Profiles in Business 2015

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PROFILES IN BUSINESS • July 2015 • fwbusiness.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

Shaffer Multimedia

Media & more with Shaffer Multimedia When you visit Shaffer Multimedia’s website, www.shaffermultimedia. com, the first thing that people notice is the companies tagline, “Collaborate.

Construct. Connect.” Odd for an event & media production service? Perhaps. It might sound like it belongs in an entirely different industry all One of my together. priorities is But not only that President John Shaffer is not we all have a only aware of friendly helpful this, he thrives disposition. on introducing new elements But that we into the always work on industry itself. understanding “The tag line was the what’s most best way to important to our describe that clientele, and our company will collaborate give them plenty with our clients of creative on ideas, not options. dictate on how it’s always — John Shaffer been done before. We will specifically construct a stage look, if desired, to your event. Not just use scenic elements we have “in stock”. By doing this, and more, the goal is to help your company & their message connect with the audience.

Some of Shaffers’ clients that have come to realize this advantage, include; General Motors, Aunt Millie’s Bakery, Foellinger Foundation, & FTW Audi-Porsche just to name a few. They also work with a number of non-profit organizations offering discounts that assist them in keeping reasonable budgets, while producing a high caliber event.

“You’ll notice another motto with our company as well”, John states. “Connect with a company that connects with you”.

“One of my priorities is not only that

we all have a friendly helpful disposition, but that we always work on understanding what’s most important to our clientele, and give them plenty of creative options”.

“Our team is comprised of experienced individuals, with backgrounds not only in corporate events, but theatre, A+ artist touring technicians, studio recording & mechanics.”

If you’ve been an attendee at functions they have directed, you have seen this practice in action. Shaffer Multimedia have built a 9’ “tree” prop that sprouted out of the stage and motor cross “jumps”.

They have used giant stretch fabrics & “disproportioned” LED walls for video projection. Projection mapping is certainly in the lineup as well, but it doesn’t stop there.

“We once hid audio speakers under cocktail tables for an event, because putting them on speaker stands just didn’t make sense with the layout. It not only made for great audio quality because you didn’t have the driver of the speaker in line with a microphone. Also the esthetics were great and we had attendees wondering where the audio was coming from.”

CEO Brigette Sofio-Shaffer while being a sounding board & helping to contrive out of the box thinking, often times needs to look after what CEO’s do and place financial requirements into the plan.

“We have many vast ideas that we want to accomplish. We’ve done notable projects for incredible clients, but we’re still growing and those big ideas depend on strategic evaluation.”

Without a doubt Shaffer Multimedia achieves a commendable job at your

John Shaffer and Brigette Sofio-Shaffer.

conventional audio-visual set up as well, big or small. They also produce video & voiceover production for training, meetings, fundraisers, and advertising.

Shaffer Multimedia is a proud member of NFIB, Greater Fort Wayne, Visit Fort Wayne, Kendallville Area Chamber of Commerce, & various AVL associations.

Contact Shaffer Multimedia for your next event or production demand, and Collaborate, Construct, and Connect!

Shaffer Multimedia 260.749.6449 www.shaffermultimedia.com Services Provided: Audio, Video, Lighting event conception & management, media production, AVL consulting & installation.

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Indiana Signworks

Indiana Signworks lights up the midwest sign market No new kid on the block, Indiana Signworks has recently lit up the local sign market. Parent company Indiana Stamp has made signs since the 50s.

Over time, new capabilities were added, such as sublimating and wide format digital printing. With the purchase of Mid-America Sign in 2014, a quantum leap was made- giving the company the ability to manufacture even the largest exterior signs in-house. The new division was rebranded to become Indiana Signworks, and has recently been moved into its own building near Indiana Stamp in Interstate Industrial Park.

Focus on Customer Service CEO Tom Beaver, son of co-founder Millard Beaver, talks about competitive advantages. “Indiana Signworks brings the same product quality, timely communication, and dependable service to our full-service sign business, which we have delivered locally, nationally, and internationally with our Indiana We are dedicated to Stamp product providing the highest lines for over 65 quality product at a years.” fair price, and doing From logo so in a friendly and wear and engaging manner,” promotional notes Bill Collins, VP products to large of Operations and Plant Manager. “We pylon signs, there are known around is now one shop town as a company for sign-related who will work with brand execution. the customer to get The vertically-inthe job done. That’s tegrated company important.” is unique in the region, and customers appreciate dealing with a single experienced sign vendor, which ultimately streamlines communication and increases their bottom line.

Our experienced team can fabricate signs to any specifications. We have the knowledge, creativity, and flexibility to get the job done.

President Olivia Warner, who is Tom Beaver’s daughter, points out, “Indiana Signworks might be the sign experts, but the customer is the expert about their company and their brand vision.

We provide products that help tell the customer’s story — the way they want it told. We strive to exceed expectations, keeping customers in the loop as the project progresses. Especially for larger-scale jobs, clear communication is essential. With multiple projects running simultaneously at different locations, you have to be willing to go the extra mile to make sure everyone stays on the same page.”

Tradition meets Technology Custom products, an engineering mindset and a can-do attitude further set the team apart and have been a hallmark of the company from day one.

The next time you are in the market for any type of sign-related product, let our experienced and friendly staff help.

Importance of Communication

Indiana Signworks 1319 Production Road Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Tel. 260-407-4165 www.indianasignworks.com

Indiana Stamp and Signworks employees know that customers appreciate clear communication, which means asking the right questions and understanding customer expectations.

Services Provided: visual brand execution, custom sign solutions, sign installation and maintenance, interior & exterior sign manufacturing: ADA & Braille, wayfinding,

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Small business is the backbone of the American economy. We are proud to be a part of the local business community and are grateful to all of our customers. monument & pylon signs, dimensional & channel letters, construction signage, industrial signage, stencils, custom awards & recognition products, donor walls, bronze plaques, awnings, banners & flags, digital message centers, digital graphics, trade show graphics, wall-vehicle-window- & floor graphics, name badges & name plates, ad specialty products & logo wear.

First Federal Bank

Rapid commercial growth for First Federal Bank Committed to supporting business growth in Fort Wayne, First Federal Bank continues to expand their business lending team to meet demands. First Federal Bank entered the Fort Wayne market nearly a decade ago and has plans to open a third office on St. Joe Center Road. “Fort Wayne has been an area of growth for us and has allowed us to create great opportunities to build new relationships with business owners. We are committed to supporting the Fort Wayne area,” said Phil Bundy, Senior Vice President, Market Executive.

In addition to expanding their footprint, First Federal Bank has also added two commercial team members to help support the growing needs of Fort Wayne.

Parry By offering a Leavell wide variety of joins First services, we are Federal Bank, as a Vice a crucial partner President, to businesses,” Commercial said Bohdan.

Lender, with over 15 years “We pride of banking ourselves experience and in providing is responsible for handling one-on-one accounts and attention and managing unique solutions finances for mid-sized for businesses businesses. of all kinds. It is Leavell earned a joy to alleviate his bachelor’s degree from the burden of Purdue banking for Univerbusiness owners sity – West Lafayette and and to watch his master’s their businesses degree from thrive.

Indiana Wesleyan University. He is active in the Fort Wayne community as a member of the Serra Club of Fort Wayne, Building Contractors Association

First Federal Bank is located on 9909 Illinois Road and 1595 W. Dupont Road.

(BCA), Junior Achievement and United Way of Allen County. In the surrounding area, Parry is involved in the Knights of Columbus and Immaculate Conception Parish , he is a board member of the National Automotive Truck Museum of the United States and Vice President of Bridgewater Community Housing Association, all in Auburn, Indiana.

Also joining the commercial lending team is Assistant Vice President, Business Banking Specialist, Traci Bohdan. She comes to First Federal Bank with nearly 20 years of business banking experience and specializes in providing banking solutions for businesses with borrowing needs up to $250,000. She earned her degree from Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne and is involved in the Fort Wayne community as a member of the Allen County SPCA, United Way, Junior Achievement and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

First Federal Bank offers unique opportunities for businesses to advance their day-to-day operations with cash management and lending solutions. “We

are conscious of the needs of the Fort Wayne community and have designed a streamlined lending process for small to mid-sized business customers and continue to pursue digital solutions to add convenience for our clients,” said Leavell. As a community bank, First Federal Bank has many of the digital and traditional services offered by competing national banks, such as remote deposit capture, Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) and fraud prevention, allowing them to be an attractive alternative, but offer with the service of a community bank

First Federal Bank is a $2.2 billion company that has been established since the 1920’s.

Offices for First Federal Bank are located on 9909 Illinois Road and 1595 W. Dupont Road. For more information about business banking services go to First-Fed.com.

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Aging & In-Home Services of Northeast Indiana, Inc.

40 years of service in Northeast Indiana

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In di an

a

was hired in May 2010. On July 01, 2012, Allen County Council on Aging merged into AIHS. President & CEO, Connie Benton Wolfe states “Our mission has remained the same throughout our history, and our vision is clear – we are the major fs resource, and er st we will be a a v e ice t catalyst for o North innovation for older adults, persons with disabilities, disabilities, and their caregivers regardless and their caregivers, to achieve optimal of their income. Services are provides on quality of live – safe and independent in a fee-for-service basis to those who exceed their own home.” the income guidelines of the funding Early on, Benton Wolfe established a sources. Care Coordination services are set of Board-approved Strategic Organialso available on a fee-for-service basis zational Priorities to identify gaps in to employers wishing to provide on-site need, as well as trends in the marketsupport to employed caregivers. place, and set targets for positioning the Their 40 years of service will be agency to move forward in the healthcare celebrated at an Annual Meeting & marketplace. Achievements from those Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, priorities include integration of evidenceOctober 28th, from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. based programming into all service areas, at Parkview Mirro Center for Research academic research partnerships including & Innovation. “The Annual Meeting is funds from the national Patient-Cenour once-a-year opportunity to bring tered Outcomes Research Institute, care together members of our service area for transitions pilot project with one hospital the specific purpose of celebrating our now scaled up to 10 hospitals as well as significant partners in accomplishing our skilled nursing facilities in 30 counties mission. We will take this opportunity to and funded by Centers for Medicare look back at our four decades of service and Medicaid Services, and success in and forward to the future of aging-incontracting with third party payers. place.” This year’s featured speaker will Foremost in each annual set of priorities be Joan Lunden, former host of “ABC’s is an emphasis on strengthening core Good Morning America” and author of a services to demonstrate a commitment to forthcoming biography “Had I Known: A wellness and healthy aging in their region.

Memoir of Survival.” For more informaIn 2014, AIHS touched the lives of tion, contact AIHS at 745-1200 extension over 57,000 individuals through three 226. avenues of support: planning for services, providing services, and funding services.

AIHS is a community resource providing Aging & In-Home Services of services at no cost or low cost with special Northeast Indiana, Inc. emphasis on those vulnerable popula2927 Lake Avenue, Fort Wayne tions with the greatest economic or social 260.745.1200 need. However, AIHS is responsive to www.agingihs.org the needs of older adults, persons with

o rs Yea

When asked, 9 out of 10 Hoosiers would say they prefer to live out their lives in their own homes. The question that is not often asked is “how?” In Northeast Indiana, the answer for the past forty years to maintaining independence as you age-in-place has been Aging & In-Home Services.

Aging & In-Home Services of Northeast Indiana, Inc. (AIHS) is the Area III Agency on Aging as designated by the U.S. Administration on Community Living and the State of Indiana. AIHS is the primary resource for older adults, persons with disabilities, and their caregivers, and a funder of services including support for the Councils on Aging in their nine county service area: Allen, Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells, and Whitley.

In 1974, AIHS was established as Northeast Area III Council on Aging as part of the national movement to provide community social services for older persons. The landmark legislation, known as the Older Americans Act, created the aging network which to this Our mission has day continues to be the remained the major vehicle same throughout for organizing and funding our history, of services to and our vision older adults.

In 1994, the is clear – we organizaare the major tion’s name resource, and we was changed to Aging & will be a catalyst In-Home for innovation Services of Northeast for older adults, Indiana, Inc. persons with to better reflect the disabilities, and scope of their caregivers, responsibility and services. to achieve In 2003, AIHS optimal quality moved from a rental space of live – safe into their own and independent building at in their own the current location, 2927 home.

Lake Avenue, Fort Wayne.

— Connie Benton President & Wolfe, CEO CEO Connie Benton Wolfe

Delivra

Delivra wants to have a conversation The team at Delivra has truly mastered the art of conversation.

Delivra is a digital marketing company helping businesses have more conversations with their customers in order to sell more services.

In 1999, Neil Berman started the company from his kitchen table, hoping to get involved in the booming Internet and email business.

This hope bloomed into Delivra, a digital and email marketing partner for companies wanting to sell more of their products but are stuck on “Our goal is to where to start the conversabe as competition. Whether tive as we can a business needs in the market assistance that we’re in, with design, marketing but also be as strategies helpful as we or software, Delivra is can to clients a one-stop and help them shop for any marketing grow,” Sanders needs. said.

“It’s a great company to work for,” said Andrew Alexander, a business development manager at Delivra. “In fact, we’ve been voted the last five years in a row as one of the top 100 companies in Indiana to work for.”

Not only is Delivra successful as a company, but it continues to grow with plans to open an office in Louisville, Ky. this fall. Plans are also in motion to open several more offices in Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky with the ultimate goal to expand their reach throughout the Midwest region.

The focus of the work is primarily email marketing.

Email marketing, through permission-based emails, is what makes the

Steven Dilmore

company unique, said Kurt Sanders, a business development manager for Delivra.

“There are a lot of companies out there that do what we do but the biggest difference is the personal feature we put on it,” Sanders said.

Here’s how it works: • Employees listen. The team at Delivra listens to their clients to fully understand direct and immediate needs.

The email marketing consultants meet with clients to understand specific marketing goals and pain points.

• Delivra applies its three-step process.

The recipe for success is clear: listen, formulate and implement. After a free phone consultation, a client success manager is assigned to the client to ensure solutions and results. The email is designed to successfully relay the message to customers and generate higher sales.

• The company delivers support.

Delivra is an “above and beyond” type shop. The support team is there 24/7 online or by phone to make sure clients are satisfied and at ease.

“For a lot of companies, you’re treated like the smallest fish in the largest ocean but, for us, we want you to feel like you’re the largest fish in the worlds smallest pond,” said Sanders.

The company has roughly 400 clients with various needs and goals in mind; Delivra is there to provide the solutions.

Looking toward the future, the team at Delivra is looking to expand and grow

Andrew Alexander

Kurt Sanders

locally. The company is already on track this year to double the amount of emails sent from people using its services, said Sanders. Last year, the company sent out one billion emails.

That’s right, one billion.

PROFILES IN BUSINESS • July 2015 • fwbusiness.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

Delivra 3217-B Stellhorn Rd. Fort Wayne, IN 46815 Phone: 260.494.1707 Toll free: 844.253.4838

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FERN

Maximizing value through human resources Deborah Schroeder, owner of FERN LLC, never thought to start her own business but, when she was told she could increase the value of organizations, the stars aligned.

“Someone once told me that when I enter into a position, I increase the value of that role to the organization,” Schroeder said. “I took that to heart, and today I lead FERN with that same mentality — do something that adds value to other organizations.”

Schroeder is the chief human resource officer at FERN LLC, which is a human resource consulting agency dedicated to offering services and assistance to startup or existing businesses to achieve objectives and help them perform at the highest level.

Schroeder started the company in 2011, putting together business and marketing plans while establishing a client base and gaining a positive reputation within the community.

Schroeder has 16 years of experience in the field of human resources and continues to gain experience, helping companies with various needs.

“I’ve discovered that For Schroeder, there’s truly a it’s vital to first need for HR meet with the support within businesses,” client and base she said. “If a the services company doesn’t off the client’s have a human resource departspecific needs ment, it’s easy to and end goals. contract services with us as particular needs arise.”

For organizations that choose not to bring on an HR professional full-time, FERN assists on an as need basis. It all begins with organizational priorities, whether it ties to reducing employee turnover, ramping up employee accountability, leading employees through organizational restructure, increasing communication, generating employee engagement in the company mission, finding the right person for the job or identifying retention strategies that work for you.

It all begins with a conversation.

Following a complimentary two-hour consultation centered on specific HR Page 8

Deborah Schroeder

needs, the company works with businesses to customize necessary services designed to cater to the organization. Examples of services provided for past clients include: • Staffing a startup company with 27 statewide employees; • Conducting an HR audit for a non-profit organization; • Designing an office manager position, interview questionnaire and an onboarding plan for a financial services agency; • Designing a resume for an entrepreneurial event planner; • Providing career transition strategies for a successful manager seeking a different field; • Writing and presenting management training for a nonprofit organization; • Writing employee handbooks and employment-related policy for a quality oversight company; and • Designing and implementing a performance enhancement program with an 84 percent success rate in bringing mediocre performers to the level of satisfactory performance in 90 days, saving the

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company over $160,000 in turnover costs.

The services aren’t limited. FERN is there to fill a niche.

For Schroeder, it’s vital to first meet with the client and base the services off the client’s specific needs and end goals.

“Many times I’ll sit down to talk with people and they’ll say, ‘This is what we need,’ but really, before you satisfy that need, there’s this one over here, let me help you fill that need first,” said Schroeder.

It’s all about growth and enhancement.

Future plans are for FERN to become certified as a women-based enterprise in Indiana as well as work more with businesses to improve their condition and add value to organizations.

FERN 3201 Stellhorn Road Suite C-127 Fort Wayne (855) 546-0343 info@fernhr.com

Allied Payment Network, Inc

Innovation is key to success for Allied

Point, snap and pay– Allied Payment Network Inc. makes bill paying a convenient, stress-free process.

Ralph Marcuccilli, president and CEO of Allied Payment Network, started the company in August 2010 with the hope to provide bill payment services to the financial industry as well as financial institution customers.

Marcuccili started his career working at Star Financial Bank for 20 years, with his last 10 years as chief information officer. While working at Star, Marcuccili’s leadership in operations and technology led the industry in several cutting edge technology developments, one being the first check imaging implementations in the country. He also co-designed one of the first electronic statement delivery systems for customers to receive bank statements via email.

“While at Star, I really saw an opportunity with bill pay processing and that’s when I left and started Allied,” Marcuccili said.

Allied has become a leader in the financial industry by providing innovative, customer-friendly solutions to bill paying using smartphones.

Allied invented the first mobile photo bill pay system in January 2013, allowing financial customers to take a picture of their bill and then make a payment.

“In developing the bill pay system, I recognized the opportunities with mobile and it becoming a big part of banking, so we started re-evaluating that as part of the online bill pay system,” Marcuccili said.

Allied has become a leader in the financial industry by providing innovative, customer-friendly solutions to bill paying using smartphones.

Since then, Marcuccilli made it his mission to deliver customer-friendly, quality products to financial companies in order to make their customer’s lives easier.

And it’s working.

The next step after development was to seek out community banks and credit unions to implement online bill payment services through Allied.

Currently, more than 50 banks and credit unions use the services, Marcuccili said.

For those unfamiliar with picture pay, it works like this: users grab their smartphone to snap a photo of a bill (water bill, credit card bill, etc.) then the software, developed by Allied, reads the information off the statement such as the account number and, then, makes the payment.

The mobile bill pay process is just that simple - take a photo of your bill and complete the payment. Not only can customers pay bills using the picture pay program, they can pay all the bills at once on one platform.

The program also keeps track of the payments. Allied is a cloud-hosted service, so customers are able to have an archive of any past bills.

Allied invented the first mobile photo bill pay system in January 2013, allowing financial customers to take a picture of their bill and then make a payment.

For the future, Allied is working to make the mobile bill pay system even easier for users. The team at Allied is currently working on a feature for the phone that takes the photo automatically. All the customer has to do is point.

“It’s all about staying up on the technology and making it easier for the user,” Marcuccili said.

Coming up on five years as a company, Allied has 13 employees with the hopes to hire a few more before the end of the year to continue to grow and reach innovative heights.

Allied Northeast Indiana Innovation Center 3201 Stellhorn Road Fort Wayne, IN 46815 260-399-7400

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Trinetica

Software firm focuses on solutions

Trinetica Inc. is in the solutions business, but they have to be aware of a problem first.

While company employees were not present when issues within the natural gas and fracking industry were voiced at a conference, the Fort Wayne-based company’s clients were. Having already benefited from the custom software development and web design firm’s solutions, the clients made the connection for Trinetica at the conference.

Several years ago, Trinetica struck a partnership with major telecommunications company Qualcomm There’s no that allows nickel-and-diit to develop software to ming, there’s no transfer data additional cost to such as load the software and information over radio they get what equipment they want. already installed in transport trucks. The integration software was pushed to one carrier and then another.

The carriers realized the benefits of automatically transferring data from cabs.

Fast forward six months. Those carriers attended a national conference where energy companies raised a need for the development of software that would allow automated data transfer, including Page 10

dispatching reports and invoicing.

“My carriers raised their hand and said, ‘We’re already doing it,’ and within a day they were calling me to see this software and see what it does,” said Chad Lowe, Trinetica’s CEO. Word-of-mouth is a beautiful thing.

Since September 2012, Trinetica’s OSM Pro fleet management software has revolutionized the industry and been a solution that the company prides itself on.

The beauty of OSM Pro, and really Trinetica, lies in its simplicity for the client, Lowe said.

Gone are the days software companies would push clients into a licensing fee, then batter them with additional costs for programming changes. Trinetica includes a service fee inside each per-load fee that includes changes needed to be made to the system. With no quotes and no time estimates, Trinetica applies adaptations where applicable and pushes them out to each carrier automatically, so business process changes are fluid and made real-time with information stored in a centralized location.

“The hardest part is selling the company on that notion because nobody is used to a software company running like that,” said Lowe. “There’s no nickeland-diming, there’s no additional cost to the software and they get what they want.

“We’re providing a service, but you’re gaining all the benefit.”

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And Trinetica is feeling the results.

Trinetica is currently in negotiations with the country’s third-largest natural gas producer to push out its OSM Pro fleet management solution. If signed, Trinetica’s reach will grow from six carriers to 50 overnight, Lowe said.

“It’s going to grow exponentially,” said Lowe.

It’s all part of the plan at Trinetica, where Lowe said the business plan is to hear where businesses can improve and build solutions for them.

“We want someone to come to us with an idea and allow us to figure it out,” said Lowe of Trinetica, which employs two at its offices inside the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center at 3201 Stellhorn Road. “We’re trying to make sure the customers we deal with get exactly what they want before they ever pay a dime for us.”

It’s a solutions-first business model that’s working out.

Trinetica 3201 Stellhorn Road Fort Wayne, Indiana 46815 (260)487-3220 www.trinetica.com

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