CELEBRATING 35 YEARS DEAR FRIENDS OF NBDC On April 1, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a letter addressed to Herbert Garfinkel, then interim chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. It awarded UNO a federal contract to operate a University Business Development Center. Only seven other universities received a similar letter. In 1980, President Carter would sign the Small Business Development Center Act, which would change the University Business Development Center demonstration project into the permanent Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program. Only five of the eight universities engaged in the demonstration project would make the transition. Only two of those universities had already implemented a statewide program as envisioned by the Act. UNO was one of the two. As a pioneer of the SBDC program, UNO was not done. In 1981, UNO played the leading role in creating the Association of Small Business Development Centers, which is now the professional development and advocacy organization for the small business development center movement. Through the decade of the 1980s, while the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was engaged in establishing SBDC programs in every state and territory, UNO responded to several requests by SBA to advise in the organization of programs in other states. In 1989, UNO established the Membership Services office of ASBDC and in 1995 it transferred that office to a permanent location near Washington, DC. In 2011, UNO became just the eighth program to receive accreditation by ASBDC and SBA as a Small Business and Technology Development Center. We are proud of the leadership of the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) within the SBDC program but
even more proud of the leadership of NBDC in economic development in Nebraska. We find that leadership in four points. First, NBDC traces its consulting roots to a 1975 contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide assistance to all businesses in Niobrara, Nebraska. That community was being moved because of flooding. What that experience gave us at the UNO College of Business Administration was an appreciation of the importance of small businesses to the survival and quality of life of rural Nebraska. Since its start, NBDC has always recognized a responsibility to provide professional level consulting assistance to small businesses in rural Nebraska—assistance available through no other service. Second, NBDC has always been knowledge based. NBDC seeks to provide to businesses in Nebraska a level of consulting assistance that is superior to any other in Nebraska. In achieving that objective, every NBDC consultant is a qualified professional both by the level of education and certified training required for specific consulting assignments and by application of reflective action acquired through the applied discipline of business consulting experiences. Third, as a university-based business consulting program, NBDC engages the knowledge and energy of the faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and at its subcontract partner institutions: the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), Wayne State College and Chadron State College (CSC). Fourth, as a university we are committed to including and training our students in the application of business knowledge that NBDC provides to business clients. Thus, NBDC provides 13 graduate assistantships to Master of Business Administration and other master’s students at UNO and one assistantship each at UNL, UNK and CSC. These graduate
INSIDE
4 Premier Provider of Business Services 8 Economic Impact Across Nebraska 26 Champion of Small Business 27 Government Contractor of the Year 28 Sustainability Business of the Year 29 Manufacturing Business of the Year 30 Veteran Owned Business of the Year 31 Technology Business of the Year
students receive quality experiences that benefit their careers. Two examples: Nagaraj Mylandia and Doug Ewald. Mylandia was recently honored as a distinguished alumnus in management from UNO. He is the founder and managing director of FSS, a global leader in retail and service payments with more than $90 million in global revenue and offices in six regions of the world. Doug Ewald is Nebraska’s tax commissioner and heads the Nebraska Department of Revenue. We hope you will find this description of NBDC accomplishments in 2011 of interest and that you will join us in celebrating 35 years of commitment by the UNO College of Business Administration to the economic development of Nebraska.
NBDC STATE OFFICES University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration Mammel Hall, Suite 200 6708 Pine Street Omaha, NE 68182 (402) 554-2521 EspaĂąol: (402) 554-6267 Robert E. Bernier State Director rbernier@unomaha.edu
Louis Pol, PhD Dean College of Business Administration University of Nebraska at Omaha
Robert E. Bernier, PhD Assistant Dean and State Director Nebraska Business Development Center College of Business Administration University of Nebraska at Omaha
Marjorie Miskec Assistant State Director mmiskec@unomaha.edu ON THE WEB nbdc.unomaha.edu
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Nebraska Business Development Center is Nebraska’s Premier Provider of Integrated Business Management Solutions
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or 35 years the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) has been providing management and technical assistance to businesses in Nebraska. It has been doing so in the belief that strong businesses mean good jobs and a high quality of life for all Nebraskans. It has been doing so with a high respect for business owners and with a strong commitment to helping good businesses become better. But, that tradition has not meant that NBDC has remained stagnant in its capacity or its resources. Instead, in its 35 years, NBDC has become the most advanced integrated business solutions provider to Nebraska businesses.
NBDC consulting solutions capacity has grown through advancement of its services as a small business development center, through the addition of services through its other federal programs (the procurement technical assistance center program, the manufacturing extension partnership, the pollution prevention program and others), and through its investment in assembling a highly qualified consulting staff. Today, NBDC consists of four programs partially funded by federal grants and its professional education
2,960 Clients in 216 Communities 2,700 Jobs $324,851,754 in Economic Impact
program. No other program of its kind has such a broad base. It includes the small business development center (SBDC) program of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) program of the Defense Logistics Agency, the manufacturing extension partnership (MEP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the pollution prevention resource information center (P2RIC) of the Environmental Protection Agency. In developing its resources, NBDC has also taken advantage of specific program funding
from the Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. While these programs have specific objectives and regulations, NBDC has never been about requiring its business clients to understand the regulations of its federal partners. Instead, NBDC has sought to satisfy the needs of its business clients through whatever program or programs best fit. In doing so, NBDC has recently reorganized its approach to consulting and training services through three essential business management requirements: Financial Management Services, Business Development Services and Operational Management Services.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
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inancial Management Services is the original center of NBDC services and the one that is in most demand by our clients. It focuses on the principals of corporate finance. NBDC has consultants in Auburn, Chadron, Grand Island, Kearney, Lincoln, North Platte, Omaha, Scottsbluff and Wayne engaged in this service. It is first a service of capital access. NBDC packages and places loans for small business start-ups, expansions and reorganizations. Many of these are SBA guaranteed or 504 loans and most of these are loans that are more complex than those typically packaged by bank loan officers. All are placed with banks and NBDC values its relationship with Nebraska’s commercial lenders. At the same time, some require participation by local economic development
corporations, equity investment by business angel investors, use of community development block grants and other combinations of investment that require sophisticated assistance by NBDC consultants. Cash flow forecasting is essential in determining appropriate capital needs in loan placement but it is also useful in restructuring and operational forecasting. NBDC provides this type of assistance to Nebraska businesses as well as analysis of capital investment requirements. NBDC manufacturing engineers in Omaha and Columbus provide expert guidance to manufacturers in determining appropriate levels of capital investment for maximizing profit. Through its Kearney and Grand Island offices, NBDC has also developed a unique capacity among small business development centers in business valuation. When acquiring a business, selling a business or qualifying for a continuing operation loan for a business it is always essential that the business be valued as a going enterprise. NBDC’s qualified valuation specialists make appraisals that are accepted by SBA, banks and investors. In addition to the valuation itself, NBDC can also provide succession plans that allow a going business to be sold (including transferring it to employees, family or other persons) in such a way as to preserve the business for its community. This is a significant need in rural communities which stand to lose essential services and amenities if local businesses die with the retirement of their owners. Because of NBDC success in such transition assistance, NBDC business valuation and transition consultants have become in demand speakers at rural development training programs in Kansas, North Dakota, and other states as well as with the rural interest group at the conferences of the Association of Small Business Development Centers.
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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
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he financing of a business is only in anticipation of being prepared for sales. It is revenue that makes a business viable. NBDC business development services are provided as an aid to development of sales. The core of NBDC business development services is its assistance to businesses in achieving sales to federal, state and local governments. NBDC has consistently achieved government contract placements of more than $100 million for its clients in each of the last five years. This success is possible because NBDC procurement counselors are the most highly trained of their colleagues in any of the procurement technical assistance centers funded by
the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency. NBDC provides its procurement technical assistance services through its offices in Auburn, Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha, and Wayne. Procurement assistance is a specified and effective technical service. When businesses engage with NBDC in pursuing government contracting they learn how to plan for customer interest, how to position for sale, how to determine their true costs so as to make bids that are both competitive and profitable, and how to implement contract performance so as to assure future contracts. We call this “capture management” and it is a level of sales performance and customer service that is impressively effective in the private sector as well as the public sector. Innovation in both products and processes is also a technique of business development. NBDC assistance has
become essential to many businesses in innovation. The NBDC technology commercialization process has provided productive services for many Nebraska companies and researchers. This includes services in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and services in manufacturing core competency identification.
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SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION
esearch program and its partner Small Business Technology Transfer program (SBIR/STTR) were developed in the early 1980s as part of the same movement that created the SBDC program. While some charlatans promote grant programs for small businesses, the SBIR/STTR program is virtually the only federal program that fulfills the promise. Yet, it is not a program that favors those businesses who do not have academic researchers to call upon or who do not understand scientific method as exploited by commercially feasible business models. NBDC, through its assistance to Nebraska small businesses and university researchers, has driven Nebraska from 48th among the states in SBIR awards to 38th. That achievement is testimony to the relentless NBDC efforts to create business models for Nebraska technologies. NBDC works with researchers at Nebraska’s research institutions; the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton University, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha; to find ways to turn Nebraska’s innovative energy into businesses and jobs in Nebraska. NBDC also endeavors to help Nebraska businesses improve market penetration and develop new markets through its market research program. This program includes an analysis of the core competencies of a business with an assessment of how those com-
petencies can be applied to growing markets. NBDC market research reports assess a Nebraska business’s core market and its potential in that market. An NBDC market research report with qualified prospects (NBDC-MRRQP) includes identification of customers with a need for the product or service offered.
Lean takes the waste out of process. Six Sigma takes the variation out of process. NBDC takes the unprofitability out of process. NBDC consultants are willing to engage the process of any business at any time to implement improvement. Kaizen events, value added process mapping, value stream mapping: all are in the NBDC repertoire.
In addition to these consulting services; NBDC offers training programs for businesses through its Professional and Organizational Development (POD) program. Essential among these is its capture management program and its management of customer service programs.
NBDC operational management services also include essentials of human resource management, leadership development, project management training, and programs in wellbeing.
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OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT
BDC operational services are grounded in its Lean Process Engineering implementation program. Lean Process is a process to take the waste out of production. NBDC has six highly qualified manufacturing process engineers with extensive experience in all aspects of Lean process and associated operational imperatives (including Six Sigma and ISO certification). These applications, it turns out, can be as effectively implemented in an office environment or in a cattle feed lot as they can on the factory floor.
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ALWAYS THERE
BDC consultants are deeply committed to meeting the needs of Nebraska businesses. More than once have NBDC engineers worked three shifts to implement a solution in one day at a Nebraska manufacturer. That kind of commitment is available to all Nebraska businesses. Call us at (402) 554-2521 or visit us at our website nbdc.unomaha.edu
A growing essential for businesses is to develop sustainable operations. Sustainability is a key environmental objective but it also can be a profitability objective as the cost of energy rises. NBDC has environmental engineers who provide assistance to businesses in identifying promising targets for sustainability that include financial as well as social advantages.
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Western Sleep Medicine
This Business You Can Really Count On
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or some people, a good night’s sleep is more a dream than a reality.
In 2006, Mark Schultz and Michael Kearns visited the Scottsbluff office of the Nebraska Business Development Center to discuss their idea for an independent sleep lab to assist physicians in the identification and treatment of sleep disorders. A regional hospital was performing those services, but the delay on those studies was from six to eight weeks. Schultz and Kearns believed they could expedite the service. “We knew about sleep,” Schultz recalls, “but we didn’t know anything about putting together a business proposal. The NBDC helped us define who we were and what we wanted to do.” Three months later, they opened the first Western Sleep Medicine, LLC laboratory. Today, Western Sleep Medicine operates eight laboratories for sleep-related breathing disorders in western Nebraska, eastern Wyoming and southwest South Dakota. The company employs 14 people. The studies they perform include full polysomnography, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration, multiple sleep latency testing and other specialized
NBDC SCOTTSBLUFF testing which may be required to diagnose seizure disorders or other sleep-related movement disorders. Schultz is a registered polysomnographer credentialed by the Board of Polysomnographic Technologists and a member of the American Association of Sleep Technologists and American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He and his partner, Gerald Amundsen, M.D., combine clinical, administrative and medical teaching experience to effectively manage sleep medicine programs. With Norman Imes, M.D., providing medical direction and expert clinical interpretation, Western Sleep Medicine has earned the respect and trust of referring physicians throughout the region. In May 2011, Schultz and Kearns again enlisted the services of NBDC to discuss the buyout of Kearns as a partner, as his health was failing. The terms of the partnership share and the loan were approved in August 2011, with Schultz and Dr. Amundsen as the remaining partners.
83 Clients $5,966,910 in Impact INGRID BATTERSHELL Ingrid Battershell, ASBDC star performer and a noted loan packager, has served as director of the Scottbluff center since 1992. The center was established in 1985—part of NBDC’s long term commitment to rural development. Battershell earned an MBA from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She has been the finance director for the City of McCook and served briefly as interim director for the McCook Chamber of Commerce. A lifelong resident of small communities in western Nebraska, Battershell has 25 years of experience working in and supporting their business enterprises. NBDC office at: 4502 Avenue I University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center Scottsbluff, NE 69361 Phone: (308) 635-7513 ibattershell@unomaha.edu
Schultz says post care and follow up is critical in sleep medicine, with CPAP or Bi Level therapy being the preferred treatment option for sleep-related breathing disorders. This motivated the partners to create Western CPAP Supply, LLC. “We deliver the highest quality auto titrating CPAP equipment that includes a downloadable ‘Smart Card, which tracks a patient’s progress and is reported to the referring physician, thus assisting with the plan of care outlined by the physician,” he says. The company strives to provide the best care possible and build rewarding relationships, Schultz says. “Our patients are literally our family, friends and neighbors,” he says. “We see the people we care for at the store or at the county fair. You can either go up and greet them or turn away. I always want to have the kind of business where I greet our patients as friends, with a smile and a handshake.”
In 2012, the UNO College of Business Administration, NBDC’s partner in supporting the Scottsbluff center, celebrates its 60-year anniversary.
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Straight Outta New York Pizzeria
A Slice of New York in Downtown Chadron
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ow far do you need to travel to get a great New York style pizza? For people in Chadron, Nebraska, it’s as close as Main Street. Owned by Melvin and Lisa Adams, Straight Outta New York Pizzeria has built a loyal following since opening its doors in February 2010. But before chef Melvin could serve up his first pie, the couple obtained the assistance of Tim Donahue at the Chadron office of the Nebraska Business Development Center in writing a viable business plan. “Tim was a great help with the plan and all the paperwork,” Adams says. “We relied on his expert advice.” Born in Wounded Knee, S.D., Melvin is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and is a descendant of Crazy Horse’s parents. He met Lisa when the two lived in Seattle. Adams attended culinary schools and worked various jobs in the restaurant business in several states before he and Lisa moved to Chadron. In Chadron, the couple invested $5,000 to open their first Straight Outta New York Pizzeria adjacent to a bar in the basement of a building. In an effort to gain exposure, they moved the restaurant to Main Street, directly across from the Eagle movie theater. The move has paid off in a steady stream of hungry customers. Starting with the purchase of an old stone pizza oven owned by a local doctor, Adams has used his ingenuity and the Internet to purchase quality used kitchen
NBDC CHADRON 31 Clients $2,147,000 in Impact TIM DONAHUE
From left: Tim Donahue, NBDC Chadron center director; Jennifer Wittrock, NBDC; business owners Melvin and Lisa Adams; Evgeny Popov, NBDC graduate assistant
equipment at a fraction of the cost of new. “I got a great ventless fryer worth about $10,000 on EBay for $400,” he says proudly. He and Lisa rolled up their sleeves and remodeled the dining room themselves, “so all it cost us was the materials.” Adams says fresh ingredients set his pizzas apart. “I make everything from scratch, right down to the dough and the sauce,” he says. “I figure I made about 30 one-gallon batches of sauce before I got the recipe just right. I had one fella come in eight days straight after we opened, while I was still testing my sauces. He finally said, ‘I don’t understand it, Mel. Every day, the pizza is better.’” Adams and his wife share the duties of running a popular restaurant. “She knows the numbers and I know food,” Adams says. “We complement each other. When it comes to the business, really the two of us become one.”
NBDC has a long association with Chadron State College. Center director Tim Donahue, PhD, is the former state director of the Minnesota Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and has received district, regional and national awards from the Small Business Administration for his outstanding consulting. His interests include using assessment tools to identify strategic options for rural communities. Donahue became a center director for NBDC in 2010. He has been active in supporting NBDC’s Veterans Assistance and Services Program, leading its business “bootcamps” and developing online training for veterans. Donahue has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, and a doctorate from the University of South Dakota and is a professor in the business academy at Chadron State College.
NBDC office at: Chadron State College Burkhiser Technology Center 1000 Main Street Chadron, NE 69337 (308) 432-6279 tdonahue@csc.edu
Their goal is to have “a string of Straight Outta New York Pizzerias up and down the Plains,” he says. In the meantime, satisfying appetites is at the top of his list. “When I cook something that makes a customer happy,” he says, “then I’m happy.” Adams has been smiling a lot lately.
NBDC has a longstanding partnership with Chadron State College, the only four-year and graduate-degree granting college in western Nebraska. CSC offers courses throughout western Nebraska through its distance and alternative learning programs.
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Local Ownership is a Recipe for Success
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n an age of big-box chain stores and super-center grocers, it’s rare that a shopper can say they know the name of their butcher. Gary’s Super Foods in North Platte is the exception.
At Gary’s, shoppers can not only purchase a six-pack of Gary’s Homemade Brats—they can meet Gary Suhr, the man who came up with the recipe. The owner of a grocery store in Hershey, Nebraska since 1995, Suhr saw an opportunity in North Platte and came to the Nebraska Business Development Center for help. He met with North Platte Director Jason Tuller about creating a business plan. “Jason was very good to us,” Suhr says. “I went to him knowing very little about the process and he took me through all the steps of everything we needed to do to secure the funding. He helped prepare all the paperwork and supported us all the way. He did a fabulous job.”
Gary’s Super Foods
NBDC NORTH PLATTE Suhr and his wife, Christina, contributed $200,000 of their own money toward the new grocery store, situated in the same building that housed a True Value Super Center until it closed in 2005. Along with a bank loan, the Suhrs secured a $300,000 grant from the Quality Growth Fund and a Community Development Block Grant loan of $113,000. They cut the ribbon and opened Gary’s Super Foods in February 2009. The only locally-owned supermarket in North Platte, Gary’s Super Foods is a full-line grocery store with a bakery, a full-service meat department and produce department. It features Shurfine and Shurfresh products, brands that left the North Platte market when True Value went out of business. The building has 23,000 square feet of space, with 18,000 devoted to sales. The business employs 53 people, Suhr says. “We started off with a bang and thankfully it hasn’t let up since,” he says. “We stress the high quality of our produce, our custom meats and our customer service. I can’t tell you how important personal service is to finding and keeping customers.” Suhr wanted to operate the new grocery store with greater energy efficiency, so he accessed the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). With a loan guarantee from the USDA Rural Development office, Suhr was able to upgrade the building with a reclaim system that captures heat from the refrigeration compressors and uses it to heat the store. He also installed energy efficient T-12 lighting. Suhr says the investments have resulted in impressive savings. “The utility bills are one-half of the costs of the store in Hershey, where there’s less than half the space,” he says. Innovations that ensure the customers at Gary’s Super Foods find a warm and bright welcome for many years to come.
79 Clients $7,386,600 in Impact JASON TULLER As part of NBDC’s focus on rural development, a center in North Platte was opened in 1985. Jason Tuller has worked as its center director since 2005. Tuller received his MBA with an emphasis in E-Commerce from the University of New Brunswick, Saint John, Canada. After completing his MBA, he worked at a Valmont Industries plant in McCook where he was production planner and in charge of inventory control. Tuller was the team leader of a group at Valmont that changed the production system from a Just-In-Time to a KANBAN production system. While working for NBDC, Tuller has created nearly 200 business plans. His clients have received more than $31 million in financing, started more than 55 new businesses and have created more than 375 jobs.
NBDC office at: 300 East 3rd St. Room 275 North Platte, NE 69101 Phone: (308) 534-5115 Email: jtuller@unomaha.edu
UNO’s College of Business Administration is accredited by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business—a distinction earned by less than one-third of U.S. business colleges and only 15% of business colleges worldwide.
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A Prescription for Business Growth
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hen pharmacist Jerry Jensen needed a business valuation report, his banker prescribed a visit to the Kearney office of the Nebraska Business Development Center.
Jensen owns Medicap Pharmacy in Kearney. Its prime location and the loyalty of his customers has yielded stability and in some cases growth at a time when the overall economy was struggling. After several years in business, Jensen was presented the opportunity to buy out his contract with the Medicap franchisor, but with financing by the parent company at a significantly higher rate than current interest rates. So he approached his banker about a financial restructuring of his company to secure new financing, buy out the corporate note and return more cash flow to his business.
NBDC KEARNEY Together they called upon Odee Ingersoll, director of the NBDC office at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Like other NBDC directors, Ingersoll has impressive credentials. He is an Accredited Valuation Analyst, Certified Exit Planning Advisor, Certified Economic Development Finance Professional, Certified Business Planning Advisor, as well as a member of the Institute of Business Appraisers and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. As is often the case with a business in the medical industry, a company’s value is in part due to its professional operation, requiring a valuation of intangible assets such as goodwill. NBDC provided a business valuation to the lender to support SBA financing, at Fair Market Value. Ingersoll then put together a comprehensive loan package including financial analysis, market and industry analysis, site evaluation, pro forma financials and premium market research. The proposal demonstrated significant long-term and short-term financial benefit to the restructure. The package was given to Jensen’s bank and sent on to the Small Business Administration (SBA), which later approved the loan. With the funds from his bank, Jensen was able to successfully retire the franchisor note. “This will save me $1.5 million over the term of the 20-year franchise agreement,” Jensen says. “It was a smart move.” Running his own pharmacy means long hours. Jensen often works six days a week, but the addition of a parttime pharmacist now allows him to alternate weekends. He employs two people full-time and five others parttime. “We’ve been fortunate that this is a very strong market,” he says. “We have somewhat of a medical hub here, and the medical community is very progressive. Even in a downward economy, Kearney has been in a little bubble, insulated from some of the worst effects.” That’s why Jensen sees continued growth on the horizon. “I’m always optimistic,” he says. “You shouldn’t be in business for yourself if you’re not an optimistic person.”
Medicap Pharmacy
360 Clients $39,321,742 in Impact ODEE INGERSOLL A former business owner and entrepreneur, Odee Ingersoll is director of the center at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. and oversees the Nebraska Center for Business Transition. He provides training nationally on business exit and succession planning, NxGen entrepreneurship, business start ups, and financing. He has produced a nationwide business advisor training program to proactively assist with transition issues. Ingersoll is an Accredited Valuation Analyst, a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, a Certified Business Planning Advisor. He is also certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional and an Edgerton Quality Examiner. He is a member of the Institute of Business Appraisers and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. Following Hurricane Katrina, Ingersoll served with a group of SBDC volunteers in Mississippi that implemented a regional outreach program to small business owners. He was presented the ASBDC Distinguished Service Award later that year. The Kearney center also provides the services of a procurement technical assistance counselor who assists businesses seeking government contracts.
NBDC office at: University of Nebraska at Kearney West Center Bldg. Room 127E 1917 W. 24th Street Kearney, NE 68849-4440 Phone: (308) 865-8344 Email: ingersollo@unk.edu
The University of Nebraska at Kearney is a public, residential university that is committed to be one of the nation’s premier undergraduate institutions. UNK offers 170 undergraduate majors, 25 pre-professional programs, and 34 graduate programs.
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Valuation Service is Good Business Strategy
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hen Patrick Mendick’s bank in Omaha directed him to the Nebraska Business Development Center offices in Kearney and Grand Island to determine the value of the business he co-owned, Miktom, Inc., he in turn learned the value of the services NBDC provides. “Everyone we spoke to at NBDC is aces,” Mendick says. “They were very helpful and gave us exactly what we needed.”
Since its founding in 1989, Miktom, Inc. has offered a variety of parking lot services including sealing, sweeping and striping. “We cater to the contractors that build the parking lots,” Mendick says. “We come in and finish the job, similar to what a finish carpenter would do. It takes an independent company like us to do what we do and to do it well.” The business was started by Andrew “Mick” Vinckier. Mendick and Rod
Miktom, Inc
Baxter purchased and incorporated the southwest Omaha business in 2005. From 2005 until 2011, managerial functions were divided between the two owners. In 2011, Miktom contracted NBDCKearney and the NBDC office in Grand Island to provide valuation services. NBDC created a valuation report to determine the value of Miktom to allow Baxter to exit the business. After
NBDC GRAND ISLAND SARA MCMILLAN
completion of the valuation report, Mendick applied for funding from the Small Business Administration to acquire Baxter’s share of the firm. Last October, the SBA approved the loan. The company’s parking lot services include miscellaneous projects that allow Miktom to stay diversified and generate additional revenue. The option to choose smaller jobs allows Miktom to carve out a niche in the industry and take on work that similar companies are unwilling or unable to do. Mendick says Miktom has built its reputation on the quality of its work and its employees, who are known as Parking Lot Maintenance Technicians, or PLMTs. Each is skilled in the company’s service offerings as well as in customer service. They consider their work a career, he says, not just a job. “We know that a high-quality product costs more than inferior substitutes, and that a job well done is far more rewarding than just being cheap,” he says. “We apply these principles to every job that we do, from proper preparation to final application and consultation with the project owner.”
Sara McMillan provides business assistance from NBDC’s newest service location that opened in Grand Island in July, 2011. A native of Grand Island, McMillan is a member of the Grand Island Young Professionals, the Chamber Connectors, and the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honors Business Society. In 2011, she was named one of the “Top 35 Under 35” in Grand Island. She is currently pursuing accreditation as an Accredited Valuation Analyst with the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. McMillan graduated cum laude from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting and management. She is working towards an MBA degree. NBDC office at: 309 W 2nd Street Grand Island, NE 68801 (308) 382-9210 Ext. 19 mcmillansa@unk.edu
The public, residential University of Nebraska at Kearney is an affordable, student-centered regional hub of intellectual, cultural and artistic excellence that has been a prominent part of Nebraska’s higher education landscape for more than a century.
Because of the valuation services provided by NBDC, Mendick now takes pride in knowing the true value of his company. “NBDC’s alliance with the University of Nebraska at Omaha gave them immediate credibility,” he says. “Without their valuation, we could never have come to terms. It made all the difference for us.”
Service to Manufacturers 32 Clients $6,330,100 in Impact
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Making the Leap from Employee to Employer
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o “clean up” in business means to become a success, and ServiceMaster Professional Building Maintenance (PBM) of Lincoln has found a way to combine both. Jon Paolini, who worked more than 15 years with ServiceMaster PBM of Lincoln, ultimately rising to the position of general manager, has successfully transitioned from employee to business owner. Paolini and his wife, Angela, came to the Nebraska Business Development Center’s Lincoln office to seek the help of Director Marisol U. Rodriguez in creating the specifics and the narrative of a business transition plan that would allow Paolini to buy ServiceMaster PBM.
He also relied upon NBDC-Lincoln’s services when preparing the loan application. The loan was approved and the couple were able to purchase the business, becoming the new owners in August 2009. “Approaching banks for financing was more difficult that I thought,” Paolini says. “They suggested approaching the NBDC for help, and Marisol was able to put together the complete package with my input and information. Because of what Marisol put together, I had everything I needed.” In the time since, the Paolinis have utilized the Lincoln office’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center
(PTAC) services in obtaining government contracting opportunities. Paolini studied human resources on his way to earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1994. He joined ServiceMaster of Lincoln as the human resources manager. “I wrote the handbook that created the policies regarding human resources,” he recalls. “We went from a handful of employees when I stared to more than 100.” He rose the corporate ladder to office manager and company operations, being promoted to general manager in 1997. “The previous owner thought I’d make a good owner someday,” he says.
Servicemaster Professional Building Maintenance
NBDC LINCOLN 406 Clients $32,075,832 in Impact MARISOL RODRIGUEZ In 2008, Marisol U. Rodriguez was appointed director of the NBDC center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Since then, she has greatly expanded NBDC’s community involvement in Lincoln. She serves on the board of directors of Community Development Resources (a non-profit micro-lender and certified development company). Ultimately, Paolini realized that goal. The business continues to grow as the Paolinis expand services. In 2010, the company grew 14 percent, and in 2011 it was up 10 percent. “Overall, we’re up 20 percent from when we bought the business,” Paolini says. The number of employees has risen from 140 to about 170. Paolini advises other entrepreneurs to rely upon the NBDC for advice and support. “A lot of new business people have trouble writing budgets or figuring out marketing strategies,” he says. “Those are tasks that don’t come naturally to everyone, but those are things NBDC does a great job helping with. That’s why I’ve personally recommended them to other small businesses.” He says the advice of Marisol Rodriguez and others like her at NBDC is priceless for those struggling to buy or begin their own businesses. “Once I started talking with Marisol, I found out how much I didn’t know,” he says, chuckling. “That’s when I realized the gravity of what I was going after. And that’s why I’m really grateful the help was there.”
Serving NBDC, Rodriguez has helped clients receive $17,953,155 in capital investment (owners equity and financing) and has helped 30 small businesses get start-up financing. She has partnered with other organizations to provide business training workshops to 447 small business owners and potential business owners . Rodriguez, who is bilingual, has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master of Science in economics. She is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional (National Development Council) and is certified as a technology consultant by the Association of Small Business Development Centers. The Lincoln center also provides the services of a procurement technical assistance counselor who assists businesses seeking government contracts.
NBDC office at: UNL Office of Research NUTech Ventures Building Office 109, 1320 Q Street Lincoln, NE 68588-0467 (402) 472-5222 Email: mrodriguez2@unl.edu
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the intellectual center for the state of Nebraska, providing leadership in education and research. The citizens of Nebraska benefit from the knowledge and research generated by faculty and students.
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Sand Creek Post & Beam
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Partnership Turns Wood into Gold
artners in business and marriage, Jule Goeller and Len Dickinson built their success from the ground up. Ater moving from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Wisner to live in and renovate an old family home, the couple began to contemplate what they’d do to earn a living. “Len wanted to start a business where we could work together and produce a product we could market nationally,” Goeller says, “one that would not be dependant on the local farm economy.”
Dickinson’s interest in timber framing led the couple to research kit barns—the kind once marketed by Sears and Montgomery Ward. In 2005 they launched Sand Creek Post & Beam, named for a creek that runs behind their home, and for a creek by the same name near Dickinson’s childhood home in Wahoo, Nebraska. “We thought we’d test the market with some ads in national publications,” Goeller recalls. “Our first ad generated 60 to 75 requests for a catalog. Only we didn’t have a catalog.”
They chose nearby Wayne for an office and production facility. By the time they opened, Sand Creek had already sold three kits. Since that time, Sand Creek Post & Beam has gone up in size and value faster than an old-fashioned barn raising. Today, Dickinson and Goeller own a 27,000-square-
NBDC WAYNE foot factory and business offices in Wayne, where they employ 45 people, as well as a production facility in Georgia and a timber-frame business in Texas. Sand Creek’s building kits produce barns, homes and outbuildings that are both durable and strikingly beautiful, a fact that has fueled 167 percent growth over the past three years. In 2009, Sand Creek ranked No. 218 on Inc. magazine’s 500/5000 rankings. In 2011, the company was named Nebraska Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, nominated for the honor by Loren Kucera, director of the Nebraska Business Development Center office in Wayne. “We’ve called upon the NBDC in Wayne quite a bit through the years,” Goeller says. “Loren is a master at bringing all the different parties and elements together to secure funding and grants. When you have someone who can take you by the hand and lay out step by step what you need to do, that is so helpful.” The partnership with NBDC continues. Through the NBDC’s network, she and Dickinson became aware of the Gallup Organization’s Entrepreneur Acceleration System, and have been selected to be a participating company in 2012. Success is wonderful, Goeller says, but it’s come at such a pace that some aspects of their lives have been put on hold. “Our products have helped so many other people build their dream homes,” she says, “but I’m still waiting for new siding on the house.”
188 Clients $31,015,266 in Impact LOREN KUCERA Loren Kucera, director of the Wayne State College center is an ASBDC Star Performer and noted loan packager. He has been a businessman and educator focusing on business valuation and acquistion, credit analysis and economic development. He earned the Certified Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) credential from The National Development Council in 1995. In addition to consulting for NBDC, Kucera is an adjunct instructor at Wayne State College and Central Community College and publishes a popular business column in the Norfolk Daily News. He received his MBA from the University of South Dakota. The Wayne center also provides the services of a procurement technical assistance counselor who assists businesses seeking government contracts.
NBDC office at: Gardner Hall 1111 Main St. Wayne State College Wayne, NE 68787 Phone: (402) 375-7575 Email: LoKucer1@wsc.edu
The NBDC office is located on the campus of Wayne State College where students are given the opportunity to work with businesses for credit through the Student to Business Consulting Program.
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From left: Hardy Shao, president, and Billy Harms, general manager
Midwest Values Attract International Manufacturer
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BDC played a key role in enabling a successful manufacturer to move its operations from California to Nebraska. The Beatrice, Nebraska lawnmower manufacturing business previously known as Encore Manufacturing had been dormant for nearly two years until it was purchased in 2011 by Worldlawn Power Equipment, Inc. In addition to assisting in the transition of ownership, NBDC provided
support and assistance to the company from several programs. Manufacturing consultants evaluated work processes, and consultants from the energy efficiency and sustainability program helped redesign lighting to take advantage of a four-phase energy grant. An NBDC procurement assistance counselor helped staff complete the process for the central contract registry. Worldlawn President Hardy Shao has since moved all of his company’s operations from City of Industry,
California to Beatrice, where he has resumed manufacturing residential and commercial lawnmowers under both the Encore and Worldlawn brand names. Shao says he was attracted to Encore because of the community’s location in the middle of the country, along with tax incentives and the advice and assistance of several entities including the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and the Nebraska Business Development Center’s Auburn office.
Worldlawn Power Equipment, Inc.
NBDC AUBURN 90 Clients $15,188,655 in Impact
MARY GOEBEL-LUNDHOLM
“City and state officials and people at NBDC have been very wonderful,” says Shao, who founded Worldlawn in 2006. “Whatever information I need, I call or send an email and they’ve been very helpful to me.” Shao says the strong work ethic and manufacturing experience of the people in Beatrice were also qualities he was seeking. At its peak, Encore employed 42 people. Since his arrival, Shao has hired 30 employees. Encore Manufacturing was founded in 1988 by Dick Tegtmeier. When he decided to look for a buyer for the company, Tegtmeier was adamant that he wouldn’t sell Encore to anyone unless they kept it in Beatrice. He began negotiating with Worldlawn in 2008. Worldlawn Power Equipment is operated by Jiangsu World Plant-Protecting Machinery Co., Ltd., in China. Jiangsu employs about 1,000 people, and is part of a larger company, WorldGroup, which employs 7,000 in China. WorldGroup is one of China’s Top 500 companies.
Mary Goebel-Lundholm serves the citizens of southeast Nebraska as director of NBDC’s Auburn office. Along with her husband, Bob, the Lundholms have owned and operated several small businesses ranging from a logistics company to one of the early working vineyards in the State of Nebraska. Lundholm, who received her doctorate from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is associate professor of business at Peru State College, teaching aspects of business innovation, start up, finance and corporate change primarily in the Master of Science in Organizational Management program. Lundholm has published and presented on topics related to innovation, business plan writing, marketing and adapting web design to international business applications. The Auburn center also provides the services of a procurement technical assistance counselor who assists businesses seeking government contracts.
NBDC office at: 816 Central Avenue Auburn NE 68305 Phone: (402) 990-3571 Email: mlundholm@peru.edu .
Worldlawn’s main products include five series of lawn mowers including riding models, push models and zeroturning radius (ZTR) mowers. The company distributes its products in the U.S., Asia, Australia and Europe. Shao says his goal is to manufacture at least 5,000 mowers in 2012. Eventually, he’d like to expand the factory, increase production and add more workers. “I like the Midwest culture and the down-to-earth people,” he says. “We have a nice facility and the environment is good for success. I have found there are many advantages to having a business here.”
Emerging from its role as a singlepurpose teachers college in southeast Nebraska, Peru State College is now a regionally accredited state college with 13 undergraduate degrees, two master’s degrees, and 18 pre-professional programs.
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Service is Keyword for Computer Firm
oted the No. 1 independent computer repair business for 10 consecutive years in a “Best of Lincoln” Web-based survey, Schrock Innovations opened its Omaha Service Center near Village Pointe in the fall of 2010—and celebrated its one-year anniversary by being named No. 1 in a “Best of Omaha” consumer competition. Founder and owner Thor Schrock says the input from the Nebraska Business Development Center’s Omaha office and its director, Cliff Mosteller, has been instrumental as Schrock Innovations expanded from Lincoln into Omaha and, most recently, a Papillion Service Center that opened in 2011.
“Cliff served as a valuable liaison for us, reviewing our loan applications and connecting us with the proper sources to secure financing,” Schrock says. Schrock Innovations opened its Lincoln Service Center in January 1999. Now its three locations offer computer repair services, website design and hosting, data recovery, computer recycling, software development and a virtual help desk. To chart the company’s success just follow the numbers. “We’ve gone from one location to three in the past two years,” Schrock says. “We’ve gone from seven employees up to 15,
Schrock Innovations
and we’ve grown from 6,000 customers in 2010 to 14,000 by the end of 2011.” He says his business follows a customer-driven model to build lasting relationships. That reputation in 2009 earned Schrock Innovations the title of Nebraska Retail Federation Customer Service Business of the Year. Armed with a marketing background and skills he acquired in computer sales and service, Schrock began building computers at a table in his attic. His early sales quickly convinced him that he should open his own business.
NBDC OMAHA 731 Clients $140,813,300 in Impact CLIFF MOSTELLER
“I had no entrepreneurial experience,” he recalls. “I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. If I had connected with NBDC back then, I could have avoided a lot of problems.” He did connect with NBDC and Mosteller in 2005. “When we met with Cliff, he could see what we were doing is special and unique,” Schrock says. “He’s been a great source of knowledge and support.” The company has a loyal customer base in Lincoln and now the Omaha area and believes in doing all it can to give back to those communities, from participating in charitable drives to recycling old computers. “We have the largest refurbished component boneyard in the state,” he says. “That keeps a lot of equipment from going to the landfills.” Schrock says his company has a bright future thanks to its partnership with NBDC. “Different people are good at different things,” he says. “You can be the worst bookkeeper in the world, but if you know people who understand financing better than you do, you need to use those people. We do.”
Cliff Mosteller became Omaha center director in 2006 after serving NBDC as Lincoln center director for almost ten years. Mosteller, formerly a successful small business owner, has extensive administrative management experience in governmental and private business organizations. He was member of the board of directors of Community Development Resources, a non-profit lending alternative for underserved small businesses in the Lincoln area. He also served on its lending committee for eight years. Mosteller is a certified NxLevel Instructor and was certified by the National Development Council in 1999 as an Economic Development Finance Professional. Mosteller has postgraduate degrees from Ball State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is a decorated Vietnam veteran. The Omaha center also provides the services of procurement technical assistance counselors who assists businesses seeking government contracts.
NBDC office at: University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration Mammel Hall, Suite 200 67th and Pine Streets Omaha, NE 68182 English: (402) 554-6633 Espanol: (402) 554-6267 cmosteller@unomaha.edu
UNO’s College of Business Administration houses NBDC’s state administration and the Omaha center offices where business students get valuable experience working with consultants as interns and graduate assistants. Currently, NBDC awards 13 assistanceships to MBA and other UNO master’s degree students.
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Champion of Small Business
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rom the quality of the slightly used clothing, shoes and accessories it sells to its customers, its neighborhood and the world beyond, Scout Dry Goods & Trade is truly a business that cares. “We sell really cool clothes in excellent condition,” says owner Kelly Newell. “We have some pretty high standards and every employee is a trained buyer. The whole idea is to make it easier for the customer. It takes a lot of time, but we know it’s worth it.” The roots of Scout Dry Goods, named for the feisty little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird and the act of scouting for treasures, are more green than brown. Newell’s mother was one of 14 children. Throughout her life, she sought clever ways to reuse things— and if they couldn’t be reused, they were recycled. As children, the budget for school clothes for Newell and her sisters was $100 each. After discovering she didn’t have a knack for making her own clothes, Newell began visiting thrift stores. In time, she developed an idea for a store uniquely her own. In 2006, she attended a Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) workshop where she learned how to write a business plan, create financial projections and find answers to tough business questions. The following year, Newell worked with NBDC consultants adjusting her financial projections to fit a modified vision of Scout Dry Goods & Trade.
SCOUT DRY GOODS & TRADE
It resulted in a loan being approved. Scout opened its doors in 2008. Today, Scout employs six people and has an ongoing internship program. It is a lively fixture in Dundee, drawing customers of all ages. “There’s something special about our neighborhood,” Newell says, “and I like to think Scout has a little something to do with it.” Steering her mother’s footsteps along a new path, Newell wants Scout to be as environmentally-friendly as possible. It is a B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bag) store where tags and signs are printed on recycled posters. The chandeliers and artwork, including an eye-catching lighted cityscape behind the counter, are handmade from recy-
clables. In 2009, Scout was nominated for the “Omaha Friend of the Environment Award.” Newell says a second store is in the works. As she develops those plans and expands the loyal customer base at the current Scout, she continues to rely upon the experts at NBDC for advice and assistance. “I took my first business plan writing class from Cliff Mosteller (NBDC Omaha center director) and he’s been one of our most vocal cheerleaders ever since,” she says. “We’re still coming to him for help with financial projections.” It’s the kind of relationship that benefits a true champion of small business—and the entire community.
Government Contractor of the Year as Dyna-Tech’s vice president of operations, contracts manager and chief pilot. “Mark and I managed contracts as active duty officers,” he says. “But knowing how to bid and how to secure contracts is different. Life is about connectivity. You have to have the business connections and education to succeed, and PTAC provides that education.” Knowledge and assistance provided by NBDC enables Dyna-Tech Aviation Services to compete nationally for government contracts, Spadaro says, such as the company’s current contract to maintain and fly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers aircraft, which is hangared at Offutt Air Force Base. The company also has offices and maintenance facilities at the Millard Airport in Omaha.
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yna-Tech Aviation Services, Inc. of Omaha is charting new routes to success by partnering with the Nebraska Business Development Center’s procurement technical assistance program.
DYNA-TECH AVIATION SERVICES INC
The program offers free counseling services to Nebraska businesses that want to compete for and win government contracts. “The people at NBDC are the subject matter experts,” says Dyna-Tech Aviation Service’s President and General Manager Mark Spadaro, an Air Force veteran who has been the company’s majority shareholder since 2009. “Utilizing them as a source of education and advice is helping us to become better business people.”
Spadaro and Krist utilize a method of tracking each trip and providing a cost benefit analysis of using the Corps aircraft versus a commercial flight. “By showing it’s less expensive to use that plane, we assume a greater active role as part of the Corps team,” Krist says. “They have no internal aviation expertise. That’s why they have a contract with us.” It’s the same way NBDC has become part of the Dyna-Tech Aviation Services team, Spadaro says. “NBDC is a tremendous asset for us as we continue to grow from a general aviation services company to incorporate government contractor capabilities in a very dynamic, rapidly changing environment.”
Fellow Air Force veteran and Nebraska State Sen. Robert Krist serves
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Sustainability Business of the Year
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ustainability is more than a passing thought at Signs & Shapes International, Inc. It’s built in.
A client of the Nebraska Business Development Center for employee training and other projects, Signs & Shapes designs and manufactures inflatable, “WalkAround®” mascots for sports teams, amusement parks and other organizations and businesses; huge flags and inflatable RocketSigns. It also rents inflatables and flags, and provides contract management of costumes and staffing for appearances around the world—all from a two-yearold, energy-efficient facility in north Omaha. Co-owners Scott Bowen and his father, Lee, helped design the new building to incorporate innovative energy-saving features including ground source-coupled geothermal heat pumps that condition the air. The 48 geothermal wells are 300 feet deep
and circulate water in a closed-loop system that utilizes clean, potable water. Skylights stream natural light throughout the building, and a white acoustical ceiling treatment brightens the space and inhibits noise. The walls are precast concrete insulated with polystyrene foam. Outdoors, storm water retention was incorporated into the site design to reduce the need for irrigation and prevent run-off. Their efforts have earned an “Engineering Excellence Award” from the American Council of Engineers. They also care about the community. Signs & Shapes’ sister company, The Prevention Group, employs an educational psychologist to create youth educational programs for public safety departments, school districts and non-profit groups. The two enti-
ties are collaborating with researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center to study employment opportunities and training strategies for people with autism. Additionally, Signs & Shapes partners with nearby Kellom Elementary School to extend its social skills programming, and makes the new building available for tours, outreach and learning opportunities such as Omaha North High Magnet School’s science course examining green energy and sustainable building design. “Plus,” says Scott Bowen, pointing to a huge inflatable crocodile made for Tokyo Disneyland, and a giant ball from Toy Story resting in a corner of the production area, “it’s a fun place to work.”
SIGNS & SHAPES INTERNATIONAL INC
Manufacturing Business of the Year
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raining opportunities provided by the Nebraska Business Development Center are enabling Overhead Door Corporation’s Grand Island, Nebraska manufacturing facility to capitalize on the strengths of its workers and continue a pattern of growth. “Central Nebraska is a good fit for the company because Overhead Door values honesty, integrity, hard work and continuous improvement,” says Human Resources Manager Mike Sondgeroth. “The region provides a culture consistent with our company values.” A quality product coupled with increased buying in certain areas resulted in record sales in the fourth quarter for Overhead Door, the NBDC’s Manufacturing Business of the Year for 2011. “Our commercial business and our agriculture customers are very strong,” says Director of Operations Tom Womack. “People who had been holding off are now spending money.”
The Overhead Door Grand Island facility opened in 1977 with around 30 employees and 115,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Industry growth led to four expansions. The facility now has 200,000 square feet of floor space and more than 200 employees. Over the past couple of years, Overhead Door has provided opportunities for key team members to attend training through the NBDC, where Renee Held was the primary contact. The training, which has concentrated on increasing efficiency and reducing waste, has facilitated growth in team member capability as well as delivered flow improvements within the facility, says Jason Peterson, manufacturing engineer. “The courses give our team members the fundamental foundation in lean manufacturing techniques,” Peterson says. “Through lean tool utilization we have increased throughput, created a more visual work environment, reduced inventory, eliminated some operating expenses and improved the teams’ morale.”
The techniques have a positive impact on the bottom line, Womack says. “Lean projects drive our overall business performance.” He says the strengths of 2011 yield optimism for 2012. “We’re projecting another good sales year,” he says, “in which we will be focusing on increasing customer satisfaction through enhanced delivery lead times, product quality and service.” Pictured from left: Kent Kaiser, Jason Peterson, Tom Womack, Kelly Cumming
OVERHEAD DOOR CORPORATION
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Veteran Owned Business of the Year
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flyer that attracted Paul Mattern to a Veteran Business Owners Forum breakfast sponsored by the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) in Omaha has yielded significant networking opportunities and benefitted the business he founded, 21 Delta Engineers. “I was fortunate to meet a number of people with NBDC who have become valuable resources for us,” says Mattern, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. “Their knowledge and tips helped turn 2011 into a very good year for us.” In military terminology, “21” is the engineer series and “Delta” signifies facility engineers. Mattern and two others serve as 21 Delta’s design and construction engineers. The company’s success has earned it the recognition of being selected NBDC’s 2011
Veteran-Owned Business of the Year. “We see the award as a great personal and professional honor,” Mattern says. “It’s like a promotion.” 21 Delta Engineers, LLC is an engineering consulting and construction company specializing in mechanical, electrical, physical and electronic security, audio visual and fire protection systems. Founded by Mattern in 2008, the company is a participant in NBDC’s Federal Contractor Certification Program. Mattern says the Omaha area is a good environment for entrepreneurial veterans and their businesses. The efforts of NBDC and its veteran-oriented support and educational programs, as well as NBDC experts such as Program Coordinator Jason Bousquet, serve to enhance and expand the marketplace, he says.
21 DELTA ENGINEERS In his role at NBDC Bousquet offers veterans the voice of experience. He spent 11 years in the U.S. Air Force before transitioning to the Air Force Reserves. He also worked two years as a financial advisor with Waddell and Reed, where he discovered the personal rewards of helping small businesses succeed. “I can ask Jason or anyone on staff at NBDC questions and they are very helpful and very nice,” Mattern says. “They are the ultimate resource. I imagine that anyone who is not actively involved in government would be lost without them.”
Technology Business of the Year
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he ability to predict success is something all businesses would envy. In engineering, the ability to predict failure can also be a valuable tool. That is the premise behind a promising new business founded by two entrepreneurs from Brazil, Leandro Castro and Flavio Souza, who earned their doctorates in engineering mechanics at the University of NebraskaLincoln. Their company, MultiMech Research & Development LLC, provides Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) solutions to optimize the design and manufacturing process of innovative products. Begun in August 2010, MultiMech has developed several software products that reduce the time needed to create and test a prototype. Their efforts to date earned MultiMech the honor of being named the Nebraska Business Development
Center’s Technology Business of the Year for 2011. Castro says he and his partner have relied upon the experts at NBDC’s Omaha office for many aspects of their new business, from marketing and market research to arranging product demonstrations. “Lisa Tedesco (SBIR/ STTR consultant) and the others at NBDC have been among our strongest supporters,” he says. Castro and Souza are designing software tools to enable engineers in a variety of industries to reduce the expense associated with trial-and-error product development, and discover the flaws that cause a product to fail prior to its designed lifecycle. MultiMech’s Virtual Manufacturing, Testing and Optimization proprietary technologies create virtual replicas of a physical prototype. Because premature failure can often be traced to defects
found at the microstructural level, the MultiMech software provides an unparalleled level of precision in the modeling of the material’s microstructure. MultiMech’s first client is Eletrobras, a major Brazilian power utility. Castro hopes the project yields significant validation data for MultiMech’s software. He says MultiMech’s goal in the short term is to partner with companies, especially locally, to put its products to use and develop feasibility studies that help validate the technologies. “In the long term,” he says, “we want to transform this technology into an industry standard for composite analysis.”
MULTIMECH RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT LLC
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