Inside This Issue 42 | State of Indiana’s Hotel Industry 40 | New Cavern Tourism
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Kicking off trade show season
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS 1330 Arrowhead Court Crown Point, IN 46307 Publisher/Editor Andrea M. Pearman apearman@buildingindiana.com
I
t’s that time of year again – time to start prepping for our Trade Shows. There are booths to coordinate, exhibits to prepare, media contacts to get in touch with and buzz to generate – but it’s all for good reasons, promoting our prod-
ucts and our industries. At this point in the year we get to see companies shine and do their best – elevating each other to new levels of success. There’s also a wealth of knowledge to be gained throughout this season among all the exhibits and presentations that take place at the shows. It’s important to remember when getting ready for a trade show to start prepping as early as possible. Interest must be generated early if a company is hoping to draw a good crowd to their exhibit. There are also important steps to follow after the show, such as evaluating your performance and following up on leads. Our region is one of the finest places in the country to conduct business. At
Director of Advertising Liza Hilliard lhilliard@buildingindiana.com Writer Nick Dmitrovich ndmitrovich@buildingindiana.com Creative Director Jen Labriola jlabriola@buildingindiana.com Graphic Designer Carlo Labriola clabriola@buildingindiana.com Special Projects Coordinator Amber Price aprice@buildingindiana.com Accounting Jennifer Kasza jkasza@buildingindiana.com
Building Indiana, we recognize the value of this unique state and all of the excellent convention and expo opportunities that it offers. The hospitality industry of Indiana provides an amazing environment for businesses to flourish within and develop new pathways in their respective fields.
INDIANAPOLIS OFFICE Business Development Manager Lee Ann Richardson 888.226.0330
With so many exciting things going on, this truly is a great time of year to be in business. I wish you all the very best in your upcoming events and hope that your successes continue as you move forward.
WARSAW OFFICE Business Development Manager Julie Monteith 888.226.0330
Building Indiana News is published by Diversified Marketing Strategies
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Andrea M. Pearman Publisher
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Copyright ©2013 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 apearman@buildingindiana.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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Contents M A R C H /A P R I L
2013
EVERY ISSUE
D E PA R T M E N T S
04 Publisher’s Desk 08 Contributors 09 Main Buzz 24 People News 58 Last Word E X P E RT A DV I C E
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STATE OF THE INDUSTRY Legislation Affects Construction
30
34
32
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6
Making a Reservation
GREEN & SUSTAINABLE
Food Business Gains in Indiana Corridor
52
WELCOME CENTER
Wooing the Convention
Crowds
54
MARKETING
56
Tourism Statistics
Indiana Steps Up With Hospitality & Tourism Degrees
50
38 FACTS & STATS
LIFELONG LEARNING
40
Give your Employees a Break
48
PHOTO FEATURE
42 COVER STORY
YOUR WELL-BEING
The Strength of Indiana’s Hotel Industry
46
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION FEATURE
44
New Cavern offers Unique Tourism Opportunity
42
26
CONSTRUCTION FEATURE
THE BOTTOM LINE How Tourism Dollars Boost Indiana
F E AT U R E S
A Crisis Management Scenario
40
RULE OF LAW The Advantages of Becoming Certified
Powerful Incentives
Preparing for the Worst:
SAFETY ZONE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Show Must Go On
A Small Town Making Big Moves
56 www.buildingindiana.com
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Contributors IAN NICOLINI Ian Nicolini is town manager of Cedar Lake, IN. Ian holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University and serves as an adjunct instructor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Northwest. GREGORY CROWLEY Gregory Crowley is president of Crowley Engineering LLC. He is a licensed professional engineer with over 20 years of experience in energy and environmental management. DANIEL STEINER P.E., Daniel Steiner, P.E. is president of D.L. Steiner, Inc., a Lima, Ohio-based energy consulting and engineering firm serving primarily Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky. A graduate of Ohio State University with a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, he is a registered professional engineer in 11 states, including
Indiana. He has also earned the CEM, CEA, CMVP, and CDSM designations from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), Atlanta, Georgia. FRANK KERES Frank Keres is president of Construction Risk Associates, Inc., an accident investigation firm. As a nationally recognized presenter, Frank has presented to the National Safety Council, International Conference on Construction Safety and various AGC chapters. Frank attended the University of Notre Dame and John Marshall Law School. SPERO BATISTATOS Spero Batistatos is president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics and Public Policy from Indiana University Indiana University and has completed DMAI’s professional certification program, earning him the distinguished designation of Fellow Certified Destination
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Management Executive (FCDME). DEWEY PEARMAN Dewey Pearman serves as executive director for the Construction Advancement Foundation. He has a Master’s in Economics from Indiana State University. The foundation promotes the union construction industry of northwest Indiana by helping to enhance its efficiency and competitiveness via labor relations and government management, education, training, safety and workforce development. FRANCES KATZ, MBA Frances Katz of Crown Point, Indiana is a previous Publisher of American Society of Agronomy. Her experiences include editor in Chief of Laboratory Medicine, American Society of Clinical Pathologists, Editor in Chief of Institute of Food Technology, and Vice President and Director of Research for American Maize Products Co.. Frances has a MBA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelors of Science from the University of Indianapolis.
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MAIN BUZZ
Female executives to be honored in annual Influential Women event By Nick Dmitrovich
N
orthwest Indiana’s premier female business and civic executives will be honored at an awards ceremony on May 23rd hosted by Northwest Indiana Business Events. The third annual Influential Women of Northwest Indiana reception will be held at the Avalon Manor in Merrillville, from 5 to 8 PM, and will include a networking reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, dinner, dessert and the awards presentation. This year, more than 500 business leaders are expected to convene for the annual banquet to recognize over 100 nominees, and honor the 24 award winners. Proceeds raised from the event will go to charities throughout Northwest Indiana. “Our female businesses leaders in Northwest Indiana are so prominent and strong, we wanted to design this awards ceremony to honor all of their hard work, dedication and accomplishments,” said Andrea M. Pearman, president of Diversified Marketing Strategies and publisher of Building Indiana news magazine. “Last year’s awards night was a huge success, and I am very excited to honor this year’s award recipients.” Winners are selected by a review committee of representatives from the 13 different industries that were highlighted, including: nonprofit organizations, service and tourism, marketing and media, manufacturing, law, government, education, economic development and real estate, construction and engineering, finance, and healthcare. The chosen nominees are evaluated on several criteria such as their accomplishments, their leadership skills, experience, integrity, and their impact on each respective industry. “This year we also www.buildingindiana.com
have a Steering Committee, made up of past winners, helping us select the nonprofit winners along with the United Ways of Lake and Porter County,” said Jessica Javors, Event Coordinator with Diversified Marketing. “We’re really excited this year,” she added, “because our nominees are some of the most dedicated professionals in their industries, and this night is all about celebrating their achievements.” In each of the 13 categories, 2 awards will be given out. The “Influential Woman of the Year Award” recognizes women that are impacting their field presently and have ten or more years of experience, while the “Up and Coming Woman of the Year Award” honors those who are on the forefront of business leadership practices in Northwest Indiana with less than ten years experience. Beyond the 13 categories, there are also 2 remaining special awards – the “Community Leader Award” is given to the region’s top community leader, and the “Empowering Business of the Year Award” recognizes a business that supports the success of women. Tickets and sponsorships are available through the website at www. nwiwomen.com or by contacting Jessica Javors at Diversified Marketing at 219-2260300 or jjavors@thinkdiversified.com.
TOP PHOTO: The Influential Women 2012 Winners. BOTTOM PHOTO: Awards from 2012.
Industry Categories for the Influential Women of Northwest Indiana Awards Construction / Interior Design Economic Development Education Finance Government Healthcare Law Manufacturing Marketing / Media Nonprofit Service / Tourism Community Leader Award Supporting Business of the Year
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BUSINESS BUZZ
Northeast Accelerated Tanks and Trailers to Open Operation in Ft. Wayne Accelerated Tanks and Trailers announced in January that it is planning to open a facility in Fort Wayne. The company will be investing $4.2 million to go toward new equipment and upgrades and has said that it is planning on employing up to 300 workers by 2016. The company had considered locations in Ohio and Michigan prior to deciding to come to Fort Wayne, according to Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance Vice President of Business Development Ashley Steenman. She added that this is further evidence of northeastern Indiana’s economic momentum.
Wood Furniture Manufacturer Moves to Northern Indiana Lake Area Designs, LLC (LAD), a wood furniture and custom molding manufacturer for the recreational vehicle (RV) and commercial industries, announced plans today to relocate
its operations from Sturgis, Michigan to LaGrange, Indiana, creating up to 34 new jobs by 2016. The company will invest $1.5 million to lease and renovate a 24,000 square-foot facility located at 1200 N. Detroit St. in LaGrange. LAD plans to move its operations to the new facility when construction is completed in April. The company will retain ten employees from Sturgis and begin hiring additional manufacturing and production associates in June. “Companies like LAD are actively seeking out friendly, low-cost environments with highly productive workers. As one of the most highly-rated business climates in the nation, no better place fits that description than Indiana,” said Victor Smith, Indiana Secretary of Commerce.
Northeast Indiana Rail Company Wins National Safety Award Tranco Industrial Services, a railroad construction and maintenance company, was awarded the 2012 Contractor Safety Award, Category 3 at the Gold Level, by The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association, Inc. Based on criteria established by the NRC Safety Committee, this award recognizes the distinguished performance by Tranco Industrial Services, employees and management in the creation of a safe work environment within the Railroad Construction Industry.
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Steel Galvanizing Manufacturer Locating Business in Elkhart County Indiana Galvanizing, LLC, a steel parts galvanizing manufacturer, announced plans today to Middlebury, creating up to 60 new jobs by 2013. Indiana Galvanizing will invest $3 million to purchase, renovate and equip a 97,000 square-foot facility, slated to be operational next summer. The facility will house the company’s zinc coating operations. Indiana Galvanizing serves the transportation, agriculture and energy industries through its hot-dip galvanizing operations, a process that coats steel with zinc to prevent corrosion. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Indiana Galvanizing, LLC up to $400,000 in performance-based tax credits and up to $50,000 in training grants. Elkhart County will consider additional tax abatement at the request of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County.
Inventure Adding 80 Jobs by 2015 in Bluffton Inventure Foods says it will invest $15 million in its Northeast Indiana facility, creating 80 jobs by late 2015. Inventure will invest $3.6 million in equipment and the addition of 20 jobs in early parts of 2013. The $3.6 million will include $1.6 million for a conveyor unit, $609,000 for scales, and nearly $520,000 for a bagger, among other items. The company’s statement of benefits on the tax abatement form said it now has 122 employees with a payroll of just over $4.1 million. The 20 additional employees would boost the company’s payroll by $436,800.
New Industry, More Than 100 Jobs Coming to Kendallville Wolfpack Chassis announced plans to lease the vacant Reliable Products Machining and Welding Co. building in Kendallville to manufacture chassis and chassis components for the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries. Wolfpack also looked at locations and incentive packages from economic development entities in LaGrange and Elkhart County. The potential exists for creating 118 jobs with an average pay
BUSINESS BUZZ
“We are honored to receive this award,” said Bill Lucaitis, President of Tranco Industries, said. “We are committed to providing and maintaining a safe work environment and operation for our employees, customers, and the general public.” In Category 3 of the Safety Awards, only six companies across the country received the prestigious Gold Level award from the NRC. “These companies represent the very best of the NRC and the entire railroad construction and maintenance industry,” an NRC spokesperson said.
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BUSINESS BUZZ
of $46,536 and an annual payroll of $5.5 million when fully operational. Wolfpack’s company headquarters will be in Kendallville. It plans to employ welders, service technicians, metal fabricators, maintenance personnel, engineers and a sales staff. The Kendallville Economic Development Advisory Committee unanimously recommended that Wolfpack receive 10 years of sliding abatement on $508,000 in real property and approximately $1.4 million in equipment. Wolfpack would receive 100 % tax abatement in the first year, decreasing to 10 % in the final year. The company is projected to save about $141,827 in taxes over the 10 years based on a 2011 tax rate of $2.6009.
Music Company Adding Indiana Jobs Conn-Selmer, Inc., a manufacturer of band and orchestra instruments, announced plans today to consolidate operations from LaGrange, Illinois. to Elkhart,
creating up to 23 new jobs by 2013. ConnSelmer currently employs 346 Hoosiers at its four Elkhart facilities and 750 associates nationwide. The Elkhart-headquartered company, a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments, will invest $2.2 million to move its percussion instrument manufacturing operations to its 90,000 square-foot woodwind instrument facility. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Conn-Selmer, Inc. up to $120,000 in training grants. The city of Elkhart approved additional property tax abatement at the request of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County.
Light Fixture Manufacturer Grows in Elkhart County
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Vista Manufacturing, Inc., an electronic light-emitting diode (LED), electronic lighting, and incandescent light manufacturer announced plans to expand its Elkhart operations, creating up to 15 new jobs by 2015. Vista employs 20 full-time employees in its current Elkhart facilities. The company will invest $3 million over a span of three years to build and equip a 34,000 square-foot facility. Currently operating out of two buildings in Elkhart, the expansion will consolidate Vista’s current manufacturing and distribution facilities into one building, which will be operational by next year. Vista is the parent company of Vista Lighting Worldwide and manufactures and supplies more than 10 million LED and incandescent bulbs and electrical components per year for 16 different industries, including the aviation, recreational vehicle, emergency vehicle, movie theater, appliance and utility sectors. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Vista Building, LLC, Vista Manufacturing, Inc. and Vista Lighting Worldwide, Inc. up to $110,000 in conditional tax credits. Elkhart County will consider additional property tax abatement at the request of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County. For daily news from Northeast Indiana and around the state, visit our blog at www.buildingindianablog.com and follow us on Twitter @BuildingIndiana.
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Indiana Commission for Women Honors Eleven as 2013 Torchbearers The Indiana Commission for Women (ICW) presented the 2013 Torchbearer Awards to eleven recipients at its annual ceremony at the Indiana Government Conference Center Auditorium. This award honors women from around the state who have overcome obstacles and made Indiana a better place to live, work and raise a family. For this year’s awards ceremony, the Indiana Commission for Women received thirty-nine nominees, and the recipients are: Mary Aurtrey, Jeanne Hagelskamp, Anne Hathaway, Deborah Hearn Smith, Mary Roberta Heiman, Lyn Isbell, Nancy King, Bobbie Magley, Ginny O’Connor, Shanel Poole, Kathy Reehling. Shanel Poole of Indianapolis received the Young Woman of Promise Award, Nancy King of South Bend and Virginia O’Connor of Evansville received the Heart of Indiana Award and Sr. Jeanne Hagelskamp of Indianapolis received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her continuous work to ensure that young women and men have access to a quality education.
On February 1, Ivy Tech Community College celebrated the opening of a new location in Mooresville, Indiana. Ivy Tech was provided with more than $800,000 from the Mooresville Redevelopment Commission to help convert a former shopping center and storefront, located at 200 Southbridge St., into classrooms and computer labs. With over 200,000 students educated annually, Ivy Tech is Indiana’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest accredited statewide community college system.
NextGear Capital Announced NextGear Capital has been announced as the name for a new inventory finance company serving more than 17,000 dealers and over 1,000 auctions across North America and will be providing lending and support services the automotive remarketing industry. Next Gear Capital was created through the merger of industry leaders Manheim Automotive Financial Services (MAFS) and Dealer Services Corporation (DSC), which Manheim acquired in 2012. Former DSC President Brian Geitner will lead NextGear Capital as President. “Creating NextGear Capital is a visionary endeavor,” said Geitner. “We are building an industry-serving
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BUSINESS BUZZ
Central
Ivy Tech Opens New Location in Mooresville
BUSINESS BUZZ
floor plan company on the solid foundations of two great industry leaders with strong cultures of customer focus, innovation and service” he added. The new company will be headquartered in Carmel, Ind., and is currently constructing a new facility to accommodate anticipated growth. NextGear Capital will be using technology that allows dealers to floor plan vehicles from anywhere, and under the new company, customers will enjoy access to more pricing options than ever before, including customized inventory finance options tailored to suit their specific needs.
Indiana Moves to Boost Agriculture Research Indiana’s Agriculture Department is planning to build a network of commercial and academic researchers in an effort to augment the science behind food production. Currently the proposed plan is being referred to as the Agriculture Innovation Corridor and will involve processes similar
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BMWC Group is Working Safely In January BMWC Group, Inc., an industrial construction contractor, announced that the company had worked 5.5 million man-hours in 2012 with Zero (0) Lost Time Injuries or Illnesses. “This milestone is the combined result of more than 2,000 men and women across the country in every craft that we employ supporting our safety vision and working together for one common goal. They should all be congratulated on their teamwork and dedication to this company-wide achievement,” President and CEO Brian Acton said.
BMWC Safety Director Clay West said that the success was brought about by the company’s “Safety for Life” practices. “It has been the driving factor to our success as we’ve grown, and it continues to be the bond that links all our craftspeople and their families together with each of our regional offices all the way to the top of the organization,” West said.
Hahn Systems Expanding Headquarters in Central Indiana Hahn Systems, LLC, a construction and industrial tools supplier, announced plans in early February to expand its headquarters in Indianapolis, creating up to 20 new jobs by 2016. The Hoosier company will invest $900,000 to purchase and equip a 27,000 square-foot facility located at 6312 Southeastern Ave. in Indianapolis. Hahn Systems will house its Southeastern Supply Co. (SESCO) division in the new facility, which is expected to be operational by June. The company, which employs 50 Hoosiers in Indiana, has already begun hiring additional sales, customer service and delivery associates. “Hahn Systems supplies companies with the necessary tools to get the job done right. Likewise, our low-cost environment, expansive infrastructure and dynamic workforce are just a few of the many tools that make Indiana a state that works for business,” said Eric Doden, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
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BUSINESS BUZZ
to the ones that take place at Purdue’s agricultural-related research as well as such companies like Dow AgroSciences and Eli Lilly and Co.’s Elanco Animal Health. Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann said she has started talking with leaders from Purdue University and elsewhere about its prospects. The inspiration for this came from a report last year by life sciences investment and development group BioCrossroads. The report stated that Indiana has the opportunity to attract new companies involved in agricultural innovation. “This is really an effort to try to be sure that we’re in the very forefront of an initiative that we really can lead because we’ve got the right natural resources and the right companies here,” BioCrossroads President David Johnson told the Indiana Business Journal.
BUSINESS BUZZ
Ground Broken on $85 Million Project Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard was joined by Marsh Supermarkets Chairman, CEO and President Tom O’Boyle and Flaherty & Collins Properties CEO David Flaherty for the groundbreaking of the new mixed-use development on the Near North side of Downtown Indianapolis on Tuesday, February 12. The $85 million Block 400 project features two mixed-use buildings that will include ground-floor retail, 487 apartments, a 40,000-square-foot urban prototype Marsh Supermarket and parking garages featuring more than 1,500 spaces. The Marsh supermarket will anchor the development, which will connect the OneAmerica and IUPUI campuses.
Major Renovations Planned For Indy Hotel General Hotels Corporation, a leading Midwest hotel management company,
announces plans for an $8 million dollar renovation to its Crowne Plaza Hotel Indianapolis Downtown Union Station property. The project is scheduled to be completed later this year. The multi-million dollar project will be conducted in phases to ensure minimal impact to hotel guests. Renovations encompass extensive upgrades to the hotel’s interior space, including 273 guest rooms receiving new case goods, and bathrooms receiving new floor tile and granite counter tops. Public space, meeting space and food / beverage outlets are included in the project. Consideration is being given to the addition of guest suites and relocation of the fitness center.
Wheaton Van Lines Expanding HQ, Adding Jobs Wheaton Van Lines plans a 10,000-squarefoot addition to its Indianapolis headquarters, a move resulting from its April acquisition of Hillside, Illinois based Bekins Van Lines. The acquisition has brought 33 new jobs to Wheaton’s 38-year-old campus. The acquisition should add about $80 million to the company’s annual sales total. Grading has already begun on a new parking lot. Work on the addition to the existing 30,000-square-foot headquarters will begin this month. The Bekins acquisition boosted Wheaton’s standing in the moving and storage industry from sixth-largest to fourth. Indiana is also home to the nation’s third-largest mover, Evansville-based Atlas World Group. Wheaton now has about 145 employees. It will continue to use the Bekins and Wheaton brands and agent systems but has consolidated back-end operations.
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Pet Supplies Maker Could Bring up to 80 Jobs to Vermillion County
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Scott Pet Products, a Rockville-based pet supplies manufacturer, will become the second company to invest in the Vermillion Rise Mega Park, a massive industrial park on land that once housed the U.S. military’s Newport Chemical Depot. The company is relocating an Oklahoma manufacturing operation to Vermillion Rise and expects to hire up to 80 workers by 2014. Scott Pet Products currently employs 110 www.buildingindiana.com
Software Engineering Firm Grows in Marion County The RND Group, Inc., a provider of medical software solutions for the life sciences industry, announced plans to expand its Indianapolis operations, creating up to 25 new jobs by 2016. The company will invest $1.3 million to update and equip its current 13,510 square-foot facility. RND provides full-life cycle engineering services to companies developing products, like microprocessors, requiring custom software. Established in 1996, the company employs 27 full-time Hoosiers and plans to continue to fill additional software development positions on an ongoing basis. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered The RND Group, Inc. up to $700,000 in conditional tax credits. The city of Indianapolis approved additional tax abatement at the request of Develop Indy.
GTECH to Add Lottery Jobs GTECH Indiana, working on behalf of the Hoosier Lottery, will add approximately 50 new jobs. Some of the major positions to be filled include general counsel, advertising and marketing communications director, and human resources director. The additional personnel will assist the Lottery in energizing the brand, expanding the retailer network, introducing innovative new games, and establishing a comprehensive social responsibility program. The new positions include retail specialists and retail business development associates, which augment the current 171 positions at the Hoosier Lottery, 130 of which will transfer to GTECH Indiana and 41 of which will be retained by the State Lottery Commission of Indiana. GTECH Indiana, LLC is a private entity providing a full spectrum of lottery operational services to the Hoosier Lottery including sales, distribution, and marketing functions. GTECH Indiana, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of GTECH Corporation, is subject to control and oversight of the State Lottery Commission.
Electric Supplier Eyes Morristown, Planning $500 million Investment Nebraska-based energy supplier Tenaska announced it has www.buildingindiana.com
the option to buy 98 acres in the Morristown Industrial Park to put a natural gas-powered plant, the Blue River Generating Station. Tenaska unusual announcing their potential interest fairly early in the development process so they could set facts straight and keep the community. Tenaska is hoping to build a 900 megawatt-generating natural gas-fueled electric plant that would be able to power 900,000 homes. The plant would employ about 25 people with salaries averaging $75,000 per year. The plant would be a $500 million investment in the community and its construction would put another 600 or 700 people to work. Construction would possibly begin in 2014 and the plant could be operational as soon as 2017. The plant could, depending on its design, use as much as five million gallons of water per day. Morristown will look at how to meet that water need in a grant-funded study the Morristown Town Council had already commissioned but not yet started. Tenaska representatives were scheduled to speak at Wednesday night’s town council meeting. One of the biggest draws about the area to Tenaska is three large gas line that runs through Shelby County. The ANR Lines passes just a few miles from the proposed site between County Roads 500 East and 600 East, east of Morristown’s residential area, less than a half-mile north of U.S. 52.
BUSINESS BUZZ
people at its Rockville headquarters. Scott Pet Products currently offers customers more than 4,000 products, including its new Pork Chomps line of dog treats, wild bird seed, dog collars and fold-up pet crates. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) offered Scott Pet Products up to $70,000 in training grants. Vermillion County also received $250,000 from the state for off-site infrastructure improvements, according to the news release. And the Vermillion County Economic Development Council approved other incentives at the request of the Newport Depot Reuse Authority, according to the IEDC release.
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BUSINESS BUZZ
Global Consulting Firm Grows in Indianapolis Milliman, Inc., a Seattle, WA-based actuarial and consulting firm, announced plans to expand its Indianapolis operations, creating up to 26 new jobs by 2017. The WA company, which has 54 offices on five different continents, will invest $2 million at its current 25,000 square-foot office in downtown Indianapolis and install additional information technology equipment. Milliman currently employs more than 55 associates in Indianapolis. Milliman provides consulting for employee benefits, healthcare, life insurance and financial services, as well as investment, property and casualty insurance issues. The company, which has had a presence in Indianapolis since 1965, has more than 2,600 consulting professionals worldwide serving the full spectrum of business, government, education and non-profit organizations. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Milliman, Inc. up to $400,000 in conditional tax credits. The city of Indianapolis supports this project at the request of Develop Indy.
Chrysler Plans Expansions in Tipton and Kokomo Chrysler Group LLC plans to spend $162 million to open a transmission plant in Tipton that will employ up to 850 people
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and as much $212 million on another expansion in Kokomo that could add more than 400 jobs. Tipton officials approved a10-year tax abatement worth $2.5 million to help the company launch production in an existing, nearly 800,000-square-foot plant 25 miles north of Carmel. Chrysler partnered with Getrag Transmission of Germany in 2007 to build the Tipton plant, which had been expected to employ 1,200 and make dual-clutch transmissions. Chrysler now says it will use the plant to make a new line of nine-speed transmissions. The company hopes to begin installing equipment at the facility in June, launching operations by the end of 2014. This will be Tipton County’s third attempt to fill the massive building and Chrysler’s second attempt to inhabit it. The company has three existing transmission plants and a casting plant in Kokomo. The four plants already employ more than 5,000 people. Combined with the introduction of eightspeed transmissions the company is putting in certain Chrysler 300s and Dodge Chargers, Chrysler has invested about $1.3 billion in Kokomo since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009.
Indiana American Water Makes Acquisition Alan DeBoy, Indiana American Water president, announced the company’s acquisition of a water system from the Town of Riley. The purchase of the system adds approximately 630 cus-
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BUSINESS BUZZ
tomers to the company’s customer base and serves a population of approximately 1,800 residents. The acquisition of the Riley system for approximately $927,000 was approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission last October and finalized by Indiana American Water and the Town of Riley on December 17, 2012. The Riley system will be incorporated into the company’s Terre Haute district, which currently serves approximately 82,000 residents.
Cass County Joins Economic Group Cass County has pledged to join five surrounding counties in an effort to secure state and federal grant funding. The grants requested will mainly be infrastructure projects for municipalities and government entities ranging from fire departments to community buildings and trails. The Cass county commissioners approved a resolution that would put Cass County in an economic development group that would attract grants to a six county region, instead of individual counties. The region is made up of Fulton, Cass, Miami, Howard, Tipton and Clinton counties. Each county participating will have to raise funds based on their population with Cass county required to raise about $20,000, or about 77 cents per person. At this point in the process, each county will have to have local government approval to join the group before moving on to forming an executive board. For daily news from Central Indiana and around the state, visit our blog at www.buildingindianablog.com and follow us on Twitter @BuildingIndiana.
South Chemical Company Opens in Bloomington Metaugus, an FDA registered custom product development and contract manufacturing company, opened a new division, the Natural Products Research Institute (NPRI) in Bloomington. The institute will serve as the primary research front in Metaugus’ continuing efforts to bring novel compounds, process ready solutions, and custom special delivery systems to market. NPRI will focus on nutritional chemistry. The parent company, located in Northwest Georgia, creates nutritional products using state of the art technology guided by a continued commitment to excellence and first class product development expertise.
Hotel Furnisher Expands Kimball Hospitality, Inc., a custom furnishings manufacturer for the global hospitality industry, announced plans today to www.buildingindiana.com
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Northwest Expansion Underway at Munster Nursing Facility A $2 million expansion is underway at Hartsfield Village, a Munster skilled nursing facility. Six private rooms will be added above a new state-of-the-art, 1,755-square-foot physical therapy gym, according to Susan Tipton-Huttel, administrator of Hartsfield Village Nursing Care. The new gym will feature a kitchenette, laundry area and bathroom, where residents can work with therapists to regain the skills they need to live independently. Many of Hartsfield’s residents are there for short-term stays for rehabilitation as they recover from surgery. The original physical therapy room was too small for the facility’s growing needs. “We just
Toyota Parts Supplier Expands Operations in Gibson County Vuteq USA, Inc., a parts supplier for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana, has announced its plans to expand operations in Princeton, Indiana, creating up to 93 new jobs by the end of 2013. The company will be investing $4.3 million to outfit its existing plant in Princeton with new equipment, which is expected to be installed by the end of May and be operational by June. Presently Vuteq USA has 450 employees at its Indiana facility and is already beginning the hiring process for new production and management staff. “We have found southern Indiana to be a great place to continue growing. We have dedicated team members and are pleased to contribute to the surrounding community,” said Mike Tracey, Plant Manager of Vuteq USA’s Indiana plant. “We’d also like to thank Governor Pence, the state of Indiana and Gibson County officials for the opportunity to do so.” For daily news from South Indiana and around the state, visit our blog at www.buildingindianablog.com and follow us on Twitter @BuildingIndiana.
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BUSINESS BUZZ
expand its Jasper operations, creating up to 20 new jobs by 2013. Last fall, the company’s parent, Kimball International, invested $723,700 to expand its Kimball Office brand’s Xsite product series in Jasper, creating 30 new jobs. Kimball Hospitality will invest $932,000 to install advanced manufacturing machinery at its 196,000 square-foot facility in Jasper. The expansion will increase capacity for the company’s case goods furniture product line which includes program and catalog offerings for hospitality guestrooms. Kimball Hospitality has 117 full-time employees in Jasper The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Kimball Hospitality, Inc. and Kimball Furniture Group up to $225,000 in conditional tax credits. The city of Jasper approved additional tax abatement at the request of Dubois Strong.
BUSINESS BUZZ
recognized the importance of providing that therapy service,” said Tim Nix, executive director of Hartsfield Village. The expansion is expected to be complete by July 1. VOA Associates will be conducting the architectural parts of the project and Gariup will be the construction company.
Monsanto Invests Big in Remington, IN Agricultural giant Monsanto Co. has announced major expansion plans to its corn seed manufacturing facility in Jasper county. The new plans in Remington are part of a new $100 million investment spread across four sites in three different states, and will bring increased business to Indiana farmers and a sizeable boost to the small town. Based in St. Louis, Monsanto Co. is the world’s largest seed supplier by volume. The expansion plans for Remington, already the site of 55 employees,
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is aimed at increasing the overall volume of production and is predicted to be complete by the start of the 2013 harvest season. The corn processed at the site will come directly from Indiana and other Midwestern farmers who contract with the company. A handful of new positions will be added to the plant, as well as an increase in temporary and seasonal help. “Indiana is a great place to produce seed corn; we’ve got a really reliable production area and a high-quality [facility] to be able to meet those final customer demands,” says Monsanto Commercial Corn Manufacturing Lead Shawn Schrader. “But the start of the process is with the farmer, who will be impacted by the increase in seed production acres. We’ll be working with growers in the Indiana area producing additional acres of seed corn.”
Purdue gets $14.5M for Nanotechnology Portal March 16th at 5:30pm
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Purdue University announced in February that Purdue Researchers won a five-year, $14.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to be used to expand the school’s online nanotechnology programs. NanoHUB.org is visited by nearly a quartermillion users each year and provides instruction and simulations to classes around the world. The new funding will be used to expand the resources of nanoHUB to offer courses and train new workers, bringing even more users to the site. “Thousands of times a day the leading researchers ‘come’ to Purdue through the globally unique tool of nanoHUB. The new NSF investment is an affirmation of the brilliance of nanoHUB’s Purdue creators and of its worldwide scientific significance,” Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a written statement.
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El Cantarito Mexican Cuisine has opened a new location in Chesterton, Indiana, serving authentic Mexican food in a warm and welcoming setting. This is the second location opened by owners Fernando & Liliana Romo.
Visit www.nwibrt.org/awards for more info.
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The new location will be offering catering services in addition to its normal restaurant business. El Cantarito’s original location is in Portage.
Chrysler is investing millions of dollars in their new transmission initiative – designing transmissions that improve the fuel economy for its vehicles. Four new plants are going to be built in the Kokomo area costing nearly $400 million and adding 1,250 Hoosier jobs. Chrysler has said that this will be the largest transmission complex in the world, and the plants will make fuel-efficient eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions. With the added jobs coming by early 2014, Chrysler will employ about 7,300 workers in the Kokomo area. Chrysler needs the extra factory capacity to handle growing sales. Its sales grew to 1.65 million last year from just over 931,000 in 2009. The company has added nearly 8,000 hourly jobs since leaving bankruptcy protection in 2009 and invested almost $5.2 billion in its U.S. factories. About $1.6 billion of that will have been spent in the Kokomo area.
Land O’Frost to Move Headquarters from Illinois to Indiana
For daily news from Northwest Indiana and around the state, visit our blog at www.buildingindianablog.com and follow us on Twitter @BuildingIndiana.
Land O’Frost, Inc., the nation’s third-largest producer
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BUSINESS BUZZ
Chrysler to Bring 1,250 Jobs to Kokomo
of pre-sliced, pre-packaged lunchmeats, and a producer of specialty sausage products, announced plans today to relocate its headquarters from Lansing, Illinois to Munster creating up to 50 new jobs by 2014. Land O’Frost will invest $6.4 million to move its corporate headquarters from Lansing to a 3 acrecampus in Lake County. Construction on a 25,000 square-foot facility is scheduled to begin next summer and is expected to be completed in 2014. Land O’Frost currently employs 40 professionals at its headquarters and more than 1,100 manufacturing employees at its four production plants, located in Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas and Nebraska. The company will begin to transition its headquarters staff to the new Indiana facility after construction is completed. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Land O’Frost, Inc. up to $750,000 in conditional tax credits. The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority will support the project through its Deal Closing Fund. Also, the town of Munster offered funds using revenues generated from the issuance of a tax increment financing bond.
People News Vanags Named Indy Chamber’s Regional Economic VP The Indy Chamber announced that Marty Vanags will join the organization as the vice president of regional economic development and executive director of the Indy Partnership. Vanags is currently the CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council in Illinois. Prior that Vanags worked as executive director of the Freeport Downtown Development
Foundation. Vanags began his new position March 1, 2013. Basala elected as Chairman of the The World Waterpark Association Jim Basala, an Indiana native, has been elected chairman of The World Waterpark Association’s Board of Directors for a two-year term, ending in November 2014. Previously he’s served as secretary of the WWA Board and vice-chairman. Basala is the superintendent
of business development for the Lake County Parks Department with more than 35 years of experience in the development and management of public sector parks and recreation facilities. Jeff Hagerman Appointed to Indiana State Chamber Board of Directors Jeff Hagerman, President of The Hagerman Group, a construction and design-builder, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Indiana State Chamber for a threeyear term. Representing Marion County, Hagerman is among the more than 180 Indiana Chamber board members who are high-level executives from companies throughout the state. In addition to the Indiana State Chamber, mr. Hagerman also serves on the Fishers Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Sycamore School Board of Trustees, The Indiana Construction Roundtable Board and several other boards. Jennifer Seefeldt hired as RDC Credit Officer The Regional Development Company (RDC) has hired Jennifer Seefeldt as credit officer, a new position recently
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added to the RDC staff. She will be responsible for underwriting loans under the SBA 504 loan program assisting small businesses, appraisal review, assisting in client closing processes and performing annual reviews on loan portfolios. Jennifer is a graduate of Purdue University North Central with a Bachelor’s in accounting, she brings ten years of commercial credit underwriting experience through her employment at Centier Bank, as well as Horizon Bank, where she was the senior credit analyst.
Dr. Wipperman Named Medical Director at IU Health Vickie Wipperman, MD, was recently named Medical Director of Indiana University Health Occupational Services of Northern Indiana. Wipperman and will provide medical oversight to the program as well as assist in business development and client management. Dr. Wipperman, who is board certified in occupational and environmental medicine, has 30 years of experience in healthcare with more than 24 of those years in occupational medicine.
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Allison Atwater now Administrative Assistant to TAG Allison Atwater was recently named administrative assistant to the owners, president, and vice president of The American Group of Constructors (TAG). Along with basic office duties, she organizes and submits job proposals for estimators. She also coordinates with IT for any company computer issues, and manages all company cell phones. Previously, she was the home infusion billing representative with Medical Specialists, PC healthcare practice. “I’m excited for my future endeavors as I continue to work and grow with TAG,” Allison said.
Michael C. O’Connor is Holladay’s New VP of Development Holladay Properties appointed Michael C. O’Connor to the position of Vice President of Development and Leasing to its Portage, Indiana office. O’Connor will lead Holladay’s medical office leasing and development efforts throughout Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area. O’Connor has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame as well as a Master’s degree in Business from Northwestern University, in addition to his more than 25 years of experience in development.
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Photo Feature Indiana Subcontractors Association Honors Top GC’s The Indiana Subcontractors Association (ISA) presented awards to the outstanding general contractors within the ISA’s membership at the 7th Annual GC of the Year Awards program in February. According to the ISA, “The GC of the Year Awards program recognizes the top general contractors in the state as determined by ISA members as well as subcontractors who worked for the GC nominees throughout the course of 2012.” Six different awards were given out in the following categories: Excellence in Ethics, Subcontractors’ Choice, Project of the Year (over $10 million and under $10 million), and GC of the Year (over $100 million in revenue and under $100 million in revenue)
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3rd Annual Beyond Safety Conference was a Big Success More than 550 professionals attended the Beyond Safety Conference and Expo on February 19-20, 2013, at the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana. The two-day affair was presented by Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable (NWIBRT) in partnership with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). Next year’s Beyond Safety Expo is scheduled for February 11 and 12.
Photo 1: Attendees gathered in huge numbers to listen to the multitude of safety presentations that took place at Beyond Safety 2013. Photo 2: Networking was a big part of Beyond Safety 2013. People had the chance to meet one another face-to-face and form lasting business relationships. Photo 3: The presentations at Beyond Safety 2013 covered a wide range of safety related topics that will be instrumental in keeping workers safe on dozens of industrial projects. Photo 4: Not only were the seminars informative on safety practices, attendees could also earn Continuing Education Credits for what they learned.
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STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
LEGISLATION AFFECTS CONSTRUCTION And How Indiana’s Proposed Amendments Could Affect Your Business By Dewey Pearman, Executive Director of Construction Advancement Foundation
A
s the old saying goes – no one’s life or property are safe when the legislature is in session. Going into the 2013 session of the Indiana
General Assembly, in January, many in the local construction industry expected the worst. Given recent history these expectations were probably realistic. There have been several recent changes in Indiana law which has had a negative affect on the construction industry. The threshold above which public works projects are required to have a “common wage” set increased from $150,000 to $250,000 in 2012, and to $350,000 effective January 1, 2013. So called “right-to-work” legislation, which in the construction industry threatens the ability of trade unions to provide needed services to contractor employers, went into effect in 2012. 28
Several years ago a new law imposed a requirement that many public work projects, including school construction projects, be approved in referendum votes. As a result hundreds of millions of dollars in construction projects have been delayed or cancelled. Against this back drop, many in the construction industry throughout the state feared the legislature would continue its assault on the industry with additional changes to, or elimination of, the common wage law and by eliminating project labor agreements on public projects. Fortunately, the
legislature is not currently acting on these hot-button issues. However, there are some interesting legislative proposals which, while not having a direct and immediate affect on the construction industry, may stimulate public and private investment in Northwest Indiana. Of particular note are some provisions of Senate Bill 585. Among other things, the bill, authored by Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R) – Valparaiso, would direct the Indiana Port Commissions to study the feasibility and economic impact of a second port facility on Lake Michigan. It could take awhile to get there, but this would be the first step in the process of establishing another strong economic drive in the region, leading to significant public infrastructure and private investment. The bill also directs the Indiana Department of Health to investigate the www.buildingindiana.com
need for a level one trauma center and academic medical center in Northwest Indiana. Here again is a first step in a process which could lead to large public and private investments. A third major economic development project in the area could get a leg up with yet another provision of the bill. The bill would provide a source of funding for economic development projects if the Lake County Council adopts a local option income tax. The bill provides an incentive for the council to adopt the tax at a 1% rate and specifies that one quarter of the revenue would be dedicated to economic development projects. The expectation is that the funds would be used to provide the required local match for federal funds to finance the extension of commuter rail services towards south Lake County. There is a lot in this bill for the area’s economic future – a new international port, a level 1 trauma hospital, a medical education center and a new commuter rail service.
OU
There is also considerable legislative effort underway to bolster the State’s funding for road and bridge construction. As Chairman of the House Transportation Committee Representative Edward Soliday, (R) – Valparaiso is trying to find
Of particular note are some provisions of Senate Bill 585. Among other things, the bill, authored by Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R) – Valparaiso, would direct the Indiana Port Commissions to study the feasibility and economic impact of a second port facility on Lake Michigan.
sources of revenue to offset the loss of “major moves” money. The State’s major moves fund was created about ten years ago from the proceeds of leasing the
Indiana Tollroad. Those funds have allowed the state to make significant improvements in Indiana’s infrastructure. However, now that the original ten-year spend-down of the fund is nearing an end, a new source will need to be found if the state is to continue to make such improvements. Among the options under consideration is the concept of using all of the funds generated by the Indiana gas tax for highway improvements and maintenance. Currently, a sizeable portion of those revenues are used to fund the Indiana State Police and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Also under consideration is using the sales tax from the sale of gasoline for highway improvement and maintenance projects. All things considered, there is much on the table in this legislative session for contractors. We will know how all this pans out in late April when the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn.
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RULE OF LAW
THE ADVANTAGES OF BECOMING CERTIFIED
How your business could benefit from becoming an MBE or WBE By Nick Dmitrovich
I
n Indiana, businesses that are owned by minorities or women have a unique opportunity offered by the state that sets businesses up with certain key advantages to level the playing field and assist in accomplishing business goals. The Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises Division (MWBE), part of the Indiana Department of Administration, “acts on behalf of the State of Indiana to actively promote, monitor, and enforce the standards for certification of minority and women’s business enterprises. The Division was developed in 1983 by the State of Indiana to provide equal opportunity to minority and women enterprises in the state’s procurement and contracting process.” According to its mission statement, the MWBE assists minority-owned and woman-owned businesses by: • Creating a fair, competitive and equitable business environment, • Providing networking opportunities to clients, • Working to increase utilization, and, • Monitoring and enforcing program compliance. The division accomplishes these 30
goals by “providing knowledge, guidance, and service” to its clients while pledging “high quality customer service and respect for clients and colleagues.” The MWBE operates with a business strategy that focuses on adding increased value to Indiana’s economy, establishing partnerships and positioning minority-owned and woman-owned businesses for growth. Obtaining certification as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) or a Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) is a fairly straightforward process. There are only three criteria companies are required to me in order to qualify for the program. The company must be 51 percent owned by qualifying minorities or women who 1) possess expertise in the field, 2) control the business enterprise, and 3) are U.S. citizens. If a company meets all those qualifications, then the application process is as simple as visiting the MWBE’s website at www.in.gov/idoa/2352.htm and completing the short list of steps necessary to apply, there is no processing fee for the application. Within 30 days of the application an appointment will be scheduled with a business relations specialist that will conduct an on-site visit to the
business. After that the department will then make a determination within 90 days of completing its on-site investigation. Jessica Thayer, communications manager with the Minority & Women’s Business Enterprises Division, shed some light on the advantages that becoming certified can bring to businesses. She explained, as a certified minority- or woman-owned business, companies will have access to the following: • Qualify for MBE/WBE subcontracting opportunities on state contracts in Indiana, which provide for the attainment of business diversity goals. • Receive notification of state business opportunities. • Receive access to training opportunities. • Receive notice of upcoming events such as networking opportunities. • Appear in a directory of certified firms. Qualify as an MBE/WBE for purchasing by casinos and state universities, as well as other public and private organizations. Communications Manager Thayer added that, “Any business can pursue business opportunities as a State of Indiana contractor, whether certified or noncertified. MBE and WBE firms that are certified through our division are eligible to www.buildingindiana.com
participate on state contracts as a MBE or WBE subcontractor. This opportunity can position a MBE or WBE firm for growth and therefore assist in growing Indiana’s economy.” Felecia J. Roseburgh, deputy commissioner of Indiana’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises, spoke about some of the advantages that obtaining certification can bring to both the businesses that become certified and the entire economy of Indiana. “Being certified positions a business to be considered as MBE or WBE on contracts not only with the state but also but private companies. Certification is about putting yourself in the marketplace to be considered for those opportunities,” she said, “Any business can pursue a state contract, whether their certified or not. Being certified does not allow you to pursue a contract where someone else cannot, however we do request that our prime contractors do business with MBE’s and WBE’s. Because they’re in a position to do business because of the certification, that’s going to allow them to grow their business, which in turn builds
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the economy of their entire area.” Fundamentally, what this means for certified businesses, is that certification puts companies in the best possible position to acquire new contracts and to branch out into new business ventures. When asked what she would say to a company that is considering becoming certified, Deputy Commissioner Roseburgh said, “I would say a whole-hearted, twothumbs-up, go for it. I always like to say, it’s not a hand out- it’s a hand up. It’s an additional resource you can have in your tool kit - it doesn’t guarantee a state contract, but it’s a resource you can use to help grow your business.” Deputy Commissioner Rosebugh also commented on the training opportunities that are offered to business as part of becoming certified. “One of the things we’re doing now is building up our business development portfolio, moving forward there may be some courses that would only be available toward MBEs and WBE’s because the content of the course is geared toward that certification,” she said, “For example, course content might
include instruction that answers the questions: I’m certified, now what? Now that I have it what can I do next?” Communications Manager Thayer added that there is a Certification Clinic held monthly that is a step-by-step review of the certification application process for anyone that is interested in applying. She also spoke about some of the networking opportunities that becoming certified offers. “Our division hosts a resource fair (in July) for our agencies to promote contracting opportunities they have to our certified minority and women-business owners. MWBE business owners have the opportunity to attend workshops, training, and network throughout the day. We are planning two additional resource fairs this year in Northern Indiana and Southern Indiana,” she said. “For the first time, we are hosting a business to business showcase of our certified companies, where they can present what they have to offer to our agencies and other interested buyers. It’s a chance for certified companies to set-up and market their business.”
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SAFETY ZONE
PREPARING FOR THE WORST: A CRISIS MANAGEMENT SCENARIO
By Frank Keres, President Construction Risk Associates, Inc.
O
ne of the leading causes of business failure is a fire in the main office.
Some statistics say that if you have
catastrophic fire in your main office that the odds for not fully return to work ability increase by 10% for each day of not being able to work after the fire. When
many
talk
of
Crisis
Management they refer to a job site accident 32
or
loss
of
management
personnel. Yet, probably this most
the building.
severe loss scenario is not included in
Ask
most Crisis Management programs.
each
department
head
to
give you a list, in order of necessity,
Your first focus should be on your
of 5 things they must have to operate.
employees. Establish a documented
Accounting may say invoices, bills,
procedure for determining who is at
checks, and bank records. Operations
work each day. This can be on a location
may say plans/specs, records of previous
or department basis. Then, determine a
similar jobs, bidder correspondence.
meeting point outside the building and
Each department will have separate
away from traffic and where emergency
lists. There might be some cross over
vehicles would be.
between departments. Determine how
At the meeting point, determine who is there and who might still be in
to preserve, copy or re-acquire all of these items if there should be a fire. www.buildingindiana.com
For some companies, they think
Your
reassurances on this site and be sure
that if they take the computer “discs”
competitors will be talking about your
Use
your
website.
to update it regularly until you are fully
or tape away from the main office every
problem. Prepare a web page that
back to work.
night they are safe.
Lastly,
Where are you going to operate?
going to use those
office with ALL the capabilities of the home office, then you
that
data holders?
need another location. Prepare for this by finding a “hot” room, a
know what to do.
you
another frame
have
“medium” room or a “cold” room.
main
those
necessary
papers? How will you know what was billed, invoiced. More importantly, how are you going to pay your employees or vendors, subcontractors, suppliers, accountants, lawyers , insurance, etc. Do you have backup checks, enough to operate for a month or more? One cross reference is to determine what you would need to have for a complete accountant’s audit. What
about
so
employees
Regularly
update
see if your plan has
computer somewhere else? about
drills
your crisis plan to
compatible
What
fire
telephones?
all contingencies covered. Don’t let a
Customers, Vendors, Subcontractors,
fire make you a statistic and put your
etc.
Information Inform that matters
Put
contact
information
and
out of business.
You
cannot work off cell phones for any great length of time. If your company had a “trunk” line; you cannot
has all the necessary information for
just
call up the phone company to have them forward calls. You might have
BCRC is very passionate about what we do. Our services promote the well-being and safety of employees in the workplace. Empowering our members with information is just one way BCRC does this. It is our purpose to provide a vehicle to help establish and maintain a workplace free of the destructive effects caused by the use of drugs and alcohol.
hundreds of extensions. Pre plan with the phone company for this disaster by establishing a protocol. Where are you going to operate? If you don’t have a branch office with ALL the capabilities of the home office, then
If you require more information or would like to speak with us directly, please feel free to contact BCRC at anytime.
you need another location. Prepare for this by finding a “hot” room, a “medium” room or a “cold” room. A “hot” room is one you have prepared for with all the necessary
www.bcrcnet.com
Do
If you don’t have a branch
have
Well, where are you
computers, phones, faxes, equipment and “paper” that you need. There are several locations where “hot” rooms are maintained.
“Medium” rooms
have some of these considerations; usually phone lines and computers. The last alternative is a space with electrical and undedicated phone lines. Consider your options and the possible
Contact Us
6050 Southport • Suite B Portage, IN 46368
877-988-5400 info@bcrcnet.com
ramifications when selecting a “room” www.buildingindiana.com
33
BOTTOM LINE
HOW TOURISM DOLLARS BOOST INDIANA Calculating the Impact of Travel & Tourism Revenue By Spero Batistatos, President and CEO South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority
T
ourism is a large economic driver of the Northwest Indiana economy. It has a broad impact upon many business industry sectors and generates a significant number of jobs in “The Region”. In fact, more than 15,000 Lake County residents have a job as a result of the expenditures made in the tourism and travel industry. Visitors to this area come for a variety of reasons: meetings and sporting events are a major part of the hospitality industry, filling hotel rooms and bringing millions of dollars to the local economy. Leisure travelers are those coming here purely as a getaway or visiting friends and relatives (VFR). During a leisure visit, these travelers will spend their money at an array of attractions; restaurants; retail and events such as Pierogi Fest, The Lake County Fair, Cedar Lake Summer Fest and Festival of the Lakes. Visitors are hard to pick out – they look just like us; you never know when you’re standing in line or sitting in a restaurant and the person next to you is an out-oftown traveler. Think of your own travel practices. Whether you are a parent, taking your child on weekend trips for a traveling team; a family planning a vacation to a historic destination; or a business professional traveling to a conference, all these types of travel revolve around the same key elements regarding economic impact: hotel, dining, fuel, retail and attractions. 34
According to the economic impact study conducted by Certec, Inc., the tourism and travel industry made a total contribution of $1.62 billion to the Lake County economy in 2010; this is compared to a $1.34 billion impact in 2001. This figure represents an annual increase in spending of 2.2 percent. The economic impact is often hard to track as many times a visitor will go unnoticed in the South Shore. Though often unnoticed, these
visitors lead the tourism industry to generate nearly $651.3 million dollars in tax revenues ($324.4 million to the state, $148.7 million locally, and $178.2 to the federal government). One way the SSCVA tracks tourism dollars is through the investment in cutting-edge technology. The state-ofthe-art hotel booking system used by the SSCVA makes it possible for the organization to be in direct contact with the customer before and after
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their visit to the region. It is crucial which include entertainment, account meals served. Though our partnership in this competitive market to provide for more than 57 percent of the $1.37 program, the private sector hospitality meeting and sports event planners with billion in direct expenditures. businesses see the results and continue detailed information for each event we Other key findings were food to invest their limited marketing dollars book and manage. The hotel booking and beverage spending generating in the SSCVA’s programs. Since its system enables the SSCVA staff to send 15 percent of all travel expenditures, inception, more than 125 businesses direct emails to the visitor before they 14 percent of the total was spent on annually from two states and six arrive with area information, maps and shopping; while transportation, lodging, counties have resoundingly said “yes” coupons. and souvenirs combined totaled 14 to the South Shore’s partnership We can also quantify results percent. opportunities. For a unit of government to receive from each of our According to the economic impact study conducted by Certec, Inc., voluntary financial events that use the the tourism and travel industry made a total contribution of $1.62 billion investment from system – providing to the Lake County economy in 2010; this is compared to a $1.34 billion the private sector, an exact room count, impact in 2001. This figure represents an annual increase in spending of speaks volumes. demographics and 2.2 percent. The SSCVA will feedback from visitors. stay the course and This system isn’t the only thing leading to success in Numbers like these are how the follow the mission created nearly 30 the tracking of visitor spending. The South Shore Convention and Visitors years ago; to be the sales and marketing popularity of the four casinos made an Authority continues to define its organization that leads the hospitality important contribution to the overall successes (return on investment) industry, spurs its growth, protects level of tourism spending in the county, through measurable results; how many its taxation and improves the regional generating $936.9 million in expenditures rooms occupied, attractions visited, economy through increased visitor in Lake County in 2010. Attractions, increases in partnership revenues and spending.
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35
LIFELONG LEARNING
Generating Buzz before a Trade Show By Nick Dmitrovich
are
showing,
B
but
how
is
eing successful at a trade show is
anyone supposed
not as simple as showing up and
to be interested when
setting up a booth – there are many
the product is simply
things to consider with regard to trade
not interesting?
show preparation that can dramatically
Companies need to take
effect the company’s performance and
advantage of the potential publicity
image. Companies attend trade shows
that trade shows can bring. Well in
with the goal in mind of demonstrating
advance of the show, press releases
their services and ideas while at the
should be distributed to media contacts
same time studying the competition and
in an effort to build attention around the
learning from what others are developing,
company’s booth. Potential customers
and often do so with a “just wing it”
should be coming there to see you, not
kind of strategy that typically falls short
just to visit the show and happen to notice
of the potential that these events can
you. One helpful way to attract visitors
bring. In this instance, preparation is key.
to your booth would be to send out a
Always remember – if the other guys are
mailer in advance of the show containing
preparing, then you better be prepared
a promotional item that displays your
too.
company
logo.
This
gives
potential
The best way to begin preparations
customers something to remember you
is to allow a considerable amount of time
by and an item to attract their interest.
before the trade show is scheduled to take
Trade
place, and start generating engagement
attention, and your company needs to be
early on. We have all been to shows and
the leading attention grabber there.
shows
are
competitions
for
expos where we pace awkwardly past a
Joanna Krotz with Microsoft Business
booth staffed by silent representatives
wrote, “Don’t wait until the show to contact
that look at us with watery-puppy-dog eyes
your targets. Develop show mailers (not
as we continue by. We know they want us
your usual marketing brochure) that
to stop and take an interest in what they
include a teaser or offer to attract traffic
to your booth, or that makes your product distinctive.” Beyond generating attention with the media, companies should have a plan in mind for the representatives from other companies that they would like to meet. Trade shows are excellent networking though
opportunities,
approaching
and
people
even
can
be
difficult under the tight time constraints that the show offers, all efforts should be made to contact new individuals and key players that can help further your business goals. The show’s public relations team will have knowledge of the delegates that will be attending in addition to the events or activities that will be taking place throughout the event. Therefore it would be advantageous to
BEFORE THE TRADE SHOW, COMPANIES SHOULD CONSIDER: •
ESTABLISHING SPECIFIC GOALS for what the company hopes to get out of the trade show. Does the company want to gain exposure to new customers? Check out the competition? Learn new practices? Setting up goals will help businesses determine the value of the trade show to their company.
•
WRITING A CONCRETE OUTLINE that will serve as a clear guide for the employees working the trade show floor. Include scheduling, preparation necessities, and an assignment as to which individual will be doing what.
•
DESIGNING A BOOTH THAT INVITES customers and passers by to stop and visit. Have a clearly stated message, or slogan, that surmises your purpose clearly and in an eye-catching way. The company’s logo should be clearly identifiable, and the booth should be set up in such a way that there are no obstructions from things like tables, chairs, etc.
36
•
DEVELOPING PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAYS to hand out to visitors that stop by your booth. This gives visitors something to remember you by long after the trade show is over.
•
CREATING A UNIFYING THEME for your employees that will operate the booth serves to complete an overall image of your company in the mind’s of the customers. Perhaps each staff member will be wearing a matching uniform emblazoned with the company’s logo, or they could simply all be wearing the company’s colors worked into their attire.
•
PRACTICE YOUR SALES PITCH. Practice makes perfect – and in today’s business world, perfect is the standard practice. Never underestimate the value of practice, this will be discussed in further detail below.
www.buildingindiana.com
contact the PR department as the
Do not underrate the value of practicing
booth will create and engaged audience
show approaches and formulate
with your team – if the athletic greats,
such as a game, video or other unique
a schedule for meeting these
the acting greats and the political greats
interactive attention-getter. In the past,
delegates at the best times.
do it, then you should too. Play devil’s
many companies have used celebrity
“Think of the show as one-
advocate and come up with questions
appearances, which should be publicized
to-one selling, only in an
your staff will not be expecting, this will
well in advance, and have also given out
intense time frame,” Ken
keep them empowered no matter what
promotional items (a.k.a. “swag”) to the
Cook, managing director
conversational twists and turns come
visitors who have stopped by. Things like
at Peer to Peer Advisors
their way.
these serve a two part purpose: one, they
in Wales, Massachusetts,
Additionally the organized trade-
focus attention on your company, and
said in Krotz’s article,
show-planner should draft questions for
two, they leave visitors with an image to
“Each day is a series of get-
the visiting customers and competitors as
remember.
togethers with pre-selected
well. Shows and expos provide excellent
Following these steps and working
an
learning opportunities for getting to know
hard to be prepared well in advance of
environment where the focus is
your client base and your competition.
the trade show will invariably lead your
target
customers
in
on what you offer.”
Find out what your customers are really
company into a solid return on your
Make sure that your employees
looking at when they see your product
investments in the process. There are
are prepared with their pitch before
– and find out what best-practices
several items to consider post-trade-
the show – do not allow them to simply
made other companies in your industry
show, because following up on your new
come up with it at the event. Making
successful. Developing these inquiries
contacts will be a crucial part of the
sure your staff has a firm and thoroughly
in advance will give you the ability to
successful event.
prepared knowledge base about the
show interest in all the individuals you
product is key to keeping your company
communicate with.
looking like a highly efficient organization.
Having
one
For details about what companies should do post-show, please see our
aspect
about
your
Marketing column located on page 54.
A Mile of Opportunity Health Care • Retail • Office • Entertainment
◆ Corydon, Indiana - 25 miles from Louisville, Kentucky ◆ 100 acres of Commercial Property now available ◆ Wal-Mart Supercenter anchors the east side ◆ Harrison County Hospital Campus on the west side ◆ Less than a mile from I-64, S.R. 135 interchange Harrison County Economic Development Corporation www.hcedcindiana.org
812.738.2137
www.buildingindiana.com
37
TOURISM
90%
of all tourism entities are small businesses, making tourism economic development a vital part of Indiana’s economy. Source: Indiana Gaming Commission
TOURISM IS THE THIRD LARGEST INDUSTRY IN THE STATE. Source: Indiana Gaming Commission
LODGING AND TOURISM EMPLOYMENT
275,000 Hoosier jobs Number of job Indiana’s leisure and hospitallty industry accounts for. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
A quarter of a million Hoosiers are employed in some sector of the hospitality industry, whether it’s a lifeguard at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana or a hotel general manager located in northern Indiana’s Amish Country.
One of every eight Americans is employed either directly or indirectly because of people traveling to and within the U.S. Source: American Hotel & Lodging Association and Smith Travel Research
Source: Indiana Gaming Commission
THE LODGING INDUSTRY AT-A-GLANCE: NATIONWIDE LODGING STATISTICS 47,584 Properties* Guestrooms 4,415,696 Billion in Sales $105.3 Average Occupancy 61.1% *based on properties with 15 or more rooms Data is based on 2003 statistics
INDIANA LODGING STATISTICS Properties 889 Guestrooms 77,530 Billion in Sales $1.06 Average Occupancy 53.5% *based on properties with 15 or more rooms Data is based on 2004 statistics
INDIANA LODGING INDUSTRY BOASTS: 889 PROPERTIES / 77,530 GUEST ROOMS / $1.06 BILLION IN SALES Source: American Hotel & Lodging Association and Smith Travel Research www.buildingindiana.com
38
CONSTRUCTION FEATURE
TO THE CAVE!
New Cavern Offers Unique Tourism Opportunity By Nick Dmitrovich Contractor & Subcontractor List for Indiana Caverns Project Owner: Indiana Caverns, LLC General Contractor: James L. Shireman, Inc. Architect: Renaissance Design Build Inc. Sitework & Concrete: Indiana Caverns, LLC Glass/Glazing: Wolf Glass Company Painting: Chambers Painting Electric: Keith Jones Electrical Service, Inc. HVAC: Cobb Heating and Cooling, Inc. Plumbing: Rite-Way Plumbing Ceramic Tile: James Harp Tile
40 40
L
et’s take a trip, deep underground, to discover Indiana’s buried secrets. Tired of the normal vacations to beaches and restaurants? Bored with hotels and fishing trips? Indiana has some hidden unique vacation destinations that take visitors places they have never been before – 37 miles underground in some of the most beautiful caverns in the nation. The Binkley Cave system in Harrison County, near Corydon, Indiana, has been recently mapped out to a depth of 37 miles underground. Once it is complete, the system will be referred to as Indiana Caverns. Currently construction is underway to create the first man-made entrance and show tour for the general public, and construction is expected to be complete in May of 2013. Binkley will be the 11th largest cave system in the nation, and will feature a multitude of amazing sights for visitors including panoramic views of Big Bone Mountain, three waterfalls (one of which is over 40 feet tall), beautiful cave formations, and a large
collection of ancient bones from the Pleistocene (Ice Age) era - 15,000 to 20,000 years old. Binkley Caves will also have a section of the tour called Blowing Hole Boulevard – a 25 minute long underground boat trip through a spectacular ecosystem where visitors can see blind cave fish, crayfish and other cave life among the rimstone dams. Biologists have been surveying animals in Binkley Cave since 1997, and as a result of their studies Binkley has been added to the list of “Hotspots of Subterranean Biodiversity in Caves and Wells” – meaning that Binkley is on a short list of caves that consists of some of the most diverse animal species in the world. “21 species of troglobites have been discovered calling the Binkley Cave System their home,” and there very well may be more that have yet to be discovered. The cave is also home to a multitude of different bats, fish, crustaceans and other animals. Some species are only known to exist in the vicinity of Binkley, due to the fact that during the Pleistocene Age the caves were adjacent to the giant glaciers and a rich ecosystem evolved over time. www.buildingindiana.com www.buildingindiana.com
A spokesperson for the Indiana Caverns wrote, “Just a few short months ago on Saturday, February 11, 2012, a connection between Blowing Hole and Binkley Caves was discovered. With this new discovery, a public entrance to Binkley Cave could now be created to allow visitors into the cave system. Previously all entrances were located on private property and restricted from access.” They also noted that only about 1 percent of the cave system’s history is known, with numerous other cave passages still awaiting discovery. Gary Roberson, a former partner at Marengo Caves in Marengo, IN, is the CEO of the Binkley project. He put together a group of investors to find a solution to open up Binkley. His team is comprised of four members: Development Team Leader Terry Crayden, Crayden’s Assistant Rand Heazlitt, Resident Geologist Ryan Cox, and Team Member Colin Wieckowski. In his blog, Roberson writes about how the project came to life. “Binkley Cave and I go back a long way,” he wrote, “This year (2012) is now my 46th year of BAT FACTS • Indiana bat population personally working in the Binkley Cave system.” He described how he first visis estimated at about ited caves as a young Boy Scout, and as 244,000. he grew up he continued to explore and study caves along with Terry Crayden. • In the past 25 years, “Terry recounted the story Lewie the population of Indiana bats has declined Lamon, one of southern Indiana’s pioneer cave explorers, had told him about by about 50 percent. the big Binkley Cave south of nearby As a result, this bat Corydon,” Roberson wrote, “At that has been classified as time, the Binkley was closed by the an endangered speowner and he wasn’t allowing cavers to cies by the United explore. But as I listened to Terry’s stoStates government. ries, I got excited. Though I was too timSource: The Indiana Department of id to knock on Harvey Binkley’s door, the cave owner, and ask permission to Natural Resources explore his cave; I did write a letter. To my surprise, he wrote back and said “Yes.” Thanksgiving weekend I rode the train home from Nashville and we took our first trip of hundreds to come in Binkley Cave. As they say, “The rest is history!” Indiana Caverns is just the next chapter in our Binkley Cave adventure.” Roberson also explained that the caves are extremely vast – beyond what is currently being established as Indiana Caverns. “The portion of Binkley Cave system currently being developed as Indiana Caverns represents just a small portion of the cave system,” Roberson wrote, “The rest of the cave system is made up mostly of underground rivers and their small tributaries. Most of the cave is very wet and muddy. Much of the cave requires cavers to wear a wetsuit to stay warm while exploring and surveying. ISS (Indiana Speleological Survey) cavers expect to add substantially to the length of Binkley Cave system in the future.” Later this spring, once the Indiana Caverns project is completed, if you happen to be digging around (pun intended) for a vacation idea – look no further than your great state of Indiana’s underground wonders. Not only is there a vast and spectacular cave to check out, but there is literally one of the great natural ecosystem wonders of the world hiding just beneath Hoosier soil waiting to be discovered. If you’re feeling like taking an out-of-the-ordinary trip, then look no further than Indiana Caverns.
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41 41
CONSTRUCTION FEATURE
MAKING A RESERVATION The Strength of Indiana’s Hotel Industry
roles in different areas – fulfilling different needs as they exist. Deno Yiankes, the CEO of White Lodging’s Investments and he Hotel and Hospitality IndusDevelopments Division, spoke about the try is steadily growing across the state of the hotel industry in Indiana comcountry – it is one of the few inpared to the rest of the nation. He said, dustries that has actually come out of the “White Lodging operates 31 hotels across economic recession in a relatively posithe state of Indiana and, in general, most tive state compared to others. Across the of the markets are seeing slow to moderstate of Indiana, the hotel business has held its own against the economic storm, ate growth. We typically don’t see the fairing better than many of the coastal significant up-ticks in demand and pricstates and showing small to moderate ing when the economy rebounds, as say, growth in an otherwise dismal some of the east/west coast mar“Aside from the many construction climate. So exactly how strong is kets, but on the other hand, we jobs and hotel staff jobs created by The don’t see as dramatic declines Indiana’s hotel enterprise? In February, a brand new Alexander, the hotel is part of CityWay, during periods of negative or defour-star hotel, The Alexander, which is a new neighborhood that has been celerating demand.” opened its doors in Indianapolis He explained that the econdeveloped in Indianapolis,” as part of the city’s new CityWay omy is still holding back wide- Michael Monos, General Manager for The Alexander development project. The Dolce spread development, due to the owned hotel boasts 157 guest fact that financing is still difficult rooms with 52 extended stay suites and lodging for visitors that bring in tourism to procure, but he said that expansions 16,500 feet of indoor and outdoor event dollars to the community. are still happening. When asked what kind space. According to the CityWay project, “Aside from the many construction of expansions are taking place, Yiankes The Alexander was established as part of jobs and hotel staff jobs created by The said, “The answer varies considerably on Indianapolis’s efforts to design a luxury Alexander, the hotel is part of CityWay, a market to market basis, but, in general, neighborhood to “transform this area of which is a new neighborhood that has construction financing is still tough to obdowntown, providing a host of benefits been developed in Indianapolis,” Michael tain without a very strong sponsor that is for both the public and private sectors. Monos, general manager for The Alexan- willing to provide guarantees.” Its innovative urban design represents der said. “This new neighborhood has With specific regard to his own comthe best in mixed-use, livable communi- positively impacted the surrounding area pany, White Lodging, Yiankes said that ties.” Those plans also include luxury by bringing more residents to downtown the company has been fortunate to underresidents, restaurants, retail shops, and a Indianapolis, and also providing new res- take several expansions across the state taurant and retail options for the workers of Indiana and elsewhere. “With respect state-of-the-art YMCA. to Indiana, we are fortunate to be associIn an interview with Commercial in surrounding businesses.” Across the state of Indiana, the ho- ated with two new construction projects Property Executive, Dolce President and CEO Steven Rudnitsky said, “The Alexan- tel industry adapts itself to numerous in downtown Bloomington – a 155 unit By Nick Dmitrovich
T
42
der is our new model for urban hotels, a hybrid between a center-city lifestyle and conference hotel.” In the traditional context, hotels are established near existing tourism and heavy travel destinations, but in this sense, the Alexander was set up as part of an entire reimagining of an entire urban area – paving the way for a complete transformation of the area. This type of development reflects the impact of the hotel industry on the local economy, providing jobs for residents as well as
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thing from meals and breaks to audio vi- economic development as well – prosual for one set price per person and our viding a roof over the head of Indiana’s staff goes above and beyond to make sure growth. that every detail is handled perfectly,” he said. All across the country hotels provide a solid foundation for many of the different industries that benefit from their services – beyond simply lodging. Hotels help sustain the longevity of tourism dollars by bringing in large scale events like conventions and many other types of ceremonies and gatherings. They also boost the surrounding economy by bringing in business. Indiana’s hotel industry is very specifically tailored to the needs of its constituents and has survived the recession without taking too much damage, maintaining a small but steady growth margin in an otherwise uncertain time. DevelopLocal NAWIC Contact: ment of hotels in the state Jessica Vargas • nawic.311@att.net continues to foster other
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ION CT
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OF ON
CONSTR U
NAT IO
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The Alexander is being touted as the “new model for urban hotels, a hybrid between a center-city m lifestyle and conference hotel by Commerical Property Executive, Dolce President and CEO Steven Rudnitsky.
IN EN
Springhill Suites by Marriott which will be opening in January, 2014 and a 172 unit Hyatt Place which will open summer, 2014. We also have an additional 11 projects under construction/active development outside of Indiana,” he said. Beyond the draw of tourism dollars into the community – the hospitality industry in Indiana is also one of the state’s larges employers, providing jobs for thousands of people all across Indiana. Yiankes described the biggest impacts that hotels have on their cities and towns when he said that the new construction projects will bring, “Jobs! These hotels will employ hundreds of construction and related workers, and upon opening each hotel will create roughly 35-40 permanent jobs. These two leading brand hotels will also afford us the opportunity to work closely with the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau in bringing more regional meeting and group business to Bloomington.” Considering that large investments have to be made in order to build new hotels, and the demand for their services is often specific, the question begs to be asked: What does it take to be a hotel destination these days? Yiankes said, “We are particularly attracted to urban markets. Our locations in Bloomington, for example, are convenient and will serve the multitude of individuals and corporations associated with Indiana University, various healthcare and pharmaceutical related businesses, as well as local corporations such as Cook Group and General Electric.” Michael Monos also spoke about what it takes to be a hotel destination. “Uniqueness is key. For example, our art program, which was curated by the Indianapolis Museum of Art and includes more than 50 pieces of contemporary art (14 of which were commissioned specifically for the hotel), is a very unique draw for guests, and we have attracted visitors who come specifically to see the art. Service is also key. A large part of our business is events and meetings; we offer a variety of complete meeting packages that are very attractive for meeting and event planners, because we handle every-
®
today!
Education • Networking Leadership Skills • Mentoring National Association of Women in Construction www.nawic.org
43
CONSTRUCTION
POWERFUL INCENTIVES TAPPING INTO STATE INCENTIVES TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY
By Greg Crowley, President Crowley Engineering LLC
T
he State of Indiana ranks 10th in the nation for energy consumption per capita with 442 million BTUs used in 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). During that timeframe, the industrial sector consumed 45 percent of energy, more than the commercial (13.3 percent) and residential (20.2 percent) sectors combined within the state. Projections for the next decade indicate that the appetite for energy across the state will continue to grow, especially within the industrial and commercial sectors. In an effort to stem the growth in energy consumption and avoid the cost of building new generating stations, many utility companies across the state currently offer financial incentives to commercial and industrial 44
customers to reduce utility costs. For energy consumers, a key advantage of utility demand-side incentive programs is the subsidy for retrofitting or replacing common inefficient equipment such as lighting, HVAC, variable frequency drives (VFDs), motor loads, and refrigeration. The financial impact can be substantial. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), some large manufacturing plants have saved up to $1.4 million per year in energy and operating costs, while even some very small manufacturers have saved in excess of $55,000 annually. In addition to the bottom line impact, commercial and industrial utility customers have also seen additional benefits, including improved productivity, more reliable equipment performance, fewer maintenance issues, improved indoor air quality, and reduced emissions.
In 2012 several Indiana utility companies, including NIPSCO, Duke Energy, Vectren, Indiana Michigan Power, Indianapolis Power and Light and Indiana Municipal Power Agency collaborated to form a program called Energizing Indiana (www.energizingindiana.com) to encourage energy-savings by consumers throughout the state. In addition to Energizing Indiana, several of the utility companies also have separate demand-side incentive programs that are tailored for customers within the utility company’s geographic coverage area. Each utility also has additional rules and eligibility requirements. Most require a pre-approval application to reserve funds for the project since the incentives are dispersed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once a project is approved for funding, the program administrators typically enforce a time limit of 90 days www.buildingindiana.com
for completing the installation of the particular equipment. After the equipment is installed, a project completion form must also be submitted. Incentive payments are released to the property owner after an administrative review of supporting documents, such as the project completion form and invoices. An on-site inspection of the completed project is also typically performed by the program administrators. Utility companies typically offer commercial and industrial incentives in two flavors: prescriptive and custom. Prescriptive programs target commonly replaced equipment such as commercial lighting, HVAC systems, and variable frequency drives (VFDs). Financial incentives for prescriptive programs are often in the form of rebates for fixed dollar amounts based on the size and type of equipment being replaced. Custom incentives help to subsidize the incremental cost to install more energy efficient alternatives, when a basic equipment configuration may be more energyintensive but less expensive than specified on a project. An example could be custom refrigeration equipment used in an industrial process. The financial incentive for custom programs is typically in the form of a rebate based on a fixed monetary amount (on the order of 10 cents or less) per-unit of energy saved. In all cases, there is a typically a cap on the amount of incentives that can be tapped by a utility customer for a particular project or for a given calendar year. Also, the energy savings for each project will need to be verified through engineering calculations performed by a third-party or the program administrator. In addition, most utility incentive programs will only fund projects that have a simple payback of one year or greater. Commercial and industrial utility customers are not the only consumers eligible for the incentive programs. Municipalities, water and wastewater utilities, schools, universities, colleges, and nonprofit organizations are also eligible to participate in the programs. The potential energy savings can have significant impact, especially on smaller communities with populations of 25,000 or less, as evidenced by the results of the 2011-2012 Community Energy Program (CEP), an initiative funded by the Indiana Office of Energy and Development. Under the CEP, Crowley Engineering teamed with several other Indianabased energy consultants to perform energy audits and develop comprehensive energy plans for 18 communities located in different parts of the state. The results of the energy audits revealed that www.buildingindiana.com
many municipal buildings are equipped with obsolete and inefficient HVAC and lighting systems and controls. The financial payback for replacing these systems are typically short-term, on the order of seven years or less, making them viable projects that can be somewhat easy to justify to taxpayers. In the case of lighting retrofits in which typically older fluorescent tubes are replaced with newer high-efficiency equivalents, the financial payback is usually even shorter, on the order of three years or less. As a result of the Community Energy Program, many of the communities that participated are now well-equipped with targeted energy conservation projects and have contacted their local utility suppliers in order to take advantage of the available incentives. To learn more about the various utility incentive programs, start by visiting your local Indiana utility providers’ website. Details about Energizing Indiana can be found at www.energizingindiana.com.
45
YOUR WELL-BEING
GIVE YOUR EMPLOYEES A BREAK
By Nick Dmitrovich
All
work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, eh? The concept is more real than people think – whether it is an employee in the office or a Stephen King character locked away in a haunted hotel, workers simply need time off in order to charge their batteries and get back to performing their best. Often employers forget just how important this can be in terms of getting the maximum output out of their employees – some even feel that a little
R. Morgan Griffin discussed many of these effects in a WebMD article reviewed and certified by Louise Chang MD. The article explained that stress can cause a myriad of health problems, including: •
time off is an unnecessary expenditure – but the facts show that providing your team with a little rest and relaxation is a positive investment in the health and well being of your staff. Dr. Dwight Tyndall, MD, from Spine Care Specialists, spoke about some of the potential health benefits that taking time off from work can bring. “Taking time off from work, both mentally and physically, allows a person to re-charge and to recover from the potential daily stresses of the work environment,” he said. “This time off might also allow a worker time to gain new techniques to deal with whatever work stress there might be. A person can suf-
•
cers. •
•
the progression of the disease. •
that a particular region of the chromosomes
risk of asthma than children whose parents
in highly stressed individuals showed the ef-
smoke.
fects of accelerated aging. Stress seemed to accelerate aging about 9 to 17 additional
OBESITY: “Stress causes higher levels of the that seems to increase the amount of fat
years,” Griffin wrote. •
had a 63% higher rate of death than people
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY: “One survey
their age who were not caregivers,” Griffin
of recent studies found that people who had stress related to their jobs -- like demanding work with few rewards -- had an 80% higher
wrote. •
Griffin.
DIABETES:
Stress
can
raise
glucose levels.
risk of developing depression within a few years than people with lower stress,” said
PREMATURE DEATH: “A study looked at the health effects of stress found that caregivers
that’s deposited in the abdomen.”
46
ACCELERATED AGING: “Researchers found
with stressed out parents have a higher
hormone cortisol,” says Jay Winner MD, “And
•
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: Researchers believe that lowering stress levels slows down
HEART DISEASE: Also other cardiovascular
ASTHMA: Studies have also shown that kids
GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS: including IBS, chronic heartburn and worsening of ul-
problems such as high blood pressure. •
…it may just save their lives
•
HEADACHES AND MIGRAINES
people’s
fer both physical and mental effects from overwork. Often times the physical effects are the easiest to see but it the longer mental effects which can be most damaging.” Pamela A. Johnson, Franciscan Working Well’s wellness supervisor, said, “The impact that taking time off has on one’s mental and physical health is profound. Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation, even if only away from work for 24 hours. More importantly, employees have the opportunity to regulate the stress response in the body. “75 to 90% of primary care visits list stress as a contributing factor. In addition, workplace stress causes 1 million employees to miss work each day. Why? Neuroscience reveals that we require down time in order for our bodies to go through the process of repair. It is only when we are away from external stresses that our bodies can relax enough to activate restoration. Without a the ability to regulate cortisol or ‘the stress hormone’ cascade that results, a host of consequences result including high blood sugar, cholesterol, depression, belly fat, muscles loss, thyroid dysfunction, muscle loss, sleep loss, sugar cravings and increased appetite,” Johnson said. In an article for U.S. News Science, Physician Natasha Withers from One Medical Group in New York said, “Rest, relaxation, and stress reduction are very important for people’s well-being and health. This can be accomplished through daily activities, such as exercise www.buildingindiana.com
and meditation, but vacation is an important part of this as well.” She went on to explain that resting and taking time off brings about a decreased risk of heart disease and improved reaction times in daily activities. “We also know that the mind is very powerful and can help with healing, so a rested, relaxed mind is able to help the body heal better,” she said. The same sentiments are also shared by psychologists. In U.S. Science, Francine Lederer, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles who specializes in stress and relationship management, said, “The impact that taking a vacation has on one’s mental health is profound. Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation, even if it is a 24-hour time-out.” Considering all of the problems that stress and high pressure situations can cause, it becomes obvious that allowing employees time to relax is necessary to get the best value out of that employee’s work – but what are some of the direct ways in which vacation time reduces the negative effects of stress on an individual’s health? Brenda Wilson, an award-winning editor for NPR on National and Public Health, wrote, “Probably the best evidence of the effects of vacations can be found in the Framingham Heart Study, which scientists have been plumbing for years to understand what contributes to our well-being. “More than 12,000 men who were at risk of heart disease were followed over nine years to see if there were ways to improve their longevity. The men who took vacations tended to be better educated and have a higher income. These are people who tend to be healthier and live longer.” Information from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics show that the average American worker receives 12 personal / vacation days a year to use at their leisure (no pun intended) – but a study from the Families and Work Institute found that less than half of these workers actually used their full vacation time. Perhaps this is due to the pressure felt by employees to keep working toward their goals, but regardless of the cause, evidence shows that not taking personal time may actually lead to an individual losing the ability to relax in general. “Without time and opportunity to do this (relaxing and taking time off), the neural connections that produce feelings of calm and peacefulness become weaker, making it actually more difficult to shift into less-stressed modes,” Clinical psychologist Deborah Mulhern said in U.S. News Science, “What neuroscience is showing is that we require down time in order for our bodies to go through the process of restoration. It is only when we are safe from external stresses that our bodies can relax enough to activate restoration.” So, the next time you are asking yourself “Should I take that vacation I’ve been thinking about?” maybe you should go ahead and book it, if for no other reason than to make strides toward reducing your stress levels and improving your overall well-being. And for employers who feel that paid-time-off is an unnecessary expense for the company, consider the investment that is made in each member of your team, and remember that allowing employees time to rest and relax is a preemptive method of ensuring that your investment will have a continued level of success for as long as possible.
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47
LIFELONG LEARNING
AN INVITING EDUCATION
Indiana Steps Up with Hospitality & Tourism Degrees
By Nick Dmitrovich
I
ndiana colleges are famous for their Aeronautical Engineering programs, and their Pharmaceutical courses of study, but one industry that is growing rapidly across the U.S. is Hospitality and Tourism. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana reported that the hospitality industry is the nation’s number one privatesector employer, outside of government careers, and is also the fastest growing industry, adding one job approximately every 2.5 seconds. Considering the current economic climate, and the need to find employment for many individuals, it is no wonder why so many students entering college are seeking degrees in the many categories of hospitality. Subsequently, higher enrollment in college programs like these reflect the higher demand for these employees throughout the industry – and the increase in discretionary finances available throughout the industry as well. “Tourism is a major contributor to the economy in Northwest Indiana and across the state,” said Lorelei Weimer, Executive Director of Indiana Dunes Tourism. “We know that in Porter County, tourism grew even during the recession. Just like any industry, ours benefits from having well-trained professionals to carry out our mission in this highly-competitive industry. We support the offering of degree pro48
grams in hospitality, tourism and event management as the student demand and industry demand dictate.” With that in mind – which colleges in Indiana offer hospitality programs, and what kinds of programs do they offer? The Hospitality Industry is typically divided into five different categories. Indiana University defines them as: • Lodgings (hotels, motels, etc.) • Transportations (planes, trains, etc.) • Food and Beverage Operations (restaurants, bars, etc.) • Retail Stores (souvenir shops, arts/ crafts stores, etc.) • Tourism Activities (recreation, festivals and events, etc.) In terms of official labor statistics, each of these types of careers falls under the “Leisure and Hospitality” label, but they all require very different types of degrees. Since each college in Indiana offers various subsets of these programs, it is important to note the differences therein. The following is a short breakdown of the top hospitality schools in Indiana: LEADING HOSPITALITY COLLEGES IN INDIANA INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS (IUPUI) is often rated as the leading school in the state for Hospitality degrees because it
has a high number of enrollments in its Travel and Tourism programs; 1,000 students annually with 40 faculty members on staff. IUPUI offers a Bachelor of Science program in Tourism, Conventions and Event Management studies for undergraduate majors. Earning this degree qualifies individuals for employment in many different aspects of the Tourism/Hospitality industry including: research, destination development, adventure travel, festivals, events, travel management, entertainment, attractions, transportation, accommodations, and/or food operations. IUPUI also offers two certifications that are subsets of hospitality; they are Beverage Management, in which students learn the fundamentals of managing a full-scale bar, and Lodging Management, where students learn leadership skills relevant to the hotel industry. PURDUE UNIVERSITY CALUMET offers a Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) program within its School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The programs origins began with industrial food service and over time evolved to encompass all the aspects of food service, lodging and tourism. Coursework centers around hands-on learning with a focus on the needs of today’s employers, and works to prepare students for a career in the fast-paced Hospitality industry in many different fields, including: directing a conwww.buildingindiana.com
vention and visitors bureau, planning conventions and events, managing corporate travel, general hotel management/director of operations, managing/owning restaurants, managing a travel agency, and directing numerous things like travel agencies, country clubs or catering companies. Purdue University in West Lafayette and Fort Wayne also offer degrees in Hospitality and Tourism Management. INDIANA UNIVERSITY (IU) offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation, Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management within its School of Public Health. There are different options available under the title of Recreation, including degrees in Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Human Ecology, Public (non-profit) Community Recreation, Recreational Sport Management, Recreational Therapy, and Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management. “The tourism, hospitality and event management program prepares students to enter the world’s largest and most diverse industry,” IU has stated, “Students in this program focus on the marketing and management of tourist facilities and destinations. These include government tourism diversions, hotels, resorts, convention centers, theme parks, visitor centers, cruises and airlines.” IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE offers a Hospitality Administration program that offers a diverse set of career paths to its students. Ivy Tech has stated that it works to “strengthen Indiana’s economy and enhance its cultural development with courses, certifications and degree options in: Culinary Arts, Culinology (blending of Food Science & Culinary Arts), Baking & Pastry Arts, and Hospitality Management with areas of emphasis in Restaurant Management, Hotel Management, and Event Management.” VINCENNES UNIVERSITY has several different options for students seeking a career in the hospitality field, including a general Hospitality course of study and a Hotel and Motel Management major. The Hospitality degree works to prepare www.buildingindiana.com
graduates for entry-level positions in hotel/motel and/or restaurant management, and tourism related careers with the skills necessary for diverse careers within the industry. The Hotel and Motel degree program is a bit more specific, focusing on a comprehensive plan of study in lodging management practices. This program will teach graduates theories of management, sales, forecasting and practical applications of front desk techniques (like reservations, conventions, guest reception and comfort). Looking at all the different options
available to college students seeking employment in the Hospitality and Tourism industry, the reasons why it is the largest private sector industry in America becomes clear – there is an abundance of career opportunities that fall within its definition, and a multitude of interests for students to study. Along with engineering, pharmaceutical and education degrees, it is easy to see that hospitality graduates are one of the finest academic exports from Indiana schools, furthering the state through their efforts in a whole host of careers.
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GREEN & SUSTAINABLE
FOOD BUSINESS GAINS IN INDIANA CORRIDOR ORGANIC FOODS GROW NEW OPPORTUNITIES
By Frances Katz, MBA, Former Publisher of American Society of Agronomy
I
ndiana is experiencing a growth curve in the food business currently, Indiana’s food business roster includes 487 establishments employing about 32,000 people with an average weekly wage of $688. In addition to food manufacturers, there are dozens of family farms that operate anywhere in the continuum from natural food products to “no artificial inputs,” to fresh and local, to grass-fed, to organic. This feeds into the fresh and local trend, and a number of establishments market via Internet sales, to augment the discontinuous supply chain. Indiana gains twice in the near future: Dawn Foods will vacate the 130,000-square-foot food freezer space building in Crown Point, the Lake County seat, and will consolidate the Dawn Bakery business warehousing unit in nearby Merrillville’s Ameriplex Center on Broadway. Van Drunen Foods, an Illinois and California company, will move a portion of its freezing, drum drying, freeze drying, and infusion operations into the former Dawn space. Van Drunen reportedly has some 400,000 square feet of production area in Momence, IL and owns about 1000 acres of fields that qualify under the United States Department of Agriculture as organic.
50
That’s no small order: “organic” means that no agricultural chemicals considered non-organic (there’s a list) may have been used on the fields for at least five years. There is a laundry list of other requirements, and USDA keeps a close eye on organic farmers. One of the requirements is that no GMO (genetically modified organisms) may be called organic, so organic crops must be separated from the heavily grown soy and
“We continue to grow in a highly competitive industry, due in part to the quality of the Indiana workforce and the state’s positive business climate.” - Bob Wojcik, Plant Manager, Heartside
corn that include pesticides as part of their biological makeup. Van Drunen sells their products to food processors and to retail outlets, and they have a lot of products - fruit, vegetables, cheese, as starters. Recent additions to their product lines include kale, blackberries, and other novel fruits and vegetables. The firm emphasizes the healthful aspects of fruits and vegetables and they cover the waterfront of products.
Many are processed to qualify as either Kosher or organic. Depending on what part of their operation the firm finally brings to Indiana, drying and drum drying are activities that use a lot of large equipment and energy, as well as slicers and dicers of all kinds. Products are packaged in a wide variety of packages and packaging materials, often under a nitrogen blanket. So why organic? The company was founded in 1958 as R.J. Van Drunen and Sons, and remains a private, familyowned company. Estimates of their revenue places the company in the $17.5 30 million range, with a fluctuating (by season) employment of around 50-200. A Van Drunen spokesperson said, “Quality is key to the products produced at Van Drunen Farms. From farm to table, we strive for only the best each step of the way. Our customers deserve it.” And there are a lot of acres in Indiana that are certified organic. Mostly, they grow grains and pasture (hay), which is shipped to organic animals farther west. But they could be used to grow vegetables and fruit, so that some could be processed here. The most important asset that Van Drunen brings to Northwest Indiana is the strengthening of the supply line between agrobusiness companies and final markets. Currently, unless the growers are quite large, marketing is mostly through the weekend farmer’s markets www.buildingindiana.com
in many communities. The major reason that farming companies move to organic products is the higher prices brought with organic systems. Without a good link to final markets, it’s a tough business to stay in. In a report from the Crossroads Resource Center (Minneapolis, MN) for the Indiana State Department of Health last January, the need for better infrastructure connecting farmers in Indiana with processors and customers was clear. The solution that many farmers have partially developed is internet sales, but that doesn’t provide a dependable chain in many cases. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations commented in a recent report that “post-harvest handling of relatively small quantities of organic foods results in higher costs because of the mandatory segregation of organic and conventional produce, especially for processing and transportation and marketing and the distribution chain for organic products is
relatively inefficient and costs are higher because of relatively small volumes.” But as Diamond Foods goes west, Hearthside Food Solutions, a manufacturer of grain-based snack foods and baked goods, announced a $6 million investment to renovate and add 8,600 square feet to its 180,000-square-foot facility in Michigan City, IN. The expansion will create up to 51 new jobs by 2016, also will include the installation of manufacturing equipment that will allow Hearthside to produce a cracker-based product sometime this spring. “We look forward to continued growth at our Indiana facility,” said Bob Wojcik, plant manager at Hearthside. “We continue to grow in a highly competitive industry, due in part to the quality of the Indiana workforce and the state’s positive business climate. As our business continues to grow, we will continue to invest in our people, plant and equipment.” Last year, Cambridge City, IN saw the closing of organic food processor Really
Cool Foods, after some large projections for employment. This year, the shuttered plant will re-open as Sugar Creek Packing Co, after a $15 million spruce-up. Sugar Creek is headquartered in Washington Court House, OH, and purchased the property from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Product lines for production in Cambridge City are still up in the air, but the company expects to employ 400 workers by 2016, making pork and chicken products. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. said it offered Sugar Creek up to $2.9 million in conditional tax credits and up to $175,000 in training grants based on the jobcreation plans. Sugar Creek can provide a solution for mid-Indiana pork and chicken producers, completing that supply chain. Many of the porkers grown in Indiana are pastured, which the local food aficienados find preferable to factory-like piggeries. Just watch your step when gamboling in the meadow!
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51
WELCOME CENTER
WOOING THE CONVENTION CROWDS
How to bring business tourism dollars to your town.
By Nick Dmitrovich
C
onventions all around the world bring people together for common goals in their respective industries in turn, those visiting people bring dollars into the community far beyond the venue at which the convention is held. They stay in the local hotels, eat at the local restaurants and shop in the local stores, essentially boosting the economy of the whole area surrounding the convention. More than $10 billion in tourism dollars are spent in the state of Indiana annually, and many counties are interested in what they can do to bring those dollars into their community. So what are some steps that can be taken to attract these conventions to your area and bring some of those tourism dollars home? The first question that communities and businesses often consider when planning to work with their local convention and visitors bureaus is: What size event are we capable of hosting? Major cities have no problem hosting gatherings with thousands of people, but not every community across the country can sustain that volume. A careful inventory needs to be taken of the available accommodations for both the actual event, and the lodging needed if the event will last several days. Organizations 52
want to know: Does a venue have a proven history of doing events our size? After determining what volume you can support, the next question that communities should be asking is: What makes us unique? Essentially, there needs to be a sense of attraction to draw convention planners to your
Christian Mantei, of CMC Consulting, explained that Promotional Plans should focus on: •
Strict operational planning that includes a three-year plan that enables private partners to join common actions and use them in their own promotion strategy.
•
Premium one to one contacts including professional exhibitions and Press/PR local operations.
•
Creative communication tools such as internet and targeted advertising, operational tools (brochures, websites, posters, etc.) and professional medias (press and web).
area. Perhaps your geography is unique, maybe you are conveniently located near a transit hub, or maybe there is a unique facility in your area or some other draw that would benefit the convention. Simply put, take an inventory of what you have in your area and ask yourself, who might
need something like this? Following these evaluations, the experts agree that networking and local cooperation are essential for bringing large events to your area. Dan O’Connell, President of the Fort Wayne, Indiana CVB, described how valuable it would be for communities to befriend the organizations that host events in their area. He explained that those businesses could be formed into your “A” groups that will further your local promotions through their testimonials and by extending invitations to their various affinity groups – thereby spreading the word about your community among the right people. He also outlined six different strategies that communities can use to successfully bring business tourism dollars to their areas – he listed: • WORKING WITH LOCALS – THE “LOCAL CLOUT” STRATEGY “Encourage local people, and use their clout,” O’Connell said, “The CVB should be seen as sales people, and the locals as members. Accomplish sales thru partnerships & persuasion, not thru politics and pressure.” •
ACCENTUATE THE DIFFERENCES “Emphasize the fact you are different, and convey how this difference benefits planners,” O’Connell said. He explained that you could describe things like: “We are www.buildingindiana.com
good at __ meetings,” and “We are close to __.” •
PROVIDE A PERSONAL TOUCH “Go the extra mile to provide more personal attention to their planner, delegates and convention and emphasize that they are the ‘big fish’ in your small pond,” O’Connell said. Formulating personal relationships will assist you in selling the unique aspects of your city. •
THE CO-OP STRATEGY “Share convention specs with other CVB’s for state business,” O’Connell said, “Bidding war? Suggest share.” He also described a sympathy angle where he described one community asking another community to allow alternation of the event’s location between their towns every other year. •
THE LARGE GROUP STRATEGY O’Connell explained that locations that can handle large events should go allin and book them. “Hotels & Convention Centers believe CVB’s should book new business and find business when they need it most,” O’Connell said. He explained why CVB coordinators should go for the big events, saying, “Going for the Big Bang helps elected officials and the community see that you’re ‘doing your job,’ it also demonstrates to your city folk you actual are a destination for conventions because ‘super sized groups’ are more visible, news worthy, and more money too.” •
THE BUY BUSINESS STRATEGY In this strategy the CVB provides incentives like paying for subsidies, hosting expenses, awards, underwriting and cohosting expenses. This would serve as a solid way of attracting large events, however it can be expensive for small CVB’s. A trick-ofthe-trade that O’Connell mentioned is to use other methods to finance a strategy like this, such as fundraisers.
key things: strict operational planning, premium one to one contacts and creative communication skills. Organizations need to remember that in the end what they’re really doing is selling their town – making it the as appealing as it can be to attract the tourism dollars to their area. Community and CVB organizations that work together to network with the business community and promote their town put themselves in the best possible position to attract new event opportunities to their area – and to bring in business tourism revenue. By evaluating resources and building on the strengths that a particular area already has, CVB groups will be able to locate major events that would be a good fit for their community and their local economy. Once the process starts, it has the potential to become somewhat of a networking snowball effect where new contacts are built through the relationships with existing contacts – thereby propelling the CVB organizers up to the next level, constantly evolving for the next event.
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CVB’s should select a strategy that most appropriately works into their budgets and incorporate that strategy into their promotional plans. As described by Christian Mantei of CMC Consulting, a company that specializes in marketing and investment strategies in Tourism and Hospitality, a promotional plan should focus on three www.buildingindiana.com
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MARKETING
THE SHOW MUST GO ON Making Sure Trade Show Investments are Well-Spent
By Nick Dmitrovich
of being at a trade show — why it’s worth your money — comes when you follow up on the leads and contacts you make.” Hopefully, upon returning from a trade show, you have a stack of business cards in your pocket from the new contacts you have made. Rather than sticking them in a drawer and letting them occupy space in your desk, these cards should be categorized to help you remember why you collected them in the first place. An
take notes at the event. Abrams writes that her company takes this one step further, utilizing a conrecently attended trade show’s tact notebook that she and her coworkers over, and you can wipe the sweat put together. “For every trade show, we off your brow and go back to busibring a separate bound notebook, stapler, ness as usual, right? Not even close parand pens. We staple cards into the book ticipating in the show is only the half-way as we meet contacts, making notes about mark. If you want to make good on your who they are and why we should follow efforts and investments, there are still sevup. We NEVER let that notebook out of our eral steps that successful companies do to sight; it’s like gold,” she said. ensure positive results continue well after It is important to bethe trade show is over. gin following up on leads Industry statistics LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION early on – like many other show that the major- Send out a message after the show including a personalized thank-you’s to the people who visited your booth, a reminder of things in life, if we put it ity of leads developed off, it most likely will not during a trade show your conversation and what your company does, perhaps even a promotional item with a brochure that details your company’s happen. Emails are probare not followed up product marketing. ably the most efficient on post-event. Considmethod for contacting ering that generating numerous companies in a new business contacts a primary goal of attending a trade show, following up on effective and simple way to stay organized single day, but it is important not to send those leads is critical to ensure companies with this is to begin early on, while you are everyone the same thing. Your message get the most out of their dollars invested. still at the trade show. As you meet new should include personalized thank-you’s Rhonda Abrams, a strategist/columnist people and acquire their contact informa- to the people who visited your booth, a with USA Today whose company liter- tion, have a pen with you and make a note reminder of your conversation and what ally wrote the book on trade shows, said, on the back of each card. Write down why your company does, perhaps even a pro“It’s tempting, after the preparation to get that contact is important, and brief note motional item with a brochure that details ready for a trade show and the hours on about the conversation you had. With all your company’s product marketing. The the trade show floor, to come back to the the new faces you will be meeting, it will subject line should contain an individual office and just collapse. But the real value be easier to differentiate contacts, if you touch that tells the reader that you appre-
A
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ciate having them as a business contact and are seeking to have a professional rapport in the future. It would also behoove companies to make the first move rather than waiting for leads to get in touch with you. This shows clear intent and initiative for your purposes. Companies should also come through with any assurances they made during the show - if you promised to deliver something, deliver it. “If you’ve had good interactions with strong leads and promised to do something for them when you get back in the office (for instance, send a catalog or sample, or get them some prices or a proposal), do that right away. These are very strong leads and you must move fast,” Abrams said. Also, after the follow up, make sure you add any leads to your company’s mailing system or contact management database. In an article for Business 2 Community, Biserka Anderson discussed the importance of utilizing social media after a trade show. She said that businesses should take note of the questions they were asked during the trade show, and post them on their Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or blog pages with detailed responses. “Address any questions you have been asked by prospects in dedicated blog posts and relevant LinkedIn groups. This way you will make sure the content you publish is truly relevant to your personas,” Anderson said. It is safe to assume that more than one individual shares the same question, so responding to them across the board through social media is a good way of addressing the people that did not have the chance to ask their questions at the show. Companies could also create a blog space dedicated to the topics covered in the show itself, perhaps using an expert in the industry to discuss the key items. “Trade shows are mostly about sharing expertise and thought leadership; so why not invite an industry expert attendee to write a guest blog for you on the issues that were discussed at the show?” Anderson said, “This way your readers will be kept in the loop and the appearance of an expert will make your content more sharable.” Anderson also commented on the importance of acting quickly with contacting all of your leads and generating web traffic around your experiences at the trade show. She said, “There is one crucial thing to remember– make sure you don’t lose the momentum. Impressions from the show may linger for a few days to a week but taper off quickly afterwards – so you surely want to tap into the buzz while it is fresh.” The last key item a company should consider after a trade show is how to measure and evaluate the company’s performance after the show. Coming up with specific goals in advance is a good way to measure performance. In an article for Advatum, a trade show and exhibit company, Peter LoCascio wrote, “To make the job of producing the post-show evaluation more effective than just your opinion, it is essential that a complete set of pre-show goals and objectives be established against which you can judge results.” “The uniqueness and beauty of today’s trade show exhibit environment is that it is a live event where modifications, improvements and innovations can evolve and be immediately appreciated,” LoCascio wrote. To get the most out of the trade show experience, companies should be constantly evolving and refining their trade show practices throughout the entire event, focusing on key aspects that can boost the company’s image and improve the knowledge base of the entire industry.
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EVENT
A POSITIVE APPROACH TO TEEN HEALTH PRESENTS: AMERICAN TEENS IN CRISIS CONFERENCE American teens in crisis~“Family Feud... Survey Says” The seminar will focus on Teen Health as it relates to peer and family relationships, schools, community and media. The conference will focus around myth vs. fact using accurate statistics to expose the trends, dangers and consequences of high-risk behaviors for today’s teens.
VENUE
DATE & TIME
Strongbow Tuesday April Inn 16th, 2013 2405 US 30 8 A.M.-4:30 P.M. Valparaiso 7:30 Registration and Breakfast 8-8:15 Welcome Tickets: $60 (Free Lunch also included)
pathblazer.org/conference MIDWEST SMOKEOUT Watch for the greatest annual cigar show in the region coming spring 2013! Vendors from throughout the country and beyond will bring their best for the event of the year!
Horseshoe April 25, Casino 2013 Hammond, 5:00–10:00 IN P.M
midwestsmokeout.com CAF/NWIBRT AWARDS BANQUET Join this celebration of the best and safest construction/maintenance projects and companies in the region! This must-see event is for any business leader!
Avalon Manor
May 16, 2013
Merrillville, 5:30–9:00 IN P.M.
nwibrt.org/awards INFLUENTIAL WOMEN OF NWI AWARDS The women of NWI are on the rise, and it is time to recognize the women who are working to empower and influence their communities!
Avalon Manor
May 23, 2013
Merrillville, 5:00–8:00 IN P.M.
nwiwomen.com NWIBRT GOLF OUTING Bigger and better than ever in 2013! Last year’s event broke White Hawk’s record for attendees at an event! This year will be even better! nwibrt.org/golf-outing
White Hawk Country Club
July 22, 2013
Crown Point, IN
Avalon THE BIG SCHMOOZE Manor Shake hands, exchange cards, & Merrillville, SCHMOOZE at this networkingIN focused fundraising kick-off for the Lake Area United Way & United Way of Porter County.
September 19, 2013 5:00–8:00 P.M.
thebigschmooze.com
Get Your Event Included! Call 219.226.0300 or visit
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
A SMALL TOWN MAKING BIG MOVES HOW ONE INDIANA TOWN IS FISCALLY DEVELOPING
By Nick Dmitrovich with contributions from Ian Nicolini, Town Manager of Cedar Lake, Indiana
C
edar Lake, Indiana, is a prime example of how a small community can use the resources it has to grow economically through developments in its tourism and business incentives. Centered around Northwest Indiana’s largest natural lake, the town of roughly 11,500 residents has a long history of being a resort community for Chicagoans that would vacation at Cedar Lake throughout the first half of the 20th century. Presently, it is still an attractive draw for vacationers and weekenders to visit, but over the years it has grown into a more of a suburban community. In recent years the local government of Cedar Lake has taken steps to boost the economy of the town through several different programs based around improvements and augmentations being made to its natural resources and neighborhoods. “Cedar Lake’s focus on attracting tourism relies upon the same strategy we use to attract economic development and residential growth: investing in infrastructure and sustainable economic development,” said Ian Nicolini, Cedar Lake’s Town Manager and adjunct instructor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Northwest. He went on say that Cedar Lake is designing these investments last into the future. “Sustainability is a major focal point of these strategies, because the quality of Cedar Lake - the body of water, ultimately determines the quality of Cedar Lake - the community. Our investments in infrastructure pay specific attention to water quality as well as providing access to Cedar Lake.
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We have continued to make infrastructure improvements aimed at both improving existing neighborhoods as well as planning for growing demand for services, he said.” Cleaning up the lake itself and improving the ecosystem of the surrounding natural environment is perhaps Cedar Lake’s most ambitious project. In the past there has been a negative stigma about the water quality of Cedar Lake, but the town is utilizing numerous programs to dramatically turn this around and make the lake the crown jewel of Northwestern Indiana. Nicolini explained, “The town is cur-
Planning for growth is a topic that the Cedar Lake Town Council is actively working on, due to the fact that in the eleven years between 2000 and 2011 the town’s population grew nearly 25 percent.
rently working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to finalize the feasibility report for the Cedar Lake Ecosystem Restoration Project. It is anticipated that the feasibility report will be complete in late 2013. The report studies several options for improving water quality and biodiversity including dredging areas with the highest concentrations of available sediment phosphorus, nutrient inactivation,
fish community management, aquatic plantings, increased nowake zones, and rerouting Founder’s Creek into Cedar Lake. With aid of US Representative Pete Visclosky and State Senator Sue Landske, the project has nearly $11 million in funding.” He also stated that once the feasibility report is complete, the project will meet many of the requirements to receive federal funding, and design on the project may commence. Cleaning up the lake will not only bring the town’s property values up, but it will almost certainly draw new business opportunities to the town. Planning for growth is a topic that the Cedar Lake Town Council is actively working on, due to the fact that in the eleven years between 2000 and 2011 the town’s population grew nearly 25 percent. Along with the town’s population growth, there has been an obvious increase in demand for new infrastructure and for expansion of the business community as well. The town has developed a newly designed beach along the waterfront near the town complex, both to attract visitors from out of town and to provide better access to the lake for its residents and guests. The beach sits between the popular new Lighthouse Restaurant and the Lake of the Red Cedars Museum, both of which attract revenue from tourism dollars in addition to their regular local patronage. “Our recently completed beach at the Town Complex is an example of our efforts at increasing access to Cedar Lake,” www.buildingindiana.com
Nicolini said. “The beach was constructed sustainably by using dredged sand from the installation of the pier at the nearby Lighthouse Restaurant to serve as the base for the beach sand. The beach connects to our existing boardwalk as well as 18 acres of public open space at the complex. The Lake of Red Cedars Museum can also be found at the Town Complex and houses a wealth of historical treasurers about Cedar Lake and the Northwest Indiana Region.” “In addition to the improvements at the beach,” he added, “The State of Indiana has informed us that we can expect the public boat launch at North Park to be reconstructed in 2014. This project should allow for easier and safer access to Cedar Lake for boaters.” Town Manager Nicolini spoke about the incentives that Cedar Lake has offered to businesses that are considering becoming part of the community. “Cedar Lake uses a variety of business development incentives” Nicolini said. “The town issued economic development revenue bonds to help finance the new Strack and Van Til grocery store which will be constructed to LEED Silver standards in keeping with Strack and Van Til’s and Cedar Lake’s missions of sustainable economic development. The town has utilized TIF revenues to pay for public infrastructure to service new developments.” Along with all of these current items underway to foster economic growth throughout the town, Cedar Lake is also looking far ahead to ensure that the town has continued success for generations to come. Providing better access to commercial areas, and establishing green infrastructure to preserve some of the town’s most unique natural areas are just two examples of these future developments. “Cedar Lake has several upcoming projects aimed at increasing capacity and access to our commercial areas,” Nicolini said. “The widening and reconstruction of 133rd Avenue (the town’s primary access route) on the town’s east side is in the design stages and can begin as soon as the fall of 2013. The widening and Reconstruction of 133rd Avenue from US 41 to Industrial Drive is slated for construction www.buildingindiana.com
in 2013 and will be the largest road project in the town’s history.” He added that, “The coming years will also see the expansion of sidewalks through grant funding through the Safe Routes to School Program. Lastly, the town is currently working on a green infrastructure corridor that looks at the potential of environmental conservation and recreational trails along Founder’s Creek and Cedar Creek.” In the country’s current economic climate, many small towns across America are struggling to promote growth through-
out their communities – but not Cedar Lake. Instead, Cedar Lake has made the most out of a difficult situation by revitalizing and improving the resources that it already has, thereby relying on the attractions that made the town successful in the first place. By improving the natural elements that have always made the town an appealing place to both visit and live, and by providing better access and infrastructure resources to its business community, the Town of Cedar Lake has positioned itself on the path of sustained economic growth for years to come.
Talk is Cheap. Proof is Free. We could tell you we’re the best business-to-business magazine in the state. We could tell you that advertising with us will get you noticed by top executives and decision-makers. Why don’t we show you instead?
BUILDING INDIANA STATS
• Largest statewide business publication in Indiana • More than 60,000 readers each issue • Distributed six times per year • More than 20,000 copies direct-mailed bimonthly • 28,000 readers online per issue
OTHER PUBLICATIONS STATS
• Smaller scope, smaller reach • Approximately 30,000 readers each issue • Distributed on quarterly basis or less • No direct mail • Little to no online presence
We get you noticed by people who matter. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you! 219-226-0300 or lhilliard@thinkdiversified.com
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The Last Word Keeping Special Events Safe Prioritizing & standardizing safety planning can ensure more special events don’t end in tragedy By Daniel Steiner, P.E., President, D.L. Steiner, Inc.
It happened so fast! Within seconds after the manager for Great White lit the pyrotechnics during the band’s opening number, sparks from these devices had ignited the flammable insulation surrounding the stage. The platform was on fire before concertgoers realized the flames weren’t part of the act. At first the evacuation was orderly, but then panic set in as the wooden frame of The Station nightclub quickly turned the building into an inferno. People rushed the exit, and a bottleneck ensued. By the time the blaze was extinguished, The Station was in ashes, more than 200 people were injured – and 100 lay dead. As the summer months, with their crowdintense activities (concerts, festivals, etc.) approach, tragedies like the 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island and the morerecent Indiana State Fair stage collapse are reminders that safety at special events is not something to be taken lightly. Such events can be dangerous places where people can be severely injured or killed in an instant. The evidence isn’t hard to spot. At every county fair, you’ll find electric cables running through puddles, electrical boxes exposed to the elements, poorly maintained rides, and temporary structures where questionable shortcuts were taken during setup. Concerts, especially outdoor ones, have their own safety concerns – weather, and complex venue setups to name a few. This segment of the special events industry has made progress in event safety, but back-to-back accidents in August 2011 – the Indiana State Fair (7 dead, 58 injured) and the stage collapse at the Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, Belgium (5 dead, 140 injured) – shows there’s still room for improvement. Conventions and trade shows aren’t immune
to safety problems, either. According to Bobbi Samples, owner and principal consultant at The Safety Firm, LLC, the issues at these and other special events range from fall hazards during setup to inadequate emergency egress. “Most special events do not have good emergency plans in place to protect their workers and customers,” she said. “Often, there are no responsibilities assigned, no practice drills, and the public isn’t informed of what to do or where to go.” In the U.S., much legislation and many standards have been written to govern workplace safety, for example, OSHA regulations, the NFPA’s 70E electrical safety standard, and ANSI standards for everything from eyewear to machinery. But other than OSHA standard 1910.306(k) covering electrical requirements for carnival, circuses, fairs, and similar events, and ANSI standards E1.2 and E1.21 that address trusses and towers, and temporary overhead structures, the special events industry doesn’t have much in the way of recognized safety standards. Why? Answers to this question range from “most municipalities have their own rules for special event venues and worry about adding more regulation” to “promoters fear national standards will stifle creative control of their productions.” Roger Ford, D.L. Steiner safety and training coordinator, takes a more basic approach: safety just isn’t the number-one priority at special events. “People assume that because the setup for a special event is only temporary, less emphasis on safety is required. Really, I think the opposite is true,” he said. Regarding national special event safety standards, the United Kingdom is two decades ahead of the U.S. In 1993, its Health and Safety Executive’s office issued its “The Event Safety Guide: A Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at
Music and Similar Events” in 1999. Nicknamed the Purple Guide, it has become the leading resource for special event safety planning in the UK and Europe. During the past few years, the U.S. has begun catching up. In 2005, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) started offering the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) to properly educate entertainment technicians on the techniques and concepts of their craft, including safety. The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) now oversees this program. Recently, a new U.S.-based organization, the Event Safety Alliance (ESA), was formed for the purpose of addressing “the immediate need for universal safety standards for the production of live events.” To date, one of the ESA’s most significant contributions is its release of “The Event Safety Guide,” an adaptation of the Purple Guide for the U.S. market. If all this talk about special event safety and national safety standards for special events sounds like more bureaucracy – or another way for somebody to make a buck – it’s not. The safety concerns special event promoters face are roughly the same ones business operators deal with every day. And since 1970, when national workplace safety standards began to be emphasized, workplace fatalities and injuries have been reduced by 65 and 67 percent respectively. Special events should be exciting for the events, themselves, not because of some unforeseen horrific incident. Attendees have a right to expect a safe experience, and promoters have an obligation to ensure special events don’t turn into tragic ones. The shifting U.S. attitude toward special event safety – and national standards for the same – is a welcome one.
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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