NOVEMBER 6, 2020
THE BUSINESS NEWSPAPER OF GREATER OMAHA, LINCOLN AND COUNCIL BLUFFS
$2.00
VOL. 46 NO. 45
Union Bank & Trust grows with Heartwood Preserve branch
THIS WEEK 'S ISSUE:
by Richard D. Brown
DataShield rolls out first-of-its kind service via Shred Vault. – Page 2
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At the center of the storm, health care professionals adapt and inspire. – Page 3
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Corporate gifting — less physical interaction and longer lead times. – Page 23
Lincoln-based Union Bank & Trust, which is celebrating its 20th year with a presence in Omaha, has announced plans to build a second location as part of the Heartland Preserve development on five acres of land on the southwest corner of 144th Street & West Dodge Road. “It is our philosophy to take a niche, use it and grow it,” said Omaha President Tom Weinandt. Weinandt said the five-story, 137,000-square-foot building designed by Clark Enersen Partners of Lincoln, will include a full-service retail branch and drive-thru, as well as commercial lending, investment, and trust services. Several floors of the building will be available for lease. He said Union Bank & Trust has been training a leadership group over the past two decades that is coming up through the ranks with a total of more than 150 years of banking experience in Omaha. Weinandt, who grew up in Continued on page 7.
Executive Vice President Doris Robertson … The bank aims to grow its Omaha presence with the addition of a Heartwood Preserve location.
Building Omaha investment positions metro for growth by addressing talent shortages by Michelle Leach
It’s arguably among Midlands organizations’ most oft-cited challenges: the shortage of skilled tradespeople in the region. A 22-year-old effort of the Greater Omaha Electrical Contractors and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 22, Building Omaha is doing something about this common obstacle — courtesy of a 24,000-square-
foot, tech- and amenity-rich addition to its 32,000-square-foot training center that, leadership note, will position the area well for the next several decades. “I knew back in 2016 we needed to do something, the number of apprentices we were bringing in and the space we had wasn’t compatible with our training schedule,” said Kevin Continued on page 7. Managing Director Scott Henderson and Program Manager Vlada Zviagina … The startup accelerator has fine-tuned its programming and looks to bring opportunity to innovative startups.
NMotion/Gener8tor seeks to launch 10 new companies over next few years by David Kubicek
From left, NECA Executive Director Allan Hale and OJEATC Training Director Kevin Wetuski … Larger, modernized training center in works for union-industry partnership to bolster volume of quality skilled tradespeople training.
Over the next three to five years, NMotion/Gener8tor ’s goal is to launch 10 new companies and see each of them grow customer revenue and create jobs. “We want to create the next great wave of Nebraska companies tackling problems important to the world, to grow the state of Nebraska with great tech talent,” Managing Director
Scott Henderson said. “Ideally we’d love to see some of these companies increase sales and jobs, some get purchased, some go IPO and create a lot of wealth that will then be invested in future companies.” NMotion started in Lincoln in 2013 with the help of University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s tech transfer office. Brian Ardinger was its first managing director. Continued on page 8.