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CONSTRUCTION. ARCHITECTURE. DESIGN. ENGINEERING
BUILDING AN INDUSTRY OMAHA’S ENGINEERING PROWESS COMES FROM AREA’S GEOGRAPHY AND ITS PEOPLE
GHOSTING IN THE WORKPLACE WHY EMPLOYEES DISAPPEAR
LEADING TOWARD A BETTER OMAHA
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02 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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subscribe online omahamagazine.com/ subscribe B2B Magazine is published six times annually by Omaha Magazine, LTD, P.O. Box 461208, Omaha NE 68046-1208. Telephone: 402.884.2000; fax 402.884.2001. Subscription rates: $12.95 for 4 issues (one year), $19.95 for 8 issues (two years). Multiple subscriptions at different rates are available. No whole or part of the contents herein may be reproduced without prior written permission of B2B Omaha Magazine, excepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs. Unsolicited manuscripts are accepted, however no responsibility will be assumed for such solicitations.
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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 03
TABLE OF CONTENTS MAIN FEATURE
BUILDING AN INDUSTRY
OMAHA’S ENGINEERING PROWESS COMES FROM AREA’S GEOGRAPHY AND ITS PEOPLE FEATURES
30
GHOSTING IN THE WOKRPLACE
WHY EMPLOYEES DISAPPEAR
34
OLD SCHOOL IS NEW SCHOOL
NEW NORTH MAKERHOOD
44
BUILDING A VISION AT 1416 DODGE ST. DEVELOPERS SPECULATE
DEPARTMENTS
06 AFTER HOURS
10 HOW I ROLL
14 OMAHA!
08 BIZ + GIVING
12 LEADERS
16 ON THE RISE
GUY GIBSON
SHARE OMAHA
COLUMNS
JOHN KLABUNDE
BEN GRAY
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SPONSORED PROFILES
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CONSTRUCTION. ARCHITECTURE. DESIGN. ENGINEERING
BUILDING AN INDUSTRY
48 OMAHA CVB YOUTH SPORTS
48 ETHICS
WEBSITE TRUST
27 BUY OMAHA PROFILE WRAPEX
49 THE FIRM
BOLT ON EDITION
QUENTIN LUENINGHOENER
JUNE · JULY 2019 |
05 FROM THE EDITOR
18 NOTEWORTHY
HEAVENLY WAFFLES
OMAHA’S ENGINEERING PROWESS COMES FROM AREA’S GEOGRAPHY AND ITS PEOPLE
GHOSTING IN THE WORKPLACE WHY EMPLOYEES DISAPPEAR
LEADING TOWARD A BETTER OMAHA
ABOUT THE COVER City Council President Ben Gray discusses how he is helping to lead the council towards a better Omaha.
04 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 05
FROM THE EDITOR
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s a girl growing up in Knoxville, Iowa, I remember my parents preparing to build the house that would become the home to which I still occasionally return. Mostly I remember somewhat boring drives into the country to look at a piece of property and evenings spent playing with the daughters of the architect while my parents talked about construction, architecture, design, and engineering. Those four words—construction, architecture, design, and engineering—affect us all, from visible ways such as a sought-after Gustav Stickley chair to the not-so-visible ways like the foundation of a house. This issue brings you articles about the building industry. The main feature is about how Omaha became a big town for engineering. We also feature the New North Makerhood District, a 20-block area north of Cuming Street that covers 30 acres of land with 16 buildings. Omaha Municipal Land Bank is giving the city a face-lift. City Council President Ben Gray, our leader this month, was instrumental in starting the organization. One reason my parents built their house where they did is because Knoxville is known as the Sprint Car Capital of the World. My parents’ house is in the opposite direction of the track. I myself did not attend the races until I was in college. Our How I Roll subject, John Klabunde, is acquainted with Knoxville. He owns a sprint car, and has traveled to my hometown several times to watch, and participate in, races. There are many enjoyable articles in this issue, and I hope you take the time to read them all. B2B
Daisy Hutzell-Rodman is the managing editor of Omaha Publications. She can be reached at daisy@omahamagazine.com.
06 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
GUY DESIGNED A CUSTOMBUILT DESK AND TEMPEREDGLASS CABINET DOORS THAT LOOK LIKE A SCENE FOUND IN THE DAUGHTERS’ EARLY CHILDHOOD OBSESSION—THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES.
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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 07
AFTER HOURS | STORY BY ROBERT FRAASS | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
FROM IMAGING TABLES TO COFFEE TABLES RADIOLOGIST GUY GIBSON’S WOODWORK hen growing up in California, Guy Gibson’s hard-working, World War II veteran father didn’t provide an option when it came to home projects—they would never be hired out, and Guy would be helping. That work ethic and his father’s love of working with wood stayed with Guy over the years, including when he built wooden toys for the couple’s three daughters when they were young. But the DIYfurniture woodworking bug truly kicked in when Guy and his wife, Naomi, settled into their home in the Spyglass Hill neighborhood in 2014. Guy is a radiologist and Air Force veteran who landed in Omaha with his family when he was assigned to Offutt Air Force Base. After retiring last year, he founded Transparent Imaging, which works as a radiology contractor for base personnel. In addition, some weekends see Guy practicing telemedicine radiology for a company that serves medical practices across the United States. The years of hard work called for a release, and Naomi’s creative eye spied projects that would transform their house into a home. “It’s one of those things where you have a vision, and a plan, and [then you] draw it out and see it come together,” Guy says. The creative centerpiece of the Gibson home is a thick, 8-feet-by-3-feet Douglas fir dining room table with quite the backstory.
Naomi wanted a table made of reclaimed wood, like she had seen on home improvement shows. This led the couple to Ankeny, Iowa, where they obtained beams from an old John Deere factory that served as an ordnance plant during World War II. Guy crafted the tabletop in the basement by joining two wood slabs and built its hefty, columnlike table legs. “If we wanted a table like this, it would have cost two or three thousand dollars,” Naomi says. “Now we can come in here every night and eat dinner, which I love. The kids had friends come over for Christmas—14 kids packed on this table, it was fantastic.”
“THERE IS THE CHALLENGE TO PROBLEM-SOLVE THE ENTIRE TIME, BECAUSE MOST OF THIS STUFF I HAVE NEVER BUILT BEFORE” -GUY GIBSON
The doors have mailbox slots like Harry’s home, and two desk drawers have tiny hidden compartments where Guy, before he went on a deployment, hid a secret poem the girls had to find through a scavenger hunt. Guy finds his hobby both calming and practical. “It has a dual purpose, I guess,” Guy explains. “It’s an outlet, and then you get the functional piece that comes out of it as well, which is nice. There is the challenge to problem-solve the entire time, because most of this stuff I have never built before. There is a lot of measuring, sketching, creating a build list, and then eventually you get it completed.” Guy’s skills also fuel Naomi’s deep interest in do-ityourself projects. “I know woodworking for Guy is a serious stress reliever,” Naomi says. “He’s in his element when he can work. When I do projects, he always helps me out.” B2B
Other impressive, large woodworking pieces give the home a unique appeal. Floor-to-ceiling cabinets and bookcases create an attractive space around the large-screen television and fireplace mantle. And in the bedroom of one of the daughters, Guy designed a custom-built desk and tempered-glass cabinet doors that look like a scene found in the girl’s early childhood obsession—the Harry Potter movies.
08 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
BIZ+GIVING | STORY BY SARAH WENGERT | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
SHARING THE GOOD SHARE OMAHA CONNECTS INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES WITH NONPROFITS
“SO, AS FAR AS OUR TOTAL UNIVERSE, WE’RE AT ABOUT 400 NONPROFITS. OUR GOAL BY THE END OF 2019 IS TO BE AT 450 LIVE NONPROFITS.” -MARJORIE MAAS
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 09
arjorie Maas enjoys sharing the good news about SHARE Omaha. “We’re an organization that works through a website to connect nonprofits and missions that change the community with people who want to make an impact. We’re the conduit, the meeting ground, the clearinghouse for all of that to happen,” says Maas, executive director at SHARE Omaha. “We also list a running timeline of nonprofit events for friend-raising or fundraising.” Maas says SHARE Omaha began after David Scott, treasurer of the Scott Foundation and current SHARE Omaha board member, discovered SHARE Charlotte (North Carolina), now Omaha’s sister city and the founding city of the software that so capably connects talent, volunteers, and resources with nonprofits. Maas notes that Omaha is the first expansion site outside of Charlotte with full functionality of that software. “When [Scott] saw that in action in Charlotte, he said, ‘Omaha needs to have this type of energy in the nonprofit community,’” Maas says. SHARE Omaha launched in January 2019 with 150 nonprofits live on its website. By late March, they had already grown that number to nearly 300 and counting. “Our bench is even deeper than that, because we have other nonprofits that’ve started profiles but haven’t yet maximized them and gone live. So, as far as our total universe, we’re at about 400 nonprofits. Our goal by the end of 2019 is to be at 450 live nonprofits,” Maas says, adding that SHARE Omaha vets its nonprofits to ensure they are legit and viable. To Maas and company, this means they have working websites and have been in service for at least a year. While the name is SHARE Omaha, Maas says the organization serves the region beyond the city’s borders.
“As far as membership on the website, we’re eligible to serve people within an eight-county footprint. In Nebraska, it’s Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy, Saunders, and Washington counties. In Iowa, it’s Harrison, Pottawattamie, and Mills counties,” Maas says. But that didn’t stop SHARE Omaha from pitching in to help neighboring Fremont County in Iowa, which was in dire need after widespread floods ravaged much of Nebraska and Iowa in early 2019. In fact, while their website provides many ongoing opportunities for companies and individuals to connect with nonprofits year-round, the SHARE Omaha team was pleased to be an important resource connecting help to need in the acute adversity following the floods. The team created a landing page dedicated to flood relief and saw their website’s week-over-week traffic double in the two weeks following. “The epicenter of the nonprofit community between Omaha and Council Bluffs has been our primary outreach area since our founding, but we are slowly getting that concentric circle larger around the metro area,” Maas says. “We’re already seeing people look to us as a resource to find out how to get involved in something that matters to them. And, that’s the kind of thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. If we can be a positive, organizing voice in the chaos of a crisis, then we’ve done our job.” SHARE Omaha is also a unique conduit between businesses and nonprofits, offering to connect the two for team-building days, skills-based volunteer opportunities that employees can add to their portfolios/resumes, matching leaders and executives with board placements, and more. “We definitely pay attention to national trends in corporate social responsibility and are trying our best to figure out how we can be of service to corporations that really have that as a core value,” Maas says. “We want to work even closer with the corporate community to figure out how we can best be of service to corporate social
responsibility efforts—to really prove ROI for companies and how we can report that efficiency back to nonprofits, so they know the impact that the corporate community has on their missions.” Maas notes that other local nonprofit resource organizations, such as Omaha Community Foundation, United Way of the Midlands, and Nonprofit Association of the Midlands, have been incredibly welcoming to SHARE Omaha. “We could not feel more welcomed by that family of local nonprofit leaders,” she says. “Every organization has its own strengths and unique abilities, but we feel we really offer a unique proposition to the marketplace and we’re not trying to overstep anybody else’s expertise, but rather collaborate.” The public, nonprofits, and businesses have also warmly welcomed SHARE Omaha. Local radio/ TV personality Matt Tompkins thinks the concept works because it offers a convenient, efficient online experience. “I’ve been in that position before, where I want to help but don’t even know where to start. This format makes it super-easy and convenient for people to help, and I think that’s how you can get more people involved,” says Tompkins, who currently co-hosts Mornings with Nikki and Matt on Sweet 98.5, through which he and co-host Nikki Oswald have used their platform to promote SHARE Omaha. “It’s really exciting what they’re doing and I think they’ve executed it very well. I’m just blown away and impressed by their early success and the response they’ve gotten from the community has been really encouraging.” To learn more, visit SHAREOmaha.org. B2B
10 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
HOW I ROLL | STORY BY KIRBY KAUFMANN | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
SPRINTING AROUND THE RACETRACK, AND BUSINESS JOHN KLABUNDE
t is any driver’s worst nightmare, especially a race car driver. John Klabunde lost control of his sprint car in 2011 at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Nebraska. The car smashed into the barrier and then flew over the fleeing crowd. The accident made headlines, appeared on racing forums all over the internet, and is still talked about in the local sprint car racing community today. “Usually when stuff like that happens, it happens so fast you don’t think about it,” Klabunde, now 48, says. “It just seems like time kind of slows down.” Klabunde was a little shaken up, but luckily, nobody was injured in this crash. Interestingly, this newsworthy event does not rank as his most memorable racing adventure.
He does have a favorite racing memory, but it does not involve him behind the wheel. Years ago, Klabunde’s two sons, Bret and Cole, entered separate go-kart races. While Klabunde doesn’t remember every detail, he remembers the important part. “They both won,” says Klabunde who has been racing over 35 years. In addition to his sons, who are now 21 and 17, Klabunde and wife Shawn have a daughter, Leah, 13. His sons did not follow his footsteps into the racing world. They prefer “stick and ball sports,” Klabunde says. He attends their baseball games and other sports events.
Klabunde’s interest in racing started as a young child, because his dad enjoyed the sport. When Klabunde was age 7, his father took Klabunde to race go-karts at a track in Carter Lake. Technically kids needed to be age 16 to race go-karts, but there was a rule that he could participate as long as he was attending the event with an adult. These days, Klabunde spends much of his time at his company, Abe’s Portables, which provides portable restrooms for construction sites, parties, and events. However, you can still find him at the race track on weekends during the summer. His go-to spots include McCool Junction, Nebraska; Jefferson, South Dakota; Jackson, Minnesota; and Knoxville, Iowa.
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 11
“SOME OF THE CORNERS YOU GO INTO ARE WIDE OPEN,” HE SAYS. “[THE SPEED] IS PROBABLY CLOSE TO 115 TO 120 MILES PER HOUR.” - KLABUNDE These are not the more well-known vehicles one might see in a NASCAR race. The vehicles are smaller, and the eight-cylinder engines tend to cap out at 750 horsepower. Some sprint cars push over 800 horsepower. Their most distinctive feature is the wings, which sit over the tops of the cars and create a downward force to enable the vehicles to stay in contact with the ground. “There’s nothing remotely resembling a street car,” Klabunde says. “Their purpose is to be a racing machine.” Klabunde says his current car is his eighth or ninth version. He doesn’t recall the exact number because he stopped counting. That’s because he’s always trying to improve his sprint cars. Each one can cost between $12,000 and $60,000 to build, and Klabunde says his is somewhere in the middle. The cost is somewhat offset by his sponsors—Calhoun Oil Company, where some of Klabunde’s friends work, and Abe’s Trash Service, which is owned by his family. In total, he’s been racing sprint cars for about 15 years, he says. Before that, he worked with a small version of a sprint car that used motorcycle engines, often known as a mini sprint. His current vehicle weights about 1,500 pounds, driver included. In NASCAR, most cars must weigh at least 3,300 pounds, depending on the race. This means a powerful engine is packed into a lightweight vehicle, which results in extremely high speeds. Klabunde says his car can top out at 130 miles per hour. “Some of the corners you go into are wide open,” he says. “[The speed] is probably close to 115 to 120 miles per hour.” As for a favorite race of his own, he says he’s been racing for so long they all run together. And that is fine by him, he’s happy to be in the driver’s seat. Visit @JohnKlabundeRacing on Facebook for more information about Klabunde’s racing adventures. B2B
Notice the size difference of the right-side tire. It is because sprint cars only turn left.
12 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
LEADERS | STORY BY JOEL STEVENS | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
BEN GRAY LEADING TOWARDS A BETTER OMAHA
“I THINK YOUR STATION IN LIFE SHOULD NOT BE DETERMINED BY WHAT YOUR ZIP CODE IS. IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT A REALITY, IT REQUIRES WORK AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE PROBLEMS ACTUALLY ARE.” -BEN GRAY
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 13
en Gray won’t stop. He has served nearly 10 years on the Omaha City Council (and is currently the president), is the sharpest critic of Omaha’s absentee landlords, and a well-known advocate for his home district in North Omaha—but he shows no signs of slowing down. Or letting up. No matter if he is advocating for a level playing field for small businesses and the chronically underemployed, civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community, a “Good Neighbor” ordinance for problem liquor establishments, or the soon-to-be North 24th Street Business Development District, Gray has championed a vast, diverse, and dizzying array of social and political issues in his tenure. Gray doesn’t dwell on perceived accomplishments, forgoes platitudes, loves to talk policy, and actually seems to enjoy the sausage-making minutia of city government. He pulls no punches when the topic of how the business of government should—and too often does not—operate comes up. “Governments are supposed to protect those who can protect themselves the least,” Gray says. “I think that’s how we should be setting policy. That’s, to me, how you make a difference in the community. I think your station in life should not be determined by what your zip code is. In order to make that a reality, it requires work and understanding of what the problems actually are. That gets the dialogue started with others on how to fix these things.” It is a conversation Gray began five years ago with the formation of the Omaha Municipal Land Bank. Gray was instrumental in the formation of the OMLB, co-sponsoring the ordinance that created the nonprofit tasked with acquiring and facilitating the return of vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties to productive use. It has become a linchpin program that tackles head-on those blighted communities starved for re-development.
Gray was skeptical of the land bank idea—at least initially. Marty Barnhart, executive director of the OMLB, recalls a conversation he had with Gray in 2014. The outspoken city councilman certainly had his doubts, Barnhart says. Gray then went out and did his homework. He initiated land bank fact-finding visits to programs in St. Louis and Cleveland, and he returned with a clear vision: a correctly managed land bank was exactly what Omaha needed for its distressed properties. “He was literally willing to put leather to legislation to see if it could happen,” Barnhart says. “And I commend him because what he did made all the difference in the world for testimony, for advocacy, and for putting together a land bank and legislation for a land bank. It made a huge difference.”
HE INITIATED LAND BANK FACTFINDING VISITS TO PROGRAMS IN ST. LOUIS AND CLEVELAND, AND HE RETURNED WITH A CLEAR VISION: A CORRECTLY MANAGED LAND BANK WAS EXACTLY WHAT OMAHA NEEDED FOR ITS DISTRESSED PROPERTIES. Gray is a non-voting member of the OMLB board, serving mostly as an adviser for Barnhart, and as the eyes and ears of the city council. It is a position he doubts he would have been interested in were it not for his deep dive into the land bank programs that served as models for Omaha’s fledgling program. “A lot of times a land bank will or won’t work depending on how you set your policy,” Gray says. Barnhart, who took over leadership at the land bank in 2016, has known Gray for years. While he appreciates the councilman’s praise of the OMLB’s work, he adds that success is due in no small part to Gray’s own strategic vision.
“Ben has an understanding of the Omaha community, what distressed property is all about, because he works in it every single day,” Barnhart says. “Ben’s biggest concern always is to give citizens the opportunity to redress their neighborhood and secondly, to guard against gentrification.” The land bank got off to a rocky start. Early leadership turnover stalled momentum. But by the end of 2018, OMLB had turned over hundreds of properties and was making a dent in Omaha’s run-down property problem. The sample size is small, but Gray sees the land bank scratching at that public-private gap in inner-city re-development. Nonprofits like Abide, Habitat for Humanity, and the Holy Name Housing Corp. have been eager partners. Private, for-profit land developers, however, have been slow to jump on board. Gray points to the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska Medical Center—the largest publicprivate partnership in state history—as a $300 million example of the kind of “catalyst” that will further investment. “Downtown, Midtown, North Omaha – there’s interest, there’s development,” Gray says. “I think that’s a result of the city’s investment in projects that will further development. It showed the city and private partners and the philanthropic community can all work together and we can do some amazing things.” Visit citycouncil.cityofomaha.org for more information about Ben Gray. B2B
14 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
HE MADE THE QUICK DECISION TO USE VANILLA-FLAVORED YOGURT INSTEAD OF SOUR CREAM AND A NEW BATTER RECIPE WAS BORN.
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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 15
omAHA! | STORY BY TAMSEN BUTLER | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
LIGHTER ON WAISTLINES, HEAVIER FOR HANEY’S POCKETBOOK HEAVENLY WAFFLES hef Bob Haney tells people that the success of Heavenly Waffles is largely due to the waffle mix being a superior product to anything else on the market. Surely a mix for light, fluffy waffles that manages to pack a protein punch while still tasting great (yet not break the caloric bank) is a recipe for success. The people with whom Heavenly Waffles does business have a different take on the onus of success for the business: it is Haney. Laura Fowler Goss, the owner of The Filling Fork, a restaurant and catering team in north Florida, says, “His waffles are great and all, but I don’t know if it would matter what he’s selling. His enthusiasm is number one; he has a real zest for life.” Kathy Walker, owner of Point Loma Coffee in San Diego adds, “Whenever he’s here, we draw a bigger crowd. People know Chef Bob.” By his own admission, Haney is outgoing, chatty, and gregarious, but he’s quick to counter that the product speaks for itself. Haney is now a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, but long before starting Heavenly Waffles in 2016, he was simply a good home cook who had an old family pancake recipe. One morning around 1990, while making pancakes for his grandmother, he realized he was out of one of the recipe ingredients—sour cream. He made the quick decision to use vanillaflavored yogurt instead of sour cream and a new batter recipe was born.
Before there were Heavenly Waffles, there were Pancrepes, which he trademarked in 2004. Before they were Pancrepes, Haney shopped the batter around. Store demos, farmer’s markets, and approaching large companies kept Haney busy. More than once, large companies showed serious interest in buying the rights to Pancrepes but were bought out before the deal could happen. “If a company wants their company bought out, just talk to me,” Haney jokes.
Locally, Heavenly Waffles can be found at Karma Coffee, Prairie Life Fitness, or on the brunch menu at Mode de Vie. Hard Bean in La Vista will soon offer Heavenly Waffles as well. The mix can also be purchased on Amazon.com and at Breakfast Kitchen Bar in Scottsdale, Arizona. The first location far from the Omaha area was Point Loma Coffee. Haney’s mother has a home in the San Diego area. “So she went in and pitched,” Haney says.
Pancrepes officially launched in 2014, but a comment from a woman watching a demo who asked if she needed a crepes pan to make Pancrepes caused Haney to think that the brand could be more reflective of its versatility. He tweaked the recipe a little—using dry yogurt and whey protein. Then he re-released the product as a dry mix instead of a batter under the name Heavenly Waffles. Despite the name, the mix can be used to make pancakes, waffles, and crepes. When made into a batter (using club soda, an egg, and oil), it can be fried and used to make donuts, scones, cobbler, and smoothies. “You can make them however you want and it works,” Haney says.
They sell waffles and the mix at Point Loma. “Usually people buy the waffles—then they buy the mix,” Walker says.
Heavenly Waffles taste good—but this isn’t what really sets them apart from other mixes. After being mixed, the batter holds together for four days; this makes it an ideal batter for food service since prep can be completed long beforehand. “Because the mix holds for four days, it saves in waste and in labor,” Haney says.
Haney responds to the question as to whether or not he considers Heavenly Waffles to be a success with confidence. “Yes! Financially we’re not where we want to be, but the quality of the product and the response from customers is great,” he says. For Haney and wife Cathy, achieving financial success with Heavenly Waffles will involve a big food company. “They’ll come knocking on my door and as long as there’s a residual agreement so my great-great-great grandchildren benefit, we’re in,” Haney says. “We’re going to be a 15-year overnight success.” Until then, they’ll keep going. “A lot of entrepreneurs quit,” Haney says. “I’m not quitting.” Visit heavenlywaffles.com for more information. B2B
“I CONSIDER MYSELF LUCKY THOUGH BECAUSE OUR CLIENT BASE HAS BEEN PRETTY STEADY IN GROWTH. SOMEHOW THERE’S ALWAYS AN EQUILIBRIUM THAT ALLOWS US TO DO A GOOD JOB, MEET DEADLINES, AND THEN GET SOME SLEEP.” -LUENINGHOENER
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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 17
ON THE RISE | STORY BY SEAN ROBINSON | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
DESIGNING A DREAM STUDIO INTO A REALITY QUENTIN LUENINGHOENER ome people begin their work day with a cup of coffee. Others need a run or iron-pumped workout to jump-start the morning. Hanscom Park Studio’s founder, Quentin Lueninghoener, however, only needs some tunage to tune in. “When I first get to the office, I put a record on. However long that given record is, that’s how long I take to plan my day,” Lueninghoener says. There is usually a lot to plan. Sitting at the helm of a pint-sized graphic design shop while also serving as the studio’s lead designer and illustrator, Lueninghoener is working with 25 to 30 clients at any given time. From logo creation to branding to magazine design, he does it all while still managing the business—and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “We’re a small two-person shop, and there are times when it seems like every client needs something today,” Lueninghoener says. “I consider myself lucky though because our client base has been pretty steady in growth. Somehow there’s always an equilibrium that allows us to do a good job, meet deadlines, and then get some sleep.”
He started his career working as an illustrator for newspapers, first the Omaha World-Herald and then The Oregonian in Portland, but it was his job in the marketing department of his alma mater that proved to be most helpful. “Working in newspapers, I never had any client services experience, so I spent a year and a half developing those skills creating marketing materials and building a portfolio around campus,” Lueninghoener says.
“A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE DO IS EDITORIAL OR SKEWS TOWARDS STORYTELLING,” SAYS LUENINGHOENER. “I BELIEVE THAT’S WHAT BRANDING AND MARKETING IS— IT’S JUST STORYTELLING WITH A PLAN.” -LUENINGHOENER When his first client, Aaron Babcock, approached him to design the new magazine Hail Varsity, Lueninghoener knew it was time to take the leap and get the shop he always envisioned off the ground.
Lueninghoener’s current clients range from the Aksarben Curling Club to Amsterdam Falafel & Kabob. Lean and mean, the studio is comprised of only him and web developer Ben Vankat, who he hired about a year ago. Lueninghoener believes his small staff only helps to make a big impact on clients. “We don’t have project managers, so if a client wants something they just email us directly,” Lueninghoener says. “There’s no middle man. There’s nothing lost in translation.” He hopes to eventually double the staff, capping it at four team members so his focus remains on the work and not people management. After all, the studio’s tagline is “Constantly Creative,” and there’s no way he wants to miss out on that. “A lot of the work that we do is editorial or skews towards storytelling,” says Lueninghoener. “I believe that’s what branding and marketing is—it’s just storytelling with a plan.” And Lueninghoener is proof that the best plans are just a record away. Visit hanscompark.com for more information.
Lueninghoener says that from the moment he graduated the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2002 with a journalism degree, he knew he wanted to be his own boss while working on visual creative problem solving. However, it would take a little time and a lot of experience—a full decade’s worth to be exact—before he founded Hanscom Park.
“Quentin helped provide a vision that shaped our magazine covers and thousands of editorial pages, but his creativity extended far beyond just the print product. It bled over into our social media voice, apparel, and events,” Babcock says. “While Quentin’s business was new, he was incredibly experienced. He had already worn a number of hats in previous jobs, and that versatility was incredibly valuable to me.”
B2B
18 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
NOTEWORTHY | STORY BY KARA SCHWEISS | PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
LINKEDIN A LOCAL TOUCH IGNITES A GLOBAL COMPANY
“WE OPENED OUR OMAHA OFFICE IN 2002 BECAUSE WE SAW GREAT POTENTIAL TO BUILD A WORLD-CLASS SUPPORT TEAM AND TO CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO THIS RESILIENT COMMUNITY.” -KELLI PILGRIM
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 19
THE COMPANY WILL JOIN A 150-ACRE, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT THAT INCLUDES 700,000 SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE SPACE, OVER 30,000 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL SPACE, SEVERAL RESTAURANTS, A SENIOR LIVING FACILITY, SINGLEFAMILY HOMES, AND THE TRI-FAITH INITIATIVE. inkedIn was founded in 2002 as a social platform for businesses and professionals, and it has grown to become the world’s largest professional network with more than 590 million users in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Silicon Valley community of Sunnyvale, California, and boasts members in nearly every country in the world, supporting its global operations through facilities in metropolitan powerhouses such as London, Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Omaha. That’s right—Omaha. “We opened our Omaha office in 2002 because we saw great potential to build a world-class support team and to contribute positively to this resilient community. It’s since become an integral part of our North American workforce,” explains Kelli Pilgrim, LinkedIn’s senior director of support services. “We currently employ over 450 people in the region.” Pilgrim says the majority of local employees are part of two teams: Global Customer Operations, supporting LinkedIn members trying to land a new job, learn a new skill, or simply connect to new people and opportunities; or Global Sales Organization, serving corporate customers at staffing and recruiting organizations. The community is connected to more than 30 million companies and 20 million open jobs listings.
“Every decision we make about our platform is in service of our vision to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.” she says. The company is a good fit for Omaha, and vice versa, Pilgrim says. “One thing that really sets LinkedIn apart is our people, and the culture of transformation they all embrace. It really begins with the innovation and transparency that our leadership team models. It’s clear that they care about employee success and they listen to enact change,” she says. “Because of that, everybody that works at LinkedIn knows that while they are here, they have the opportunity to transform themselves, the company, and the world—and that’s powerful.”
The new LinkedIn campus will include two fivestory office buildings, each 100,000 square feet, to support the company’s goal of creating a bestin-class workplace for top professionals in the region. Along with the expansion announcement, the company also revealed plans to grow its investment in the local community through its partnerships with programs like Hope Center for Kids, Partnership 4 Kids, and the TeamMates Mentorship Program. Omaha employees are highly engaged in the local community, volunteering with dozens of local nonprofits and donating to causes they care about, with their personal donations matched by LinkedIn.
In January, LinkedIn announced plans to relocate its Omaha offices to a new campus in the heart of the Sterling Ridge development located southeast of 132nd and Pacific Streets. In its new home, the company will join a 150-acre, mixed-use development that includes 700,000 square feet of office space, over 30,000 square feet of retail space, several restaurants, a senior living facility, single-family homes, and the Tri-Faith Initiative.
“A couple of the most fun and memorable events last year include our Make-A-Wish Nebraska donation drive and the mini-golf course employees created to support the Food Bank for the Heartland. Also, we have social impact partnerships that include grant support and frequent employee volunteer events with organizations like Hope Center for Kids and Partnership 4 Kids in order to support access to opportunity for Omaha youth. Supporting their professional development through mentoring is another passion of ours, so we collaborate on events with the TeamMates Mentorship Program, as well as host Rock Your Profile sessions for various career fairs,” she says. “And as a member of the Greater Omaha Chamber and investor in Prosper Omaha, we were pleased to be the executive sponsor of the HIRE [Human Resources, Innovation, Retention, and Employment] event [in 2018], where we presented a LinkedIn Coaches workshop for attendees.”
Construction begins this year with expected occupancy starting in 2021.
The community can expect some exciting developments ahead, Pilgrim adds.
LinkedIn’s Omaha team has expanded exponentially in recent years, so the new facility will not only accommodate continued growth in the Global Customer Operations and Global Sales Operations teams, but also expected growth in the areas of marketing, engineering, legal, human resources, and recruiting. The expansion positions the company to more than double the local workforce to 1,000 employees within about six years.
“Investing in this community is important and has been incredibly rewarding to our business. On average, our workforce here has grown nearly 20 percent year over year since 2013,” she says. “We look forward to continuing our growth locally.”
The building just west of 90th Street and Western Avenue that currently houses Omaha operations embodies the feel and aesthetic of LinkedIn offices around the world while displaying some unique characteristics, like conference rooms named after famous Nebraskans, Pilgrim says. Some of those appealing features will be carried forward into new quarters.
Visit linkedin.com for more information. B2B
20 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
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CADE CONSTRUCTION. ARCHITECTURE. DESIGN. ENGINEERING. STORY BY KARA SCHWEISS | PHOTOS BY KATIE ANDERSON
O
maha has long been known to have great architecture and design. Tech High, when built in 1923, was noted to be the largest high school west of Chicago. And Kountze Park was home to dozens of buildings in Grecian and Roman Revival styles, all created for, and demolished right after, the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1898. These days, Omaha is still turning out great architecture and design. The park at Aksarben Village features a notably 90-foot-tall obelisk. The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center has effortlessly blended art and architecture together to create useful and beautiful spaces for health and healing. And Omaha is home to great feats of engineering, also. The Bob Kerrey Bridge is a 3,000-foot cable-stayed bridge over which thousands of people traipse each year, having their photos taken with one foot in Nebraska and the other in Iowa. The following pages of sponsored content bring stories of great engineering, construction, and architecture firms. B2B
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IDEAL CONSTRUCTION JEFF HARTUNG Many projects completed by Ideal Construction began as sketches on a napkin. Owner Jeff Hartung and his team are great at what they do for several reasons. They embrace the challenges that come their way; They are flexible and understand that this is construction, and no plan or design is perfect— There are always changes along the way. It’s how this business works and is what helps keep Hartung and his team striving to be better every day. Hartung’s passion for taking ideas and turning them into reality is one of the reasons Ideal Construction has been busy since its beginning in 2001. Hartung prides himself in pricing every job that comes to Ideal in a very short time. “This day and age everyone expects things to happen fast and we try our best to accommodate,” Hartung says. “We are always able to man projects to start them quickly, our communication with customers during projects continues to get better, and we deliver an excellent product.”
“We have a great group of employees at Ideal,” He continues. “We try to do as much as we can in-house. This is a driving force in keeping costs down. We have extremely talented millwork, concrete, demolition, interior, and exterior crews. We try and control as much as we can during a project, this helps us out immensely, and it eases the customers’ minds knowing that we will be there.” Though they initially started out with residential work, this full-service construction company quickly started adding commercial property management work and tenant finishes its resume. Everything Hartung asks of his employees are things he has done himself. He is not just a business owner, he worked in the field for many years, and understands how important it is to know the construction process from start to finish. Hartung enjoys meeting new clients, but is prouder of the many long-lasting relationships he has built over time with developers, building owners, managers, and brokers. They know he is a man of his word and stands behind what he says. “Ethics are important to me,” Hartung says. “Even when we are not paid for a job, I make sure everyone who works on my jobsite is paid.”
Hartung has a solid plan for the next 10 years that includes having his “pedal to the metal” and continuing to surround himself with dedicated employees. He also plans to develop new relationships to help double his business. The company plans to slowly transition into building ground-up retail/flex buildings. There is already one in the works in Northwest Omaha, and Ideal itself will occupy around 12,000 square feet in this building. Hartung started this business with a new baby at home, $500.00, and zero customers. “I worked endless hours to build Ideal, and now, here we are. I am very excited to see what the next 10 years bring.” 4505 S. 139TH ST. OMAHA, NE 68137 402.592.4020 IDEALCONSTRUCTION.COM
22 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
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LYMAN-RICHEY CORPORATION KEVIN SCHMIDT Manufacturing and delivery of ready mixed concrete and construction aggregates is what Lyman-Richey Corporation does. “We want to provide the best value to our customers by delivering the highest quality products in the market according to their project schedules,” says Kevin Schmidt, president. “This allows our customers to maximize their own profitability by completing their projects on time and within budget.” Much has changed since the company was founded in 1884. “At that time, we excavated sand from the river and sold it directly to our customers without a great deal of additional processing,” Schmidt says. “We entered the ready mixed concrete business in 1929. Over the years, specifications have been developed for all of our products and have continued to evolve.” Lyman-Richey now offers nearly 900 different concrete mixes. “We also utilize dozens of different chemical admixtures and other additives that affect the properties of the concrete we produce,” Schmidt says. “For example, we have admixtures that can slow or speed how quickly the concrete sets. We can also produce concrete in a variety of colors for architectural use.” Through the years, the company has expanded its quality control team, invested in industry training for its employees, and made significant investments in its delivery fleet, dispatch systems and other technologies. Schmidt says Lyman-Richey also works to build and maintain a world-class safety culture. “We want every member of our team to be committed to driving and working safely, and to be constantly looking out for the safety of their co-workers, customers and members of the public. We’re making significant investments of both time and money toward achieving this goal.” 2625 S. 158TH PLAZA OMAHA, NE 68130 402.558.2727 LYMANRICHEY.COM
NGC GROUP, INC. JUSTIN HERNANDEZ NGC Accelerates Growth with Future Plans for Downtown Omaha Office Location NGC Group is experiencing exciting changes in their growing company. The commercial contractor, headquartered in Lincoln, is preparing to make a stamp on the Omaha construction market with an office move to the historic Logan Building in downtown Omaha. NGC has begun work on the building and will move-in next summer. In addition to their office, the Logan Building will be the new home to the 90-room Hotel Indigo, residential condos, and a restaurant. Until their office is complete, NGC’s Omaha office is currently located near 12th and Harney streets. “I am so proud of our team and their commitment to the growth we’ve experienced over the past several years,” says Justin Hernandez, NGC’s founder and president. “Omaha is home to many of the exciting projects we have contracted over the next couple of years and I am grateful that we’re able to provide an office that not only allows our employees to manage these projects more effectively, but also provides a space that promotes growth and a positive company culture for years to come.” NGC Group is a general contracting firm based in Lincoln that specializes in commercial construction. Their team serves Lincoln, Omaha, and other growing markets throughout the region. NGC has grown from a small local contractor to building in, and being licensed in, over 10 states across the region with close to 100 employees 1000 O ST., SUITE 102 LINCOLN, NE 68508 402.261.5489 NGCGROUPINC.COM
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24 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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roviding businesses with cost effective, high-performing advertising is what we have always done at SignEx. It’s based on three components are essential to any business: focus, effective marketing and promotion, and hiring unique talent. Success in those three components have allowed me to expanded this business into WrapEx. Vehicles are often a necessary business expense, and one of the largest expenses for many businesses. We have built a unique team who can show a business owner how to turn that expense into a money-making promotional asset. It is estimated that over 20,000 people a day see your vehicle, that’s potentially 20,000 pairs of eyes viewing your logo, your brand, your business. But not just anyone is going to be able to take a vehicle and turn it into a rolling billboard. I cultivated this team from my 30-plus years in business, and we are working together to build WrapEx into the premier vehicle wrap and graphic company for business owners in the Omaha metro area. Fred knew I would be a good fit because he saw the success I had with SignEx on a daily basis. The next member of the WrapEx team was Kirk, who comes to WrapEx with 10 years experience as art and design director for NASCAR, and brought their concepts to WrapEx. “Simple marketing and promotion concepts are the focus of NASCAR,” Kirk says. “The concepts they use to build their highly effective promotional designs works amazingly well for local businesses. In face, many businesses find it’s their most effective marketing when done correctly.” The final member of this team is lead designer Caleb, who has a God-given talent for design, unlike anyone I have met in my 30-plus years of business. His innate skills and talent truly round out the team.
This unique team is able to build effective marketing and promotional campaigns for customers’ businesses. We focus on providing vehicle graphic and wraps that help business owners grow their business—not just grow the visibility of their business. Because the first key to business success is focus. WrapEx is focused on helping you turn one of your largest business expenses into a promotional asset, allowing you to focus more on growing your business. B2B 402.289.1840 WRAPEXOMAHA.COM
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VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
FEATURE | STORY BY GREG JERRETT | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
GHOSTING IN THE WORKPLACE WHY EMPLOYEES DISAPPEAR OVERNIGHT
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 31
EMPLOYERS NEED TO THINK OF THIS IN TERMS OF HIRING: A COMPANY CALLS BACK THE THREE PEOPLE WHO THEY WANT TO INTERVIEW FOR THE JOB, AND THEY IGNORE THE PILES OF RESUMES IN THE HR DEPARTMENT.
n employee who calls in sick during the busiest night of the year is a business owner’s nightmare. An even worse nightmare is when the employee simply decides to leave. “I think the professional courtesy is not what it used to be,” says Brad Jones, partner at MyStaff. Most people in business know of the two-week rule; in fact, in certain positions, such as TV newscasting, employees may be contractually obligated to give notice of one month or more before leaving for another job. But for a growing number of employees, this twoweek rule is being thrown out the window. A social media trend known as “ghosting” has crept out of Tinder and into the workplace. And employees these days are not only quitting jobs, they are bailing out of job offers with no notice, explanation, or further contact. It is not a new concept—the previous term was “no call, no show”—but ghosting is a concept that disgruntled millennials appear to be making their own. Generational slander aside, rebranding old concepts as they trend upward is not only a great way to create buzz, but to re-examine workplace dynamics and tactics for keeping key employees.
“WE HAVEN’T REALLY EXPERIENCED THIS KIND OF LOW UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN A VERY LONG TIME AND THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO HAVE LOTS OF CHOICE FOR POSITIONS.” -ERIN PORTERFIELD One of the prime reasons for ghosting is the current 4 percent unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which leads analysts to believe Americans ghost their jobs due to a plethora of options and a lack of incentives to stay at companies with limited professional growth potential.
“The term is new, but the unemployment rate is kind of new, too,” says Erin Porterfield, executive director of Heartland Workforce Solutions in Omaha, noting that the new brand for the “silent exit” is less important than the reasons employees leave in the first place. “We haven’t really experienced this kind of low unemployment rate in a very long time and that allows people to have lots of choice for positions.” From coffeehouses to construction, finance to fast food, employers are now in the unenviable position of competing with one another for workers. “We find that even in particular industry sectors like manufacturing, the employers talk about this concept of snatch-and-grab from employer to employer,” Porterfield says. “If I offer more, then people are going to leave you and come to me. If I train them at one wage then you offer them a dollar more, they go to another employer.” The concept can be befuddling to employers, but it should not be. Employers need to think of this in terms of hiring: a company calls back the three people who they want to interview for the job, and they ignore the piles of resumes in the HR department. The top two candidates are often called back again, and perhaps even a third time before a decision is made. The runner-up is frequently ignored, not told the job went to the other candidate, and ends up wondering “what happened?” Avoiding that “what happened” moment is also a way to avoid employees ghosting, according to Jones. “In this employment climate, an employee might have three or four offers,” Jones says. “If an employer wants to go through five or six interviews, they are going to lose that candidate.” CONT. PAGE 32
32 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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FROM PAGE 31 In some ways, ghosting is a result of the economy turning the tables, causing the employees to turn the tables on the employers. “There are some companies that we meet over and over that need to think about improving their culture,” Jones says. “If the employees don’t feel valued, if there’s heavy micromanaging, they may want to rethink their processes.” There are many tried-and-true ways to keep employees, from extensive benefits packages to simply letting employees know they are valued, but 2019’s landscape of opportunity has employers trying new tactics. One way to keep employees from being snatched by others is to provide workers with a more transparent glimpse of their potential future in an organization. “To prevent the hopping back and forth from employer to employer takes a similar, competitive wage scale across employers, and a clear ladder up of what the career path looks like. Is there a retention incentive after one month? Three months? Six months? What is the expected time frame for an increase in wage or in job title and responsibilities? These things prevent ghosting,” Porterfield says. “Those employers who are offering less money and a less clear path are going to have more ghosting because people see the choices that they have.” Ghosters have drifted away from jobs for better opportunities, a happier environment, and the satisfaction of vengeance. Through Heartland, Porterfield has seen retention success from employers with familial philosophies.
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 33
The TotalCheck Package: “I’ve been talking with a telemarketing call center in northeast Omaha that experiences less turnover. What they talk about as valuable in employee retention is a caring, family atmosphere for the employees by bringing in services people need to solve problems they experience with family or finances.” Julianna Klepfer, director of human resources at Hardy Coffee Co., agrees that culture counts. Many of her employees begin as baristas and stay for several years, becoming roasters, trainers, and managers. She says employee turnover is low and ghosting almost unheard of because they maintain a culture of positivity promoted during a monthlong training process. “Being a barista is not an easy job,” Klepfer says, adding that everyone should work a service job at least once in their life. “We train the employees to do the job, but we also get to know them as well.” It is this personal touch that keeps employees from becoming apparitions. Visit hws-ne.org for more information on Heartland Workforce Solutions. B2B
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VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
EVENTUALLY 12 OMAHA BUSINESSES, FAMILIES, AND INDIVIDUALS LINED UP, EACH CONTRIBUTING BETWEEN $100,000 AND $2 MILLION TO GET THE PROJECT OFF THE GROUND. Jen Schantz
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 35
FEATURE | STORY BY CHARLIE LITTON | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
OLD SCHOOL IS THE NEW SCHOOL NEW NORTH MAKERHOOD DISTRICT pholstery may not immediately conjure visions of inspired passion—but give it a minute. Even better, take Kathy Foust’s upholstery course at Metro Community College’s Lost Arts space in the New North Makerhood District. Jen Schantz gave it a whirl about 18 months ago, and then she did it again, and kept going. With Foust at her side, Jen recalls the time when about half a dozen mismatched, old and shabby chairs circled her living room. “Our living room looked like a group therapy meeting,” Jen’s husband, Caleb, says. Foust laughs. So does Jen. Caleb vigorously nodds for emphasis.
Jen says the transformation brings to mind the simple delight of “seeing the potential in things” that she finds in her upholstery work. She sees the same appeal in the fledgling New North Makerhood District. “It’s like upholstery,” Jen says. “We can revitalize an old building, and bring it new life.”
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IS MEETING MARKET DEMAND AND FINDING QUALIFIED INSTRUCTORS TO TEACH THE COURSES.
What began as a curiosity has blossomed into a full-blown passion, and now Jen—a full-time nurse at the Omaha Veteran’s Administration—has a healthy side-hustle as an upholsterer. She’s booked solid for four months.
That’s exactly what Lyn Wallin Ziegenbein, spokesperson for the 501(c)(3) named New North Makerhood, had in mind. An Omaha native and emerita executive director of the Peter Kiewit Foundation, Ziegenbein was troubled by what she saw in the area. In her youth, North Omaha was a vibrant community. Her Swedish immigrant grandfather owned and operated a small electrical service shop in the area. The shop was razed decades ago, its place now occupied by a pylon supporting the I-480 overpass.
Regardless of the apparent demand for good upholsters, the craft is close to becoming a lost art—at least it was, until Foust teamed up with Metro Community College.
Routing I-480 through what was then the middle of downtown and closing 16th Street for a hotel in the late 1960s was a double-whammy. It essentially wedged downtown into two halves.
Metro’s 6,000-square-foot Lost Arts Center— located on 11th Street about two blocks north of TD Ameritrade Park—is a small piece of a grander vision for North Omaha. Long a disused and nearly abandoned eyesore, the northern edge of downtown is undergoing a remarkable transformation.
One side thrived. The other did not. The divide remains a sensitive wound with plenty of hard feelings to go around. Ziegenbein found a way to breathe new life into the long-neglected area.
But Jen likes old chairs. It turns out she also loves giving them new life: “They have great bones.”
Taking inspiration from similar artistic hubs in other cities, Ziegenbein championed the idea of a makerhood district. It didn’t take long for others to join her vision. Eventually 12 Omaha businesses, families, and individuals lined up, each contributing between $100,000 and $2 million to get the project off the ground. “It is so Omaha. And so humbling.” Ziegenbein says. “It’s people who love Omaha and understand the mission of a makerhood.” The New North Makerhood District is a roughly 20-block area north of Cuming Street, bordered by 10th, 12th, Izard, and Seward streets. It covers 30 acres of land with 16 buildings and more than 175,000 square feet of interior space. All of those buildings were in need of TLC and expensive upgrades. A few had become centers of bottom-of-the-barrel operations such as chop shops. Retro-fitting the old and sometimes decrepit facilities was, and continues to be, an expensive endeavor. One friend asked Ziegenbein why didn’t she just knock it all down and start over? It’s the “grit” that makes the area special, she says. The area is uniquely Omaha, and tearing any of it down sanitizes an important part of the city’s history and character. Tearing it down was not an option, Ziegenbein says. “It’s gritty, but students love it,” says Gary Girard, executive director of Continuing Education at Metro Community College. CONT. PAGE 37
36 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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FROM PAGE 35 One of the biggest challenges is meeting market demand and finding qualified instructors to teach the courses. “You can’t go out and get another upholstery instructor because they don’t exist,” he says. “So we grow our own.” That person of their own is Stephanie Keene. She was another of Foust’s students who reprioritized her life to make room for upholstery as an instructor. “Kathy put herself out there,” Girard says. “Now she’s changing lives.” Foust says one student told her the course helped the student get through chemotherapy treatments. Another student said she planned to place her newly re-upholstered chair in a place of pride and prominence: right next to her law degree. Still, the greater point of pride for Foust might be the bigger picture of the Makerhood District. “It almost brings me to tears,” says Foust, who has been in private business for nearly 40 years. “I’m so happy because I get to be a part of it from the beginning. I’m just so proud and grateful that I can be a part of this.”
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There remains a lot of retro-fitting and rehab to bring the full breadth and scope of the Makerhood dream into vivid reality. But there is evidence that the area is crystalizing into Omaha’s artistic heart. The makers span the spectrum of imagination and artistic expression—painters, potters, glassblowers, leatherworkers, silversmiths, printmakers, photographers, and more. Anchor tenants in the area include Johnson Deconstruction, a salvage and repurposing wood craft operation with several craft sub-tenants; and Bench, a public woodworking shop and “artisan hub.” Incidentally, Bench is where Jen and three friends rent space for their new side-business: Sitting Pretty Upholstery. “Which has been nice for our living room,” Caleb says. Visit the Continuing Education area of mccneb. edu for more information about New North Makerhood District. B2B
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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 39
FEATURE | STORY BY SCOTT STEWART | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
BUILDING AN INDUSTRY OMAHA’S ENGINEERING PROWESS COMES FROM AREA’S GEOGRAPHY AND ITS PEOPLE
“WE PUNCH WAY ABOVE OUR WEIGHT. IT’S BECAUSE OF THOSE GREAT SYNERGIES AND THE AMOUNT OF COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION THAT THE UNIVERSITY, THE GOVERNMENT SECTOR, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAVE.” -LANCE C. PÉREZ
maha may not have the towering skylines of Chicago or New York City, but this humble Midwestern city’s geography and values have forged an engineering legacy it can trace back to the days of steamboats and covered wagons.
Looking forward, Omaha’s legacy as an engineering town remains on a solid foundation. Educators and businesses are investing in the area, and the focus on attracting and retaining top talent will benefit the community’s legacy companies and entrepreneurs alike.
Omaha is a cornerstone for the engineering, architectural, design, and construction industries, providing a market where competition and mutual interests have created harmonious working relationships. HDR, LEO A DALY, and DLR Group call Omaha home, alongside Fortune 500 behemoth Kiewit Construction and a constellation of specialized regional firms.
Thompson, Dreessen & Dorner Inc., commonly known as TD2, is one of those storied businesses that expects to continue enjoying the benefits of Omaha—including the presence of other strong firms.
“We punch way above our weight,” says Lance C. Pérez, dean of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Engineering. “It’s because of those great synergies and the amount of cooperation and collaboration that the university, the government sector, and the private sector have.” The history of engineering in Omaha is dotted with the names of those companies’ executives — many of which can be found on the edifices of the city’s great buildings—but it’s also linked with the westward expansion of the United States in the late 19th century and the suitable geography that makes Omaha a key junction for travelers and merchants. Government policies that followed, such as rural electrification and Nebraska’s unique model of sanitary and improvement districts, helped create the growth that fed those companies’ bottom lines.
“The interesting thing about the engineering industry is that it’s pretty complicated and, in Omaha, despite having a lot of firms, we’re still friendly competitors,” says TD2 president Douglas Dreessen. “We don’t make things difficult on each other because the job is difficult enough as it is.” Omaha has offered myriad engineering projects since settlers first crossed over from Council Bluffs. The Missouri River and wagon trails were among the original draws, but they were soon followed by Union Pacific’s transcontinental railroad. Later came U.S. Route 6, at one point the nation’s longest highway, and interstates 29 and 80 continue to funnel traffic through the metropolitan area. Business thrived at those historical crossroads, from merchants supporting western expansion in Jobbers Canyon to the famed stockyards, and eventually Fortune 500 companies came like Berkshire Hathaway and Mutual of Omaha. Those businesses and their employees, in turn, built the city. CONT. PAGE 40
40 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
FROM PAGE 39 “Omaha being at this key intersection of the river, the transcontinental railroad, and the transportation associated with building the stockyards in the 1800s made it a natural place for certain types of engineering to grow,” Pérez says. Another reason for Nebraska’s vibrant engineering community can be found in black-and-white columns in the back of newspapers. Public advertisement for bids helped create a robust market for professional services, where fledgling firms could compete against established engineering firms. “It avoids the good old boy network that you might find,” says Robert Dreessen, chairman of TD2’s board and one of its founding partners. Omaha’s competition created successful firms that looked outward to other opportunities, he says. “That has happened over and over again to Omaha firms. Firms like LEO A DALY and HDR are national firms that started small and systematically grew, and the same thing is occurring to intermediate firms that, early in my career, I remember as being small, such as Dana Larson Roubal and similar organizations that also now have a national exposure,” Robert Dreessen says.
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Those firms have plenty of opportunities thanks to Nebraska’s system of sanitary and improvement districts, which began in 1949. SIDs are statutory taxing authorities unique to Nebraska used by developers to create residential areas on the fringes of cities that can later be annexed. SIDs allows Omaha to annex properties in an orderly fashion while avoiding unsuccessful projects, and it creates projects suitable for smaller developers and engineering firms. “People go where there’s opportunity, so when there’s the opportunity for all these quasi-government agencies to be developed, an engineer gets a lot better perspective on how the whole system works rather than being pigeonholed into one aspect of a city,” says Dreessen. “There’s a lot of opportunities here, and that creates competition.”
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 41
Many large cities are actually hemmed in by small municipalities that it cannot annex, as outside of Nebraska, infrastructure has to be extended to an area before annexation can occur. With the notable exceptions of Boys Town and Ralston, Omaha has expanded its city limits freely as built-up areas and neighborhoods reach a mature level of development. “The limitation in our particular urban area so far is the county line,” Robert Dreessen says. “Omaha is probably going to be one of the biggest cities in the whole country.” The opportunity for growth in Omaha fueled innovation in the building industries, too. LEO A DALY, for example, was among the first firms to include architecture and engineering departments—pioneering a model that has become an industry standard. “Their key innovation was the integration of architecture and engineering,” Pérez says. “LEO A DALY brought them together under the same roof.” Omaha has seen a flurry of development, as the city stretched westward through Elkhorn and today is encroaching on communities like Waterloo. One of those major projects was HDR moving its global headquarters to a state-of-the-art building in Aksarben Village. The move puts HDR a few blocks from the Peter Kiewit Institute, which hosts the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s construction management and civil, computer, electrical, architectural, and construction engineering programs. “In this Aksarben area, with HDR moving their headquarters, one could argue this square mile has the largest architectural engineering presence in the country,” Pérez says. “There is great synergy between the university and the industry with respect to architectural engineering and construction.” Growth in a community ultimately depends on the people living in it, and Omaha excels there, too. CONT. PAGE 43
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VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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FROM PAGE 41
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“There’s just a lot of talent in Nebraska,” Pérez says. “When you take the Nebraska sense of integrity, hard work, and commitment to people– those are things that are extremely important to successful firms.” Education is also a linchpin, and the University of Nebraska committed to Omaha’s engineering industry when it formed the Peter Kiewit Institute in 1996. The institute brings together various UNL engineering and construction programs with the UNO’s College of Information Science & Technology. “If you look at some of the large companies in Omaha, they are increasingly technology companies, so they need a different kind of engineering,” Pérez says. “As these companies grow, we have to continue to grow to provide that workforce.” Engineering is an increasingly global and multidisciplinary career, Pérez says. UNL has built curriculum with the goal of incorporating communication skills, cultural competency, leadership, and teamwork into its academic program. Pérez says the college is expanding its new software engineering program, too. “Whether you’re a construction management student, a chemical engineer, or a software engineer, you leave with a strong foundation in computing and how it’s used in engineering and construction,” Pérez says. Training and retaining a highly skilled workforce is critical to many professions in Omaha, including engineering, where nearly two-thirds of the department’s students come from Nebraska. It is the only engineering program in the state, so any student who wants this degree while taking advantage of in-state rates goes to UNL. Attracting talented professionals to Omaha is also crucial. Like Omaha’s storied engineering firms, those workers also should come to understand, if they don’t already, that Omaha has its own special quality—one that matters more than the city’s many practical and strategic advantages. Omaha is a place to call home. B2B
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44 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
FEATURE | STORY BY ANTHONY FLOTT | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN
BUILDING A VISION AT 1416 DODGE ST. EMPTY LOT DEVELOPERS READY TO PLAY BALL
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 45
he empty lot at 1416 Dodge St. is seen as a field of dreams for many companies, but getting steel and glass to rise there is not a case of build it and they will come. Rather, the approach is they will come, and we will build it. Everything is in place for a building to rise at the former site of Union Pacific headquarters: a cuttingedge design, tax incentives, support from the city, attractions from the nearby Capitol District, and a strong economy. Before any building starts, however, tenants must be signed, and the developers are especially anxious to sign an anchor company that wants high-rise headquarters alongside downtown Omaha’s other corporate digs. That is why, when asked to speculate when the first spade of dirt might be turned at one of the city’s most prime pieces of real estate, developer Jason Lanoha was clear and to the point: “As soon as we secure the necessary tenants,” said the president of Lanoha Real Estate Co., which purchased the property in 2014. “I will tell you we have real progress happening.”
IN EARLY 2019 CAME A NEW VISION, A $200 MILLION HIGH-RISE WITH A CONCEPT BORROWED FROM ANOTHER MARKET THAT WOULD BE UNIQUE TO OMAHA—AN “OFFSET CORE” STRUCTURE.
That is a welcome change after a decade-plus of relative dormancy. Union Pacific left the site in June 2004, moving across Dodge Street to its 19-story home at 1400 Douglas St. Demolition ensued and was completed in 2008. It has remained a one-block square of grass ever since. Not for want of effort or vision. In 2005, Kansasbased developer Townsend Inc. proposed the Wallstreet Tower project, a 32-story mix of condos, offices, and a hotel. That went nowhere. Lanoha purchased the lot in 2014 from WallStreet Tower LLC investors and proposed a mixed-use building 10 to 25 stories high with room for offices, condominiums, and more. That, too, went nowhere. In early 2019 came a new vision, a $200 million high-rise with a concept borrowed from another market that would be unique to Omaha—an “offset core” structure. Elevators and other buildingrelated space (i.e., storage, HVAC, etc.) are at the building’s center; that structure is surrounded by two towers—one being 27 stories, the other 30. Inside is nearly 700,000 square feet for corporate offices, retail spaces, hotel rooms, entertainment, and parking. Ceilings are 15 feet high with floorto-ceiling glass windows. It also features an 11th floor “sky lobby” with space for restaurants and bars, a fitness center, and outdoor seating. “The concept is simple,” Lanoha says. “By offsetting the cores, the result is a wide-open floor plate of natural light. It will be the best place to work.” This third proposal for the site, though, excludes housing—the focus is on business. “The name of the game is talent attraction,” Lanoha says, “and this building will do that for our tenant partners.” CONT. PAGE 46
46 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
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With all the site has going for it, why hasn’t development already occurred, especially considering progress at nearby NoDo and the Capitol District? Kevin Andersen, deputy chief of staff for Economic Development and Development Services with the City of Omaha, cites two factors dating to 2007.
“Within that time frame you’ve got the recession and the overall real estate market tanking,” Andersen says. “The city itself and this part of the world weathered that extremely well, but the level…to finance this kind of investment, it just wasn’t there.” While the economy has rebounded, there’s also a sort of Omaha ethos to development that can make it harder for vision to become reality.
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“Omaha’s economy is wonderful. It is extremely stable,” Lanoha says. “However, it moves slower than some larger cities and therefore projects that are normally seen in larger cities take a little longer to pull together.” Development could have occurred by now—but that could have meant leasing the site to a food truck and calling it good, not developing a highlevel, large-scale project that would add revenue and visual impact to the city skyline. “This is where I give a lot of credit to Jason in that I’m sure he had multiple opportunities to really kind of under-develop in a way that doesn’t maximize his potential,” Andersen says. “I’m encouraged by his faith in the Omaha market to really hold out for the bigger fish.” Lanoha amplifies the point. “We’ve had other opportunities to develop the site but we have committed to doing what is right for our city,” he says. “This is the best piece of dirt in downtown and it deserves something tall, and these things take time.”
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But time is money. According to the Douglas County Assessor’s website, in 2018 the empty lot was valued at $1,033,100 and taxes were $22,213. That’s down from its 2016 valuation of $1,584,000 with $33,989 paid in taxes. Two lots over, First National Bank had taxable value of $3,877,100 for land and $126,462,900 for property ($130,340,000 total). First National paid $2,802,531 in taxes in 2018.
OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM JUNE · JULY | 47
“I’M ENCOURAGED BY HIS FAITH IN THE OMAHA MARKET TO REALLY HOLD OUT FOR THE BIGGER FISH.”
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“The low unemployment rate has been one of our biggest challenges and biggest priorities for landing and making a project like this a success,” Andersen says. The 1416 Dodge site is one of three areas in Omaha about which Andersen is most often asked, along with the former Omaha Civic Center and Crossroads Mall. “It’s definitely a priority in terms of overall development of downtown,” he says.
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Andersen says he talks with Lanoha about once a week and that the city is taking a more proactive role seeing it get developed. Discussions have focused on parking and transit, incentive packages, PACE funding, and more. “Those are certainly all on the table,” Andersen says.
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Lanoha says the city and Mayor Jean Stothert have “been a huge help and are aligned with us in making this happen.” For now, his company is focusing on preconstruction budgeting, engaging its design and construction team, and marketing to end-users. Of course, they are also looking for that major tenant employer from within or outside Omaha.
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“There are always conversations being had,” Lanoha says. Soon, he hopes, the conversation is about who is coming—and what is being built.
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48 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2019
VOLUME 19 · ISSUE 3
OMAHA CVB BY KEITH BACKSEN
YOUTH SPORTS IS GOOD FOR ALL OF US ports is a serious business in the United States. Ticket sales for the NFL total $900 million annually, more than 22 million fans attend NBA games in a single season, and Major League Baseball generates more than $10 billion in annual revenue. But a smaller side to sports has produced some really big numbers right here in Omaha— youth sports. In January, Omaha welcomed more than 1,000 young athletes from across the country who participated in the Northern Lights Volleyball tournament. In February, 410 volleyball teams competed in the Asics President’s Day Classic. In May, Omaha hosted the Midwest Basketball Showcase, which brought more than 250 teams to the city— with a waiting list of 30 teams wanting to play. But Omaha’s largest event for youth sports is the Slumpbuster Triple Crown Tournament. Every June this event brings more than 600 little league teams to the city from 37 different states. When Omaha hosts any sporting event, those teams and fans stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants. But the visitor numbers grow even larger when children play sports because they have some of the most loyal fans willing to travel—their parents. And that means more hotel room reservations and more money spent in our local restaurants.
This year, Omaha is on track to see a total economic impact of more than $45 million thanks to these young athletes and their families. The money these families spend contributes to our local economy and provides jobs, income, tax revenue, and community development projects we all enjoy. Imagine this: Your cousins from the West Coast visit you for a week. At the end the week they write you a check for providing lodging, food, and entertainment. You use the money to landscape your backyard, including the fire pit you’ve always wanted. Now your family enjoys the fire pit every weekend, and when your cousins visit again, they will also enjoy the new backyard feature. That is kind of how tourism works, but on a much larger scale. When these sports teams and their families spend money in Omaha, we can make improvements to our city that everyone can appreciate. So the next time you want to get a professional athlete’s autograph, do not overlook the little guys. After all, their money benefits all of us. B2B
ETHICS BY BEVERLY KRACHER
WEBSITE TRUST o you feel affection for your car? Are you angry at your phone when it doesn’t work? Do you feel sad when your 10-year-old TV dies? In 1996, Reeve and Nass published The Media Equation, showing that people have social and natural responses to computers, televisions, and new medias. In other words, our feelings and behaviors such as affection, kindness, politeness, respect, and anger extend to the machines and technologies that surround us. This includes websites and trust. In the business arena, it is important to understand that a customer can trust, or distrust, a company’s website. The website is the front face of a firm. Like a salesperson, it is often the first thing with which a customer interacts. If trust is not established, a client will click right on through to the next page. A sale will be lost. If Reeve and Nass are right, the same kind of cues that establish trust and trustworthiness between people apply to a customer and a website. Web designers have been studying and establishing these cues, and they build websites accordingly. There are several factors that influence trust. Stability: Strong colors are fun but less trustworthy. The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit applies, so to speak, to the internet. Blues and greys indicate stability and responsibility regardless of industry. A chocolate company that thought a brown background would be appealing and appropriate for their product found that brown was a turnoff, but blue and grey worked.
Consistency: This applies to the navigation system. Trust is not given when links are broken, it is hard to get back to a previous page, reinforcements or dropdowns do not make sense, etc. This desire for consistency on a website is not surprising when we think that reliability, which is a form of consistency, is a natural component of trust between people. Comprehensiveness: The amount and type of information housed on a website matters. The more relevant information that is provided, the better. Unbiased information conveys a desire to educate. Biased information can only be accepted if it is clear that it is biased and/or it is included with unbiased information. Honesty: Visuals can communicate honesty. Pictures of employees are especially helpful. But visuals can also be tricky. Gifs and bouncing images can make a website seem sketchy. It is the same thing with cartoons. Since sarcasm and humor are contextual and sensitive, they can lead people to question honesty, and thus, trustworthiness. Do not be embarrassed when you are angry with Siri or experience a sense of (dis)trust when using a website. It is natural for us to extend our social impulses to these technologies. And professionals are learning the techniques to influence us to do just that. B2B
Keith Backsen is executive director of the
Beverly Kracher, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Business
Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Ethics Alliance and the Daugherty Chair in Business Ethics and Society at Creighton University.
The Deal Review
TURNER SAFETY PG. 10 OSHA Construction Safety Specialists
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Market Disruption Drives Business Consolidation SPRING / SUMMER 2019
02 | The Firm Deal Review
SPRING / SUMMER
The Deal Review
Published by The Firm Business Brokerage President/Editor · Cortney Sells Director/Assistant Editor · Cassandra Powers In-House Legal Counsel · Susanne Miller Brokerage Principal · Rene Rademacher Director of Strategic Development · Rachael Rand Broker Liason · Makayla Kalagias Logistics · Adam Jaime Client Coordinator · Megan DeBoer Client Coordinator · Anya Roberts
Selling to a Strategy Buyer Equals a Higher Price by Cortney Sells
W
Bolt-on is a way of buying more than one business. What excites me about this is that we can see so much strategic thinking taking place when working with these entrepreneurs. Our cover story is about Turner Safety, a Bay-area company that works with construction and general industry clients to manage safety in the workplace. They also have Turner Risk Consulting, which works with insurance carriers and policyholders. We have a great article for you about bolt-on opportunities in durable medical equipment. The strategy works well in this growing field, and the article explains how and why.
Client Coordinator · Lori Hulshof Portfolio Officer · Elise Turille Portfolio Officer · Molly Dunning Jessica Hughes · Office Assistant
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elcome to the spring 2019 edition of The Firm. This issue is all about strategic acquisitions; you’ll find everything from construction training to a dog daycare business. In specific, this issue reviews an industry-agnostic business phenomenon known as bolt-on acquisition.
Client Coordinator · McKenna Thorngren
We have an article about language translation services, which has been a huge industry for consolidation. Since March 2017, we’ve helped four language services businesses transition to new owners, and we currently have two such companies in our portfolio.
Contributing Writers · Tamsen Butler, Megan DeBoer, Amy Goldyn, Daisy Hutzell-Rodman, and Kara Schweiss Photography · Paul McKelvey and Bill Sitzmann
And dog boarding. Who doesn’t love dogs, right? Steve Torres started with one business, then bolted on an accounting business, then bolted on a production business. And The Firm has been with them every step of the way.
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Vets No. 1 Consolidation Vet Practices Are at Top of Consolidation Methodology written by Megan DeBoer through 2019 and beyond. This is because private equity firms and the larger pet players are sensing “significant opportunity in the still-fragmented veterinary world,” says Daniel Granderson of Packaged Facts. There are many well-known roll-ups reshaping the veterinary industry. A few include Mars Inc., who has scooped up some of the largest animal hospital chains under its expansive wings, such as Plus, Banfield, BluePearl, Pet Partners, and most recently, VCA. PetSmart, Petco, and Walmart have each added or are in the process of adding expanded vet services to their stores. Private equity firms such as KKR and Shore Capital Partners have been acquiring clinics as well. All of these corporations play a unique role in the future of vet practices, igniting excitement and concern across the field.
onsolidation of veterinary clinics is a strategic opportunity that many are taking advantage of across the nation. The industry, which has a long history of independent practitioners and veterinarians who opened shop in standalone practices and animal hospitals, is undergoing a transformation, riding the wave into the 21st century of consolidation.
“To me, the number-one advantage of working in a corporate practice is the benefits we can offer our associates, which don’t compare to any private practice I know of,” says Dr. Ashley Harris, director of veterinary quality at Banfield. “That’s everything from health insurance, to paid time off, medical leave and volunteer opportunities, to covering the costs of continued education and licensing — whether for our doctors or our para-professionals.”
Multi-practice operations account for nearly 11 to 13 percent of animal hospitals in the U.S. According to leading market researcher Packaged Facts, consolidation, or roll-ups, are paving the way for veterinary practices.
For many, student debt looms overhead and haunts the path to a successful career. Corporations often provide the leadership skills veterinarians are interested in learning, minus the financial risk of building one’s own team. Large companies are eliminating the doubt (and debt) of newly graduated veterinarians, simultaneously creating a stable future for the profession and increasing the knowledge base by sharing data, tools, and insights with professionals and pet-owners alike.
C
“[Consolidation] is doing good things for veterinarians, and I’ve got no problem with that,” says Donald Powell, DVM and co-founder of Pender Veterinary Centre in Fairfax, Virginia. “We’re currently dealing with a shortage in veterinarians, so some corporations are offering a six-figure starting salary, and help pay off some student loans as well.” In addition to providing an increase in pay, roll-ups in the vet industry also offer comprehensive benefits that smaller, private practices may not have the resources to fund.
Consolidation is also maximizing efficiency throughout the industry by providing consumers with what they want—the convenience of pet health plans, which leads to increased clinic visits and revenue; improved patient care; and a bond between the practice and client. Packaged Facts estimates the market will continue to see an increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), plus investment dynamism
One major concern with consolidation amongst veterinarians is a lack of family culture. Maritza Perez-Bruno, DVM, owns West Orange Animal Hospital, a family-run practice where patients have been going for generations. “People come in here and say they remember when they were a kid,” says Perez-Bruno. “It’s being kept by the same person for over 30 years, people know you in the community and you’re a part of the community.” While consolidation is rapidly increasing across the industry, it is not the end for small practices. Out of the total 26,000 veterinary medical firms in the U.S., only 3,000 are owned by corporations, proving that there is room for both. Introducing them to both sides of the spectrum, veterinary students are the decision-makers for the upcoming trends. “As more of our veterinary graduates find their place in the veterinary profession, they’ll start shaping the pathways themselves,” says Lorin Warnick, DVM, Ph.D., the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine. “And I’m confident the field will be richer and more robust for it.” THE FIRM
The Firm Deal Review | 05
2019
Executive Impact Makayla Kalagias, Broker Liaison written by Amy Goldyn akayla Kalagias joined The Firm a few years ago upon moving to Omaha after working in customer service for a public utility, and in management. Originally from Arkansas (born and bred), Makayla currently lives in Omaha with her husband, young daughter Zoe, three cats, and a dog. At The Firm, Makayla provides information to buyers about businesses they’ve shown interest in and reaches out confidentially to business owners to start their education for planning an exit strategy. She’s often the first point of contact for current and future business owners, helping them schedule introductory phone calls or meeting with them to go over their needs.
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We recently sat down with Makayla to learn more about The Firm and her role in the business. What is your role at The Firm? I prepare business valuations, update our CRM system, communicate with sellers and follow up with both sellers and buyers. I also assist buyers in drafting offers. What can a client expect from the team at The Firm? Teamwork is the main word that comes to mind. We do everything as a team, and we try to play to the strengths of each team member to make the company a successful enterprise. What is your favorite business currently in The Firm’s portfolio? We have an opportunity that includes patented dog brushes. I actually own the product and am a huge fan. The seller stopped advertising, which affected the business negatively, but that would be an easy fix with a good marketing and advertising strategy.
What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned about the business since you started working at The Firm? Never assume that you know everything about anything. Things are constantly changing and growing, so it’s a must to be adaptable and open to the day-to-day changes that come with this business. The Firm has lived by its strong core values. Which core value do you most align with? Grit—we work hard day in and day out. When the going gets tough, we keep pushing forward and do whatever it takes to make the business successful.
What do you love most about your job? I’m constantly learning something new. Just when I think I have something figured out, it changes, or something else comes up that changes my whole perspective. No business opportunity is the same, so no day is the same. Give some insight on the culture at The Firm. Everyone’s opinion matters. In a lot of companies, only the “top dogs” get a seat at the table. At The Firm, we listen and correct, compliment, and challenge each other to be better and to come up with innovative ideas on how to move forward successfully. THE FIRM
06 | The Firm Deal Review
SPRING / SUMMER
Take Our Hand Featured Opportunities for Sale Structural Engineering Firm in Pennsylvania
Omaha Dry Cleaner with Multiple Locations
PRICE $1,383,000 OWNER PROFIT $334,311
PRICE $770,000 OWNER PROFIT $237,485
This company has over 100 diversified
Serving the Omaha area for over 25 years,
customers, and 90% of its business consists
this dry-cleaning business with multiple
of providing design services for commercial
locations is a reliable and trusted staple.
properties, including universities, hospitals,
Providing services for professionals and
hotels and parking structures. The 12-person team includes CAD designers, engineers,
commercial clients alike, this operation completes all cleaning itself within Omaha. This
a senior designer, and support staff working from a 3,200-square-foot office.
gives customers peace of mind knowing their fine items are in dependable, local hands.
Animal Grooming Tools With Patent
Event Rental and Set Up
PRICE $3,190,000 OWNER PROFIT $443,565
PRICE $435,000 OWNER PROFIT $199,199
Developed by an animal specialist, these
This company already has 60-plus events
grooming tools are superior to their
on the calendar for 2019 and bookings into
competition. All products have a utility
2020. They focus on high-end events, with
patent and are made and sourced in the
the average sale ranging from $7000-
USA, with the exception of stainless steel sourced overseas. This item has an overall
$8000. This business creates and executes any request. Employees include a full time
original design as well as an original blade design, which was specially developed.
lead creative consultant, warehouse studio manager, and several part-time workers.
Much headway has been made in research and development, and a design patent has been filed on an exciting new product.
17 Patents on Reusable Drink and Partyware PRICE $332,000 OWNER PROFIT $105,566
Services in Concrete with $10 Million in Assets PRICE $23,900,000 OWNER PROFIT $4,864,016 This business boasts 2018 sales topping $14
The business offers 15 SKUs. This reusable
million and cash flow over $4million. With
partyware business has 17 patents as
over 50 employees, this turnkey operation is
of 2019 and is poised to expand into promotional products. The company is
successful in Texas and surrounding states. The business provides excellent concrete pumping services for a loyal client base, this
based in Phoenix, with growth opportunity to increase licensing opportunities into
company and its affiliates own all equipment and pumping trucks used for projects. This
professional, collegiate, and corporate sectors. Adding further products is opening a
company is grounded in quality customer service, up-front pricing, and open lines of
door for rapid growth and expansion.
communication. Included in the price is over $10 million in assets. The business contains 36 concrete pumps, which puts them at the largest in the nation.
Nashville Landscaping with $3 Million in Secured Work PRICE $1,700,000 OWNER PROFIT $656,917
Fire Suppressant Engineering Established in Kansas City
This commercial landscape company serves
PRICE $1,750,000 OWNER PROFIT $478,151
the Nashville, Tennessee, area. It offers $1.2
Licensed in nine states, this fire protection
million in assets, including all necessary
design firm earns more than $1 million
machinery, tools, and vehicles. Services
per year, and mainly works with sprinkler
include general landscape design, irrigation installation, hardscape, erosion control,
contractors to survey, analyze, and design fire sprinkler systems. The company has
retaining walls, sod, and seeding. With 10 landscaping laborers and three supervisors,
earned a reputation for its specialization in developing schematics for high-hazard
the company hires supplemental subcontractors as needed.
fire sprinkler systems. The team works with a diversified client base and is comprised of four designers, a design lead and a junior engineer. One owner is the only professional engineer on staff and will remain until a suitable replacement is found.
The Firm Deal Review | 07
2019
Best of B2B Thank You, ‘Best of’ Voters written by Amy Goldyn
veryone likes to know when they’ve done something well, and The Firm is excited to have been voted B2B Magazine’s “Best of B2B” in the Business Brokerage category for the ninth straight year. Being the best is about more than winning or accepting an award; it’s about looking at why we’re considered the best, and how we can continuously improve so we’ll remain the best.
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The team at The Firm works with entrepreneurs every day, and we feel an enormous sense of responsibility as we advise and guide them through the process of buying and selling their businesses. We want to help them make the best decisions for their future, and we want them to have the best possible experience with us.
At The Firm, four elements are crucial to our record of excellence: 1. The Right People: Every experienced professional at The Firm genuinely cares about our clients and is committed to delivering the very best service to them. 2. Strong Relationships: We are dedicated to building lasting relationships with our clients, nurturing relationships with a community of active buyers, and maintaining visibility in the community. 3. Experience and Expertise: We know our way around every aspect of buying and selling businesses, so we’re not afraid to seek out and embrace opportunities to improve our own business and the services we offer.
4. Client Focus: We’re client-focused, so we adapt to our clients’ needs. We hold their hands through the buying and selling processes, and we provide everything they need along the way. The Firm’s reputation as the best business brokerage in Omaha really comes down to our team’s focus on our clients and the desire to remain at the top of our industry. If you hire the best people, with the best experience, committed to developing the best relationships, then you’ll build a business focused on delivering excellence in every way. THE FIRM
08 | The Firm Deal Review
SPRING / SUMMER
Durable Medical Equipment A Bolt-On-Able Industry written by Kara Schweiss
urable medical equipment (DME) is generally defined as medical equipment used in the home to aid in a better quality of living, that can be leased or purchased, and is commonly covered by insurance or Medicare benefits. The items can include large fixed pieces like hospital beds and oxygen tents; portable equipment like wheelchairs, nebulizers and CPAP machines; and small items like blood-testing strips and blood glucose monitors. In addition to individual patients, end users can be hospitals, specialty clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, diagnostic centers, home healthcare providers and others. These segments combined create a sustained high demand for DME.
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According to a study released just this spring by Market Study Report, LLC, the global durable medical equipment (DME) market is projected to reach $246.6 billion by 2026. Not only does North America hold the largest share in the global market, the U.S. is the largest contributor to its revenue. According to Select USA (a program led by the U.S. Department of Commerce.), the U.S. is the largest medical device market in the world, representing around 40% of the total market.
We’re likely to retain that position considering factors such as the aging baby boomer population, increase in chronic disease, and the rising trend for patients to receive post-surgical, post-hospitalization and other long-term care in their homes. Improved means of diagnosing diseases has led to larger numbers of patients receiving maintenance care at home or in clinical settings versus acute care via hospitalization. Steady advancements in medical equipment technology, especially contributing to improved diagnostic capabilities, is another factor contributing to the growth of the DME market. The healthy demand for these goods has supported DME market players like Philips Healthcare and Stryker in their growth through bolt-on deals. Philips, for instance, made seven acquisitions in one recent four-month period; the giant of the medical systems and software industry continues to maintain its strategic direction with both organic and external growth. Similarly, Stryker has thrived for years with a dual growth strategy that includes acquisitions. Between 2011 and 2018, the company completed nearly 30 acquisitions in core or adjacent segments. Bolt on growth brings in additional products, expanded capabilities and new staff to a company’s existing core area of business. In the DME sector in particular, the gain of these assets can result in the company being able to provide better, more innovative products and features to consumers in a highly competitive market. Market leaders have also found that bolt on acquisitions can provide the opportunity to explore expanded or related product lines that have already progressed past costly R & D. These small segments may lead to larger ventures if they prove successful, but will not funnel away substantial resources if the glimpse into expansion they provide suggests they are not a good long-term fit.
Another advantage of bolt on growth in the DME market is its global nature; humans everywhere need medical care. Demand for and financial capability to attain higher levels of healthcare is present in all four of the major five regions of the market outside of North America: Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East/ Africa. Studies project the fastest growth in the Asia-Pacific region due to factors like federal and commercial investment in healthcare research, relatively high disease risk and an elevated rate of life-threatening conditions. Japan, China and India in particular have enjoyed recent economic growth, which has improved healthcare for the average citizen and brought healthcare to more citizens, supporting an increased demand for DME goods. And aging trends evident in the U.S. are reflected globally; the World Health Organization projects the number of people 60 and older to nearly double in the next 30 years, meaning a rising proportion of elderly men and women with age-related conditions will require ongoing care. The Market Study Report study indicates an expected CAGR of 6.3% for the global DME market during the forecast period ending in 2026. Companies that expand internationally through bolt on acquisition can potentially introduce American DME products and technology to overseas clients and bring those counterparts in to the U.S. market. The result could potentially be a lucrative mix of in-demand goods, cultivation of revolutionary advancements and robust workforce growth. THE FIRM
The Firm Deal Review | 09
2019
Portfolio—Growth By Bolt-On Acquisition Business Community Excited to Expand written by Daisy Hutzell-Rodman
ave you ever seen a business that seems to have it all—a business in every corner in town? Have you ever talked to the owners of that business only to find out they started small, smaller than you could have imagined?
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There is a new strategy in business buying known as Bolt-On Acquisition. It’s a fabulous opportunity for any entrepreneur to buy a platform business, make it successful, and then they buy bolt-ons for the platform business. The bolt-ons are typically added by a private equity firm to one of its platform companies. A PE firm will often partner with a larger company that has a position in a particular market. This larger company becomes a platform to expand into the market because it has the management capabilities, infrastructure, and systems that allows for organic or acquisition growth. While the idea of adding businesses to a business is not new, the idea of small-scale entrepreneurs being able to do this new. “This is something that private equity groups have been doing for years,” says Cortney Sells, “It used to take money to make money. These were big guys who were piecemealing companies. Now anyone can do this. The lending becomes a lot less intensive.” The platform company will look for bolt-on acquisitions that provide complementary services, technology, or geographic footprint, and can help acquire the means to project the company into fast growth. That means a smaller company that has little financial and administrative infrastructure can sell to a company with those services, benefiting both the core company and the bolt-on company.
The first bolt-on business for a company is the toughest to manage. An entrepreneur who is used to going in to one business every day at 8 a.m. and leaving at 5 p.m. now has to juggle going to two businesses. That entrepreneur has to learn to trust his staff and to let them get business done so growth can happen. That trust and growth becomes easier when an entrepreneur gets to three or more businesses. What also becomes easier is managing the financials and technologies of the companies. “When you can take that type of cost out of 10 businesses, and then you have one marketing person, or one accountant, then you only have one subscription for Quickbooks,” Sells says. “That is when you can see the savings. Now the business owners are getting four and five times the cashflow because of the bolt-on aspect.” Another pro of bolt-on is that it is industry agnostic. It can apply to all industries. What this does take, however, is knowledge of buying and industry, and that is where The Firm comes in. They are becoming experts at bolt-on.
“I spoke at Harvard Business School in November 2017 about this phenomenon,” says Sells. “It’s neat because we are seeing young entrepreneurs between ages 28-34 for whom this is their whole game plan. These entrepreneurs are looking at $500,000 deals and taking them to businesses that make over $2 million in just a few years.” It seems like a familiar concept. One business has a business, and a game plan, and then they create another business in a second location. Isn’t that right? “You often hear about people that are multiple franchisees,” Sells says. “In those cases, a corporation will be doing the marketing and rolling out new product. In this case, the entrepreneur has to develop those marketing and product strategies. This can play into any role because we are talking about everything from construction to medical. You can do this with one portfolio company and expand.” If you are thinking about bolting-on a company to your existing business, or you want to know more about this strategy, contact The Firm. THE FIRM
10 | The Firm Deal Review
SPRING / SUMMER
Turner Safety
Steven Marks of Kairos Companies on Bolt-On Business Acquisitions for Growth written by Tamsen Butler | photography by Paul McKelvey
teven Marks has ample knowledge in acquiring bolt-on businesses for growth, first by studying mergers and acquisitions as a student and then by spending several years in a private equity firm. As the founder of Kairos Companies, his knowledge has evolved into practical experience that taught him more. He says there is one important aspect of successful bolt-on acquisitions for business growth that is commonly overlooked in the flurry of due diligence: the people.
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“A bolt-on strategy should include looking for addon acquisitions in new markets—that means new opportunities.” -Steven Marks
“You have to consider the potential integration risks. There are cultural considerations and the acquisition must be looked at from an employee standpoint.” -Steven Marks
“You have to consider the potential integration risks,” Marks says. “There are cultural considerations and the acquisition must be looked at from an employee standpoint.” Marks gives the example of acquiring two competing companies in which one company pays their employees well but doesn’t provide health insurance, while the other company pays less but provides a generous health insurance benefit. When two companies will be placed under the same umbrella upon acquisition, it won’t take long for employees to realize the disparity. The expectations of employees need to be managed and everyone must be treated fairly, otherwise employees will think negatively of the acquisition.
The Firm Deal Review | 11
2019
Marks solved this problem when he encountered it by providing a health plan to all the employees, which was a solution the employees appreciated and responded to positively. He did so within two months of the acquisition, not wasting any time in demonstrating to employees his dedication in providing equitable benefits. Marks also cautions about the employee transition when acquiring two companies in the same industry, in the same geographic market. “The idea of one day deciding we’re going to switch from competitors to one team can lead to integration issues,” he says. It is important to foster a team culture when merging competing businesses. Every acquisition is a unique situation, Marks says. What works for one merger may not work with another. “Some firms take a one-size-fits-all approach to acquisitions, but that’s wrong,” Marks warns. Kairos Companies is a private equity firm exclusive to family-owned businesses, making it all the more important to consider the experience of employees in the transition period. There can be a great deal of emotion involved with local, family-owned businesses. “From an investor standpoint, it’s easy to get excited about an add-on, but you have to make sure all the employees are excited about it too.” One of the benefits of a bolt-on acquisition is the existing staff is already in place, reducing the likelihood of needing to go out and recruit new talent. A staff in place that supports the merger can prove invaluable in an acquisition and make everything run much smoother than it would otherwise. Service companies, in particular, are people-dependent, Marks advises. “It’s important to spend a lot of time with the employees ahead of time. Make sure everyone is excited about the acquisition. Ask them what makes the company a special place to work. If the employees aren’t on board—especially with a family business—it can get complicated.”
For this reason, bolt-on businesses can be a risk, says Marks. When instead starting a business from the ground up, “It’s organic growth you can control,” he says. “But with a bolt-on business, you can step in and continue to grow.” Timing can be an important factor to consider and can sometimes get overlooked by investors excited to acquire new businesses. “Timing can be complicated,” he says. “The seller’s timing will not always align with what’s best for the business. Timing may never work out perfectly.” If a too-good-to-be-true opportunity arises it may be that it is, in fact, too good to be true—or at least not in the buyer’s best interests to pursue. “What worked in one business applied to another business can become a costly mistake,” Marks says. “An add-on done wrong can ruin the whole company.” Due diligence that includes ample time with employees can help substantially decrease risk. There is so much more to a business than what the numbers reveal in due diligence. “An Excel spreadsheet can look attractive to investors, but it ignores the components of people and culture,” Marks says. Resist the urge to acquire bolt-ons rapidly, Marks advises. “It’s a mistake to think that bigger is necessarily better,” he says. Growth will come if things are done right, as is evident by the growth experienced by the platform businesses acquired by Kairos Companies. “Our headcount increased by 33 percent. We’ve added people and services—we keep investing back into the business.” Marks considers what businesses might help round out his existing businesses. “A bolt-on strategy should include looking for add-on acquisitions in new markets—that means new opportunities.” His acquisition of Turner Safety (a company offering safety training OSHA training in California) in November 2018 followed by Daily Saw Service (a company providing cutting tool sharpening services, sales, and manufacturing) in March 2019 were well thought out and included substantial time spent with existing employees.
Turner Safety now falls under the umbrella of Hawkeye Safety, a Kairos Company. Hawkeye Safety offers occupational safety training and solutions for construction and general industry clients. The acquisition of Turner Safety not only bolstered the capabilities and credibility of Hawkeye Safety, but also reduced direct competitors in the region. “Once you have studied an industry and know it well, it can be beneficial to go deeper into that industry,” Marks says. In the instance of Turner Safety, he found ways to grow within that industry. “We identified an attractive aspect of the safety market is staffing.” Expanding the services of a bolt-on business can help reveal the navigation necessary to go even deeper into the market. Bolt-on acquisition is “a proven business model,” Marks says. “Instead of starting from scratch and finding new employees and clients, you can hit the ground running.” When the acquisition follows significant research and a deep understanding of the employees and the culture within the workplace, it can be a good way to grow fairly quickly. “It’s a way to acquire your way into a market,” Marks says. He anticipates more acquisitions in the future and the ability to offer enhanced services at existing businesses he holds. Backed by enthusiastic employees and a solid grasp of successful acquisitions, Marks will continue to seek out new opportunities to “round out” his company. THE FIRM
12 | The Firm Deal Review
SPRING / SUMMER
Dogtopia
Steven Torres’ Four-Legged Growth written by Tamsen Butler
“We’ve talked to our clients, and what they want is a connection to the managers and people who take care of the dogs. Pet parents want an emotional connection and they want employees to be excited and motivated.” -Steven Torres
The Firm Deal Review | 13
2019
“There will always be something that you need to change, and you should aim to increase the services offered by the business,” he says. Luckily, the new standards Torres presented to existing employees was in line with what people in the dog care industry already strive to deliver to customers. “Our job is to enhance the experience of pet parenthood by providing a safe, healthy environment for the pets,” Torres says.
teven Torres wanted to find a way to combine his business savvy with the joy he feels in pet parenthood. “I thought to myself, ‘how can I marry my passion for great businesses with my passion for pets?’” For Torres, that meant acquiring business falling within the realm of dog care spaces.
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Dogtopia was a good fit for Torres, who now owns three Dogtopia locations—one in Woodbridge, Virginia, one in Wilmington, Delaware, and one in Raleigh, N.C. A fourth dog care location was acquired in Tampa, Florida, and will be converted to a Dogtopia location. Three of these locations were acquired with help from The Firm. Dogtopia has high standards for dog care, which must be adopted by employees from acquired dog care spaces previously owned by someone else. “It can be a cultural shift for the employees to adopt the Dogtopia standards,” Torres says. “Any acquisition will require you to shift the way they did things and how you now want them done.”
Though getting employees on board with a new way of doing things can prove challenging in any acquisition, Torres says he has the advantage of being in an industry where employees are usually passionate about their work. People come to work for dog care businesses because they love dogs and want to be around them. This helps with the transition to new ownership, especially when changes that are made are to the benefit of the pets. “It’s starts with the first conversation,” Torres explains. “You have to communicate a consistent message to get that buy-in quickly.” An employee agreement that explains new standards and business operations will make the acquisition easier for everyone involved. His advice to people considering acquiring any business is this: “Make sure you take the time to focus on culture and the people doing due diligence. Some people get too caught up on financials. Make sure any business you acquire aligns with the mission of your business.” “Our mission is to enhance the joy of pet parenthood. It’s a purpose-driven business. It requires a lot of work and passion.” Torres adds that this passion was in “strong alignment” with what he and his business partner want to do. Together, they’re now the largest franchisee under the Dogtopia brand in the United States. The Dogtopia brand is a leading dog care provider within the United States, with nearly 100 locations nationwide. Locations typically offer dog daycare, boarding services, grooming, and some merchandise. The company expects to have 400 Dogtopia locations by 2021. Torres bought the rights to 12 Dogtopias in Florida in addition to the other locations he already owns.
“We’ve talked to our clients, and what they want is a connection to the managers and people who take care of the dogs,” Torres says. “Pet parents want an emotional connection and they want employees to be excited and motivated.” Simply put, pet parents want to feel as though they’re leaving their dogs with people who will care for them in a safe, loving way. As a result, he strove to get employees on board with the new mission to keep people in place who the pet parents already knew and trusted. Torres says there are distinct advantages to acquiring existing business as opposed to starting from scratch with a new business. “The advantage to a bolt-on business is you get cash flow on day one,” he says. “Economically, it makes sense. It puts you in a position where you’re not in the negative.” Torres cautions that not every bolt-on business opportunity will be the right fit. “The key is to assess properly. There will be quite a few acquisition opportunities that aren’t good fits.” For this reason, investors and buyers shouldn’t scramble to acquire as many businesses in an attempt to grow. The businesses they acquire should align with their overall mission. Torres expects to acquire more Dogtopia locations in the future, but also expects the dog care industry to grow rapidly. “This industry has a lot of momentum. There is a lot of opportunity to grow by deploying good business tactics.” The pet care industry is indeed experiencing rapid growth, with pet ownership increasing in the United States, particularly among millennials. Torres welcomes the growth and has no fear of competition from newcomers to the industry. “I expect it will be a very competitive environment in the future, but I think that’s good.” THE FIRM
14 | The Firm Deal Review
SPRING / SUMMER
Language/Translation
Market Disruption Drives Business Consolidation in Language Services written by Amy Goldyn
everal years ago, businesses began embracing an idea that traditionally signaled a problem or nuisance: disruption. Specifically, market or industry disruption. Depending on which side of the disruption companies are on—causing it or watching their competitors cause it—disruption either helps CEOs sleep peacefully at night or it haunts their nightmares.
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The desire to become an industry disruptor is often a catalyst for business consolidation. If a company can add strategic customers or partners, new regions, or cutting-edge products to their portfolios, then it has the opportunity to gain market share, expand brand awareness, and diversify its business.
Yet the language services industry remains fragmented and continues to evolve. The result of its evolution will inevitably affect the services that enable companies to operate internationally. The Firm has seen businesses in nearly every industry seek out consolidation in nearly every industry. One industry in particular stands out in our portfolio, though: language services. Since March 2017, we’ve helped four language services businesses transition to new owners, and we currently have two such companies in our portfolio. And, in most cases, we’ve seen market disruption driving business consolidation in the language services industry.
The Firm Deal Review | 15
2019
Business Consolidation in Today’s Economy
What Can Your Business Gain From Consolidation?
Globalization in business has driven the need for language services, such as translation, interpretation, and localization. Worldwide, language services is a $46.5 billion industry, but, even after two decades of steady consolidation, the industry remains fragmented.
Is consolidation right for your company? Chief Executive magazine’s June 2018 survey also revealed the following drivers for CEOs considering business consolidation:
Businesses have consolidated for hundreds of years, and the ebb and flow of consolidation follows economic booms and busts. A significant number of the world’s largest companies grew through mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures (MA&Ds). We’ve seen consolidation in every industry, from financial institutions and transportation companies to hospitals and tech companies. In the language services industry, we typically see the following drivers for consolidation: • Improvement of market efficiency • Acquirement or development of better technology
•
Strengthening the brand’s position in the marketplace
•
dding new or strategic clients to the comA pany’s portfolio
1. Acquirement of new products, services, or capabilities
•
ttracting new partnerships with industry A suppliers and vendors
2. Expansion of the company’s footprint by entering new markets or industries
•
cquiring industry knowledge and busiA ness intelligence
•
G aining access to new technologies
•
apping into a new talent pool and attract T new skilled talent
•
Reducing competition
•
Stimulating organic growth
•
aking advantage of high stock prices and T low interest rates
•
I mproving operating efficiency and reduce costs (synergy)
3. Creation of new business models When consolidation works, companies can expand their reach and leverage existing customer bases to grow new business. If a language services or other type of company acquires or merges with a smaller competitor, the resulting entity can eliminate a competitor, inherit the competitor’s portfolio of clients and industry partners, and diversify its offerings.
• Extension of global footprint
A caveat to consolidation, however, is that business owners must consider differences between their corporate culture and that of the companies they acquire. A dramatic difference in corporate cultures can make consolidation more complex.
Yet the language services industry remains fragmented and continues to evolve. The result of its evolution will inevitably affect the services that enable companies to operate internationally.
Still, the advantages of consolidation are compelling, and businesses in every industry are using it to disrupt and dominate their markets in three strategic ways:
Since 2015, we’ve seen the merger and acquisition of many smaller companies into a few much larger ones, and this has been true in the language services industry. Furthermore, the market is primed for business consolidation to continue throughout 2019. In fact, according to a June 2018 survey conducted by Chief Executive magazine and Tata Consultancy Services, 72 percent of U.S.-based CEOs said they were considering MA&D within the next three years.
1. Consolidated business can obtain lower interest rates if the consolidated entity is more stable and profitable with additional assets.
• Expansion of service offerings
Last year, U.S. companies took 44 percent of the total MA&D deal dollar value. According to Dealogic, which provides data to the financial industry, nine of the $10 billion-plus deals announced last year involved U.S. companies, and the United Kingdom and China won their strongest share of the deal market since 2008.
The following are secondary reasons for businesses to embrace consolidation:
2. L arger businesses can buy more units from suppliers, so they can negotiate better costs and terms. 3. Business consolidation can increase market share, expand the product lineup, extend geographical reach. All of these results work together to create new revenue streams.
As the demand for language services increases year over year, The Firm expects buyer needs to drive further consolidation. And as industry technology improves and becomes faster and more efficient, it will have enormous bearing on which companies come out on top to dominate the market. THE FIRM
402.998.5288 www.TheFirmBusinessBrokerage.com
Experience you can count on. 128 current opportunities $325 million in assests under management 121 days - average time on market 246 closed deals Voted Top Brokerage by the Broker’s Association 21 industries represented
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GET A $200 COX BUSINESS VISA® PREPAID CARD AFTER ONLINE REDEMPTION.† Mention “reward promo” to qualify.
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FLEXIBLE VOICE SOLUTIONS
24/7 BUSINESS-CLASS SUPPORT
84
$
/mo*
for 6 months with a 3-year agreement
50 Mbps Internet One Voice Line Unlimited Nationwide Calling
Call (402) 934–3223 or visit coxbusiness.com
*Offer ends 8/31/19. Available to new commercial data and voice subscribers (excluding govt agencies and schools) in Cox service areas. $84.00/mo includes VoiceManagerSM Essential with unltd nationwide long distance and Cox Business InternetSM 50 for mos. 1-6 and $99.00 for mos. 7-36. Price based on 3 yr. contract. Early term. fees may apply. Std. rates apply thereafter. Price exclude equipment, installation, construction, inside wiring, taxes, surcharges and other fees, unless indicated. Offer is nontransferable to a new service address. Uninterrupted or error-free Internet service, or the speed of your service, is not guaranteed. Actual speeds vary. Rates and bandwidth options vary and are subject to change. DOCSIS 3.0 modem may be req’d, unless indicated. See www.cox.com/internetdisclosures for complete Cox Internet Disclosures. Unlimited plan is limited to direct-dialed domestic calls and is not available for use with non-switched-circuit calling, auto-dialers, call center applications and certain switching applications. Phone modem provided by Cox, requires electricity, and has battery backup. Access to E911 may not be available during extended power outage or if modem is moved or inoperable. Telephone services are provided by an affiliated Cox entity. Services are not available in all areas. Discounts can’t be combined or added with other promotions nor applied to any other Cox account. †Visa prepaid card available with qualifying new services ordered and activated between 5/1/19 and 8/31/19 with min. 3 yr. contract. Must mention “reward promo” when placing order. Account must remain active, be in good standing, and retain all services for a min. of 30 days after install. Online redemption req’d by 9/30/19 and must follow instructions rec’d after service activation. Limit one card per customer, total not to exceed $200. Allow 15 days after redemption for delivery. Card is issued by MetaBank,® Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. No cash access or recurring payments. Can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Card valid for up to 6 months; unused funds will forfeit after the valid thru date. Card terms and conditions apply. Other restrictions apply. © 2019 Cox Communications Inc. All rights reserved.