

LOGAN A. HOLLOBAUGH Logan A. Hollobaugh is an attorney in the Construction Industry Practice Group of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. He represents general

contractors, construction managers, design-builders and subcontractors in contract negotiations and project close-out, payment disputes, delay damage and change order claims, contract disputes, and the enforcement of mechanics liens.

DR. NITIN KHANNA Dr. Nitin Khanna of Spine Care Specialists brings cuttingedge spine care to Northwest Indiana and the Greater Chicagoland area. He completed his Spine Fellowship at Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago. He has been published in journals and textbooks including the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, Spine, Spine Journal and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. He is also part of the Clinical Faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

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BUSINESS BUZZ

Indiana Rail Road Wins Regional Railroad Honors

T

he Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD) has been named by Railway Age magazine as the 2012 “Regional Railroad of the

Year.”

“The Indiana Rail Road has proven it is an industry leader in numerous categories, such as capital investment, technology, and marketing,” said William C. Vantuono, editor of Railway Age. “But frankly, it was the many letters of recommendation from INRD’s customers that made it clear to us that Indiana Rail Road was deserving of this honor.”

Railway Age, founded in 1856 and the railroad industry’s oldest trade publication, annually recognizes industryleading railroads and executives for their accomplishments.

The INRD set several records in 2011 (the company’s 25th anniversary) related to operating performance, invested a record $22 million in private capital for infrastructure and technology

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improvements, and received accolades for its employee wellness program, instituted in conjunction with Union Hospital of Terre Haute.

INRD also moved its two-millionth carload of revenue freight in November 2011. It took 18 years, 9 months to haul the first million cars – from March 1986 to December 2004. In contrast, carload 2,000,000 moved just 6 years and 11 months later.

The company’s success has been built on the business and customer-service philosophy of Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Hoback.

“I am deeply honored that Railway Age, the most widely-respected railroad trade publication, has chosen Indiana Rail Road as its Regional Railroad of the Year,” said Hoback. “This is a tribute to our nearly 200 employees who work together every day to safely provide our customers with reliable, predictable service.

“Our culture has allowed us to grow

further and faster than any other railroad in North America. While it is easy to think of railroads in terms of hard assets such as locomotives, technology and infrastructure, it is our employees that really set us apart from other railroads and transportation providers. We run our company like a business.

“I want to thank Railway Age and our employees, as well as our customers who were gracious to support our application for this prestigious award.”

Indianapolis-based INRD is a privatelyheld, 500-mile railroad. The company hauls the equivalent of more than 800,000 truckloads of consumer, industrial and energy products each year.

The company is also active in the community, operating the annual Santa Train and serving as a sponsor of the Indiana Historical Society and Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, in addition to grants for online communities.

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Development Corporation has offered up to $210,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans, and the city of Portage has approved additional property tax abatement.

BUSINESS BUZZ

Northwest Portage Lands Steel Producer Ratner Steel Supply Co., a producer of steel products, is building a new facility in Portage that is expected to employ about 30 people by 2015.

The Roseville, MN-based company, which produces steel sheets and plates, will invest $14.25 million to build and equip a 102,000-square-foot steel service facility at the Port of Indiana – Burns Harbor. The facility is slated to be operational in early 2013.

Ratner, which has 62 full-time employees nationwide, plans to begin hiring new sales, clerical and production associates in October. The Indiana Economic

Study: IUN Worth $100 Million to Northwest Indiana Indiana University Northwest creates more than $100 million in economic activity for Northwest Indiana and the state, according to the results of a recent economic impact study.

That study, commissioned by Indiana University and conducted by Tripp Umbach, an economic development impact analysis firm, also found that IU and IU Health generated a combined economic impact of at least $11.5 billion for the state of Indiana and sustained 100,000 jobs during the 2010-11 fiscal year.

Of that, the Northwest campus’ economic impact was estimated at $105.7 million, double its annual operating budget of $50 million.

That includes $50.4 million in direct impact and $55.3 million in indirect and induced impact, according to the report.

The report showed that the Northwest campus directly created 638 jobs and indirectly supported or induced another 639 jobs, for a total of 1,277 jobs. It also calculated that IU Northwest generated annual local and state sales tax revenue of nearly $5.6 million.

NIPSCO Investing $75 Million in Wheatfield Plant

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NIPSCO has engaged The Babcock & Wilcox Company (Charlotte, NC) to provide construction services for the installation of environmental equipment at its R.M. Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield.

The $75 million project includes the erection and installation of two B&Wdesigned wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) absorber vessels, and associated reagent slurry preparation and dewatering equipment for the plant’s 465 megawatt (MW) Unit 14 and 515 MW Unit 15 coal-fired utility boilers.

BWCC will procure and erect the absorber and dewatering island structural steel for the wet FGD systems, and design and supply the wet FGD units and related components.

Start-up of Schafer Unit 14 is scheduled for fall 2013 and Unit 15 for fall 2015.

www.buildingindiananews.com

Purdue North Central Sets Spring Enrollment Record

Tourists Bring Billions to Lake County Travel and tourism and generated $1.62 billion in economic activity for the Lake County in 2010, according to a study by the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority (SSCVA). That is an increase from $1.34 billion in 2001.

Tourism was responsible for about $651.3 million in tax revenue during 2010, of which $324.2 million went to the state and $148.7 million to Lake County. According to the study, the travel and tourism industry provides nearly 14,000 jobs in Lake County and more than $247.7 million in wages.

Of the $1.6 billion, $1.4 billion was generated from visitors to Lake County.

BUSINESS BUZZ

Purdue University North Central (Westville) continued its sixyear trend of breaking enrollment records in the spring semester.

PNC enrolled a spring semester record of 5,551 students, a 14.6 percent increase over last spring. The spring semester enrollment represents a 5 percent increase over the fall 2011 enrollment of 5,279 students.

Another spring semester record was surpassed as students are taking a total of 49,824 credit hours, an increase of 0.69 percent over spring semester of 2011. Since 2005, PNC spring semester enrollment headcount has increased 72.9 percent – a total of 2,240 students. In addition, 83.4 percent of the first-time, fulltime degree-seeking students who attended PNC during the fall semester, have returned for spring semester classes.

Rex Richards, President of the Greater Valparaiso Chamber, was named the Chamber Executive of the Year for the state of Indiana.

The Chamber also was also recognized in the ICEA’s Communication Excellence Awards, receiving top honors for its U-Guide, a business directory and community resource guide geared toward local university students, and its Web site valparaisochamber.org, while receiving honorable mentions for its annual Membership Directory and Community Resource Guide and its quarterly Valparaiso Magazine.

The Valpo Chamber was also named one of the top five finalists for the annual Chamber of the Year Award.

Fundraising Campaign Kicks Off The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana have kicked off an $8 million capital campaign aimed at transforming a closed middle school into the John Will Anderson Club.

The organization purchased the Tolleston Middle School building in Gary from the Gary Community School Corp. for $1,000. Of the $8 million, $6 million will be used in construction work and $2 million will fund an endowment to offset operating costs.

The complex will include ball fields and administration offices, a media center, cafeteria and exercise room.

To start the campaign, the John W. Anderson Foundation has committed $2 million to the facility and the Dean & Barbara White Foundation has donated $1 million.

Illiana Highway Project Coming Into Focus The Illiana Corridor Planning Group has narrowed the list of possible routes for the expressway to four. Of these, it has recommended a route connecting Interstate 65 in Indiana to Interstate 55 in Illinois, running through Cedar Lake and Lowell in Indiana, and from Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and Wilmington in Illinois.

According to the group, this route would offer the lowest costs and environmental impacts. Next steps include refining the corridor and interchange locations and drafting an environmental impact statement.

Any construction is unlikely to begin before 2015.

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Valpo Chamber Honored with Multiple Awards The Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce was recently honored by the Indiana Chamber Executives Association (ICEA) for its communication skills and leadership. www.buildingindiananews.com

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Elkhart Evansville Fort Wayne Indianapolis Kokomo Ligonier Muncie South Bend

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BUSINESS BUZZ

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Indiana Dunes Tourists Boost Local Communities Visitors to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore spent more than $63 million in nearby communities in 2010, helping to support 658 jobs, according to a National Park Service report.

The park had 2,150,345 visitors in 2010, about 60 percent of whom come from outside the state. Most of the spending and jobs are in lodging, food and beverage service (52 percent), followed by other retail (29 percent) and entertainment/amusements (10 percent).

Collectively, 394 national parks generated $12 billion in direct spending by 281 million visitors in 2010. Beyond their borders, local visitors spent $31 billion, supporting more than 258,000 jobs.

La Porte County Manufacturer Grows KTR Corporation, a manufacturer of power transmission components, is expanding its North American headquarters in Michigan City, adding up to 20 new jobs by 2014.

The company plans to invest $1.6 million to purchase computer numerical control machinery and renovate its existing 42,000-square-foot manufacturing, warehousing and sales facility.

Renovations and equipment installation have already begun and are expected to be complete in 2013.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered has KTR up to $150,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. Michigan City has granted a boundary modification of its enterprise zone at the request of the Michigan City Economic Development Corporation.

Gary Airport, CN Reach Accord on Runway Expansion Project Representatives from the Gary Chicago International Airport, the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and the Regional Development Authority (RDA) joined Gary Mayor Karen FreemanWilson and other City of Gary officials in late March at the airport to announce an accord with CN on the runway expansion project.

“I am extremely excited today,” said Mayor Freeman-Wilson. “We are one step closer to the completion of the runway.” She commended several groups for their diligence in getting the agreements signed, including CN, the Board of Directors of the Gary Chicago International Airport, the RDA and the office of Congressman Peter Visclosky. “This shows what happens when all parties work together,” she said.

The agreements reached were the Purchase and Sale Agreement, and the Design, Engineering, and Construction Agreement. The Purchase and Sales Agreement provides for the transfer of land between the airport and CN, so the railroad will have an easement for its new tracks to run on and the airport will own the land its runway extension is to be built on. The Design, Engineering, and Construction Agreement specifies all details of the project, such as what will be built, how it will be built and what materials will be used.

Once the runway is extended, “it will allow us to attract larger types of aircraft,” explained Airport Director Steve Landry. “Without lengthening the runway, it would be impossible for the airport to

12

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Port Prepares for Big Year The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) opened its 54th navigation season in March and predicted that cargo shipments through the Seaway would rise by about 3 percent to 38.6 million tons in 2012.

“The opening of the locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway allows the flow of international trade to and from the Great Lakes ports,” says Peter Laman, Port Director at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor. “Our port is truly a world-class asset for the Portage community and the state. It is open year-round handling barge and lake traffic, but the international season brings new cargoes and increased shipments, which means jobs

www.buildingindiananews.com

for our longshoremen, truckers and many others in the logistics industry. We’re looking forward to a solid shipping season in 2012.”

Warm winter weather has kept the Burns Harbor active. The Port welcomed a rare January lake vessel earlier this year, the “James Kuber,” which exported approximately 16,000 tons of local corn Ontario, Canada. The vessel was the first lake vessel to call upon the port in January since 2006.

During this season, the SLSMC expects that exports of coal will be a bright spot, as producers in Montana route their product by rail to Great Lakes ports, where the cargo is loaded onto lakers and brought to the Port of Quebec via the Seaway.

The coal is then trans-shipped to ocean vessels destined for Europe, avoiding congested coastal ports.

Increases in coal shipments played a key role in Burns Harbor’s strong growth in 2011. Last year, the port posted an increase of 5 percent in cargo tonnage shipped through the Seaway compared to 2010, and a 10 percent increase in overall shipments, which also included lake vessels and river barges.

Port cargoes which had the highest percent increase included fertilizer (61 percent), coal (44 percent) limestone (23 percent), steel (18 percent) and salt (18 percent).

For daily news from Northwest Indiana and around the state, visit our blog at www.buildingindianablog.com and follow us on Twitter at @BuildingIndiana.

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BUSINESS BUZZ

execute its plan to attract increased passenger service.”

Maintaining Gary Chicago International Airport as a viable commercial airport is fundamental to the future of Northwest Indiana, says Bill Hanna, Executive Director of the RDA, which is funding $30 million of the projects $166 million cost. “We see the Gary Chicago International Airport as a key asset in the region,” he says. “A strong, busy airport will attract jobs and investment, fuel further construction and development, and be an engine for economic growth.”

Construction work on projects related to the runway expansion is already underway. Currently, Landry says that 19 different contracts are being worked on around the airport employing 17 Northwest Indiana contractors.

BUSINESS BUZZ

Northeast Northeast Indiana Company Receives Award

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Damping Technologies (Mishawaka) has received a 2011 Boeing Performance Excellence Award. The Boeing Company issues the award annually to recognize suppliers who have achieved superior performance. Damping Technologies maintained a Gold composite performance rating for each month of the 12-month performance period, from Oct. 1, 2010, to Sept. 30, 2011.

This year, Boeing recognized 529 suppliers who achieved either a Gold or Silver level Boeing Performance Excellence Award. Damping Technologies is one of only 122 suppliers to receive the Gold level of recognition.

Construction Begins on Assisted Living Facility Construction has begun on the Mishawaka Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living Facility, which is being billed as an innovative new design by partners Mainstreet Property Group, LLC, and Indianapolis-based A/E firm American Structurepoint.

Since July 2011, the team has worked together to innovate the layout and atmosphere of a “typical” senior assisted living community. The facility, totaling just under 67,000 square feet, will include a rehabilitation area, space for massage/spa treatments, a salon, resident dining facilities, private rooms, a pub/café, a community room, and inhabitant skilled nursing and assisted living wings.

The facility will convey an inviting aesthetic for visitors and inhabitants of the building. The interior is meant to evoke “Main Street USA,” the sights and smells you get from walking down any small town street in America. The design team has accomplished this in part by using glass which allows ample daylight into the building and creates a warm glow at night. In addition, stone veneer and decorative trim pieces will accent selected features, while overhangs and canopies will be used at the heavily traveled main entrance.

Mishawaka is the first of several assisted living projects the firms are working on together. Construction is expected to be complete by 2013.

Steel Dynamics to Increase Production in Pittsboro Steel Dynamics (Fort Wayne) is expanding its Engineered Bar Products Division in Pittsboro, investing $76 million to boost production capacity by 52 percent. The expansion will increase the mill’s capacity to produce special-bar-quality (SBQ) steel bars and expand its selection of high quality small-diameter SBQ bars.

The expansion will boost the mill’s overall annual production capacity from 625,000 tons to 950,000 tons. The project is scheduled to be finished in the second half of 2013.

With this additional capacity, the company’s Engineered Bar Products Division would be among the largest single-site SBQ www.buildingindiananews.com

South Bend Startup Launches Virtual Marketplace A South Bend start up, PrototypeUS, located at Innovation Park at Notre Dame, has launched a new virtual marketplace designed to connect innovators worldwide. The brainchild of Heather Short-Davis and Christina Herceg Tembo, “PrototypeUS is a Web portal that will connect innovators from all over the world to area manufacturers in order to create working prototypes,” says Short-Davis. “We want to help bridge the gap that is often referred to as the ‘valley of death’ for an innovator.”

The duo has already begun partnering with local manufacturers. Their first alliance is with Penz Products of Mishawaka. Penz Products, founded in 1956, is located in a Mishawaka industrial park that houses their 140,000-squarefoot facilities. They were a natural choice for an initial partner as they are one of the most diverse manufacturers in the area.

“At Penz Products, we understand that this is an ever changing

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market place,” says Roy Szymanski, Sales-Project Manager for the Plastics Division. “So we continually seek out new markets and new applications that will benefit from our custom services and capabilities. We think PrototypeUS just might be a means to that end.”

Spartan Motors Shifting Operations Spartan Motors is relocating Utilimaster’s manufacturing operations, headquarters, and all supporting departments and functions, to Bristol from the current location in Wakarusa. The move is expected to be completed by year’s end.

The move to Bristol, 20 miles east of Wakarusa, will consolidate Utilimaster’s operations into one facility from its current campus of 16 buildings. Moving into a single, plant, combined with lean manufacturing practices, will enable Utilimaster to improve product quality and manufacturing efficiency by reducing operating costs and eliminating nonvalue-added steps.

Orthopedic Manufacturer Expands in Wells County Haven Manufacturing, a manufacturer of orthopedic instruments, industrial parts and special tooling, will grow its operations in Wells County, creating up to 70 new jobs by 2014.

The Ossian-based company, which provides services and - continued on pg 16

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BUSINESS BUZZ

production facilities in North America. The expansion includes numerous enhancements to the facility’s rolling mill for the production of precision-sized bars, as well as improvements in material handling and staging. The company also plans to expand the mill’s bar finishing capabilities for non-destructive testing of finished bars, potentially doubling its inspection capacity.

BUSINESS BUZZ

“Over 40 Years of Quality Service”

parts to the medical, furniture, aerospace and transportation industries, will invest $2.34 million to renovate and install computer numerical control equipment at its 30,000-square-foot facility.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered up to $550,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $45,600 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. The Wells County Council approved additional property tax abatement.

Lighting Controls Company Expanding in Fort Wayne

QUALITY INTEGRITY RELIABILITY • Industrial & Process Piping • Equipment Rigging & Setting • Special Alloy Welding • Code Welding • Plant Maintenance • Power Generation • Steel Manufacturing • Alternate Fuels • Chemical & Petrochemical • Petroleum & Refining

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Touche Lighting Controls is planning to expand its operations at its existing facility in Fort Wayne. The company has developed an automated lighting control system targeted at new and retrofitted commercial construction. The focus of this system is energy savings, ease of installation and integration.

In 2012, Touche will expand its line to integrate security, heating/ ventilation, personnel access, and audio/video control lines. The company will invest $1.5 million over the next three years to provide a level of integrated automation that is not currently available in the marketplace.

Touche currently employs seven full-time and one part-time workers. By the end of 2013 the company will add 16 full-time and five part-time employees.

Busche Expands in Albion, Opens Eighth Facility Busche Enterprise Division, Inc., a computer numerical control production machining firm, plans to expand its operations in Albion, creating up to 120 new jobs by 2015.

The company will invest $17.4 million to purchase, expand and equip a 36,000-square-foot facility one mile west of its main campus and headquarters in Albion. Construction to expand the building by an additional 24,000 square feet will begin this fall and the new manufacturing plant is expected to be operational early next year.

Busche, which currently employs more than 550 Hoosiers, launched in 1997 out of a vacant facility on Albion’s courthouse square, with one employee, founder Nick A. Busche. The company has since added more than 400,000 square feet of production and warehouse space with seven manufacturing facilities.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Busche Enterprise Division, Inc. up to $600,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $150,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

Automotive Supplier Picks Allen County for New Facility Android Industries, a specialty equipment manufacturer and complex assembler, will locate a new operation in Fort Wayne, creating up to 57 new jobs by 2013.

The Michigan-based automotive company, which specializes in sub-assembly, sequencing and logistics, will invest $10.84 million to lease and equip a 55,000-square-foot space, and add 4,000 square feet to the office area and additional shipping bays. www.buildingindiananews.com

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Android Industries Ft. Wayne, LLC up to $350,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $50,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

Yellow Dog Extrusion, a subsidiary of Patrick Metals (Mishawaka) is opening an aluminum anodizing plant in Elkhart which will employ 35 workers. In addition to anodizing aluminum from Patrick Metals, the new facility will serve local customers in the boating and RV industries.

Yellow Dog hopes to grow production and expand to three shifts, eventually employing up to 125 people.

Richmond Dairy Expands Wayne Dairy Products in Richmond will invest $12 million in an expansion expected to create 11 new jobs and retain more than 100. The project allowed the Richmond Common Council to approve its first tax abatement under a new structure allowing up to 100 percent abatement for projects resulting in new job creation.

The Council approved a 90 percent abatement on property taxes, real estate and equipment over 10 years because the project exceeded $3 million in investment, will create more than 10 jobs, paid wages 50 percent higher than the state minimum wage and offered health insurance to all full-time employees.

www.buildingindiananews.com

The Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority Board of Directors has approved another re-use of the Air Cargo Hub at Fort Wayne International Airport. C&J Services and Supplies Inc. will occupy the 33,500-square-foot maintenance building of the cargo hub facility.

“C&J will retrofit a stand-alone building and take advantage of Fort Wayne’s easy access to large markets and the airport’s proximity to I-69 and 469,” said Patrick Dooley, Vice President of Airport Development at the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance. “Implementing a multi-tenant approach at the Air Cargo Hub allows the airport to meet its aeronautical needs and to offset operating costs related to the former cargo facility. Space has been reserved in the building’s redevelopment plan to meet the future needs of air cargo and other aeronautical needs.”

Building on this multi-tenant approach, C&J will join Logistics Insight Corporation (LINC), which has been operating from the cargo hub for nearly seven months.

C&J began in 2001 as a Priority One sourcing company for the United States Military. The company currently operates three divisions – sourcing for the Department of Defense, commercial procurement services, and packaging and logistics.

C&J will use the Air Trade Center facility for distribution and light industrial work, storage of up to eight tractor-trailers, and employee parking.

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Yellow Dog Barks in Elkhart

Fort Wayne Airport Lands Another Company

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Truck Maker Adding Jobs in Goshen Supreme Industries, Inc., a full-line manufacturer of customized truck bodies, will boost its operations in Goshen, creating up to 350 new jobs by 2015.

The light truck, bus and specialty vehicle manufacturer plans to invest $7.71 million to refurbish and equip multiple facilities used in the truck and bus production located on its 100-acre campus in Elkhart County.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Supreme Industries up to $1,500,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $67,500 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

For daily news from Northeast Indiana and around the state, visit our blog at www.buildingindianablog.com and follow us on Twitter at @BuildingIndiana.

Central Alcoa to Expand in Tippecanoe County Alcoa, Inc., a fully integrated producer of aluminum used in beverage cans, aircraft and window frames, is expanding its operations in Lafayette, adding up to 75 new jobs by 2013.

The company will invest more than $90 million to expand its aluminum lithium capacity and capabilities and construct an approximately 115,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the company’s Lafayette plant to meet growing demand in the aerospace market for its newest alloys. Initial facility construction has already begun with plant production expected to begin by the end of 2014.

When completed, the facility will produce more than 20,000 metric tons of aluminum lithium and be capable of casting round and rectangular ingot for rolled, extruded and forged aerospace applications.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Alcoa up to $650,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

New High-Speed Network to Boost Education, Research Indiana is the first state to launch a high-speed 100-gigabitsper-second (Gbps) network link dedicated to research and education. The new network, named Monon100, is ten times faster than the current network. With it, scientists and medical researchers will be able to rapidly share the massive amounts of data created by modern instruments such as gene sequencers, powerful microscopes or the Large Hadron Collider.

Monon100 runs from Indianapolis to Chicago, linking the

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Indiana GigaPoP with Internet2, a national research and education network. The Indiana GigaPoP, a partnership of Indiana University and Purdue University, serves as the network hub for the state’s colleges and universities.

“This bold new step will keep Indiana at the forefront of network capability in the United States and open up remarkable possibilities for sharing information and knowledge essential to maintaining the economic vitality of our state and region,” said IU President Michael A. McRobbie. “The inability to share massive data sets is one of the greatest barriers currently facing U.S. researchers and innovators. This advanced high-speed network will help overcome this barrier and give Indiana’s scientific and medical research community a powerful tool in its continuous quest for scientific discovery.”

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will be the first school to connect directly to Monon100. The link will be a resource available to all Indiana GigaPoP members, including Purdue, Notre Dame and IU.

Call Center Locating in Madison County Career Horizons, Inc. (d/b/a TeleServices Direct) has established a new call center in Anderson, creating up to 180 new jobs by 2015.

The Indianapolis-based company is a global provider of outsourced inbound and outbound call center services. It has invested $1 million to lease and equip a 15,000-square-foot facility in Anderson’s Flagship Business Park.

The new call center, which opened its doors in February, will handle services for the company’s U.S. customers relating to wireless communications and internet connectivity.

TeleServices Direct has 900 employees in Indiana and more than 1,200 employees globally. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered the company up to $1,000,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on its job creation plans.

JW Marriott Indianapolis Wins Two Awards White Lodging, the Merrillville-based owner of the Marriott hotel brand, was honored with two awards for the new JW Marriott Indianapolis at the America’s Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles.

The hotel received ALIS’s “Development of the Year” award for 2011, selected from a pool of 20 major developments. The facility, which opened in February 2011, beat finalists from Chicago and New York City and was chosen based on on-line votes from attendees of the ALIS conference.

Hotel Business magazine also recognized the JW Marriott Indianapolis development as its “New Construction Deal of the Year” award winner.

The JW Marriott Indianapolis offers more than 1,000 guest rooms in a 33-story tower, and more than 100,000 square feet of onsite function space. The hotel is connected by a skybridge to the 749,000-square-foot Indiana Convention Center. Guests have three onsite dining options, a full-service Starbucks, a state-of-the-art fitness center, an indoor pool and a multi-million dollar public art plaza available to them. www.buildingindiananews.com

Commercial Project of the Year

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DECA Financial Services, LLC, a nationally licensed collection agency, has announced plans to expand its central Indiana headquarters, creating up to 270 new jobs by 2015. The company will invest $2.6 million to purchase and equip a vacant building on Visionary Way in Fishers.

The company plans to hire approximately 140 employees over the next three years and up to 270 cumulative positions in the coming years.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered up to $2,500,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $45,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans, and the town of Fishers has approved additional property tax abatement.

Kokomo to Host Main Street Conference Indiana Main Street has selected the City of Kokomo to host the 2012

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Fishers Firm Collects Jobs

Indiana Main Street Conference. The annual conference, which will draw community leaders from across the state, will focus on downtown revitalization using the Main Street approach.

Indiana Main Street was established in 1985 to provide economic revitalization and professional assistance to participating communities. The Indiana Main Street Program is managed by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

Kokomo will host the day-and-a-half long conference October 10-11, 2012 and will use several venues downtown, including City Hall and local shops and eateries for educational sessions.

(Editor’s note: see page 75 for more information on the Main Street program.)

Lotion Manufacturer to Move Facility from Arizona to Indianapolis Sunshine Manufacturing, LLC has relocated a manufacturing facility from Tempe, AZ to Indianapolis, creating up to 180 new jobs through 2015.

The company, which produces tanning products and lotions, has occupied a 105,000-square-foot facility to serve as the company’s primary manufacturing facility in North America.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Sunshine Manufacturing up to $900,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $75,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

Indianapolis Healthcare Firm Secures $30 Million in Funding to Expand Strand Diagnostics, LLC, the Indianapolisbased maker of the Know Error system, and NantWorks, LLC (Los Angeles) announced that they have entered into an agreement whereby Strand will receive up to $30 million in funding from NantWorks, LLC over the next thee years. The money will be used to accelerate the company’s growth, scale its operations infrastructure, and expand sales and marketing efforts.

Launched in 2009, the Know Error system employs bar coding, forensic principles, and DNA matching to ensure that surgical biopsy www.buildingindiananews.com

Indiana High School Graduation Rate Rises Indiana’s high school graduation rate improved to 85.7 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, an increase of 1.6 percent over the previous school year and 4.3 percent over the 2009 graduation rate.

This is the highest graduation rate Hoosier students have achieved since the state began measuring the four-year cohort graduation rate in 2005. A record-high 171 public schools reported that 90 percent or more of their students graduated in four years.

Approximately 45 percent of public high schools met or exceeded the 90 percent graduation mark, and 83 percent of public high schools graduated 80 percent or more of their seniors. In addition, 55 percent of schools improved their graduation rates over the last school year, with 25 percent of schools improving their rate by five or more percentage points.

In total, 80 percent of graduates received a Core40 or Honors diploma in 2011, the most in Indiana’s history. More than 200 schools (58 percent) increased the number of students receiving an Honors diploma over last year. Non-waiver graduation rates also improved statewide, increasing from 78.1

BUSINESS BUZZ

percent in 2010 to 78.9 percent in 2011.

Of the 14.3 percent of students who did not earn diplomas, 6.1 percent were reported as dropouts/undetermined, 0.3 percent fewer than were reported in the 2010 school year.

Other non-graduates include students who earned General Education Development diplomas (0.4 percent), special education certificates (1.2 percent), non-diploma course completion certificates (0.2 percent) and those still enrolled in school (6.3 percent).

samples being evaluated belong exclusively to the patient being diagnosed. Less than three .

The announcement marked NantWork’s second healthcare investment in Indiana in just two months.

Center to Assist Pharmaceutical and Biotech Companies Opens BASi has opened its new Discovery Center in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette. The facility is designed to provide pharmaceutical and biotech companies with the information they need to evaluate new compounds in the earliest stages of development.

The discovery center is part of BASi’s plan to expand its capabilities in drug discovery to meet client demand. The company also renovated a building at its preclinical toxicology site in Evansville. The improvements provide scientists with more space to complete multiple studies.

The facility has 4,800 square feet of dedicated research space and state-of-the-art environmental systems to maintain and monitor lab conditions.

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Transportation Service Provider to Relocate Illinois Firm to Indianapolis Wheaton Van Lines, Inc. (Indianapolis), a household goods transportation carrier, will acquire Hillside, IL-based Bekins Van Lines and relocate its operations to Indianapolis, creating up to 38 new jobs by 2012.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Wheaton up to $300,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans.

AT&T Investments in Indiana Top $1 Billion from 2009 to 2011 AT&T invested more than $1 billion in its Indiana networks from 2009 through 2011 to improve mobile broadband coverage and overall performance. During 2011, AT&T made nearly 1,250 wireless network upgrades in four key categories. These enhancements include: activating 20 new cell sites or towers to improve network coverage; deploying faster fiber-optic connections to more than 350 cell sites; adding capacity or an extra layer of frequency to cell sites; and upgrading nearly 225 cell sites to provide fast mobile broadband speeds. AT&T also launched its new 4G LTE network in Indianapolis.

For daily news from Central Indiana and around the state, visit our blog at www.buildingindianablog.com and follow us on Twitter at @BuildingIndiana.

South Amazon.com Building Fifth Indiana Facility Amazon.com, Inc. (Seattle) has begun construction of a new fulfillment center at the River Ridge Commerce Center in Jeffersonville. The $150 million project is expected to bring up to 1,050 new jobs to the state by 2015.

The new facility will be Amazon’s fifth fulfillment center in Indiana, bringing its statewide footprint to more than 4 million square feet. Amazon operates facilities in Indianapolis, Whitestown and Plainfield. The company expects to open the new facility this fall.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered up to $2 million in conditional tax credits and up to $300,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. Also, the IEDC and the Indiana Department of Transportation will allocate funds to improve Cox Road. The River Ridge Development Authority has approved additional property tax abatement through the enterprise zone and will support infrastructure improvements.

Financing Plan Set for $2.6 Billion Ohio River Bridges Project Indiana and Kentucky have forged an agreement to pay for two new bridges across the Ohio River. Construction will begin before 22

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End bridge, the new downtown I-65 bridge and the revamped Kennedy Bridge. Tolls will begin as soon as the first bridge is completed. Rates would be in the range of $1 per crossing for frequent commuters in cars, SUVs and other passenger vehicles using transponder devices. Toll rates for other cars, SUVs and passenger vehicles would be in the $2 range, panel trucks in the $5 range, and tractor trailers in the $10 range.

Toyota to Consolidate Production in Princeton Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana is expanding its operations in Princeton, creating approximately 400 new jobs by 2013.

The company will invest $400 million total (with $131 million going directly to the Princeton plant) to consolidate Highlander mid-size SUV production at this location, including both hybrid and export versions. Production is expected to begin in late 2013. Annual Highlander production volume at TMMI is expected to increase by approximately 50,000 units.

Established in Gibson County in 1996, Toyota’s Princeton plant was the second recognized wholly owned Toyota plant in North America. TMMI currently employs 4,800 associates, of which 4,000 are Hoosiers, and builds the Highlander, Sequoia full-size SUV and Sienna minivan at its Princeton facility. The hiring of new manufacturing associates will coincide with - continued on pg 24

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year’s end and is expected to be completed within six years at $1.5 billion less than originally projected.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that outlines each state’s terms and responsibilities for financing and building the new bridges.

Indiana will oversee construction of the East End bridge between Utica, IN and Prospect, KY. This bridge will link the Lee Hamilton Expressway in Indiana and the Gene Snyder Freeway in Kentucky, completing a loop around the east end of the area. The state will use a private sector team for financing, construction and long-term maintenance of the bridge.

Kentucky will oversee financing and construction of the downtown portion: a new I-65 bridge, a reconfigured Kennedy Bridge and modernization of the downtown interchanges on both sides of the river. The Commonwealth will use a designbuild approach with the Kentucky Public Transportation Infrastructure Authority (KPTIA) issuing toll revenue bonds to help cover construction costs.

The two states will use a combination of traditional transportation funding and toll-based funding and will share the toll revenues collected on the project bridges. Kentucky has pledged $536 million in traditional funding for the downtown portion, while Indiana has committed $432 million in traditional funding for the East End portion.

Under the plan, tolls will be collected on the new East

BUSINESS BUZZ

facility and machinery upgrades.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Toyota up to $2.7 million in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

Duke Energy Studies Changes to Indiana Plant Duke Energy and China Huaneng Group have signed a new, three-year agreement expanding their research cooperation in the areas of advanced coal and carbon capture and sequestration technologies.

The expanded agreement calls for an engineering study to determine the potential feasibility of applying Huaneng Group’s low-cost carbon capture process at unit 3 of Duke Energy’s Gibson Station. There are no plans to make any modifications to the power plant at this stage of the study. There are five units at Gibson with a combined capacity of 3,145 megawatts.

Funding will be provided by the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center.

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Consulting Firm Establishes Bloomington Location Citigal, a software security consulting firm, will locate a new facility in Bloomington, creating up to 25 high-wage jobs by 2014.

The Virginia-based company, which specializes in helping companies design, build and maintain secure software, will invest $352,000 to lease and equip 2,400 square feet of space at 100 S. College Ave. The new facility will house the company’s first assessment center outside of its Dulles, VA, headquarters and is slated to be operational in May. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Cigital, Inc. up to $250,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $8,100 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

Japanese Manufacturer Boosts Production at Indiana Plant Sintering Technologies, Inc., has commenced full-scale production of valve timing control systems at its Greensburg plant after completing improvements to the facility that will boost its production capacity by 150 percent.

The company, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd., is also changing its name to Hitachi Powdered Metals (USA), Inc. Hitachi Chemical Group aims to use this change of name to associate the company with Hitachi Chemical and raise its profile within its market and customer base.

The company has been manufacturing and distributing powder metal products for vehicles since 1995, after originally being established as a joint venture company of Hitachi Powdered Metals Co., Ltd. and a local company in 1987. It increased production capacity in expectation of increased demand for valve timing control system component in the North American market.

Packaging Company Chooses Franklin County to Expand Operations MBC Group, Inc., a manufacturer of packaged and printed materials, will expand its operations in Brookville, creating up to 101 new jobs by 2014.

The company will invest $4.1 million to add four new thermoforming plastic production 24

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City Establishes Restaurant Start-Up Program The Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission has approved the creation of a new forgivable loan program for people interested in opening restaurants in certain parts of town.

Loans are available in amounts of up to $50,000. They must be approved by a committee including Jeffersonville’s economic director, its planning and zoning director and representation from area financial institutions. The loans may be used for expenses such as floors or fixtures, but not for permitting fees.

www.buildingindiananews.com

Eligible business must also earn at least 65 percent of their revenue from food and beverage sales and must provide sit-down service.

The city will make the loans and a lien will be filed as collateral. Ten percent of the loan is forgiven per year as long as the restaurant remains open. Revenue from TIF districts will be used to fund the loans.

Bemis Consolidating in Terre Haute Bemis Company, Inc., a global supplier of flexible packaging and pressure sensitive materials, is consolidating operations in Terre Haute, creating up to 40 new jobs by 2013.

The Wisconsin-based company, which supplies products to customers in the food, consumer and medical industries, will invest $10.6 million to consolidate parts of its operations to its polyethylene packaging division in Terre Haute. Bemis will purchase and install new printing press equipment at its onemillion-square-foot facility by the end of the year.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Bemis up to $150,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $150,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

For daily news from Southern Indiana and around the state, visit our blog at www.buildingindianablog.com and follow us on Twitter at @BuildingIndiana.

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BUSINESS BUZZ

lines at its 30,000-square-foot facility on the north side of Brookville. It will also expand its digital printing operations currently outsourced with the addition of printing, kitting and fulfillment for point-of-purchase materials.

Once the new production lines are operational, the company expects to handle more than $10 million of packaging, digitally printed materials and contract labor for its customers annually.

The company plans to ramp up to more than 20 new employees at its facility by the end of the year with the ongoing hiring of additional associates, coinciding with the installation of new machinery and equipment.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered MBC Group up to $625,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

People News Wishard Selects Weaver Wishard Health Services has named Christopher S. Weaver, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Weaver previously served as Vice President of Clinical and Business Integration at Wishard. He is a recipient of the Indiana University Trustee Teaching Award and was named the Emergency Medicine Faculty Teacher of the Year by the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors in 2005.

Dobiski to Helm Hall of Fame Mikki Dobski has been named the new Executive Director of the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend. Dobski most recently worked for the City of South Bend as the Director of Communications and Special Projects. She holds a B.S. from Ball State University and is active with multiple community organizations.

Ivy Tech Northeast Selects Maxwell Ivy Tech Community College–Northeast in Fort Wayne has selected Cathy Maxwell, Ed.D., as its new Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Maxwell most recently served as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Bauder College in Atlanta, GA, where she was responsible for program and curriculum development, enrollment, retention and graduation management.

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Thompson to Manage Georgia Street Indianapolis Downtown, Inc., has named Melissa Thompson as the new Georgia Street Manager. She will manage the day-to-day aspects of Georgia Street including operations/ maintenance, special events and programming and collaborate with Georgia Street property owners and businesses.

Thompson was formerly Clerk of the Council for the City of Indianapolis.

Riley Names COO Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health has named Alicia Schulhof its new Chief Operating Officer. Schulhof comes to Riley at IU Health from Brandon Regional Hospital in Brandon, FL, where she has served as the COO for the past five years.

Her previous roles include the Associate Administrator and Ethics Compliance Officer at Northside Hospital and Tampa Bay Heart Institute in St. Petersburg, FL, and the Associate Administrator at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas, TX. Nooter Nabs Goodfellow Jeff Goodfellow has joined Amex Nooter (Hammond) as Controller.

Goodfellow comes to the company after nine years as Controller with the Christman Co. He is a Certified Management Accountant with an MBA from Wayne State University.

Butler Names Communications Dean Gary R. Edgerton, professor and chair of Communication and Theatre Arts at Old Dominion University, will become the first permanent dean of Butler University’s 2-year-old College of Communication. He will join Butler on Aug. 1. Edgerton spent 18 years at Old Dominion, where he oversaw degree programs in communication, theatre and dance involving 24 full-time and 41 part-time faculty members.

Risch Advanced at Accuride Accuride Corporation (Evansville) has appointed Gregory A. Risch as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Risch had served in the role on an interim basis since October 2011.

Risch has served in a variety of capacities in Accuride’s Finance function since joining the company in 1994, including Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, Director of Financial Planning and Reporting, and Assistant Controller.

Christy Joins Salin Bank John Christy has joined the Salin Bank team as Executive Vice President, Director of Commercial Banking. Christy comes to Salin Bank (Indianapolis) with nearly 30 years of banking experience and expertise. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of PNC Financial Services.

Bell Rings in at Ivy Tech Matt Bell has been named President of Ivy Tech Corporate College.

He was previouslythe Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana.

Ivy Tech launched Corporate College in September 2011 to provide expanded business solutions for companies looking to provide training for their employees.

Kitchell Health

Promoted

at

IU

Indiana University Health has promoted Ryan Kitchell to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In addition to his role as CFO, Kitchell will continue serving as president of Indiana University Health Plans. Kitchell joined IU Health in September 2010.

Linger Named to Real Estate Post David Linger has been named Executive Vice President, Regional Director of RE/MAX of Indiana.

He succeeds Dan Breault in managing the regional office as Breault transitions to lead RE/ MAX New England in Boston.

Linger has been with RE/MAX since 1998, covering the Minnesota and Wisconsin region for the RE/MAX North Central office. He will remain Executive Vice President, Regional Director of that territory, adding Indiana to his responsibilities. www.buildingindiananews.com

Healthcare CEO Chosen Press Ganey Associates, Inc., (South Bend) has named Patrick T. Ryan has been named Chief Executive Officer. Ryan has held various leadership positions throughout his 30-year career in the health care industry. Most recently, Mr. Ryan served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Broadlane Group. He has also served as CEO at several leading health care companies.

Zivich Honored by Association Community Hospital Librarian Joan Zivich has been named to the Medical Library Association’s Hospital Libraries Section Scroll of Exemplary Service. Librarians selected for this award have made a difference in advancing the cause of hospital librarianship over the past year. Zivich has been the medical librarian at Community Hospital in Munster since 1987.

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Express Adds McGraw Express Employment Professionals (Greenwood) has named Greg McGraw as their newest Business Development Specialist. McGraw will be responsible for developing relationships with and serving local companies. He is a graduate of Mountain State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Administration.

IU Health Advances Christophel The Indiana University Health Goshen Board of Directors has appointed Randy Christophel to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in February 2012. Christophel has served IU Health Goshen (formerly Goshen Health System) in an executive leadership capacity for 17 years, first as Chief Financial Officer and then as Chief Operating Officer.

Pinkerton Advanced RLTurner (Zionsville) has announced the promotion of Kenny Pinkerton to the Manager of Safety and Training. Pinkerton has more than 30 years construction experience and has been employed with RLTurner since 1995.

Bran-Guzman Honored for Excellence Ana Bran-Guzman was recognized by St. Catherine’s Hospital (East Chicago) with the 2012 Nursing Excellence Award. Bran-Guzman was nominated by her peers for the award based upon key qualities including leadership, dignity, compassionate care, community, quality and stewardship. She is currently a department nurse for radiology.

Have your company People News featured here, visit www. buildingindiananews.com.

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Photo Feature Messer Wins MICCS Crystal Eagle The Metro Indianapolis Coalition for Construction Safety (MICCS) held its Annual Anniversary and Awards Celebration in April at the Indiana Convention Center Sagamore Ballroom.

Messer Construction won the Excellence in Safety Award, the highest honor MICCS bestows. Other safety leaders were: Steinberger Construction (General Contractor Below 300,000 Man-Hours); Advanced Energy Solutions (Trade Partner Under 100,000 Man-Hours); Midwest Mole (Trade Partner 100,000 to 200,000 Man-Hours); Industrial Electric (Trade Partner Over 200,000 Man-Hours); Turner Construction Company of Indiana (Construction Manager/Developer); Central Indiana Alliance (Owner/Facilities Maintenance); and Weber Concrete Construction (Residential Construction) Three projects were recognized with Outstanding Project Safety Awards: Ascension Health Ministry Service Center (Summit Construction); Lutheran Hospital Fifth Floor Addition (Weigand Construction); and Soldiers and Sailors Monument Victory Statue Repairs (Glenroy Construction). Greenwald Enterprises was named winner of the Mentorship Award; 16 companies received a Zero Injury Award; Steve Hodgson of Wurster Construction received the Board of Directors Award; and Jeff Carter, Deputy Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Labor and James Rabold of RLTurner Construction were awarded the Burnie McGinnis Award.

PUC, Manufacturer Partner on Training Tri-State Industries Inc. and Purdue University Calumet have partnered on a new program designed to give PUC students some real-world experience with robotic welding and lean manufacturing methods. The partnership, which may include training internships, will provide students with a competitive edge and drive Northwest Indiana forward, according to PUC Chancellor Tom Keon. “We have been asked to educate students for the workforce, but people think about the existing workforce,” he says. “Tri-State is the workforce of the future.” Don Keller, CEO of Tri-State, says the lean manufacturing concept driving the industry has created a completely new challenge.

“It’s a team concept that’s new to manufacturing,” he says. For example, Tri-State doesn’t have a full-time purchasing manager because workers on the floor are responsible for ordering raw materials for their specific task, or “cell.”

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Messer Construction received the coveted “Crystal Eagle” after the panel of three judges found that they had a well-developed, forward-looking safety program and provided substantial, concrete examples of improvement, success and leadership in safety.

Through a new partnership with Hammond-based Tri-State, Purdue University Calumet students will gain hands-on experience with robotic welding technology.

Purdue University Calumet Chancellor Tom Keon and his wife, Nancy, examine a robotic welder programmed to repair escalators.

www.buildingindiananews.com

Shrine Golf Classic a Success The Shrine of Christ’s Passion received a check for $16,724.26 from its first Golf Classic last September, an event that helped retain free admission for visitors. “We were very proud and honored to plan this first-class event for the Shrine,” said Andrea Pearman, Owner and President of Diversified Marketing Strategies. “It was so successful, we look forward to the next golf outing this fall.” The Shrine is a journey through the Passion of Christ along a halfmile trail in St. John. The trail provides a prayerful environment that includes bronze statues and gardens. The pathway is interactive, with listening and learning stations on each statue.

The Shrine has brought several tourism accolades to the region.

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EPA Honors Design Firm The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Fanning Howey, an architecture and engineering design firm with offices in Indianapolis and South Bend, with a 2012 Energy Star Partner of the Year – Service and Product Provider Award. Fanning Howey is the nation’s first architecture and engineering design firm to receive this award. In 2010 and 2011, Fanning Howey partnered with Carmel Clay Schools in Carmel to certify seven schools as Energy Star buildings. For its efforts, the district received the Green Award from the Carmel Chamber of Commerce.

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29

United Way Names Company of the Year

Donation Benefits Breast Cancer Screening

Kramer & Leonard Office Products was named “Company of the Year” by United Way of Porter County. The company supported the United Way by making a donation for every carton of copy paper sold. Cartons and reams are co-branded with the United Way logo, allowing for a broader reach of brand awareness throughout departments at participating companies. To date, more than 75 organizations are on board with the promotion throughout Northwest Indiana, including colleges, banks and city administrations.

St. John resident Shelley DeYoung is a two-year breast cancer survivor. She credits her recovery, in part, on her healthcare team at Community Hospital and the Women’s Diagnostic Center in Munster, along with support from her employers, Illiana Heating and Air Conditioning. To honor their customer service representative, Sue and Tom Krygsheld of Illiana Heating and Air Conditioning held a fund raiser during the month of October to help other local women – those without insurance and who otherwise couldn’t afford them – receive diagnostic mammograms at the Women’s Diagnostic Center in Munster.

Congratulating Greg and Mary Fox,owners of Kramer & Leonard (center), are Clare Baumgardt, Board Chair of Indiana Association of United Ways (far left); and Sharon Kish, President of United Way of Porter County (far right).

30

Pictured from left to right are Shelley De Young, Tom Krygsheld, Sue Krygsheld and Mary Nicholson, M.D., fellowship-trained, dedicated breast radiologist on staff at Community Hospital and regional director of breast imaging services for Community Healthcare System.

www.buildingindiananews.com

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

A Field Trip for Adults

The Construction Advancement Foundation of Northwest Indiana invites high school guidance counselors on a tour of the region’s building trades.

Dave Hall (center), Apprenticeship Coordinator for Ironworkers Local 395, speaks to guests.

By David Wellman

T

he Construction Advancement Foundation of Northwest Indiana (CAF) recently hosted more than 40 high school guidance counselors for a “field trip” to showcase the cutting-edge facilities and comprehensive training offered by the area’s building trades.

“Northwest Indiana is home to some of the nation’s best union tradespeople and top union facilities,” said CAF Executive Director Dewey Pearman. “Together with the region’s union contractors, they provide critical talent and services for some of the world’s largest corporations. And the building trades also provide a lucrative career path for area students.”

Joe Coar, Vice President at Tonn & Blank, recapped his 45-year career with the Michigan City company as one example of that path, and laid out the challenge faced by area building trades. “In another two years, half of the 18,000 tradespeople in Northwest Indiana will retire,” he said. “It would have happened already if it weren’t for the downturn in the economy. But very soon we are going to need nine to ten thousand young men and women.”

32

Already, he noted, the local building trades are bringing in workers from outside the area because demand at the steel mills along the Lake Michigan shoreline and at the BP Whiting Refinery for the ongoing, multi-billion-dollar modernization project has soaked up all the available manpower.

By spring, Coar explained, BP alone would be employing about two-thirds of the region’s building trades workforce.

Though the trades are currently “importing” workers, that’s a feature, not a bug, of the union hall system, which allows workers to move around the country to take advantage of work elsewhere if activity in their home region slows.

Building Trades Booming And the work is out there. In 2011, more than $8.7 billion in industrial maintenance and construction projects were conducted under the terms of the National Maintenance Agreement (NMA).

The NMAs, negotiated and administered by the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee Inc., are a series of collective bargaining agreements used by more than 2,000 industrial contractors

who employ members of 14 building trades international unions. The $8.7 billion in 2011 requests was more than twice the work ($4.3 billion) requested in 2010.

One theme stressed by throughout the day was the opportunity for continuing education. Coar, a member of the board of the Indiana Kentucky Regional Council of Carpenters, noted that “IKRCC will graduate 350 apprentices this year, and 325 of them will have an associate’s degree from Ivy Tech. I encourage every apprentice to take advantage of that opportunity, because what happens if you get hurt?” The extra benefit of this, he added, is that apprentices are on the job learning and getting paid all of this time, so there is no college debt.

Traditionally, the building trades have been thought of as someplace to put kids who aren’t college material, but in many cases that is far from the truth. “We are in competition for those kids you are sending to college,” said Robert Anadell, Executive Director of the Building Construction Resource Center (BCRC), which handles drug testing for the local unions. Bob Hostinsky, Coordinator for Sheet Metal Workers Local 20, agreed, saying that the www.buildingindiananews.com

days when unions were for people with “a strong back and a weak mind” are over.

“We don’t want the people you can’t place anywhere else,” he said. “We want the people who took the AP classes and who you think should go to college.” Sheet metal work requires design and engineering skills and Hostinsky needs people with excellent math chops. “You know when you have a student look at algebra and say, when are we ever going to use this stuff? Send them to me, and I will show them how they’re going to use it,” he said.

That isn’t to say that there still aren’t places where muscle matters and a problem kid can find a home. Dave Hall, Apprenticeship Coordinator for the Ironworkers Local 395, was once one of those kids he described to the assembled counselors as “your worst nightmare,” and changing times have not helped.

“Without shop classes in schools anymore people like me have no place to fit in,” he said. “And the big machine shops they would work at are no longer here.” But the ironworkers still offer an opportunity

High school guidance counselors at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 20 facility in Portage.

for a good career for those willing to work.

“You get out of it what you put into it,” Hall said. “We had a lot of people last year making $100,000, $150,000, but it took a lot of hours.”

Like the carpenters, the ironworkers’

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RULE OF LAW

Contracting Safety An Indiana Supreme Court decision paves the way for safer jobsites.

By David Wellman

I

s a company acting as construction manager liable for an injury suffered by a subcontractor’s employee simply because the construction manager is running a safety program? This was the question before the Indiana Supreme Court in March, and the Court’s answer has important implications for construction firms statewide.

The case under consideration was Hunt Construction Group v. Garrett. It involved an injury suffered by a woman working on the construction of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Hunt was the construction manager on the project; the injured worker, Shannon Garrett, was an employee of one of the subcontractors, Baker Concrete Construction, Inc. Garrett was struck in the head and hand by a falling piece of wood during construction. As the Court noted in its summary of the action, “An employee’s rights and remedies against his or her 34

employer on account of jobsite injuries are governed by the Indiana’s Worker’s Compensation Act. But that Act does not restrict an injured employee from pursuing a claim against any ‘other person than the employer.’ Provided with this right in addition to her entitlement to workers compensation benefits, Garrett sued Hunt for negligence.”

Liability Risk As part of its contract with the Stadium Authority, Hunt was running the safety program on the project. “There is prior case law that says, if you have a bunch of safety stuff in your contract, you risk assuming liability,” explains Sean Devenney, attorney with Drewry Simmons Vornehm, LLP, an Indianapolis law firm specializing in construction law. The primary precedent was Plan-Tec, Inc. v. Wiggins, a 1983 case which found that a construction manager owed a “duty of care” in two cases: if such

a duty was written in their contract, or if by their actions, they had “either gratuitously or voluntarily” assumed such a duty.

Examining Hunt’s contract, the Court found that while Hunt had agreed to run a safety program at the job site, the language made it clear that the program was being run solely for the benefit of the project owner, the Stadium Authority. Furthermore, all the subcontractors’ contracts stated that they were responsible for the safety of their own employees. Finally, none of the safety provisions in Hunt’s contract imposed any specific responsibility for the safety of all employees on the site. Thus the Court ruled that no “duty of care” existed in Hunt’s contract.

But did Hunt’s actions in fulfilling the safety provisions of its contract amount to an assumption of responsibility? In PlanTec, the construction manager had been held responsible for an injury because they had taken numerous safety-related www.buildingindiananews.com

actions, such as appointing a safety director, holding regular safety meetings and directing subcontractors to observe safety precautions.

On the Lucas Oil Stadium project, “Hunt had a very cutting-edge safety program, including a partnership with IOSHA,” Devenney notes.

“It was a significant effort at maintaining safety in the workplace.” Among other things, Hunt held daily safety inspections and weekly safety meetings, required daily safety reports and notified contractors when they were in violation of the safety program or the law. Hunt also had the power to discipline subcontractors that violated the safety program.

However, the Court pointed to a crucial difference: in Plan-Tec, the construction manager had no safety duties spelled out in its contract. It was because they went beyond the scope of their contract in initiating safety procedures that they assumed a duty of care.

In Hunt’s case, all the elements of the safety program were detailed in its contract.

Promoting Safety “We believe our resolution of this claim promotes safety at construction sites,” the Court concluded. “As a general rule, an owner of property has no duty to provide independent contractors with a safe workplace.

Thus, Stadium Authority’s contracting with Hunt for specific responsibilities related to jobsite safety, and Hunt’s taking on these responsibilities, was an effort to promote safety on the construction site beyond that required by law.

“At oral argument, Garrett advanced the all-or-nothing proposition that with Hunt’s responsibility for jobsite safety comes liability and that the only way to avoid liability is to turn a blind eye toward safety. But safety at construction sites, especially at large public-works projects like this one, should not be sacrificed for fear of exposure to liability. The contracts at issue here reflect a way of promoting safety without exposing construction managers to suits like this one.”

For construction companies in Indiana, Devenney says the resolution of the case provides an ideal opportunity to review their standard contracts. “The decision opens up a lot of opportunities to maintain safe workplaces if you have a really good contract,” he says. “In a lot of cases there will be loose language, like, ‘I will ensure that all employees www.buildingindiananews.com

Companies should ensure that everything they are going to do in a safety program is laid out in their contract so there is no question of assuming responsibility by going beyond the scope of the agreement. on the project are safe,’ when what they really mean is their own employees, not all employees.” That kind of sloppiness can lead to a finding that a construction

manager did assume a duty of care.

Similarly, companies should take care to ensure that everything they are going to do as part of a safety program is laid out in their contract so there is no question of assuming responsibility by going beyond the scope of the agreement.

Devenney believes the ruling should be welcomed by safety pros. “This really helps because now they can feel more comfortable that, if they define the safety relationship in the contract, they are not going to have to buy the whole project if someone is injured,” he says.

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BOTTOM LINE

Take a

Breath

Need financing for your big idea? Here’s a tip on making your pitch.

By David Brenner, President & CEO, Innovation Park at Notre Dame

M

ost aspiring entrepreneurs dread the prospect of asking for money from anyone, and for good reason. They fear that the potential investor, whether friend, family member or wealthy individual, will pose questions or objections they can’t answer on the spot. Instead, they presume their business plan will satisfy that need and open the door for funding.

Unfortunately, there is probably no term more misunderstood by entrepreneurs than the role of the “business plan.” This misunderstanding leads to more false starts and missed opportunities than virtually any other activity the entrepreneur undertakes.

36

Preparing a business plan is fine, but a good business plan demands more than simply writing 20 or so pages to proscribed headings suggested in many textbooks or software packages. An effective business plan flows logically and clearly from an understanding of the business itself. To address this shortcoming, we encourage entrepreneurs to invest sufficient time and effort up front to answer five key questions that we call the “5 Breath Test.”

The “5 Breath Test” acts as a catalyst to help the entrepreneur explain their business purpose and revenue model in clear, succinct terms for any interested party: 1. What is your business idea?

2. Who needs it, and why?

3. Why choose you or your company to develop this business?

4. Why is now the right time for this business?

5. How will this business (and your investors) make money?

In some respects these questions are similar to what is typically called an “elevator pitch,” but the key distinction is that each of these questions stands on its own. An elevator pitch assumes that the audience will allow you a few minutes to pitch your new business idea from beginning to end, which is almost never the case.

Instead, the “5 Breath Test” neatly dissects the key questions into more manageable concepts, allowing the www.buildingindiananews.com

entrepreneur and the audience to interact more naturally. It also prepares the entrepreneur to anticipate questions that don’t follow in rote order. For example why is this management team the right people to execute this particular idea? It’s simply a more natural way to pitch your business and, hopefully, stimulate interest in your audience.

Here is an example written around a new mobile app:

and tastes change frequently, and our app evolves to help them find new spots based on their preferences and usage.

3. Why choose you or your company to develop this business?

Typical: As young adults we understand our market.

Better: Our team monitors the best of other social media apps to leverage the right tools in our app to evolving interests and trends in the market.

1. What is your business idea?

Typical: Our app will revolutionize the way young professionals find apartments.

Better: Our app enables young professionals to identify 1) the best rental options based on their preferences and personal needs, and 2) continues to provide new and exciting ways to take advantage of those locations.

4. Why

2. Who needs it, and why?

5. How will this business (and your investors) make money?

Typical: Everyone will want our service because it’s so cool.

Better: Young professionals’ needs

is now the right time for

this business?

Typical: Social media outlets are cutting edge.

Better: The young professional market is evolving every day and new opportunities are emerging that demand a responsive app to fit their needs.

Typical: Our app is priced at $9.99 and development costs are low.

Better: The app is sold on an annual subscription basis for $9.99 in the first year and $5.00 per year thereafter, providing a sustainable revenue stream to support continuing development. We will also explore the “pop-up” advertising opportunity for bars and other hot spots based on the smartphone location.

The “5 Breath Test” simplifies the business planning process and links the key elements of the core business model together. It’s not an easy task by any means, but it paints a very clear vision as to where the entrepreneur and his team are taking their new venture, and what funding and other resources may be needed. The goal of an effective introduction to a prospective investor is to capture their interest and imagination quickly, leading them to seek more time with the entrepreneur to discuss the opportunity in detail.

Now, take a deep breath and try it yourself!

(Note: The “5 Breath Test” is a copyright of IdeaWorks, LLC.)

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SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Money Tree A new facility helps Oak Partners better serve its customers.

By David Wellman

F

or Fred Ruiz, Founder of and

Those clients have been joined by many

turning 65 last year. Starting January 1,

Partner in Oak Partners, Inc.,

others. Today, Ruiz oversees about two

2011, more than 10,000 Boomers turned

it was other small businesses

dozen advisors and staffers – including

65 every day. That will continue to happen

that helped him to launch his

sons Marc and Mario – who manage

every single day for the next 18 years.

own small business nearly four decades

approximately $400 million for nearly

It’s little wonder, then, that not only

ago. “I started my career working with

2,000 clients. Most of these are retirees

did Oak Partners build its new corporate

people with small businesses,” he recalls.

or those approaching retirement, and

headquarters in Crown Point with room to

This was back in the mid-Seventies after

are seeking retirement planning, estate

expand, but that Ruiz is already thinking

Congress had created this newfangled

planning and investment services.

about what to do when it fills up. “We will

retirement tool, the Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

“I helped them set up IRAs for small businesses,” Ruiz says, “and I grew along with those clients. I still have many with me today, 40 years later.”

38

Over the last few years, momentum

probably open up other offices,” he says.

behind this business has begun to

Oak Partners already has three satellite

accelerate, Ruiz says, driven in part by

offices, in Valparaiso, Cincinnati, OH, and

retiring Baby Boomers.

Naples, FL.

Born between 1946 and 1964, the

The company’s new building opened in

first of the Baby Boom generation began

the fall of 2010. “My dream for a long time www.buildingindiananews.com

was to have our own facility that was planned

to anticipate how current events will

annuity experts, mutual fund experts

for us,” Ruiz says. The building features a

impact the ebb and flow of the market.

and more.”

5,000-square-foot main floor and another

“We are constantly combing our files to

The firm also holds social events for

1,200 square feet of kitchen and office space

ensure that clients are well-balanced,”

its clients such as wine and beer tastings,

on the lower level.

Ruiz says. “There is always something to

and hosts an annual “Oaktoberfest”

contend with, so you have to have people

in the parking lot with food and live

diversified.”

entertainment.

Offices are placed around the perimeter of the building, leaving space for a large conference room in the center that can

In addition to providing a place to

The new facility should be sufficient

not only accommodate the entire staff if

work, the new building also provides

for the company’s immediate needs

necessary, but can be used for client-focused

a place for Oak Partners to inform,

and will certainly save them in terms of

events and seminars.

educate and interact with its clients. “We

moving expenses. “In the past 20 years,

did 65 events last year,” Ruiz says. “We

we have moved four times,” Ruiz says.

host seminars with economists, social

“This should be enough for the next

security experts, investment experts,

three or four years.”

Hassle-Free Small Business Loan In order to finance construction of the new building, Ruiz enlisted the help of the Regional Development Company (RDC), a Valparaiso-based Certified Development Company which makes loans under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 504 loan

“In the past 20 years, we have moved four times. This should be enough for the next three or four years.”

- Fred Ruiz, Founder and Partner in Oak Partners, Inc.

program. The program offered a loan at a lower interest rate than the banks were then offering, Ruiz notes, and at the time the SBA was waiving thousands of dollars in fees as part of the federal government’s effort to stimulate the economy.

Ruiz relied on Erica Passauer, now the President and Executive Director of the RDC, to handle the documentation needed for the loan so that the company could concentrate on serving its customers. “She was great,” Ruiz says. “She was a very competent person who got us through the process.”

That hassle-free experience was very important for Oak Partners because of the time commitments the company must make to its clients. “I could work 60 hours a week – and sometimes do,” Ruiz says. “People think this is a plum job, but everyone works really hard.”

Advisors not only need to stay in regular contact with their many clients, but have www.buildingindiananews.com

39

Contractor List for Parkview Regional Medical Center General Contractors Pepper Construction

CONSTRUCTION

Weigand Construction Architect HKS Inc. Partial Subcontractor List A. Hattersley & Sons Almet B&E Painting Barton Malow Beaty Construction, Inc. Bright Sheet Metal Brooks Construction Circle B Construction Crown Corr Inc. Dave Harlow Enterprises Don R. Fruchey, Inc. Engineered Air Balance Engineered Systems Inc. Fox Contractors Hagerman Construction Harlow Enterprises, Inc Havel, An EMCOR Company HKS Inc. IMEDCO ISEC, Inc. Karst Surveying Services Lenex Steel Midland Engineering Co. Morris Sheet Metal Pepper Construction Co. Pepper Equipment Group Performance Contracting, Inc. Schenkel & Sons Schneider Corporation Shambaugh & Son, L.P. Solid Platforms, Inc. Spohn Associates, Inc. SPS Corporation

Center of Care The new Parkview Regional Medical Center gives Northeast Indiana a single location for all of its healthcare needs.

By David Wellman

T

he new Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne “is much more than just a hospital,” says Mark Hisey, Vice President of Construction for Parkview Health. “It’s a campus that embraces wellness and wellbeing from the moment you drive up.”

The Center’s March opening was the culmination of a project spanning three years and represents an investment of more than $500 million in Northeast Indiana. Its more than 900,000 square feet include 446 beds in private rooms; specialty centers for the heart, neurosciences and orthopedics; adult and pediatric trauma centers; and a physician’s office building. According to Parkview officials, the Center was the biggest construction project in the region since General Motors built a truck plant in Allen County in the mid-1980s.

“This is one of the largest projects ever done in the state and by Pepper,” says Bill McCarthy, President, Pepper Construction Company of Indiana (Indianapolis).

It consumed more than 3 million man-hours and more than 3,600 people worked on the site over the course of the project.

Much of that work was given, by design, to local

companies. “We understood the client’s need to involve local firms and felt we uniquely had the ability through past experience to deliver that, including using a joint venture with Weigand Construction,” McCarthy explains. Working with its Fort Wayne-based partner, the two firms awarded 84 percent of contracts and 93 percent of contract volume to regional and local subcontractors.

New Facility Needed Like most new hospital projects these days, the impetus behind the Regional Medical Center was a need to replace an older facility, in this case the Parkview Hospital on Randallia Drive. Originally opened as Parkview Memorial Hospital in 1953, it had been expanded numerous times between 1958 and 2004, but had finally reached a point of diminishing returns.

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“We needed to make some of our services more accessible and modernize the facility and it was cost-prohibitive to do that versus building a new facility,” Hisey says. So the call was made to convert Parkview Hospital to a 50-bed facility (since upgraded to 150 beds) and build a new Regional Medical Center near I-69 and Dupont Road. That location was already the site of several other Parkview facilities, including Parkview North Hospital and Parkview Orthopaedic Hospital, both of which opened in 2002, as well as Women’s & Children’s Hospital and the Cancer Center, both opened in 2008.

Plans called for the Center to be an expansion of the existing Parkview North Hospital. However, the location envisioned for the expansion was already in use as a detention pond. Worse, all the utilities servicing Parkview North ran right through the site. Pepper and Weigand “identified all of the utility conflicts and worked through a plan to systematically relocate every utility to their new permanent

41

location,” says Pepper Vice President Steve Allemeier. “Not only did we have to deal with conflicts with the new building, but also new parking lots and roadways. The relocation process took over six months, required weekly logistics meetings and very close communication with the hospital.”

Once construction began, it proceeded

along lines that had literally been tested half a dozen times. After the initial design work, Parkview built mockups of the proposed patient care areas and brought in everyone from staffers to members of the local community to provide feedback. “As a result we built the patient rooms six times to make sure we got the right feel,” Hisey says.

Likewise, the entire campus was designed to maximize physicians’ time with patients. “They park right underneath and many have offices in the hospital,” Hisey says. “It eliminates the need for ‘windshield time.’” The Center, he says, is “focused around safety, quality and efficiency.”

Automation and Robotics One example is its elaborate building management system. “The system is a Schneider Electric I/A Series DDC control system utilizing the Niagara AX platform” explains Dan Lowe, Pepper Senior Project Manager. “It has integrated many of the hospital’s stand-alone systems, including lighting, HVAC, utility metering, and the fire alarms. It also monitors the temperature of hundreds of refrigerator, freezer and cabinet warmers throughout the hospital.”

If the system detects a problem, it will alert technicians via pager; staff can also monitor the system over the Web.

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ceiling-mounted patient lift. “The number one cause of employee injury for nurses is back strains from lifting patients,” Hisey says.

These lifts will eliminate that issue.

In the intensive care unit, patients are placed in “total care beds” that monitor their status and perform routine tasks such as turning patients. In the future, Hisey says, these will be tied into patients’ electronic medical records so that the beds will automatically position themselves according to a patients’ needs and will notify nurses if they are taken out of position, or if the patient gets out of bed.

Parkview created and tested six different patient room designs before settling on a final concept. Each room features an overhead lift to help get patients in and out of bed and reduce chances of back injuries to nurses.

The Center also takes advantage of advances in robotics technology, employing three different types of robots around the facility. These include surgical robots like the da Vinci Surgical System, extensive automated technology for lab testing and the “tugs,” robotic delivery vehicles that transport items such as meals and linens throughout the Regional Medical Center. “This lets the staff spend more time with patients,” Hisey says.

Another innovation is that every room is equipped with a

Congratulations PARKVIEW HOSPITAL

Don R. Fruchey, Inc.

Completed Ahead of Schedule Of course, the Parkview Regional Medical Center is much more than just buildings and rooms. “We used a lot of natural light and stone to create an environment that’s much more relaxing. Our focus is to make families as comfortable as they can be,” Hisey says.

Given the size and complexity of the project, it would not have been a surprise if the opening date got pushed back, but instead Pepper and Weigand finished the project in 2011, ahead of a planned 2012 completion. The companies credit the broad use of building information modeling (BIM), a technique that involves building a virtual model of a project before construction begins, and prefabrication for saving more than $5 million and shaving months off the schedule.

“While we are involved in several large healthcare projects currently, such as Eskenazi Health - The New Wishard and the Riley Hospital for Children Simon Family Tower, each project has its unique challenges,” McCarthy says.

“Parkview was one of our most successful projects ever,” he adds. “This is largely due to the strong leadership of the client and program manager, Jones Lang LaSalle, and the spirit of cooperation and partnership among the project team.”

Allemeier agrees that teamwork was key. “Our challenge was bringing together dozens of people that were accustomed to sinking or swimming on their own and getting them to buy into the fact that it wasn’t about them, it was about Parkview and what was best for the project,” he concludes. “It’s not about one PM or one Superintendent. Parkview ended up being a very good thing where everyone came together.”

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By the Numbers: Parkview Regional Medical Center 1.1 million square feet of

400 miles of fiber optic cable

parking and roads

32 miles of ventilation ductwork

54,000 cubic yards of concrete

19 miles of interior walls

9,600 tons of structural steel

10 miles of concrete curb

3,550 parking spaces

Six acres of roof area

2,050 plumbing fixtures

1,200 miles of copper wire

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Shambaugh & Son Headquarters – with 250,000 sq. ft. of Office, Warehouse, Fab Shops and Engineering Center

$500M Parkview Regional Medical Center – “Shambaugh brought significant experience and combined MEP resources to the project and was an important member of the team that helped bring the project in below budget and ahead of schedule.” – Jim Witmer, Parkview Regional Medical Center

SHAMBAUGH & SON, L.P. CONTRACTORS • ENGINEERS • SERVICE SINCE 1926 For over 86 years, Shambaugh & Son has been nationally recognized for its quality programs, successful repeat business performance, worldclass innovation, fast-track capability, and cost control. From our humble beginnings in 1926, Shambaugh has matured into a customer-driven, single-source, self-perform Engineering and Construction firm. Today, Shambaugh is the largest specialty contractor in Indiana and is ranked the 3rd largest in the United States. We are proud to have worked with Parkview for 54 continuous years!

We are Indiana’s only specialty contractor who: • Provides both Engineering and Construction services “in house” for the 10 broad disciplines of Mechanical, Plumbing, Process, Refrigeration, Electrical, Process Controls, Water and Waste Treatment, Fire Protection, Temperature Controls, High Voltage and Low Voltage Systems.

• Has a Commitment to Quality which is unmatched with our ISO 9001:2008 Certification.

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Indiana’s 25 Largest Medical Device Companies (by Employment) Advantis Medical Greenwood

COVER STORY

American Renolit La Porte AO Safety Plymouth Beckman Coulter Indianapolis Biomet Warsaw Boston Scientific Spencer C&A Tool Engineering Churubusco Cook Group Bloomington DePuy Warsaw EHOB Indianapolis

A Growth Device Medical device manufacturers contribute $10 billion to Indiana’s economy, but education and tax challenges loom.

By David Wellman

Fort Wayne Metals Fort Wayne Helmer Noblesville Heraeus Kulzer South Bend Hologic Indianapolis King Systems Noblesville Medtronic Warsaw Micropulse Columbia City Paragon Medical Pierceton Point Medical Crown Point Quadrant Fort Wayne Roche Diagnostics Indianapolis Smiths Medical Gary Symmetry Medical Warsaw TP Orthodontics Westville Zimmer Warsaw

44

Source: Biocrossroads

H

ealthcare and life sciences continue to fuel the Indiana economy with high-payingjob growth, billions in exports and a foundation for further economic development.

As just one example, consider recent interest in building an $11 billion orthopedic specialty hospital in Kosciusko County. Such a facility would be of obvious benefit to the major orthopedic device manufacturers that call Northeast Indiana home. It would also create local jobs and related economic activity, and provide the kind of clinical setting needed for the state’s research universities to pursue orthopedic scientific research as a core competency. And that, in turn, would help address one of the industry’s long-term

issues, which is maintaining the educated workforce it needs to thrive.

OrthoWorx, a Warsaw-based industry, community and education initiative established to support the region’s orthopedics device sector, is conducting a feasibility study to define the business case for such a hospital. The group will investigate funding options and determine partnership opportunities for construction, operation and maintenance, and for a medical education component.

“This concept is exciting and we want to fully explore its feasibility,” said Suzanne Light, Executive Director, Kosciusko County Community Foundation and OrthoWorx Board of Directors member.

“While this project could be significant to our local orthopedic industry, it could be www.buildingindiananews.com

TechSpin™ from Helmer Cost Effective, Flatincluding Separation Medical devices from Indiana companies the EBA 270 benchtop centrifuge from Helmer (left), the UniCel DxH 800 Coulter Cellular Analysis System from Beckman Coulter (below center), the Doppler DP-M350 Blood Flow 270(below benchtop centrifuge a Knee 90º from Biomet (opposite page).

Monitor from The CookEBA Medical right) and the Oxfordoffers Partial 90°

even more important to our community. ™ It is exciting that this study could lead to TechSpin Package a resource that advances research and Part No. HET2300-01 innovation and could improve patient care Includes: and · EBA 270healthcare centrifuge outcomes worldwide.” · 2315 6-place swing-out rotor to roughly one-third Warsaw is home · 2331 insert, 15 ml (6 each) of the $38 billion global orthopedics · 2333 insert, 10 ml (6 each) business. According to a new report from Biocrossroads, orthopedic and other medical device manufacturers now employ more than 20,000 Hoosiers and generate in excess of $10 billion in economic activity. Those jobs pay far more than the typical Indiana gig, an average of $60,000 a year, or 56 percent more than the state’s Helmer and TechSpin are trademarks of Helmer, Inc. in the USA © 2011 Helmer, Inc. 380239-1/A 4/11 average annual wage. From 2002 to 2009, while Indiana lost more than 147,000 jobs overall, medical device makers bucked the trend, adding more than 5,600 workers. ®

™

Demand for Knowledge Two challenges to continued industry job growth are education and new taxes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Already, the industry requires a higher percentage of high school graduates. Per a Biocrossroads survey, more than half, 53 percent, of medical device production jobs require at least a high school diploma, compared to 31 percent of other life sciences companies. In the coming years, educational requirements will only increase.

“There is an increasing demand for experienced engineers in the biomedical, mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing areas,” Christine Cook, Chief Operating Officer of Indianapolis-based Catheter Research told Biocrossroads. “When we are www.buildingindiananews.com

swing-out in a small footprint for flat separation and optimal results. manufacturers to relocate overseas. looking for resources, many of the resumes · Accepts common blood and urine tubes up to 15ml we receive come from applicants with Whether that’s actually the case, only time · 6 easily removable / interchangeable tube carriers will tell, but medical device manufacturers backgrounds in other industries that do not · Programmable in RPM and minutes aren’t the only ones in Indiana concerned fit our needs.” · Smooth medical plastic housing, to clean about the ACA’s impact. A recent report In response, deviceeasy makers · Stainless steel, seamless have begun to partner with schoolschamber around by researchers at the Indiana Business Research Center suggests that about 12,700 the state on workforce development, jobs would have been at risk if the ACA had with Ivy Tech and the Rose-Hulman been in force between 2003 and 2008.

Institute Package of Technology in the forefront.

Specifications Those jobs represent ones that may not “Ivy Tech is a great partner, especially Max RPM / RCF 4,000 / 2,254 have been created since they would have where weMax each have locations.

They are Package Volume 90ml extremelySpin responsive Capacity in developing6 specific 13 x 75/100pushed a firm over the 50-employee mark 16 x 75/100 education and training programs,6such as that triggers the mandate for an employer Electricalprogram in Bloomington.

115V / 50-60Hz the regulatory Dimensions 13” x can 9.5” x 15.5” They are one statewide institution that Weight 29 lb / 13 kg respond to our needs,” says Dan Peterson of Cook Group (Bloomington).

The questions poised by the looming ACA are less easy to answer. In Biocrossroads’ report, Peterson characterized the Act’s tax provisions on the industry as “a huge threat.” To help pay for the restructuring of the nation’s healthcare system, the ACA 14395 Bergen Boulevard • Noblesville, IN 46060 to provide health care or pay a fine. established a new 2.3 percent excise of 800.743.5637 Toll Free (US tax & Can): Ph: 317.773.9073 • Fax: 317.773.9082 “While not a huge number, it still on the sale of medical devices. sales@helmerinc.com • www.helmerinc.com represents nearly 15 percent of total The tax takes effect in 2013 and is expected to raise $20 billion over 10 years. employment growth in Indiana over the five-year study period,” say the report’s Products purchased at retail for individual authors, Timothy Slaper and Ryan Krause. use (such as eyeglasses or hearing aids) aren’t subject to the tax, but it will apply to Slaper is Director of Economic Analysis and Krause is an Economic Research Analyst, most medical devices made in Indiana.

One study of the tax’s impact both at the IBRC, which is based at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. suggests it could cost jobs and encourage “Subsequent to the 50th employee, each new employee costs the firm an extra $2,000 above salary to cover the ACA penalty. For a small business, paying essentially two salaries for one employee might be prohibitively expensive,” they added. “For the firm looking to grow to 200 employees, this might not be a concern, but the firm wondering if it should expand from 49 to 55 employees might just choose to continue without hiring, costing Indiana six jobs it otherwise would have gained.”

For details on the reports mentioned in this article, visit www. buildingindiananews.com.

45

Healthcare Statistics HEALTH COVERAGE BY STATE – 2009

Total Persons Not Covered State Illinois Indiana Kentucky Michigan Ohio

Total Persons Covered 10,875,000 5,462,000 3,588,000 8,465,000 9,819,000

Number 1,891,000 902,000 694,000 1,350,000 1,643,000

Children Not Covered

Percent 14.8% 14.2% 16.2% 13.8% 14.3%

NURSING HOMES BY STATE - 2009

Number 291,000 141,000 84,000 132,000 237,000

Percent

STATE

HOMES

Illinois

794

Indiana

504

Kentucky

287

Michigan

428

Ohio

961

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2012 Statistical Abstract

9.1% 8.6% 8.2% 5.6% 8.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2012 Statistical Abstract

The home health care industry saw a total economic output (direct, indirect and induced effect) of in Indiana in 2009, with $805.14 million in the health care and social assistance sector alone.

$1.327 billion Source: Ball State University

PERSONS ENROLLED IN A HEALTH MAINTAINENCE ORGANIZATION (HMO) BY STATE - 2008 State Illinois Indiana Kentucky Michigan Ohio

Persons in HMO 1,762,000 1,098,000 408,000 2,841,000 2,466,000

Percent total 13.7% 17.3% 9.6% 28.2% 21.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2012 Statistical Abstract

ACTIVE PHYSICIANS & NURSES BY STATE – 2009 State Illinois Indiana Kentucky Michigan Ohio

Physicians 36,528 13,938 10,076 25,697 31,315

Rate* 283 217 234 258 271

Nurses 116,340 57,880 234 258 271

Rate* 901 901 1,003 849 1,021

*per 100,000 residents Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2012 Statistical Abstract

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www.buildingindiananews.com

HEALTH CARE & SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT IN INDIANA, 2001 & 2010

COMMUNITY HOSPITALS BY STATE – 2009 State Illinois Indiana Kentucky Michigan Ohio

Hospitals 189 123 104 158 183

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2012 Statistical Abstract

www.buildingindiananews.com

47

Building a

CONSTRUCTION

Mammoth The world’s largest water coaster takes shape in Southern Indiana.

By David Wellman

Contractor List for The Mammoth General Contractor Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari Slide Design, Manufacturing and Installation PROSLIDE Technology Inc. Surveying Brosmer Land Surveying Inc. Mechanical and Civil Engineering Midwestern Engineers, Inc. Environmental Engineering Crane Environmental Services Site Grading Ragle Inc. Site Excavation and Construction Roads Shelton Excavating, Inc. Concrete foundations and piers, control building, and load/unload building Quality Craft Construction Inc. Pipe Installation and Mechanical Equipment Installation Dieg Bros. Lumber & Construction Co. Electrical and Control Installation Weyer Electric, Inc. HVAC for Control Room Messmer Mechanical

48

www.buildingindiananews.com

A

fter the test runs have been completed, the first ride belongs to him, says a gleeful Dan Koch. And who could blame him? After all, if you had just laid out $9 million to build the world’s biggest, baddest “water coaster,” you would be first in line too.

“The Mammoth is an expensive attraction,” admits the President of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, “but it’s world-class. There’s no ride like it anywhere else on the planet.”

The Mammoth, the newest attraction at the Spencer County amusement park, is (at least for now) the longest water coaster in existence and the premiere example of the latest generation of water ride technology.

“Water coaster technology made a significant improvement with the addition of linear induction motors,” Koch explains.

Linear induction motors, or LIMs, propel an object by creating a magnetic field that pushes the object away. They have traditionally been used on steel roller coasters to create a type of attraction known as a “launch coaster,” which sends its riders straight up a hill from a standing start.

By incorporating metal into the bottom of rafts, ride designers have been able to use LIMs to create water coasters. These coasters are no longer limited to one direction, downhill, since the LIMs can push rafts uphill.

The Mammoth begins with a conveyor ride up the water coaster’s lift hill. Including a 32-foot drop at a 45-degree angle plus six additional drops, LIMs will propel six-person

round boats up six hills, into five dark enclosed sections and through twists and turns. The 1,763-foot-long Mammoth covers three acres, increasing the water park’s size to 30 acres.

“The new twist to this water coaster is the six-passenger boats; this is a brandnew design,” Koch says “These round boats add tremendous capacity, plus riders may be facing forward, backward or even sideways.”

Building the Mammoth posed several challenges, says Mike Kamp, Holiday World & Spashin’ Safari’s General Manager for Construction. Fortunately,

Mammoth Facts Investment: $9 million (largest ride investment in park history) Length: 1,763 feet (1/3 of a mile) Height: 69 feet Drops/Angles: The tallest drop is 32 feet at a 45-degree angle.

Together with six more drops, total length of drops is 187 feet.

Footprint: 3.2 acres Rafts: 10 six-passenger boats Capacity: 1,080 guests per hour

Left: The Mammoth, the world’s longest water coaster, under construction at Holiday World last winter. Above: A computer rendering of Mammoth riders in their six-person boat. www.buildingindiananews.com

49

Top: Construction of the Mammoth presented unusual challenges for the contractors involved, such as building on a hillside in the middle of a forest.

Left: A lack of space for storage on the Mammoth’s construction site meant that pieces of the ride had to be kept whereever room could be found. Here, a red-and-blue section of The Mammoth sits next to its sister water coaster, The Wildebeest.

Bottom: Concrete piers had to be set in precisely the right locations for the prefabricated pieces of the Mammoth to sit on.

50

one of them was not the weather.

“We had great weather for construction this winter,” he says. “There was not much mud. It was very conducive to productive work.”

The first step in building the ride was studyingaerial photos of the park. “We had to figure out how to work a slide configuration onto the existing real estate, how we could best work with the terrain to minimize cost, and how we could take advantage of the terrain and use it in the slide,” he says.

The site they eventually chose put the Mammoth next to what was, until last month, the world’s longest water coaster, the Wildebeest. Opened in 2010, the $5.5 million Wildebeest was the park’s first LIM water coaster and the inspiration for the Mammoth. “The Wildebeest exceeded all our expectations, so we felt we needed to do something bigger and better to satisfy our guests,” Koch says.

Challenging Conditions Putting in the foundation for the ride was “quite a challenge, because you are building on a slope” Kamp says. “Most contractors are used to working on flat ground.” Concrete piers to support the ride had to be set in precisely the right locations to receive the prefabricated sections of the ride. Contractors were also working in the middle of a forest. “We like to leave as many trees as possible to enhance the ride,” Kamp says.

Then, all the pieces of the ride had to be assembled, but that couldn’t be done at the construction site because there was no room to do the work. “So we laid them out a quarter-mile away in an undeveloped area,” Kamp says. “There they were

preassembled and transferred to the job site.”

That the project went smoothly is a testament to the skills of area contractors, Koch adds. “We are blessed to have long-term relationships with many of them, and that really helps to get a project like this together,” he says.

As construction approached completion, the park prepared for an onslaught of media attention over the Mammoth, including a crew from The Travel Channel, which was making the ride the centerpiece of an episode of Extreme Waterpark.

Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari’s 2012 marketing campaign will feature the Mammoth as “the new member of the family,” Koch says.

Economic Engine The Mammoth will provide benefits beyond ticket sales and shrieks of delight. Adding new rides is key to keeping people coming back and attracting new customers, and the thousands who will ride the Mammoth every day will be making their contribution to one of Indiana’s top tourist markets.

According to a Spencer County Visitors Bureau report released in 2008, the county ranks seventh in tourism spending in the state. The study pegged visitors’ sales impact on the county’s economy at $161.7 million, supporting more than 3,300 jobs. Many of those jobs can be traced to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, which hires more than 2,000 seasonal workers every year.

So expect more “mammoth” developments at the park in the years to come. “We’re wired for growth,” Koch says. “We love building new toys, and we love building more toys.”

www.buildingindiananews.com

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Leading Leading the the Way Way to to Better Better Health Health

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REAL ESTATE

Core of

Strength Speculative development reemerges as the central Indiana real estate market grows..

By David Wellman

B

usiness real estate in central Indiana began 2012 with a solid performance. Retail real estate recorded its second consecutive quarter of growth, the office market improved for the fourth straight quarter and industrial real estate marked its sixth positive quarter in a row. Industrial space is doing particularly well, with vacancy rates falling to a historic low (4.1 percent) in the first quarter of 2012, rents rising and new construction activity picking up. And the outlook for the rest of the year is good.

“I am really optimistic about the Indianapolis market,” says Jason Tolliver, Research Director for Cassidy Turley in Indianapolis. “There is no reason to think that the fundamentals aren’t going to continue to strengthen.”

Though the spike in gas prices in early 2012 brought back bad memories of 2011, other events that tripped up the recovery 52

last year have been absent. “There are some significant differences,” Tolliver says.

“Last year, you had the tsunami in Japan that fouled up the supply chain, there was pervasive uncertainty about the economy and not only were gas prices rising, we had a lot higher prices to go.”

CENTRAL INDIANA INDUSTRIAL SNAPSHOT Inventory SF Vacant SF Vacancy Rate Occupied SF Absorption

to the Commerce Department, retail sales, excluding cars, gas and food, rose 8.2 percent in the first quarter, the biggest gain in two years. “As the economy keeps improving it will continue to add fuel to the fire and you will see development kicking in,” Tolliver says.

South of City Grows

Q1 2012

Q1 2011

242,164,738 10,046,664 4.1% 232,161,553 751,979

243,030,686 13,878,710 5.7% 229,116,538 1,221,795

Source: Cassidy Turley

In contrast, many analysts think that the worst of the gas price spikes are behind us now, and despite higher fuel costs, consumers continued to spend. According

For central Indiana’s industrial market, new development can’t come soon enough.

The first quarter of 2012 saw 2.2 million square feet of new industrial leasing and 612,000 square feet of renewals and expansions in Indianapolis and the surrounding area. Much of this activity was concentrated to the south and southwest of the city. The largest new lease was 703,000 square feet by Anderson Merchandisers, while the largest renewal and expansion was 334,000 square feet by Jacobson Warehouse Company. www.buildingindiananews.com

The overall industrial market vacancy rate has declined for five quarters to 4.1 percent, down from 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2011. This rate is lower than both the U.S. (9.1 percent) and Midwest (9 percent) averages. In some categories, such as the modern bulk space prized by logistics and distribution companies, vacancy rates are already below 3 percent, Tolliver says, and the overall vacancy rate in the market may fall below 4 percent before the end of the year.

An expanding manufacturing base is also gobbling up industrial space. “That’s not just happening in Indianapolis but in all areas of the state,” Tolliver notes. “And what’s most encouraging is that it’s happening among all sizes of manufacturers, from Toyota to small manufacturers of 20,000 square feet or less.” A significant source of growth in Indiana is foreign direct investment from Japan, he adds, “and we are seeing more Japanese manufacturing pursuits expanding.”

Office Turns Corner On the office real estate front, the central Indiana market appears to have finally turned the corner. “We are not seeing the tenant defaults we saw in 2010 and early 2011, and a lot of the shadow inventory has burned off,” Tolliver says. So while Q1’s 19.2 percent multi-tenant office vacancy rate doesn’t look like much of an improvement over the 20 percent rate in the first quarter of 2011, it actually represents a much firmer number.

Similar to manufacturing, in office space “we are seeing activity in tenants of all sizes,” Tolliver says. The market for temporary office workers in Indianapolis was back to pre-recession levels by 2010, but all of last year’s www.buildingindiananews.com

uncertainty kept companies from converting a lot of those jobs to full-time staff positions. “That is starting to change,” Tolliver says. “We’re seeing more hiring of permanent workers, and that moves the needle for real estate.”

2011 NWIBRT

Recognition Award Recipient

Downtown Challenge First quarter 2012 marked the fourth straight quarter in which the overall Indianapolis multitenant office vacancy rate has fallen. At 18 percent, the central business district outperformed the suburban market, where vacancy was 19.9 percent.

However, while vacancy has declined for three consecutive quarters in the suburbs, it has risen for three in the central business district.

Part of the reason the downtown market has struggled is that it has many large corporate tenants who have undergone “rightsizing” initiatives and reduced staff and space,” Tolliver says. Another challenge is the slow recovery in the professional and business services sector.

“In the suburbs you have more businesses like health care and education, while downtown it’s more banks, financial services and law firms, and we have not been seeing these kind of professional and business services add space.”

However, that ice has also begun to crack, he adds, especially in financial services.

Vacancy rates are unlikely to change much through the first half of the year, but the office market should see what Tolliver characterizes as “fitful, plodding growth” throughout 2012.

“I think we will see some speculative development in central Indiana for the first time since the recession,” he adds.

“It won’t be big, but we may see some smaller multi-tenant office buildings.”

IndustrIal • CommerCIal • BuIld-outs • HIstorICal

(219) 989-0721

(219) 934-0559

2345 - 167th avenue 2633 45th street Hammond, In 46323 Highland, In 46322 www.superdb.com

53

Companies at Harrison County Industrial Park Eckart, LLC Wholesale Electrical and Plumbing Supply Lucas Oil Products Produces Oil and Fuel Additives/Cleaners; Trucking Company/Truck Maintenance Shop; Distribution Center Tyson Foods Poultry Hatchery Irving Materials Inc. Concrete Plant Nachurs Alpine Solutions Agricultural Fertilizer Manufacturer Daramic, LLC Manufacturer of Battery Separators James L. Shireman, Inc Commercial/Industrial Building Contractor Blue River Services Production Facility and Transportation Depot Lucas Rail Lines Railroad Operator and Maintenance Shop Corydon Machine Tool Machining - Metal Works

Southern Selection Location, low taxes and low costs help to make the Harrison County Industrial Park an attractive option in Southern Indiana.

By David Wellman

L

ocated about half an hour from Louisville, KY, the Harrison County Industrial Park in Corydon has been quietly attracting businesses to the southern Indiana community since the Seventies. About 635 people are currently employed by private companies and Harrison County municipal departments with facilities in the park. Many of those jobs were created by a steady series of expansions over the past decade.

The park was officially established in 1997, incorporating a number of existing companies as well as new land purchased by the local Chamber of Commerce. “The older businesses landed there in the Seventies,” says Darrell Voelker, Director of the Harrison County Economic Development Corporation. “For example, there’s Daramic, a

battery company. They employ about 100 people and have been pretty successful for 30 years.”

Located less than a mile from I-64, the park now covers about a square mile and includes 60 shovel-ready acres, as well as 150 undeveloped acres. “We added the shovel-ready piece because, if you don’t have a big, vacant building, you don’t get many looks, so if you have a greenfield site, you had better have it shovel ready,” Voelker says. Of the 60 acres of shovel-ready land, about half is owned by the Chamber and the rest by a private developer.

Proximity to transportation, and in particular the massive UPS World Hub in Louisville, has been a boon for the park, along with the region’s lower cost of doing business. “Harrison County is officially part of the Louisville MSA, but we

Powder Blue Powder Coating Operation Howard Packaging, Inc. Plastic Blow Molding Manufacturer Earth First Wholesale Commercial Landscaping Supplies Corydon Stone & Asphalt Limestone Quarry and Asphalt Production Riverton Truckers Trucking Company Harrison County County Highway Garage County Animal Shelter County Solid Waste District Office and Recycle Center

54

www.buildingindiananews.com

are a rural community,” Voelker notes.

“We have lower tax rates and much, much lower labor rates.” This has helped to keep unemployment in the region below the state average. As of March, Harrison County had an 8.5 percent unemployment rate versus 8.6 percent statewide.

Probably the most significant arrival to the park came in 2002, when Lucas Oil Products chose the site for its primary bottling facility, where it produces more than “I wanted to find a place 30 different products, where my people would including motor oil and fuel additives. Though have a nice place to live, still headquartered in and Corydon is the sweetest California, “most of our business is where little town around.” most of the population - Forrest Lucas, Founder & CEO, Lucas Oil is, which is back East,” says Founder and CEO Forrest Lucas. “I wanted 120,000-square-foot plant. It later to find a place where my people expanded that footprint twice, and would have a nice place to live, in 2009 purchased the former and Corydon is the sweetest little Tower Automotive building, a town around.”

350,000-square-foot production It was also ideal from a complex less than a mile from its transportation perspective. The main facility. large Louisville metro area just In 2006, Lucas Oil even went 25 miles away provided ample into the railroad business after backloading opportunities for the the mid-decade loss of Tower and company’s fleet of trucks, and the a local furniture manufacturer park was also serviced by a short threatened the continued existence line, the Louisville, New Albany of the LNA&C. Now operated as and Corydon Railroad (LNA&C), Lucas Oil Rail Lines, the railroad that joined the Norfolk-Southern continues to service Lucas Oil and seven miles north of town. “We other manufacturers in the area. need rail because the cost of oil In addition to its own means you have to buy in train expansions, Lucas Oil also brought car loads, and a lot of small towns more business to the park as key don’t have that,” Lucas says. suppliers moved in to be close The company initially to their biggest customer. One bought 18 acres in the park for a example is Howard Packaging, www.buildingindiananews.com

Plan your

year.

EvEnt

vEnuE

BOYS & GiRLS CLuB

Networking for a good cause! Come mingle and relax with fellow executives and community leaders at this evening event to benefit the Boys & Clubs.

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DatE & timE June 8, 2012 5pm 7:30pm

FEStivaL OF tHE LaKES

Free live entertainment nightly, family events throughout the week, as well as the popular carnival. festivalofthelakes.com

nWiBRt GOLF OutinG

Network with the business leaders of NWI. The outing includes prizes & giveaways. nwibrt.org

Wolf Lake Hammond, IN

July 18-22, 2012

White Hawk Country Club Crown Point, IN

July 23, 2012

LaKE COuntY CiRCLE

Join civic and business leaders for this special Lake County Circle event featuring Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg. lakecountyindems.org

LaKE anD PORtER COuntY unitED WaYS DaY OF CaRinG

You can help make a difference in the community by being a part of the United Way’s Day of Caring. nwivolunteer.org

The Patio Merrillville, IN

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tHE BiG SCHmOOzE POWER PLaYERS in nORtHERn inDiana

SCHMOOZE at this networking-focused event. Building Indiana News will recognize the Power Players in Northern Indiana. Annual Campaign Kick-off for The United Ways of Lake and Porter Counties. thebigschmooze.com

tHE SHRinE OF CHRiSt’S PaSSiOn GOLF CLaSSiC

This outing supports the Shrine of Christ’s Passion. shrinegolfclassic.com

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Join us for a comedy show and dinner to benefit St. Jude House! standupnwi.com

BEYOnD SaFEtY EXPO Come learn from the industries BEST Safety experts, CEUs available. Discuss topics related to safety and network.

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Inc., which produces plastic bottles at its facility in the park.

“We were Lucas Oil’s first supplier in California,” explains General Manager Derek Howard. “We wanted to stay close to them, so we came here.”

The company moved from Ontario, CA, in 2006 and initially hired about 30 people. Since then, Howard has expanded twice, first in 2009 with a $3.7 million investment in a new 30,000-square-foot plant and new equipment, and again this past fall, when the company announced plans to spend another $2 million on new equipment. The latest growth spurt will bring Howard’s employment at the park to nearly 100 people.

The latest investment, Howard says, will allow the company to finally look beyond Lucas Oil. “We have reached our capacity with Lucas, so now we are looking to diversify,” he says.

More growth is expected at the Harrison County Industrial Park in the near future, with Lucas Oil planning yet another addition that’s “going to be expensive,” Lucas says. “We have a lot of new growth coming.”

By the Numbers: Harrison County Industrial Park Interstate Route Number I-64 Miles to Nearest Interstate 1 State Highway Number SR 135 Miles to Nearest State Highway 1 Traffic Count 35,000 Is Public Transit Available Yes Distance to Public Transit (Feet) 5,000 Name of Commercial/Int’l Airport Louisville International Miles to Commercial Airport 35 Name of General Aviation Airport Clark County Airport Miles to General Aviation Airport 35 Largest General Aviation Runway 5,500 Rail Service Provider Lucas Oil Rail Lines Miles to Railroad 1 Name of Port Clark Maritime Centre, Jeffersonville Miles to Port 35 Name and Location of Terminal Norfolk-Southern Rail Yard, Louisville, KY Miles to Nearest Container Terminal 35 Name and Location of Terminal A&R Transport, Jeffersonville Miles to Nearest Transflo Terminal 30

2012 SIERRA

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LOGISTICS

Sky’s the Limit Indiana airports mark the start of 2012 with expansion projects and increased passenger and cargo flights.

By David Wellman

A

irports around the state took advantage of a mild winter this year to begin or complete numerous projects, including the finishing touches on a bigger terminal at the South Bend Regional Airport and runway remodeling projects in Gary and Evansville. Meanwhile, with the economy finally picking up, Indianapolis International has added a third weekly cargo flight to Europe, using one of the biggest civilian aircraft available, the Boeing 747-8F. Eighteen feet longer than its predecessor, the plane has a payload www.buildingindiananews.com

capacity of 134 metric tons, 16 percent greater than the previous plane. Because of its size, the 747-8F is restricted to landing at just 21 U.S. airports including Indianapolis International.

The flights are operated by Luxembourgbased Cargolux Airlines, which began offering a single European cargo flight from Indianapolis International in early 2006, and added a second weekly flight halfway through that same year. This third weekly flight was added to accommodate an 18 percent increase in regional air export demand, says Chris Matney, Air Service Director for the airport.

“Surprisingly, of the over 180 million pounds of air cargo Indiana exported in 2010, less than two percent of those exports left from an Indiana airport,” Matney notes. “Almost two-thirds of Indiana’s air cargo exports end up flying out of Chicago’s O’Hare airport, which is often challenged by congestion and unreliable flight schedules. This new cargo flight is a great opportunity for the airport and the economic development of our region.”

New service – of a passenger nature – has also come to the Gary Chicago International Airport, which welcomed the arrival of Allegiant Airlines in February.

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Allegiant has begun twice-weekly flights (Thursday and Sundays) from Gary to the Orlando Sanford International Airport, located about 20 miles from Orlando, FL. Aimed at families travelling to Orlando’s many attractions, the flights represent the first regularly scheduled airline service at the airport in three years.

According to Airport Director Steve Landry, Allegiant’s decision to commit to Gary was directly related to its ongoing $166 million runway expansion project, which will ensure that the airport can continue to service larger passenger aircraft. The project has been undertaken to meet updated Federal Aviataion Administration (FAA) safety requirements, which mandate longer safety zones at the ends of runways nationwide by 2015.

Evansville Starts Runway Work Similar work is starting up in Evansville, where the Evansville Regional Airport has received $18 million in FAA grants for what is expected to be a $60 million project to relocate its main runway.

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The Evansville airport plans to remove about 2,415 feet of pavement at the southwest end of its runway and add an equal amount to the northeast end. While the runway won’t be longer, airport officials say that more of it will be useful. Currently, flights approaching from the southwest can’t use the full length of the runway due to the need to avoid various obstructions.

As is the case in Gary, the Evansville effort includes a rail line relocation and road work. The $18 million will be used to get these projects underway.

As Gary and Evansville get going, South Bend has finished up. After more than two years of work, the expansion of the terminal building at the South Bend Airport was completed in February. The final piece of the $15 million project was the installation of a full-body scanner.

The Advanced Image Technology device, known as an AIT, scans a person’s body, highlighting areas of interest on a cartoon character displayed on a screen seen only by the machine operator.

The end of the project also marked the conclusion of Executive Director John Schalliol’s 31-year career at the airport.

Schalliol started as the as Airport Engineer in 1977 and took the helm as Executive Director in 1981. During his tenure, he managed more than $85 million in capital improvements and $20 million in land acquisitions. He also was instrumental in attracting Piedmont Airlines and Allegiant Air, as well as bringing the South Shore Railroad onto airport property.

“Following John’s decades of steady leadership, we will forever be imprinted by his service and dedication to the community, the airport and the industry,”

said David Sage, President of the St. Joseph County Airport Authority Board.

To fill the position, the Authority chose Michael Daigle, who was most recently the Executive Director of the Capital Region International Airport in Lansing, MI. More Guards Change South Bend was not the only Indiana airport to experience a changing of the guard in the first half of 2012. Torrance Richardson, Executive Director of Airports for the Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority, accepted the position of Vice President of Government Affairs and Strategy with the Columbus Regional Airport Authority in March. In his place, the Authority’s Board of Directors appointed Scott Hinderman, who had served as the Director of Operations and Facilities with the Airport Authority since May of 2007.

“We have accomplished so much together, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities,” Richardson said. “During the past eight years, we have invested millions of dollars through the completion of numerous projects at Fort Wayne International and Smith Field Airports.”

In Indianapolis, Airport Authority Executive Director and CEO John Clark also left his post in March to “pursue other interests.” In April, Clark signed a consulting deal with the Gary Chicago International Airport to review its longterm business plan.

“I thank John for his service to Indianapolis and for helping to launch efforts to grow the potential of our new $1 billion terminal,” Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said in a statement following Clark’s resignation. “He played an important role in managing one of our most vital economic development assets and the gateway welcoming visitors to our city.”

“I want to thank my team of fellow IAA employees; we accomplished a lot over the past three years,” Clark said. “An airport is one of the most powerful economic development engines a region can have, and from day one we have worked to position the Indianapolis International Airport for long-term growth and success.”

Robert Duncan was named Interim Director. www.buildingindiananews.com

30 miles to Chicago Loop 6 miles to

PURDUE

RESEARCH PARK

The Construction Advancement Foundation of Northwest Indiana celebrates the best projects of the past year.

H

By David Wellman

asse Construction Co., Inc., Superior Construction Co., Inc. and Thatcher Foundations, Inc. were among the nine contractors recognized for construction excellence in Northwest Indiana by the Construction Advancement Foundation (CAF). The regional association, which represents union contractors in Lake, Porter, La Porte, Jasper, Newton and Starke counties, presented its annual awards May 10 at the Avalon Manor in Merrillville.

“On behalf of our judges, I would like to congratulate all of our winners,” says Dewey Pearman, CAF Executive Director. “Once again, we had a very deep class of entries that ranged from heavy construction to retail, warehousing, healthcare and transportation. The awards demonstrate that there is no challenge in the region that the union construction industry can’t handle.”

Hasse, Superior and Thatcher took top honors as, respectively, the Commercial, Industrial and Subcontractor of the Year. Walsh & Kelly, Inc. was named the Highway Contractor of the Year, 60

Building Distinction

Falk-PLI Engineering & Surveying was tapped as Professional & Engineering Services Contractor of the Year, and Tonn and Blank Construction was honored with a newly established award, Excellence in Professional Development.

The new award was created to acknowledge contractors that demonstrate a strong commitment to continuing education and professional development. “Tonn and Blank has sent 10 employees to the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable’s Supervisory Training Program,” says the Duneland Group’s Shawn Kelly, CAF awards presenter. “That represents 160 hours of time per person. And they have seven individuals who have completed or will soon complete the OSHA Site Safety Program, and that’s another 64 hours per person.”

The award was presented to Tonn and Blank Vice President Joe Coar, whom Kelly noted has been instrumental in forming relationships with area educators to promote the building trades as an alternative to traditional colleges.

(Editor’s note: see page 32 for more on this subject.)

Top: (l. to r.) H. Dave Douma, Fred Armstrong, Chad Corley and John Hasse of Hasse Construction Co., Inc., winner of the Commercial Contractor of the Year Award.

Bottom: (front l. to r.) Allen Hughes, John Wysockey, Tom Wysockey, Michael Wysockey, Joanne Briney; (middle l. to r.) Gary Rose, Tom Schafer; (back l. to r.)

Steve Parkison, Rick Owens, Andy Parkison, Brandon Hughes and Ben Milbrath of Thatcher Foundations, Subcontractor of the Year. www.buildingindiananews.com

2012 Construction Advancement Foundation Award Winners Commercial Contractor of the Year Hasse Construction Co., Inc. Industrial Contractor of the Year Superior Construction Co., Inc. Subcontractor of the Year Thatcher Foundations, Inc. Professional & Engineering Services Contractor of the Year Falk-PLI Engineering & Surveying Top: Shawn Kelly (l.) of the Duneland Group presents the Professional & Engineering Services Contractor of the Year Award to Mike Falk, Falk-PLI. Bottom: Joe Coar of Tonn and Blank Construction (l.) presents the Industrial Contractor of the Year Award to Superior Construction Safety Director Tom Owens.

Excellence in Professional Development Tonn and Blank Construction

Highway Contractor of the Year Walsh & Kelly, Inc. Commercial Project of the Year Larson-Danielson Construction Company, Inc. North Coast Distributing Warehouse & Headquarters Industrial Project of the Year Morrison Construction Company ArcelorMittal Heat Treat Improvement Public Works Project of the Year Gatlin Plumbing & Heating, Inc. Indiana Department of Transportation Cline Avenue Intersection Improvement

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CAF awards presenter Shawn Kelly of the Duneland Group presents the Highway Contractor of the Year Award to Walsh & Kelly’s Dan McClure.

Larson-Danielson While Tonn “The awards Construction and Blank took demonstrate that there is no challenge Company, Inc. home the award for professional in the region that the was presented with union construction the Commercial development, industry can’t Project of the the company handle.”

Year award for is clearly not Dewey Pearman, the new North alone in its CAF Executive Director Coast Distributing commitment. warehouse and Kelly says there have been 144 participants in headquarters in Valparaiso.

CAF’s Construction Site Safety Morrison Construction Company Program since it was established, was honored for its work on 33 of whom completed the the ArcelorMittal Heat Treat program and gained their Improvement project with the Industrial Project of the Year certifications in the first year.

CAF also singled out three award. And Gatlin Plumbing & contractor and owner pairs as Heating, Inc. was recognized Project of the Year recipients. for its work for the Indiana

Construction Awards Banquet 2012 Event Sponsors Presenting WorkingWell Superior Construction Co., Inc. The American Group of Constructors Berglund Construction Platinum Solid Platforms, Inc. ACMS Group, Inc. DLZ Industrial, LLC The Pangere Corporation Safety-Kleen Systems Gold N.A. Logan Painting Policy Analytics, LLC Graycor Industrial Constructors, Inc. Safety Management Group ArcelorMittal - Indiana Harbor Tonn and Blank Construction Kvaerner NAC BP

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EMCOR Hyre Electric P&C Trucking Enterprises, Inc. NIPSCO Indiana Illinois Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting Sargent Electric Company KM Plant Services, Inc. MC Industrial Silver Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers Drewry Simmons Vornehm, LLP Manta Industrial, Inc. Ambitech Engineering Corporation Stevenson Crane Service, Inc. Bar Mersino Dewatering, Inc. Amex Nooter, LLC Pekron Consulting, Inc. AMS Mechanical Systems, Inc.

www.buildingindiananews.com

Left: (l. to r.) Dave Coleman, Collin Martin, Mary Frankovich, Matt Vena and Chris Strobel of Morison Construction accept the Industrial Project of the Year Award for their work at ArcelorMittal. Right: (l. to r.) Greg Borden, Clara Murphy, Roger Gatlin, Amanda Borden, John Bach, Mathew Murphy, Graham Robertson, Tim Angle and Dennis Cobb of Gatlin Plumbing & Heating, winner of the CAF Public Works Project of the Year Award.

Department of Transportation on Cline Avenue.

The new $15 million North Coast facility, completed in just 13 months, tops out at 215,000 square feet, including 30,000 square feet of office space. The larger space will allow the company North Coast to centralize

distribution operations and provide better service to customers. The office portion of the building includes elements that speak to its core business, beer distribution, such as a full-scale training bar and a fully restored 1800s beer wagon in the lobby.

The $60 million re-engineering of the Heat Treat Line at ArcelorMittal will allow the company to more efficiently deliver a full range of heat treat products. The nine-month project centered on a new high-capacity leveler, the largest and most sophisticated leveler of its kind

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Left: Shawn Kelly (l.) presents CAF’s Excellence in Professional Development Award to Joar Coar of Tonn and Blank Construction. Right: Representatives from LarsonDanielson Construction Co., Inc. and North Coast Distributing accept their Commerical Project of the Year Award. Pictured are (l. to r.) Mark Danielson, Tim Larson, Terry Larson, Tony Oss, and David Merkel of Larson-Danielson; Jeff Leetz, Todd Slack, George Douglas, of North Coast Distributing; and Mike Fleming, Larson-Danielson.

in the world. The leveler is designed to handle plate thicknesses from 3/8” to 4” with yield strengths up to 200ksi. ArcelorMittal says that the new line will deliver a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption per ton shipped.

Gatlin Plumbing’s work on Cline Avenue

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ran from Ridge Road to 45th St. and included a number of elements, including new storm and sanitary sewers, replacing an old box culvert with a new one, road widening and curb work.

It was the first time that Gatlin had done a box culvert, and much of the work required Gatlin

to excavate along the top of a 12-inch gas main.

Despite the challenges, the $3.9 million project was delivered $200,000 under budget.

For more CAF/NWIBRT banquet awards photos, visit www.cafnwin.org.

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Safety Leadership The Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable names its largest-ever class of safety leaders

By David Wellman

T

he Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable (NWIBRT) presented 56 safety awards – its highest total ever – during the annual CAF/NWIBRT Awards Banquet. “Northwest Indiana is blessed to have such fine contractors,” says NWIBRT Executive Director Willis Shepherd. “Working together on safety has really paid off.”

Much of that work has been facilitated

by NWIBRT, which brings labor and management in Northwest Indiana together to address concerns such as manpower and safety. The organization was also instrumental in returning the nationally recognized Supervisory Training Program back to the region to help prepares the next generation of construction leadership.

That program, which takes roughly a year to complete, addresses what T.J. Ferrantella, President of Engineered Constructors, calls “a critical shortage” of leadership in the field. “Those who take on the burden of leadership are the ones who make the difference in project quality and safety,” he says. Currently, a “capacity crowd” is going through the program and he expects to award certificates of completion at the 2013 banquet.

One of the highlights of this year’s event was the presentation of the Roger Walters Award to Frank Deller of Graycor Industrial Constructors, Inc. “I wish I had a bunch of Franks; he’s - Continued on page 71 66

NWIBRT 2011 Safety Award Recipients Contractor of the Year Brandenburg Industrial Service Company Roger Walters Memorial Award Frank Deller Graycor Industrial Constructors, Inc. Excellence Award Ambitech Engineering Corporation Atlantic Plant Services, Inc. Brandenburg Industrial Service Company CET Incorporated Comprehensive Safety Cornerstone Electrical Consultants, Inc. Culver Roofing, Inc. Falk-PLI Engineering & Surveying Interstate Environmental Services, Inc. M&O Insulation Co. Meade Industries Middough, Inc. R.J. Mycka, Inc. Superior Construction Co., Inc. Total Safety U.S., Inc.

Recognition Award ACMS Group, Inc. AMS Mechanical Systems, Inc. BMW Constructors, Inc. DLZ Industrial, LLC EMCOR Hyre Electric Graycor Industrial Constructors, Inc. Hasse Construction Company, Inc. Hayes Mechanical KM Plant Services, Inc. Larson-Danielson Construction Co., Inc. The Pangere Corporation Sargent Electric Company Solid Platforms, Inc. Thatcher Foundations, Inc. Tonn and Blank Construction Tranco Industrial Services, Inc.

Achievement Award The American Group of Constructors Amex Nooter, LLC G.E. Marshall, Inc. Manta Industrial, Inc. Mersino Dewatering, Inc. Safway Services, LLC Security Industries, Inc.

www.buildingindiananews.com

Far left: (l. to r.) Jim Hosfeld, Nancy DePaoli, Jimmy DePaoli, Bo DePaoli and Rich Soohey of the ACMS Group accept their NWIBRT Recognition Award.

Left: Accepting the Recognition Award for AMS Mechanical Services are (l. to r.)Dan McNally, Kevin Crum, Mark Rook, Fred Popplewell, Brent Bol and Steve Dubon.

Far left: (l. to r.) John Kasang, Don Fancher, Joe Idaszak, Mike Krupa and Imtiaz Javed take home Ambitech Engineering’s Excellence Award.

Left: NWIBRT Executive Director Willis Shepherd presents Amex Nooter’s Achievement Award to Ryan Winkelman.

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Left: The Security Industries crew accepts its Achievement Award. Pictured are (front l. to r.)

Jon Goodman, Connie Schoenberger, Holly Cooper, Holly Baca, Brenda Detert, Jim Allgire; (back l. to r.) Danny Jones, Gary Szczudlak, Larry Walleske and Mike Shoemaker.

Below left: Frank Deller of Graycor Industrial Constructors (r.), recipient of the annual Roger Walters Memorial Award. The award honors one safety professional for outstanding achievement every year.

Below: (l. to r.) Lynn Thorsen, Tom Godzecki, Nancy Thomassoni, Dane Bormann, Tom Coulter, Kevin Symanski, Dorothy Johnson and Mark Tomassoni of EMCOR Hyre Electric with their NWIBRT Recognition Award.

Below right: Shanon Otto of Falk-PLI Engineering & Surveying accepts a NWIBRT Excellence Award from Willis Shepherd.

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Top: Representatives from Brandenburg Industrial Service Company celebrate their Contractor of the Year Award with NWIBRT’s Willis Shepherd. Pictured are (l. to r.)

Shepherd, Bill Moore, Tony Guarnero, and Brad Urban.

Second: (l. to r.) Troy Niloff, George Gomez and Mike Lindsey with KM Plant Services’ Recognition Award.

Third: Shepherd presents a Recognition Award to Joe Coar of Tonn and Blank Construction.

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Top: The American Group of Constructors accepts their Achievement Award. Pictured are (top, l. to r.) Stan Wyatt, Mike Talbert, Justin Rich, Mario Munguia, John Marsch; (bottom, l. to r.) Ryan Bilik, Chuck Curry and Keith Streeter.

Second: Tom Owens (r.) of Superior Construction accepts the company’s Excellence Award.

Third: Kurt Schmiegel of DLZ (l.) accept his company’s NWIBRT Recognition Award from Willis Shepherd.

BP SAFETY AWARD FOR 8 YEARS WITHOUT AN INJURY 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

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Bottom: NWIBRT’s Willis Shepherd presents a Recognition Award to Bill Lucaitis of Tranco Industrial Services. www.buildingindiananews.com

Clockwise from top left: Willis Shepherd presents Sargent Electric’s Recognition Award to Anna Tristan.

Russell Drouillard (l.) and Mark Wertzberger hold Mersino Dewatering’s Achievement Award.

Angie Kozyra accepts the Solid Platforms Recognition Award from Willis Shepherd.

Ernie Dunbar (l.) and Tony Bochniak accept Manta Industrial’s NWIBRT Achievement Award.

exceptional,” says Randy Hynek, Director of Safety for Graycor.

A firefighter, EMT and safety professional with more than 29 years of experience, Deller has been the company’s safety point man on its work for BP at the Whiting refinery for nearly two years. During that time, Graycor has racked up nearly 350,000 man-hours of work without a recordable injury. “He’s put together a really good team,” Hynek says.

For more banquet awards photos, visit www.nwibrt.org.

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YOUR WELL-BEING

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Spine Care Gets Special Advanced and comprehensive spinal care has now become the standard of care for the injured worker.

By Dr. Nitin Khanna, Spine Care Specialists

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ver the past ten years there has been a dramatic improvement in the understanding of back and neck pain. Advancements in spinal imaging, diagnostic testing and improved surgical techniques have afforded spine specialists the ability to treat pain more effectively and more quickly. These improvements have benefited both injured workers and their employers by providing better results, lowering costs and getting workers back on the job faster. However, a targeted treatment algorithm, managed closely by a “spine care specialist,” is paramount to ensuring a successful outcome in a cost-effective fashion.

What do employers need to know? To start with, they must work with a specialist

Vertabrae Vocab: Radiating Symptoms Symptoms referring to pain originating in the cervical or lumbar spine which ‘radiate’ down the arm or leg.

Also referred to as radiculopathy or axial symptoms.

who is experienced in providing all facets of care to ensure a more precise, evidence based treatment approach, while limiting “hand-offs” for the injured worker.

Thorough Evaluation The specialist should begin the treatment process with a thorough initial evaluation that should include a clear understanding of the mechanism of injury.

Determining causality early is crucial to managing claims efficiently. The treating physician must make this a priority and be appropriately trained to take a good history, perform a good physical exam and personally review the imaging studies.

The specialist should then formulate a solid, fact-based medical opinion after taking into account both the subjective www.buildingindiananews.com

complaints as well as the objective findings from the diagnostic/ imaging studies. This opinion must be clearly documented early on in the care of the injured worker.

In addition, the specialist should have the experience to estimate the expected recovery time for the patient and in order to determine when malingering may be occuring. The specialist should discuss these timelines early on with the patient and the employer to provide realistic expectations.

Once the diagnosis is established, the spine care specialist should build a customized treatment plan for each patient, which could include therapy, pain injections, and/or surgical intervention.

In instances where the specialist recommends therapy, he must personally supervise and follow up on the progress of the injured worker. This will limit time off and ensure a safe and expeditious return to work.

In addition to better imaging, testing and surgical techniques, physicians today

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also have a much better understanding of the effectiveness of pain injections. Gone are the days of treating back pain with multiple rounds of spinal epidural steroid

Vertabrae Vocab: Epidural Steroid Injections A procedure that delivers steroids through a needle directly into the epidural space of the spinal column to reduce inflammation; thereby reducing radiating pain.

injections that have no long-term benefit to the patient. Multiple studies have called into question the use of these injections in patients without evidence of radiating

symptoms. In all other cases, attempting one injection is adequate, especially if accompanied with physical therapy.

Critical: Training, Experience In patients where surgical intervention is indicated, the specialist should use Minimally Invasive Surgery techniques (MIS) where possible. MIS techniques significantly reduce the size of the incision, which limits trauma to the surrounding tissues. These techniques also significantly reduce the surgical time, which reduces the chances of infection and allows a quicker recovery. Minimally invasive procedures can now be done with same-day surgery or with only a 23-hour overnight stay.

This typically translates to a much quicker return to work.

In some cases that involve managing fractures, revising previously failed surgeries, or correcting and stabilizing the most challenging cases, complex reconstructions are required.

To ensure successful outcomes in these

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instances, it is critical that the spine care specialist has excellent training and extensive experience in handling such cases. The literature has reported higher complication rates with these complex reconstructions. Accordingly, a welltrained, dedicated spine team is critical to delivering consistent and reproducible outcomes for these patients.

In summary, employers Vertabrae can ensure the best possible outcomes for their injured Vocab: workers in a cost-effective Hand-Offs fashion by working with The act of experienced and dedicated patients moving spine care specialists who can or being shuffled deliver end-to-end care for from caregiver their patients. to caregiver, Not only will this approach or provider to reduce costs and improve provider. productivity by getting people back to work faster, it will also increase patient satisfaction and reduce the likelihood of the patient becoming a chronic pain sufferer.

Given that the economic impact of spine-related disorders in the U.S. alone is estimated at $102 billion in direct costs and $14 billion in lost wages every year, the benefits of employing a spine care specialist could be substantial not just to individual companies but also to the health care system at large.

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Lookin’ Good

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and around the state businesses have taken advantage of facade grant programs to spruce up their storefronts (and create jobs, too).

By David Wellman

Facade and building makeovers have made Downtown Danville a more attractive place to hold events such as this car cruise in June of 2011.

By David Wellman

C

ommunities across Indiana are helping businesses improve their storefronts and attract more customers with façade grant programs. The details of these programs vary depending on the locale, but the goal is the same: boosting foot traffic from both inside and outside the community.

In many cases, these programs take advantage of state dollars available through the Indiana Main Street initiative. Run by the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), Indiana Main Street is a seven-year-old program aimed at the revitalization and restoration of downtown www.buildingindiananews.com

areas. Cities and towns must first apply to be a Main Street community. Those that are accepted are eligible for funding for a variety of projects, including branding and promotional activities, construction project and façade grants.

Grants are matching grants (again, percentages vary by project and community). Over the past two years, more than $124 million in private investment has joined with $97 million in public money to fund more than 1,300 Main Street projects that created more than 1,900 new jobs.

In fiscal 2012, Main Street façade grants up to a $5,000 match were available,

according to Ann Bell, Communications Officer for OCRA. Funding for that piece of the program was exhausted early in the calendar year, demonstrating the popularity of the grants. In 2010 and 2011 combined, the Main Street program funded 481 façade rehabilitations.

Despite that clear popularity, some believe the Main Street program is still underutilized. “I would encourage all municipalities to become members of Main Street,” says Heather Ennis, Executive Director of the Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce. “There’s up to half a million dollars available through the Main 75

Street Revitalization Program.”

The Chesterton/Duneland Chamber has its own façade matching grant program as well. “This is its third year,” Ennis says.

“We had money from the Porter Economic Development Association and we were trying to think of ways to help smaller businesses. So we thought, if stores looked nicer, more people would want to be in and shop in the area.” Over time, Chesterton established a revolving low-interest loan fund for façade grants and the Town of Porter has also kicked in matching dollars. “The communities have been very supportive,” Ennis says.

In its first two years, the program awarded about $60,000 grants to nearly 30 businesses. The chamber’s façade program requires a 20 percent match from businesses. For 2012 the chamber was considering another 10 grant applications.

Economic Development Tool In addition to grants to existing businesses, a little money is kept in reserve for new businesses. “We want to hold a little money back so if a new business comes to town, we can encourage them to take on a building that needs a little help. It’s an economic development tool,” she explains.

In 2008, Danville in central Indiana established the Downtown Danville Partnership to try and revitalize its downtown square. “It was struggling versus other more convenient shopping locations,” says Laura Parker, Assistant Town Manager/Planner and a member of the Partnership’s Board of Directors. “We thought we could spruce it up a bit and help merchants make improvements.” The program has been greeted enthusiastically every year since, she continues, in no small

MAIN STREET BY THE NUMBERS: COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2010 - 2011 YEAR

PRIVATE $

PUBLIC $

2010 2011 TOTAL

$24,576,708 $66,679,606 $99,717,756 $30,322,337 $124,294,464 $97,001,943

BUILDING REHABS 181 241 422

FACADE NEW NEW REHABS CONSTRUCTION HOUSING UNITS 290 191 481

22 16 38

212 185 397

NEW NET JOBS 1,365 570 1,935

Source: Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs

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A “before” picture from Downtown Danville. The new facade can be seen in the center of the photo on page 75.

part because many of the stores are in historic (i.e. old) buildings with higher maintenance costs.

Danville’s program includes a 50 percent reimbursement up to $5,000 for façade improvements, as well as a sign, awning and lighting rebate program that refunds up to 50 percent of the cost up to $2,500. The program has $25,000 available every year, the majority of which is provided by the Town of Danville.

“Every year, we grant pretty much the entire amount,” Parker says. “Through 2012, that represents $250,000 worth of investment in the community.”

More than 30 businesses have taken advantage of the program,

some of which are repeat customers. “One year they will do windows, the next year signage,” Parker explains.

The program has also stimulated building activity that otherwise would not have happened. “Our local Masonic lodge is planning a project and they have said that they could not have done without the matching grant,” Parker says.

Along with other Partnership programs (they fund events and activities downtown) the program has definitely helped the area, Parker says. In fact, with interest increasing, the next challenge is finding ways to make parking more convenient.

More freshened storefronts in Danville. www.buildingindiananews.com

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MARKETING

Twitter

#Tips

How to make customers a-twitter about your business.

By Natalie Wahlberg

S

ocial media has become indispensable to today’s communications. The advent of smart device technology has enabled the digital world to be, quite literally, at our fingertips. With smartphone users outnumbering basic phone users, there has never been a better time to utilize the technology to connect with everyone from clients, vendors and the public.

This article’s focus is on Twitter. This is a free online social networking service that enables its users to send and read textbased posts of up to 140 characters, known as Tweets. Established in 2006, the service rapidly gained worldwide popularity.

According to a 2011 CNN report, there were more than 300 million users that year, which generated more than 300 million Tweets. Here are some strategies to get the most out of your Tweets.

Use Hashtags: A hashtag is a number sign (#) in a Tweet that is placed in front of a larger topic that the Tweet ties into. For example, if you were Tweeting about the Indianapolis Colts signing a new player, you might include #colts and #nfl in your Tweet. You can also use hashtags or keywords to capitalize on trends.

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Tie Into Trends: A trend refers to a topic that a massive amount of Tweeps, or Twitterers, are currently Tweeting about.

On March 1 for example, the U.S. trends included: #ShamrockShake.

If you can tie your business content into a current trend, your Tweet will be picked up by searches for that trend and will be seen by a wider audience. If I am on my way to a chamber of commerce meeting, I can capitalize on a trend by shooting a quick “Power up: grabbing a #ShamrockShake on my way to #ChamberofCommerce event @DiversifiedDMS” Tweet. In less than 140 characters, I’ve promoted my company and my event to a nationwide audience by tapping into a trend.

ReTweet and Share: ReTweet and Share applicable material. At DMS, we promote a variety of clients and events, so we’re always on the lookout for a news article or pop culture reference that relates back to one of our many projects.

Use ReTweet Bots: A ReTweet bot (RT bot) collects various Tweets around a hashtag and ReTweets them. Find the pattern of ReTweets around a particular trend, hashtag, or idea and then add it

to your Tweet. Make sure it’s relevant to your Tweet’s topic so your followers don’t disregard you as spam. By plugging into RT bots, you will reach your followers plus the bot’s followers. For example, @ Vancouver_RT will ReTweet any Tweet with the hashtag #Vancouver. If we wanted to reach their audience with our Tweet, we would add #Vancouver to our Tweet.

Tweet Pictures and Infographics: You can also Tweet pictures and infographics. Infographics are fun ways to visually represent data and facts, with more flair than charts and graphs. Talk to your company’s graphic design team and create something that visually represents the upswing in business clients or another notable happening. Then, post it to your company’s Web site or Facebook and Tweet the direct link. To peruse interesting material for inspiration or tweeting, scope http://www.coolinfographics.com/.

To tweet pictures, add the TweetPic app to your Twitter account, and instantly upload pictures from your smartphone.

Tweet @ People: Tweet at (using @) the people featured in your Tweet content.

For example, when we Tweet about the Illiana Mayfest, which features Crown Brewery beer, we link the companies in one Tweet and capitalize on trends.

For example, “It’s not #summertime in #NWIndiana until Illiana Mayfest (benefitting @TheArcIN) featuring @ CrownBrewing award-winning #beer.”

Be Polite: if someone ReTweets you, follow them back. On Fridays, the current trend is Follow Friday, where Tweeple promote others by Tweeting #FF with a list of Twitter handles. If someone #FFs you, follow them back and send them a thanks Tweet. You can even follow the list of users included in #FF list. You can also out a #FF tweet of your own.

You should also research apps that will make social media work better for you.

For example, there are post schedulers such as BufferApp, that will automatically Tweet for you. Other apps, like TweetDeck, helps manage multiple Twitter accounts simultaneously. www.buildingindiananews.com

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Making

It

Whether it’s old industries like steel or new green frontiers, making stuff is in vogue again in Indiana.

By David Wellman

H

eaded into 2012, manufacturing was on the upswing nationwide.

According to year-end figures from the U.S. Census Bureau released in February, new and unfilled orders for, and shipments of, durable goods were all growing through the final months of 2011. Overall for the year, durable goods shipments were up 7.8 percent, and new orders up 10 percent, in 2011 versus 2010.

The good news continued through the first quarter of the year. According to the Chicago Federal Reserve, manufacturing in the Midwest increased 8.6 percent in March 2012 versus prior year, with growth in the automotive, steel and machinery sectors leading the way. www.buildingindiananews.com

Data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) suggested momentum continued into April, with the association’s monthly index of manufacturing activity marking yet another month of consecutive growth.

“The PMI registered 54.8 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from March’s reading of 53.4 percent, indicating expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 33rd consecutive month.,” says Bradley Holcomb, Chairman of the ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “Sixteen of the 18 industries reflected overall growth in April, and the New Orders, Production and Employment Indexes all increased, indicating growth at faster rates than in March. The Prices Index

for raw materials remained at 61 percent in April, the same rate as reported in March.

Comments from the panel generally indicate stable to strong demand, with some concerns cited over increasing oil prices and European stability.”

Early estimates for the balance of 2012 were promising. Indiana’s manufacturing sector, which accounts for more than 27 percent of the state’s Gross Domestic Product, took an unexpected blow in the fall of 2011 when a tsunami hit Japan and wrecked the auto industry’s global supply chain. But with those kinks worked out and exports continuing to rise, experts at BMO Financial Group predict a solid year.

“Indiana likely posted somewhat below average 1.5 percent real GDP growth in 81

2011, but with temporary auto supply chain disruptions in the rearview mirror, and the sector’s recovery from the recession ongoing, the state should outperform slightly this year,” says Dr. Sherry Cooper, Chief Economist, BMO Financial Group.

Likewise, ISM’s mid-year survey of manufacturing supply executives found great optomism for the remainder of the year. Sixty-six percent of respondents from the panel predicted that revenues will be 9.5 percent greater in 2012 compared to 2011, 15 percent expect a 12.1 percent decline, and 19 percent

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foresee no change. This equates to an overall average expectation of 4.5 percent revenue growth among manufacturers in 2012. With operating capacity at 81.6 percent, an expected capital expenditure increase of 6.2 percent, and prices paid expected to increase a modest 0.4 percent from now through the end of 2012, manufacturers are positioned to grow revenues and contain costs through the remainder of the year.

“With 16 out of 18 industries within the manufacturing sector predicting growth in 2012 over 2011, manufacturing continues to demonstrate its strength and resilience in the midst of global economic uncertainty and volatility. Capacity utilization is at historically typical levels and manufacturers are continuing to invest in their businesses.

The positive forecast for revenue growth and modest price increases will drive a continuation of the recovery in the manufacturing sector,” said Holcomb.

And in fact, the year began with positive news on the automotive front when Toyota announced plans to expand operations at its Princeton plant.

The company will pour $131 million directly into the facility (out of a $400 million total investment) as part of a plan to consolidate manufacturing of its Highlander SUV. The additional production, which will boost the plant’s annual Highlander output to about 50,000 units, is scheduled to come on-line in late 2013 and will result in approximately 400 new jobs.

“This project allows for better utilization of the Indiana plant, and will help Toyota capitalize on the improving North American and global auto market,” says Steve St. Angelo, Executive

Vice President of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. “In addition to new jobs at the Indiana plant, this project will increase opportunities and jobs for our North American supply base.”

Steel Rebound Even Indiana’s venerable steel industry is getting into the act. Steel production in the U.S. rose nearly eight percent in 2011, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AIST). This growth has steelmakers like FortWayne-based Steel Dynamics looking to expand. The company decided in February to invest $76 million to increase capacity at its Pittsboro mill (sse page 14 for details).

The investment marks a remarkable turnaround for the mill, which was built in the late Nineties by Qualitech Steel Corp. in order to produce steel bars for use in cars and appliances.

After cheap imports pushed the company into bankruptcy, Steel Dynamics acquired the facility to $45 million in 2002 ArcelorMittal has invested significantly in its Indiana operation as well, commissioning a $60 million state-of-the-art Heat Treat Line at its 160-inch plate facility in Burns Harbor, Ind. The re-engineered line produces Burns Harbor’s full range of heat treat products at a lower cost and using less energy.

“The market has become increasingly competitive in quality, cycle time and delivery performance,” says John Mengel, Chief Operating Officer, ArcelorMittal USA Plate Operations. “We invested in our existing operations, which were built in 1966, in order to meet current and future market demand for on-time quality deliveries.” www.buildingindiananews.com

A healthy workforce.

The first step to building a healthy community.

Benefits to the facility’s customers, he adds, will be increased manufacturability, improved surface, accurate flatness and consistent on-time delivery due to a more predictable supply.

Project construction for the new Heat Treat Facility began on July 1, 2011, and the first plate was produced on the new line April 2, 2012.

Strong Wind Old Indiana manufacturing industries like steel and automotive are being joined by newcomers like wind power. Case in point: WindStream Technologies, which earlier this year began production of its micro-wind energy system, TurboMill, at its facility in North Vernon.

The first manufacturing facility of its kind in the state of Indiana, it now employs 30 workers and the company anticipates the hiring of an additional 100 employees by 2015.

“TurboMills are now rolling off the assembly line in Indiana,” says Dan Bates, WindStream Technologies’ CEO. “Our focus is to become the premier global brand in the micro-wind category.”

WindStream’s growth is indicative of domestic and international trends in the renewable energy sector, particularly in small or micro-wind power. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), America’s small wind industry experienced “substantial growth” in the wind market with $139 million in sales during 2010 with continual expansion anticipated in 2011.

WindStream’s TurboMill features turbines made from recycled materials that are designed to supplement or replace the need for gridsupplied power, reduce electricity costs and lower customers’ carbon footprint. TurboMills are currently being sold and distributed to customers in Latin America, Europe, Australia and Asia, as well as here in the United States. www.buildingindiananews.com

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COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

By the Book For more than five decades, Correct Construction, Inc. has been delivering excellence to commercial and industrial clients across the Midwest.

I

f you are ever at Correct Construction, Inc.’s Valparaiso headquarters, find Business Development Director Diane Reitz and ask to see The Book. It was a project that Paul Graegin, the late son of Correct founder Cecil Graegin, put in her hands: organizing 40 or so years of customer correspondence, specifically letter after letter from clients praising Correct for its work.

The letters read like a who’s who of industrial powerhouses, from recent clients to Union Carbide, Inland Steel and other ghosts of companies past. But whether they are print-outs of modern e-mails, typewritten thanks on company letterhead or handwritten notes of appreciation, one thread runs though all of them – congratulations on a job well done.

“We have developed a business philosophy that works for us and our clients,” says Vice President Jesse Hanson. That philosophy can be reduced to three precepts: high-quality service at a competitive price; attention to detail and customer satisfaction; and the highest levels of professionalism, integrity, honesty and fairness.

would go on to work for the company for much of the next five decades.

No one can know what Paul’s life as an attorney might have looked like, but his career at the helm of Correct Construction was as successful as anyone could wish for.

In addition to leading the company through decades of growth, he founded several subsidiary companies that are thriving today; married and started a family; and remained a passionate Purdue supporter all his life.

A hint of that passion can be seen in Correct Construction’s logo, a silhouette of a stout construction worker wearing a hard hat and holding a set of oversized tools —a figure modeled after Purdue University mascot Purdue Pete. In recognition of his contributions, Purdue awarded Paul a distinguished service award in 1983.

With Paul’s passing in October of 2011, his son Geoffrey has stepped in. Also a Purdue graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, he continues the Graegin legacy at Correct Construction. That legacy can be

seen in The Book, in the numerous repeat customers on the company’s client list, as well as in the best-in-class operation located in Northwest Indiana. u Diverse Client Base Over the years, Correct has worked repeatedly with clients as diverse as ArcelorMittal, UPS and the University of Chicago. The company’s talents have not gone unnoticed outside of the Chicagoland region, either, as evidenced by a current project for Babcock & Wilcox in storied Oak Ridge, TN. In order to ensure that they provide superior service—and with an eye toward future expansion—Correct Construction recently established a new office in Knoxville that currently has a staff of more than 50 employees. From that location, Correct conducts projects for the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public power provider. It also performs numerous projects for the Department of Energy.

u Third Generation Correct Construction is in its third generation of family ownership. The company was first established by Cecil Graegin in 1954 as Calumet Piping. Three years later, Cecil’s son Paul joined the company when it was incorporated as Correct Piping. Paul, who graduated from Purdue University in 1955 with a degree in chemical engineering, had been planning to pursue a law degree but agreed to “temporarily” help his father out – only the temporary job proved anything but. Paul 84

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COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

correct construction, inc.

Founded: 1954 Headquarters: Valparaiso, IN Web site: www.correctconstruction.com Phone: 1.800.726.7473 Contact: Diane Reitz E-mail: diane.reitz@cci-portage.com Services

“We have established great relationships with industrial accounts, and expanded into other types of businesses based on the needs of our clients,” Hanson says.

This strategy has often required substantial investment. One example is Correct’s extensive fabrication shop, which enables the company to provide clients with customized service in-house. From welding pipe and steel to assembling and testing equipment, the fabrication shop allows Correct to deliver high-quality results in a safe and timely manner. u Exceeding Expectations Correct has also dedicated itself to being a leader in industrial construction services by consistently exceeding the expectations of customers, design professionals, subcontractors, vendors and the community at large. “We increased our ability to plan, phase and execute the work while efficiently controlling costs and bringing in the greatest return on investment for the client,” explains Hanson.

“We were able to respond to our client’s more diversified and complex needs by www.buildingindiananews.com

developing a multi-dimensional team of professionals dedicated to the principles of high standards, quality craftsmanship and client satisfaction.”

Correct Construction’s track record of success is a reflection of the talent and dedication of its people. “We, like any other company, believe that we have the best people,” Hanson says. “We keep an active interest in our employee development through education and training.” A member of Pipefitters Local 597 for 55 years, Correct works closely with the union on employment and training initiatives.

“In most recent years we have assisted in recruiting, interviewing and sponsoring apprentices,” Hanson notes.

Unsurprisingly, protecting this most valuable asset is a priority at Correct Construction. The company’s safety program is mandated by the President and is administered from the top down. All work is planned to assure a safe working atmosphere and eliminate possible safety problems. Unsafe working conditions or practices are remedied immediately upon detection, and customer- and sitespecific safety requirements have been incorporated into the program.

Industrial Construction: • Refineries • Steel Mills • Generating Stations • Chemicals • Manufacturing • Heavy Lifting Mechanical Service: • Educational Facilities • Hospitals • Distribution Centers • Pharmaceuticals • HVAC Pipe Shop Fabrication: • Steel Mill & Refinery • Header Piping • ASME Code Piping • ASME Fabricated Pressure Vessels • In-House Shop CERTIFICATIONS A.S.M.E. Certifications • Assembly of Power Boilers (Field) • (PP) Fabrication and Assembly of Pressure Piping (Shop/Field) • Manufacture of Pressure Vessels (Shop/Field) National Board of Boiler & Pressure Vessel Inspectors (N.B.I.C) • (R) Repair and/or Alterations (Shop/Field) 85

The Last Word Patch Adams vs. Dr. House As the nation’s healthcare system changes, bedside manner is becoming just as important as medical expertise.

By Adam Hilliard, Consultant, Select International

C

losing in on its final season, a lot of people have heard of House, the medical drama series headlined by the misanthropic but disturbingly gifted diagnostician Gregory House. House’s unconventional and ethically questionable practices often put his patients in harm’s way, but eventually result in cures. To make matters more difficult, House takes a sick pleasure in berating his patients, which is exemplified in his clinic hours, when he uses his observational prowess to make embarrassing observations about individuals’ personal lives as he treats them.

Not exactly my first choice in a doctor, but definitely my go-to last resort.

Take his antithesis, Dr. Patch Adams, a real doctor most recently played by Robin Williams in a movie of the same name. Dr. Adams functions with the primary mantra that having a supportive environment expedites and promotes overall wellness.

One of his primary medicines? Humor. His biggest project, The Gesundheit! Institute, a free hospital for more than 12 years, and more recently a teaching institution, where he encourages students to develop emotional bonds with their patients in pursuit of emotional wellness during their time of diagnosis and recovery.

Imagine a doctor with the medical genius of Dr. House and the bedside manner of Patch Adams. How dare I? After someone spends 25 years of their life being

trained to fix me in my weakest moments, now I ask that they must also have the positive attitude and patience that would make St. Monica jealous? Well…yes, is that too much to ask?

Healthcare is going through a revolution reminiscent of the same kind of revolution that hit manufacturing in the 1980s. Highly customized assessments, simulations and batteries of tests are now the way the world’s best manufacturers pursue better,

Hospital systems now expect doctors’ skills to complement their pursuit of higher patient satisfaction scores. faster, quality driven production. Following this trend, a number of the country’s leading hospital systems are incorporating pre-employment tools into the physician hiring and development process, on par with what Fortune 500 companies are doing with their top executives.

Clinical and technical skills are still a prerequisite, but hospitals are now asking for more. They now expect physicians to work in multi-disciplinary teams, to appreciate the financial implications of their treatment decisions and to meet the new expectations of more educated medical consumers who are looking for a better

patient experience for their medical dollar.

Traditional medical training is struggling to keep up. Add to this the decreasing number of independently employed physicians, and the result is a “physician employee workforce” in which hospital systems expect doctors’ skills to complement their pursuit of higher patient satisfaction scores.

Personality tests assessing patient focus, compassion, stress tolerance, and other key healthcare-related competencies are the way of the future in healthcare. Hospitals that have instituted these practices get it.

They have found that if they put rigor into hiring their doctors, their margins increase exponentially, ratings go up and referrals start pouring in. There’s absolutely no downside to this equation.

Brilliance is the ticket to a medical degree, but like a lot of other professions, the right personality is the difference between average and exceptional. If I ever find myself on my death bed with no diagnosis, give me Dr. House. Situations like this are what keep a Dr. House practicing medicine. However, for the other 99 percent of occurrences that put me in front of a doctor, I’ll take Patch Adams any day.

Patch Adams understands that treating a disease takes place in the larger context of a patient’s life, and our healthcare system’s best physicians are prime examples of this new pursuit of excellence.

The opinions expressed in this article are the views of the authors. We welcome your response.

If you are interested in writing an opinion piece, send an e-mail to editor@buildingindiananews.com.

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Imagine the future of healthcare.

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When the new Porter Regional Hospital opens in August, it will introduce a whole new healthcare experience for patients in the region. Here are just a few of the special features you’ll find.

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A communications system that keeps you in close contact with your nurse All private rooms A layout that makes it easy for patients and families to find their way

New advanced technology

Spacious, comfortable lobbies and waiting rooms

Valet parking Innovative design that streamlines lifesaving and complex care Larger, more advanced ER for faster service

Porter Regional Hospital is directly or indirectly owned by a partnership that proudly includes physician owners, including certain members of the hospital’s medical staff.