2012 Columbia Profiles in Business

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midlandstech.edu

Midlands Technical College matches educational opportunities to workforce

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idlands Technical College works to prepare students for the workforce, both now and in the years to come. “Our responsibility is to provide lifelong learning opportunities,” says Sonny White, president of the college.

Midlands Technical College has six campus locations throughout the Midlands and a teaching center on Fort Jackson. The college focuses on serving Richland, Lexington and Fairfield counties. MTC enrolls approximately 18,000 students annually who are seeking to develop career skills or transfer to a four-year institution. The college offers more than 100 degree, diploma and certificate programs.

A strong college transfer program allows students to take the first two years of a baccalaureate degree and transfer to many of the state’s four-year institutions. Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, MTC is the largest source of transfer students to the University of South Carolina.

The Corporate and Continuing Education Division provides training opportunities to more than 30,000 individuals annually, and is one of the largest providers of noncredit professional upgrade training of any two-year college in the state.

“Midlands Technical College works to be a solution provider for both companies and students,” White says. “By working closely with the companies who will employ the students, MTC determines what specific skills students need and with what equipment they need to be proficient.”

In South Carolina, 45 percent of available jobs are middle-skill jobs that require training past high school, but less than a four-year degree. The college has identified four major clusters or fields with such jobs: health sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing and alternative energy.

But above all, Midlands Technical College focuses on customer service. “We take students of all ages through the teaching and learning process.

And the output is a skilled student who can go to work for many different companies or transfer to four-year institutions,” White says.

Midlands Technical College is taking an innovative approach to merging the public and private sector to help develop new skills for students and new businesses. The college’s 150-acre Enterprise Campus hosts start-up businesses. The businesses get the technical support they need to grow, and students have a chance to work with new businesses and see how they develop.

The college is also nearing completion of an Engineering Technology and Sciences wing of the MTC Center of Excellence for Technology on its Northeast Campus. This facility will allow the college to provide workers for the expansion of the energy sector, especially nuclear development, as well as other related technology jobs in the state.

“We have identified more than 20,000 jobs over the next five years in just the three counties the college services,” says White. “We have to get people with the education and the skills to fill these jobs.”

Pictured Above: Dr. Marshall (Sonny) White, Jr., president of Midlands Technical College, pictured at the Northeast Campus.

Future Vision: Midlands Technical College is an innovative leader that creates effective learning environments, enhances individual success, promotes economic vitality and provides opportunities for lifelong education.

P.O. Box 2408 Columbia, SC 29202 803-738-8324 www.midlandstech.edu

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Featured Profiles Advanced Automation Consulting................................................ 23 Advanced Fertility & Reproductive Endocrinology Institute......... 27 American Engineering Consultants, Inc......................................... 7 Ard’s Container Service, LLC........................................................ 10 Columbia Metropolitan Airport..................................................... 11 Comfort Services......................................................................... 21 EdVenture Children’s Museum..................................................... 28 ERA Wilder Realty, Inc.................................................................. 25 Haynes Business Services Inc..................................................... 22 Hospice Care of South Carolina..................................................... 8 Lorick Office Products................................................................. 30 McKay, Cauthern, Settana & Stubley, PA...................................... 12 Midlands Technical College........................................................... 3 Modern Turf................................................................................. 20 Pollock Company........................................................................... 6 RV Soft Inc................................................................................... 29 Sonoco Recycling........................................................................ 13 Splash Omnimedia...................................................................... 19 Thompson Funeral Home............................................................. 15 Wells Fargo.................................................................................. 16 Xenex Merchant Services............................................................ 14

Front Cover Photo and Table of Contents Photos by Jeff Blake

President and Group Publisher - Grady Johnson gjohnson@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3103

A Note From the Publisher

Vice President of Sales - Steve Fields sfields@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3110

We are proud to present to you our second annual issue of the Columbia Regional Business Report’s Profiles in Business. One of the things I’ve noticed as I travel around the Midlands is its diversity of businesses, from manufacturing to technology firms to health care and so many more in between. All of these organizations are loaded with talented people.

Accounting Department - Vickie Deadmon vdeadmon@scbiznews.com • 864.235.5677 Publisher - Bob Bouyea bbouyea@scbiznews.com • 803.401.1094, ext. 200 Editor - James T. Hammond jhammond@scbiznews.com • 803.401.1094, ext. 201 Senior Copy Editor - Beverly Barfield bbarfield@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3115 Special Projects Editor - Licia Jackson ljackson@scbiznews.com • 803.401.1094, ext. 206 Creative Director - Ryan Wilcox production1@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3117 Senior Graphic Designer - Jane Mattingly production2@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3118

Bob Bouyea

Graphic Designer - Jean Piot production3@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3145 Account Executive - Stacie Taylor staylor@scbiznews.com • 803.401.1094, ext. 207 Account Executive - Alan James ajames@scbiznews.com • 803.401.1094, ext 203 Circulation and Event Manager - Kathy Allen kallen@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3113 Circulation, Event and Business Coordinator Kim McManus kmcmanus@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3116 Contributing Writers - Mary Jane Benston, Christine S. Carroll, Lydia Dishman, Sarah Robbins, Licia Jackson Contributing Photographers - Jeff Blake, Thomas Hammond

SC Business Publications LLC A portfolio company of Virginia Capital Partners LLC Frederick L. Russell Jr., Chairman

Going about our daily routines, we find it easy to let the things that make the Midlands unique fade into the background. We forget about all the expertise that is at our fingertips.

We created Profiles in Business as a vehicle for companies to offer our readers a small sample of the knowledge they possess and the work they do. The narrative format of Profiles in Business allows these advertisers to share with you what they do day in and day out — things that are sometimes too complex for the usual display advertising format. In addition, we feel the information provided in these pages delivers value to you as you search for information that can help you make wise decisions for your business and personal life.

Turn the page to start learning more about your community’s businesses.

South Carolina’s Media Engine for Economic Growth

We hope you enjoy it!

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The entire contents of this publication are copyright by SC Business Publications LLC with all rights reserved.

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Pollock Company: Local customer service makes all the difference Pictured Above: Pollock Company in action.

Pictured Below: R. Joseph Pollock, Owner

Quote: “We’re accountable and we’re right here and we’re part of the community.”

– Joe Pollock, president 112 Corporate Boulevard West Columbia, SC 29169 803-233-0900 1711 Central Avenue Augusta, GA 30904 706-733-0537 www.pollockcompany.com

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ocal accountability is a guiding principle at the Pollock Company, and it’s turning out to be very good for business.

The independently owned and operated firm, which provides equipment and services for offices, is thriving because of its customer service, says Joe Pollock, president. In his industry, corporate-level customer service has virtually gone away, and that trend has been extremely good for his company because “we’re accountable and we’re right here and we’re part of the community.”

“If a customer of ours has a problem it gets corrected right here. They talk to a person; they don’t talk to a recording. We know who our customers are; we care who they are.” While that type of service is disappearing, Pollock says, “I think it’s more important than ever, and I think it’s showing up in the volume of business that we’re doing.” The company has closed out the best year in its 47-year history, and Pollock finds that remarkable when “doom and gloom” mark many business stories.

Joe Pollock’s father, E.B. Pollock II, incorporated the company in Augusta in 1965. In 2001, the Columbia operation began. The Pollock Company is well recognized within the industry and continues to receive many industry awards.

“We basically started life as a typewriter/calculator company and evolved into a copier company,” Joe Pollock says. “Now the copier and printing technologies have merged. Some people still refer to them as copiers. They’re a lot more than that

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now.” In addition to offering service and equipment for copying and printing, the company provides software for those products.

“The main strength is in our people. We have quite a few very experienced people, as well as excellent products, but even better customer service.

We have a tremendous number of long-term customers because of that level of customer service.”

Customers range from one-person law firms to large government operations. “We have customers that have one device and customers that have hundreds.”

The company is very community-minded and involved with nonprofit organizations — well over 100 in the Columbia and Augusta markets last year.

Typically, the company contributes to the groups’ fundraisers. Many of them are customers as well.

Pollock Company has 68 employees, including marketing people, service technicians, administrative and billing staffers, and dispatchers. Applications specialists work with marketing to help customers analyze work flow and document flow.

“We come in and take a look and see how you’re doing, what you’re doing and why, and what steps we can take either through equipment or software to improve that process.” Many employees have been with the company 20 years or more.

A brand new employee is Ed Pollock, Joe Pollock’s son and a recent college graduate. Another son, Mark, has been with the company for 16 years, so the third generation is firmly in place.

American Engineering Consultants, Inc.:

Unique experience sets them apart

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rowing up, Bill and Kenny Bingham worked at various construction sites for their family’s company. Today, as professional engineers, they find their experience in building gives them an advantage over the competition.

“Our family owned a construction company, Hercules Contractors and Engineers, Inc., which provided us the opportunity to work and learn the business. We assisted in building municipal facilities for a number of years, which sets us apart as design engineers. We know the pitfalls of the construction side, and how to design around it. Our experience is quite unique in this business,” says Bill Bingham.

The brothers worked to “build the facilities that we now design. We understand it inside out, not just on paper. We’ve actually done the work ourselves. There’s no job on a construction site that we have not done with our own hands.”

American Engineering Consultants, Inc. was spun off from the family’s construction company in 1994. Bill Bingham is president of the firm, and Kenny Bingham, vice president. The company has 21 employees, an extensive client list, and numerous design awards. As engineers for the city of Cayce’s water treatment plant, the firm won the state’s top engineering design award for a single project.

The firm offers all types of civil and environmental engineering services. Municipal services include the design of water treatment facilities,

wastewater treatment facilities, waterlines, wastewater lines, and wastewater pump stations. Private services include site development, industrial development, subdivision planning, landfill design, master planning, construction management, and full service surveying.

Recently American Engineering, Inc. designed the city of Cayce’s new 25-million-gallon-a-day wastewater treatment facility. It is a $65 million plant currently under construction. American Engineering Consultants, Inc. also does work locally for the city of West Columbia, the town of Lexington, Lexington County’s Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission, the city of Columbia, Richland County utilities, and countless others across South Carolina.

Lifelong residents of Cayce, Bill and Kenny Bingham are dedicated to serving their community outside of the engineering business as well. Bill Bingham is chairman of the school board in Lexington County District Two, and Kenny Bingham is a legislator, serving as majority leader in the S.C. House of Representatives.

“Obviously we have a lot of pride in our community, and choose to live here and assist in making the Midlands a better place to be,” says Bill Bingham. “We’re always interested in economic development for the area. We think it’s a great place to live. I think there’s a lot of interest in South Carolina in general, and the Midlands is very attractive.”

Pictured Above: American Engineering owners and brothers Bill Bingham, left, and Kenny Bingham.

Quote: “Obviously we have a lot of pride in our community, and choose to live here and assist in making the Midlands a better place to be,.”

– Bill Bingham

P.O. Box 2299 Cayce, SC 29171 1300 12th Street Cayce, SC 29033 803-791-1400 www.aec-sc.com

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Hospice Care of South Carolina offers hope, compassionate care in critical times

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Dawn-Michele Teachey, CEO

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t’s not something easy to talk about, but hospice care can make all the difference in the world to a loved one living with an advanced illness. And it’s Hospice Care of South Carolina’s mission to make that difference, says CEO Dawn-Michele Teachey. “We want to empower you or your loved one to live more fully, more completely and more in control,” Teachey says, by allowing patients with a life-limiting illness and their families to remain together and receive comprehensive care in the comfort and dignity of their homes.

Hospice Care of South Carolina was founded in 1997 to meet local community needs in un-

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derserved areas and in nursing homes where it used to be difficult to receive care. Now, the organization serves all 46 counties in the state, with 35 offices and a staff of 400 qualified caregivers.

Hospice Care of South Carolina employs over a third of the state’s nationally board certified hospice and palliative nurses.

Teachey says this allows the organization to go beyond the four levels of service hospices provide including routine, general, respite and continuous home care to ensure families receive more than the minimum standard. “We are the leading continuous home care provider in the state,” says Teachey, and the only one with faculty trained

to teach a nationally accredited course from the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) in all areas (CORE, Critical Care, Geriatric, Veterans and Pediatrics) and the only one with a board certified pediatric nurse. Such localized service also ensures that patients’ unique regional and cultural differences are recognized and treated with respect and understanding, says Teachey.

Not only is Hospice Care of South Carolina’s staff specially trained in pain control and symptom management to stabilize the patient and give them comfort, but their resource teams are always on call to help. For family members caring for a loved one with a life-limiting illness, says Teachey, this can provide an added sense of relief. “We understand that they are not calling just to check in,” she says, and as such the organization works hard to provide a quick response time. “In most cases we can get to a patient’s home in less than 30 minutes,” she says, “because we know you can’t wait an hour or two for someone to come help.”

Responsiveness and quality care from certified providers goes a long way towards offering hope during an emotional time. But Hospice Care of South Carolina also focuses on giving patients and their families control over their care by providing choices and supporting their decisions. Additionally, Hospice Care of South Carolina also offers respite options that allow family

members to take a break from constant care as well as counsel to facilitate understanding of the effects of their loved one’s illness. It’s a holistic approach that makes quality of life top priority for the patient, as well as for family members and caregivers.

Teachey points out the Hospice Care of South Carolina’s membership in the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) raises the bar on service and regulatory compliance.

It also gives the organization a voice at the state and federal level. “Our leadership is involved in national committees that help increase quality across the industry,” she says. “Our focus forward is to support palliative care on an out-patient basis and making palliative care available to all adults and children across the state of South Carolina.”

The continued focus on service has earned Hospice Care of South Carolina a number of awards including the MLK Humanitarian Award, Employer Of The Year from the National Certification Board for Hospice and Palliative Nurses (NCBHPN), and recognition for staff member Diane Parker as the ELNEC Trainer of the Year for 2012.

“For more than a decade we’ve been changing the way people think about hospice care by focusing on what the end of life can be,” says Teachey, “Hospice is about bringing families together and giving them hope.”

Mission: Hospice Care of South Carolina was founded in 1997 to meet the local community needs in underserved areas. Now, the organization serves all 46 counties in the state, with 35 offices and a staff of 400 qualified caregivers.

110 Dillon Drive Spartanburg, SC 29307 864-542-2100 www.hospicecare.net

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Ard’s Container Service: Serving businesses and the community Pictured Above: Ard’s Container Service owner Stephen Ard.

Mission: Ard’s Container Service offers a personal touch anytime, day or night. “Somebody is going to pick up the phone live and talk to you.”

P.O. Box 7823 Columbia, SC 29202 803-933-9336 www.ardscontainer.com

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tephen Ard likes to keep things local and keep things simple.

Specifically, when Ard is looking for tires and other supplies for his waste services business, he wants to “keep the local dollar here.” And when he’s dealing with customers, he uses a simple billing structure with no surprise surcharges. “If I give you a price, there it is.”

The fact that Ard’s Container Service LLC is locally owned and operated is a point of pride for Stephen Ard, a Columbia native whose family has been in the solid waste services business for more than 50 years. He began his container service five years ago in a business incubator program offered by the University of South Carolina and the city of Columbia.

Today the company operates in a dozen counties, working out of Columbia, Sumter, Orangeburg and Florence. Its services include roll-off waste containers, the kind typically seen at construction sites; front-end containers, like the ones seen at apartment complexes, restaurants and other businesses; and trash pickup at special events, such as festivals and baseball games. The service can also handle hazardous waste and recyclables — “anything to do with solid waste service.”

Ard says customers appreciate the local touch, including the ability to reach a representative 24 hours a day. “Somebody is going to pick up the phone live and talk to you.”

Customers also appreciate Ard’s commitment

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to “direct pricing” in an era of added fees and surcharges. “A lot of people don’t like it when they open up the mail and they don’t know what the bill is going to be. With me it’s the same bill every month, like clockwork.” Ard says his company’s billing practice has caused others to “change their ways.”

Ard’s combination of price and service, he says, offers the best value in waste services.

“Can they call somebody and get a better price?

Yes,” Ard says. “Can they call somebody and get a better price and the same service? No.” Ard says that while national companies tend to buy gasoline, tires, parts or other supplies for their businesses wherever they can find the best price, he looks for a local supplier first. “Keep the money local. Keep it turning right around in our little community.”

Ard’s Container Service’s commitment to community also benefits local charities. The company provides containers and service at fundraising walks and competitions, even hauling away, free of charge, items that don’t sell at a big charity garage sale.

Stephen Ard has a high opinion of the incubator that helped him establish his company in 2007. The program gives startups what they need: an office, a computer, a telephone, advice. When a company is firmly established, then it’s time to “step out and let somebody else step in.” A Midlands Tech graduate, Ard says his success in the program “shows that if you work hard you can get anywhere.”

Columbia Metropolitan Airport focuses on ease of travel, excellent service

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he Columbia Metropolitan Airport makes it easy to get where you need to go.

As the Midlands’ primary commercial airport, flying out of Columbia means saving yourself the drive to Charlotte or elsewhere.

“We are a small hub regional airport that primarily serves business travelers,” says Dan Mann, executive director. “We also have a large number of leisure travelers from our community who enjoy our airport and like to take advantage of the fact that we are local, close to home and easy to travel through.”

Additionally, the Columbia Metropolitan Airport serves as a transportation hub for cargo carriers, such as UPS and FedEx. The airport was first established in the early 1940s as a landing area for aviation pioneers. Then airline services continued to develop because Columbia had been identified in early postal airmail routes as a location for airlines holding contracts with the Post Office Department and Commerce Department.

Though the Columbia Metropolitan Airport has humble beginnings, it has grown to serve the Columbia area well. It has four airline service providers who offer 10 non-stop destinations with 36 departures a day.

Convenient parking and friendly TSA agents who work to make it fast and easy to get through security lines are other benefits of flying out of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

“We pride ourselves on having a beautiful facility that offers excellent service,” Mann says.

While the airport sends people out of Columbia, it brings money in. The total economic impact exceeds $400 million. With internal and external projects, airport staff and tenant staff, the airport provides over 6,500 jobs and generates a payroll exceeding $165 million.

The Columbia Metropolitan Airport is working continuously to minimize expenses and raise revenue.

“In just the past two years we have been able to bring down the cost per passenger from over 12 dollars to under nine,” says Mann. “Additionally, our partners, Delta Airlines in particular, have been aggressive in developing a comprehensive pricing strategy that has appealed to both our businesses and leisure travelers.”

As the airport makes plans for the future, it will remain competitive as a small hub airport. “We want to keep our local base engaged and involved in what’s happening at their hometown airport,” Mann says.

In order to best serve the local population, the Columbia Metropolitan Airport will have an additional Delta flight to LaGuardia Airport and a new direct flight to Newark from United. More construction projects are in store to keep improving the facility.

Ultimately, the goal is to keep costs low for tenants, which will lend itself to better pricing for travelers from Columbia.

The Columbia Metropolitan Airport provides all of the conveniences of flying out of your own town without sacrificing great service and great fares.

Pictured Above: Dan Mann, Columbia Metropolitan Airport’s Executive Director.

Mission: Our mission is to maximize the travel and business opportunities of Central South Carolina by fostering quality, competitive air services and facilities in an attractive, secure and comfortable environment; by managing its activities in a socially responsible, cost-effective manner; and by promoting economic development.

3253 Airport Boulevard West Columbia, SC 29170 803-822-5000 www.columbiaairport.com

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McKay, Cauthen, Settana & Stubley Adding New Client Services Enhances Century-Old Law Firm Pictured Above: From left, Ashley Smith Hunter, Jay McKay, and Kelli Sullivan.

Key Assets: • Nationally Recognized and AV-Rated • Served South Carolina Businesses Since 1908 • Defense-Oriented Civil Litigation Law Firm • New Services: Mediation, Procurement, Government Affairs Consulting, Public Relations

1303 Blanding Street Columbia, SC 29201 803-256-4645 www.mckayfirm.com

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he law firm of McKay, Cauthen, Settana & Stubley has been providing Midlands businesses with top-tier legal services for over 100 years.

“We provide legal advice that is both effective and efficient,” says Julius “Jay” McKay II, the managing partner and grandson of the firm’s founder.

The attorneys at The McKay Firm draw on their many years of experience, but continue to pursue novel ways to better serve the businesses and the clients they represent. In the past two years, this has included adding a full-time public affairs consultant as well as mediation services to the firm.

“We are able to provide an overall strategy that meets our client’s current needs. And we are able to give them guidance that will assist them in achieving long-term stability and success,” says McKay. Ashley Hunter, Director of Public Affairs, serves as the information liaison between The McKay Firm clients, members of the media and the various branches of government. As a lobbyist, Hunter watches for policy changes and maintains close relationships with policy-makers.

The firms’ partners know that being on the forefront of effective policy-making is vital to attorneys and to the businesses they represent. Hunter says the firm’s ability to provide exceptional core legal services and their modern approach to offering new services sets The McKay Firm apart.

The McKay Morning News Blast, a compilation of news briefs, op-ed pieces, blogs and tweets, helps

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to keep clients informed in their field. Additionally, the firm’s procurement newsletter provides information about local grants, potential state business and national funding available for special projects.

Hunter also uses social media to provide clients with up-to-the minute reports.

“I help provide a glimpse of the changing landscape in South Carolina politics and how it plays into the bigger picture,” Hunter says. “We want to help people make better decisions for their companies.”

In keeping with its mission to provide comprehensive services, The McKay Firm recently added a new legal component to their model. Attorney and certified mediator Kelli Sullivan says “bringing parties together for amicable resolution of conflicts allows our clients to operate more efficiently.”

Sullivan has diverse experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants and has also worked as in-house counsel for one of the nation’s largest insurance companies. “I can really put myself in the shoes of each party,” Sullivan says. Mediation provides for a speedy resolution, fewer fees and gives all parties a forum to work together and decide the best outcome for their particular dispute.

“Our staff is part of a younger, more innovative generation,” says McKay. “Today, you have to provide information at a much faster pace.” McKay said that if his grandfather were alive he would be proud of the firm’s forward-thinking manner while maintaining their traditional business model of providing effective and affordable legal counseling.

Sonoco Recycling can meet any customer’s recycling needs

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onoco Recycling does a lot more than collect a blue bin full of paper and plastic once a week.

The recycling company is changing what it means to keep waste out of the landfill.

“We offer a broad spectrum of recycling,” says Steve Hall, plant manager. “Not only for residential, but also for commercial and industrial.”

While Sonoco Recycling handles the residential recycling for almost two thirds of South Carolina, the Company also wants to make it easy for businesses to recycle. The Company will pick up single-stream material, including office paper, aluminum cans, drink bottles and other containers for recycling from your office site. Sonoco Recycling offers cardboard collection services as well.

Additionally, Sonoco Recycling offers an onsite shredding service to ensure that all of your documents are disposed of properly.

Sonoco Recycling also makes sure its facilities are able to handle all customers’ recycling needs.

The Company has spent $4 million in the last three years to upgrade the Columbia recycling facility, from the size of the plant to the technology used. Because of these efforts, Sonoco Recycling has seen double-digit growth.

“In part, our growth is driven by increased public acceptance of recycling,” says Hall. “Local municipalities understand the importance of recycling and because of this, the volume of recycled material has grown tremendously.”

Sonoco Recycling is in part responsible for this increase in knowledge. Through its progressive education outreach programs, the Company teaches about 10,000 people each year about the importance of recycling. Additionally, it provides information on which materials can be recycled and which finished commodities use recycled materials. Hall says the more people understand about recycling, the more likely they are to do it.

“We work closely with municipalities and civic leaders to show the benefits of recycling to all who are involved,” says Hall.

Sonoco Recycling’s comprehensive and customized process is available to any program or business. Dedicated account representatives will audit your current waste stream and help you implement sustainable solutions to reduce your waste and increase recycling.

Sonoco Recycling is also continually expanding the materials it accepts. From mixed plastics, such as yogurt containers, to rigid plastics, like paint buckets, the Company is now able to accept more recyclables than ever, and also has an increased capacity to remove glass from the recycling stream.

Sonoco Recycling goes far beyond simply processing single stream, curbside recycling. From making your business more environmentally friendly to helping keep the Midlands beautiful, Sonoco Recycling can be counted on for all of your recycling needs.

Pictured Above: A worker gathers loose cardboard to be recycled at the Sonoco Recycling Plant.

About the Company: While Sonoco Recycling handles the residential recycling for almost two thirds of South Carolina, the Company also wants to make it easy for businesses to recycle. The Company will pick up single-stream material, including office paper, aluminum cans, drink bottles and other containers for recycling from your office site. Sonoco Recycling offers cardboard collection services as well.

1132 Idlewilde Boulevard Columbia, SC 29201 803-779-0500 www.sonocorecycling.com

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Xenex Merchant Services: Helping businesses increase their sales Pictured Above:

Steven D. Morris, National Director of Sales

Quote: “Whether it be a customer with $20 a month in credit card processing all the way up to our largest client that does $11 million a month, we treat everyone the same.”

– Steven Morris, national director of sales, Xenex Merchant Services

1320 Main Street Columbia, SC 29201 500 Carlen Avenue Lexington, SC 29072 888-918-4409 803-724-1254 xenexsouth.com

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enex Merchant Services is helping South Carolina businesses that want to accept credit card payments.

Steven Morris, national director of sales, says that since the company expanded to the state in January 2012, it has focused on letting merchants and restaurateurs know how much help Xenex can offer with electronic transactions.

“In this day and age, McDonald’s does it for a hamburger, but if a business is around today that is still depending on being an all-cash business, they’re kind of crippling themselves. Our goal is to educate our customers to show them why accepting credit and debit cards and things of that nature can help increase their business.”

Xenex opens merchant accounts to enable clients to use electronic transactions. Its services include check processing, mobile credit processing, virtual terminals, gift card programs and point-of-sale systems. It can provide a shopping cart for a store’s website, enabling e-commerce. Even if a store prefers not to open a merchant account, Xenex can install an ATM at the business, and the ATM surcharge goes to the store.

Although Xenex is new to South Carolina, it got its start in Cedarhurst, N.Y., in 1984. Its founder, after working in merchant services for large banks, decided to start his own company and provide those services while eliminating a lot of the fees.

For 28 years, “we’ve been able to save businesses money on credit card processing,” Morris says.

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Morris is leading Xenex’s recent expansion into South Carolina plus the Augusta and Charlotte areas. With a staff of 12 in the Columbia area and 24 statewide, Xenex has its Midlands core in Richland and Lexington counties and is focusing now on Sumter and Orangeburg. The goal is to expand into the Greenville and Myrtle Beach markets, but “take our time and do it correctly.”

Xenex relies mainly on referrals to add customers, Morris said. Merchants don’t want to be bombarded with sales pitches during the business day.

Typical customers are retail women’s and men’s apparel stores, restaurants, liquor stores, bakeries, mom and pop shops, libraries and bookstores — a full gamut of enterprises. “There are very few businesses that we cannot help,” Morris said.

“The main thing that makes us stand out is our customer service,” Morris says. A live person answers the phone 24/7. If a store has a technical issue, a power outage, a flood or damaged equipment, “we want to be there, and we want to offer solutions that will work for them to make sure that we take the pain out of whatever they’re going through.”

“We’re more of a boutique firm with a corporate feel. Whenever anyone calls, whether it be a customer with $20 a month in credit card processing all the way up to our largest client that does $11 million a month, we treat everyone the same.

“It’s more about making them feel the experience of being a Xenex customer, versus just being a number.”

Thompson Funeral Home: A history of service to families and community

T

hompson Funeral Home has been providing traditional funeral services for 84 years, but today many innovative services are also available to families.

Those options have developed through the advent of new technologies, the evolving values of distinct generations, and even the shape of the economy. Jeff Temples, director of operations, points out that a family now can choose to celebrate the life of a loved one with a tribute DVD and a catered reception; the funeral can be followed by burial or cremation; and in the future, more connections with the community are expected to be made via the Internet and social media like Twitter and Facebook.

The constants, in the view of Jimmy Richardson, who initially started working at Thompson’s in 1988, are “a consistent pattern of professionalism in the way we conduct our funerals . . . and a pattern of community involvement.”

Thompson Funeral Home operates in West Columbia and Lexington. Sister funeral homes, Woodridge and Greenlawn, include the cemeteries Woodridge Memorial Park and Greenlawn Memorial Park. The founding family is still actively involved in the business, with Blake Thompson serving as general manager.

Chad Frye, managing director at the Lexington facility, says one service that families are learning more about is cremation. Some families want direct cremation with no services, while others might want a funeral, with the deceased embalmed, pre-

pared and dressed for an open casket and viewing, and a service followed by the cremation process. “I think a lot of families when they come in to talk to us don’t realize that they can do all those things.”

Thompson Funeral Home’s contact with families continues well after a funeral through a monthly “care letter” that provides information on dealing with grief, handling financial issues, explaining events to children and grandchildren, and other needs. Richardson says, “I’ve gotten calls from both men and women who said they really appreciated getting those care letters and it’s really helped them in adjusting to the loss of their loved one.”

For 10 years Richardson has specialized in advanced planning, “to assist families who want to prearrange and usually go ahead and prepay funeral expenses or cremation expenses so that they are not leaving that behind for their loved ones.”

Temples says that since 1928 and “especially in the financial times that we’re in now, we’re always financially conscious of the family and their needs.”

Following a Thompson family tradition, Richardson, Temples and Frye have served their community through their churches, the public schools and organizations such as Kiwanis and Lions clubs, the Chamber of Commerce and the Jaycees.

Temples says that after 84 years serving Richland and Lexington counties, Thompson Funeral Home aims to continue to do so for another 84 years with the level of care and compassion established by the founding family.

Pictured Above: From left, Chad Frye, Jeff Temples and Jimmy Richardson.

Quote: “There’s a level of care for our families that I really do believe is second to none.”

– Jimmy Richardson, director of advanced planning

200 State Steet West Columbia, SC 29169 803-791-0650 4720 Augusta Road Lexington, SC 29073 803-996-1023 thompsonsfuneral.com

Special Advertising Supplement | 2012 Profiles in Business

15

Wells Fargo

W

is America’s Community Bank

ells Fargo works hard to be the best community bank in the Palmetto State, while offering all the benefits, conveniences and strengths of a nationwide financial services company. Wells Fargo is headquartered in San Francisco, but we’re decentralized so every local Wells Fargo store is a headquarters for satisfying all our customers’ financial needs and helping them succeed financially.

In South Carolina, Wells Fargo has 148 banking stores, 287 ATMs, and more than 5,800 team members. As the fourth largest bank in America, Wells Fargo offers one of the most extensive and convenient distribution systems in the industry. With more than 9,000 stores and 12,000 ATMs nationwide, phone banks, and top-notch online services (21 million active U.S. internet customers), the company is positioned to satisfy all of its customers’ financial needs.

Wells Fargo provides customers access to the capital they need to manage their businesses. Wells Fargo approved more than $548 million in SBA 7(a) loans nationwide in the first-half of federal fiscal year 2012 (Oct. 1, 2011, through March 31, 2012), and continues to provide more SBA loan dollars to America’s small businesses than any other lender.

“We are doing everything we can to say yes to creditworthy borrowers,” says Mickey Renner, Wells Fargo’s business banking division manager for South Carolina. “As part of our commitment to helping business customers in South Carolina, we give loan requests a second and third look in order to make every effort to say yes while we continue to apply our disciplined credit and underwriting principles. When the economy shows sustained improvement, we believe business loan demand will also increase, and we’ll be there for our customers.”

The company has maintained its commitment to providing world-

class customer service. In December 2011, Wells Fargo once again ranked No. 1 in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a survey of consumer satisfaction conducted by the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. This marked the third year that Wells Fargo and Wachovia received the award as a combined company. Before the merger with Wells Fargo, Wachovia received the honor eight years in a row.

“By putting the customer at the center of everything we do and providing outstanding advice and service, it’s a title we plan to keep,” explains Rick Redden, regional president for Wells Fargo in South Carolina. “We want to wow our customers. We want every customer to say That was great and I can’t wait to tell someone or I didn’t know I could get service like this. She made a difference or he solved a problem and helped me understand. We know what that feels like because we’re customers, too.”

Wells Fargo is known as one of America’s most generous companies.

It contributes almost a quarter of a billion dollars to nonprofits each year—much more than companies two or three times its size.

Holt Chetwood, market president for Wells Fargo in the Midlands, is proud of Wells Fargo’s impact in the community. “I’m grateful to be in an industry where I get to make a difference in people’s lives,” he says. “We have a strong commitment to the community, partnering with organizations that benefit others through community development, education, human services, and the arts. In South Carolina alone we contributed $3.1 million in grants to more than 375 nonprofits and schools in 2011, and our team members recorded more than 10,800 volunteer hours.”

The lingering effects of the recession are still taking a toll on many individuals and families throughout the state. Wells Fargo continues

16 2012 Profiles in Business | Special Advertising Supplement

to work hard to give back and look for ways to address local social, economic and civic issues facing communities.

“One need we are hoping to help address is the food shortage among our state’s food banks,” said Chetwood. “Many of our residents lack sufficient nourishment and are having a difficult time feeding their families. Looking for help, these residents turn to South Carolina’s four food banks -- Harvest Hope Food, Golden Harvest Food Bank, Lowcountry Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.”

Wells Fargo partnered with the South Carolina Food Bank Association to sponsor the Border to Border Hunger Challenge, which ran from May 14 until June 15. The company matched donations made to the state’s four food banks once they collectively raised $150,000.

The Community Partners program is another Wells Fargo initiative that is well-received. “This program is special,” adds Chetwood, “because it allows store managers to select one nonprofit in their community to be the recipient of a $1,000 grant.

It’s also a critical part of our Vision and Values and business strategy. We want to be known as an active community leader, promoting economic development and self-sufficiency.”

In South Carolina, Community Partners totals more than $150,000 annually. “Our team members—who we encourage to be leaders in their communities—play an important role in helping Wells Fargo decide how to respond to the unique needs of each community,” explains Chetwood.

“Store managers love being able to recognize a local organization that makes a daily difference in the lives of their neighbors, and the nonprofits are so appreciative because many times that grant will determine whether or not they can provide a service.”

Wells Fargo also has a Community Development Officer in South Carolina dedicated to assessing community needs and supporting efforts that build strong neighborhoods. “We provide capital to support affordable housing, economic development, financial literacy, and small business enterprises throughout the regions we serve,” adds Chetwood.

“We remain committed to investing resources to meet the credit needs of our communities. We consistently receive an Outstanding CRA rating, and we’re very proud of that.”

“Our people are our competitive advantage,” says Redden. “They’re exceptionally talented and quite diverse, and they put the customer at the center of everything they do. As great as our products are, I’ve never had a customer say to me, I love this

product. But what they do tell me is the amazing thing a teller did or how a store manager helped them. The care and attention we give our customers sets us apart.”

Wells Fargo is national in scope with community banking, mortgage, commercial banking, investment services, and consumer finance from California to the Carolinas.

With 70 million customers, one in every three households in America does business with the bank. Wells Fargo also brings scale and expertise in a number of areas, such as investment banking and capital markets.

It’s the company’s strength, security, conservative financial discipline, and commitment to doing what’s right for the customer, that enables them to help customers satisfy their financial needs and succeed financially.

“We’re not focused on being bigger,” explains Redden. “We want to be better, and that means bringing all of our products and services to our customers in a highly personal, flawless way. Understanding all of our customers’ needs helps us find the best solutions for them at any stage of their lives—and we pride ourselves on being with our customers in South Carolina at every step of their financial journey.

“Our strategy is to out-local the nationals and out-national the locals. This means that we bring the advantage of our size – the products, resources, and expertise – together with the power and nimbleness of local leadership and authority to serve our customers. We are a bank that thinks proactively about ways it can help provide solutions to customers.”

Wells Fargo understands that people want to do business with companies they connect with emotionally, that speak their language, are sensitive to their culture, value what they value, and help them succeed. To make that emotional connection, Wells Fargo asks its team members to put themselves in the customers’ shoes. How did the experience feel?

Was the transaction simple and easy? Did my problem get resolved quickly? Did I get what I needed?

“Wells Fargo has hundreds of products and more than 80 businesses, and while customers don’t expect employees to know everything about all of them, they do expect our systems to work smoothly,” adds Redden. “It should be easy for customers to find the right team member or channel quickly.

They should see us as One Wells Fargo and America’s Community Bank, here for them now and in the future – that’s our ultimate goal.”

Pictured Above: Rick Redden, SC Regional President Pictured Left: Holt Chetwood, Columbia Market President Pictured Below: Mickey Renner, SC Business Banking Executive

www.wellsfargo.com

Special Advertising Supplement | 2012 Profiles in Business

17

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Splash Omnimedia keeps clients on cutting edge in marketing their businesses

T

hese days, there are all kinds of ways for a business to make a splash. Ways no one had even thought of a few years ago.

And that’s where Matt Thompson and Michael White of Splash Omnimedia come in.

Splash Omnimedia is a multimedia marketingstrategy company that helps each of its clients to refine its message and its market, and then communicate that message to potential customers – wherever they might be.

Those people then forward the message to their friends, who forward it to their friends.

It’s that “ripple effect” that makes a business succeed, or – as Splash says on its own website – succeed wildly.

“Everything we do is customized to get that particular client and that particular client’s prospective market,” Thompson says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a company that sells mattresses, or you’re a hospital, or you’re a landscaper.”

Or – as Splash clients are – whether you’re near Splash offices in Lexington or as far away as Israel.

There are always web cams.

The Splash Omnimedia process begins with research: What does your business do?

What are its goals?

Who are your ideal customers?

How can you reach them?

From there, Splash works as a marketing partner to create a customized communication strategy that

includes website and graphic design; video production, from web streaming to broadcasting; as well as social media marketing, from search engine optimization to event management.

The theory of how to market a business always has been there, but the tools constantly change, Thompson says. Where once a business sent out its message through fliers and billboards, today it must use different tools – e-mail campaigns, say, or social media.

In this way, customers can become a business asset, too – passing on the message to friends and neighbors, increasing both exposure and sales.

Partners Thompson and White “talk business with our clients, then our creative staff, they execute all the strategies,” Thompson says. That makes Splash more than just a website developer, or a video company, or a consultant.

Splash knows that marketing is where most businesses fall short, because often, the tried and true just doesn’t work anymore. So Splash helps its clients create a systematic approach with communications strategies they have never dreamed of.

“Our toolbox is always getting larger,” Thompson says of Splash. “We make sure we understand what the next new thing is” by offering constant in-house training in technology and communication.

“Our business is always fluid,” Thompson says of keeping up with – and ahead of – demands.

“What’s here today is going to be different from what’s here tomorrow. We make sure that our clients are on the cutting edge of advancement.”

Pictured Above: Back Row - from left: Sheri Thompson, Troy Williams, Scott Kotz, Mike White, Julie Behr.

Front Row - from left: Shelley Lyles, Matt Thompson, Tom Baire.

Mission: Splash Omnimedia develops customized business-marketing plans designed to: Attract potential customers’ attention. Convert potential customers into believers.

Ensure and retain customer loyalty. Show customers the many ways they can interact with a business.

And then make customers so happy they want to spread the word.

711 East Main Street Suite J2 Lexington, SC 29072 800-961-0132 www.splashomnimedia.com

Special Advertising Supplement | 2012 Profiles in Business

19

Modern Turf has expertise to grow and maintain beautiful grass Pictured Above: Hank Kerfoot, the owner of Modern Turf with his son, Henry Kerfoot, the unofficial vice president of the company.

Mission: Modern Turf zeroes in on homeowners’ desires. Do you want your lawn to be best on the block? One hundred percent weed and disease free? Owner demand dictates the level of care.

Retail: 10070 Farrow Road Columbia, SC 29203 803-691-9890 Sod farm: 8840 Camden Highway Rembert, SC 29128 803-713-8873 www.modernturf.com

H

ank Kerfoot knows grass.

“I started my own lawns when I was 12, like a lot of kids,” he says. When Kerfoot was 12, he became a caddy – his dad was a golfer, and Kerfoot was at home on turf.

At 15, Kerfoot got a job at a golf course, where he learned to love the greens even more.

But in 2000, Kerfoot finally left the greens - and his job as a golf course superintendent – to establish Modern Turf, which installs and maintains lawns for private homeowners, as well as athletic fields and golf course putting greens.

“I decided to go deeply into debt working for the American Dream,” he jokes. He didn’t have a business background – he just knew enough about grass to become successful.

The business has had its challenges - changing temperatures have forced Kerfoot and his crew to find and install grasses that flourish with less watering – but Modern Turf was one of the few companies that had enough expertise to meet the challenge.

And when the economy dipped, Modern Turf grew. Kerfoot credits his crew’s singular vision.

“We started as a turf farm, and that’s what we do,” he says – install and grow beautiful grass. “When everything else was falling apart, we did pretty well.”

Homeowners who sign up for Modern Turf ’s 100% Lifetime Guarantee can take advantage of that expertise: Kerfoot and his crew will choose the right grass for the soil, plant it and maintain it.

20 2012 Profiles in Business | Special Advertising Supplement

Modern Turf offers a wide variety of sod species, so homeowners can choose the best for the conditions of their soil and the spaces to be filled. From Bermuda to tall fescue, centipede and zoysia, Modern Turf ’s experts will help determine which kind of grass will work best and how much will be needed. That’s a level of personal service and commitment homeowners can expect from the company.

“As long as they keep a current contract to maintain their new lawn, we guarantee it 100 percent,” Kerfoot says. “We don’t do what we call the ‘mow and blow.’ We just go the growth.”

To help homeowners grow their own investments, Modern Turf also offers “a pretty cool website” to showcase grasses and lawn supplies, and to offer advice to protect those investments.

Kerfoot advises those seeking better lawns to drop by the Modern Turf store at 10070 Farrow Road, Columbia, to talk with a turf expert, examine the kinds of grasses available and set up a home visit. Then, they’ll be able to choose the kinds of services they want – tailor made and guaranteed.

“It’s amazing the number of people who come into the store who have fired numerous lawncare companies” because those companies either couldn’t keep their promises or didn’t offer what a homeowner needed, Kerfoot says.

When customers find themselves talking with one of Modern Turf ’s five or six lawn experts – people with degrees in grass – “the light comes on”: These are the guys we should have talked to first.

Comfort Services can help you use alternative energy to cool or heat your home

S

ure, Comfort Services can keep your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

But there’s more. And it’s green.

“We’re not the normal, average HVAC kind of heating and air contractor,” promises Todd Wagstaff, president and part owner of the 36-year-old company. “We’re green professionals.”

“We’ve taken the time to become educated” in alternative energy, such as solar and geothermal systems, he says. Solar systems harness the sun’s rays and geothermal systems use the Earth’s internal temperatures to regulate a home heating or cooling system.

Using alternative energy is “doing the right thing for the planet,” Wagstaff says.

It also saves homeowners money, augmenting the use of costly electricity by harnessing natural resources – something that sets Comfort Services apart from its competitors.

In 2009 and 2010, for example, Comfort Services sold more Lennox solar heating and cooling systems in the Midlands than any other company anywhere. (And you thought only California was “green.”)

Wagstaff jokes that Comfort Services technicians are so specialized they’re like the guys from TV’s “CSI”: Using specialized equipment and processes, they “make air show us what it’s doing when you can’t see it.”

“We take a holistic approach” to heating and air-conditioning, Wagstaff says. “We’re looking at

the entire home as a system – insulation, roofing, shading, appliances (and) occupants,” and devising a way to make everything work cleanly and efficiently.

How air flows and where it goes dictates how the home in which it flows can be made comfortable – and what technology it will take to achieve that.

New or retrofitted systems not only reduce heating and cooling costs, they also improve air quality, Wagstaff says.

Fast, reliable and available 24/7, the company installs, maintains and repairs air-conditioning and heating systems. It offers top-of-the-line brands – Lennox, American Standard, Goodman and others.

It also cleans duct systems to ensure air quality as its motto implies: “Fresher. Cleaner. Greener.”

Comfort Services’ “Ask-a-Tech” feature on the company website showcases the company’s turtle mascot – “everybody loves the turtle,” Wagstaff says – and guarantees responses with un-turtlelike dispatch.

The feature “HVAC talk” keeps homeowners up to date on everything from buying a programmable thermostat to preventing unsightly and unhealthy mold.

More than 90 percent of the company’s work is residential, much of it retrofitting traditional HVAC systems with solar or geothermal systems.

The company also works with small businesses – say, those in strip malls or in private homes renovated for business use.

Pictured Above: Comfort Services owner Todd Wagstaff.

Quotable: “A lot of this technology just wasn’t around even 10 years ago,” Todd Wagstaff of Comfort Services says of the environmentally friendly heating and cooling systems that can save homeowners money.

“These kinds of solutions come from experience . . . not just reading about it.”

128 Sparkman Drive Columbia, SC 29209 803-772-4490 www.comfortservices.com

Special Advertising Supplement | 2012 Profiles in Business

21

Haynes Business Services specializes in accounting help for small businesses Pictured Above: Jerry Haynes, President of Haynes Business Services

Quote: “Most (small) business people need close professional assistance – not just once a year to do the taxes.”

– Jerry Haynes, Haynes Business Services

101 Shuler Street West Columbia, SC 29169 803-233-6522 www.haynesbusiness.com

S

mall businesses need help 364 other days of the year besides Tax Day, says Jerry Haynes of Haynes Business Services.

Which is why his firm provides help with everything from crafting loan proposals and business plans, to staying ahead of government regulations, to administering payroll.

“If I can get involved in the whole financial side of the business,” owners won’t experience any surprises – or missed opportunities – at tax time, he says.

“I’ve always worked with small business, and I’ve always felt that I could make a significant contribution to their operational results.”

Haynes specializes in businesses with 25 or fewer employees – often start-ups.

Clients include plumbing and security contractors, a private school and a wedding boutique.

Haynes also works for a number of non-profit entities.

Although a certified public accountant since 1978 and licensed to practice for 20 years, Haynes is not currently licensed in South Carolina. He has an MBA with a specialty in accounting, and professional experience in accounting, legal issues and information technology.

His “cafeteria of services” comprises: • Accounting. Haynes will prepare monthly, quarterly and annual business statements, as well as those required for special purposes.

• Recordkeeping. Each month or quarter, Haynes

22 2012 Profiles in Business | Special Advertising Supplement

Business Services will maintain a company’s general ledger, posting all transactions and reconciling accounts to prevent errors. It also will maintain accounts to ensure good customer service. And it will manage employee benefits, compensation and deductions.

• Consulting. Areas of expertise include mergers and acquisitions; analyzing computer system needs; risk management; litigation support; and policies and procedures manuals.

• Tax preparation for individuals, partnerships, limited-liability companies, corporations, trusts and estates.

These services help prevent costly errors and make companies more competitive, Haynes says.

“Accurate and timely financial information can be an asset and provide a competitive advantage over business owners who only see their accountants as costs incurred once a year,” Haynes says.

“Why waste your valuable time with an ocean of paperwork, when you can have an ‘acting chief financial officer’?”

Haynes especially prides himself on keeping up with the ever-changing “regulatory environment” — especially those governmental rules that once affected only big business but now reach down to the little guy as well.

As Haynes has helped others grow their businesses, his own also has grown – largely based on referrals and, lately, “referrals from referrals. It just seems to mushroom every year.”

Advanced Automation Consulting Inc.

believes even when it comes to information technology, people are the key

T

he message at Advanced Automation Consulting Inc. is clear and consistent: The company helps solve the technology needs of its customers, but its foundation is working with people. John Denise, who started the business in 2003, learned that strategy through experience.

“I’d worked in the information technology consulting and staffing business for many years and had seen the good, the bad and the ugly of this business,” Denise said. “I was determined to create a company with a culture completely focused on doing the right thing for our clients and consultants.”

AAC provides IT consulting and staffing services for companies of all sizes. This involves forging long-term partnerships with clients, thoroughly understanding their business and providing them the human capital required to improve their performance.

“Our team works hand in hand with our client’s team at the client’s location to complete their projects as efficiently as possible,” Denise said. “Our services are not limited to any one platform or technology and are completely tailored to what works best for each individual client. Services can be provided on either a contract basis, an option-to-hire basis or occasionally as a direct placement with the client. It all depends on the unique needs of the client.”

The AAC staff perform a variety of roles for clients, ranging from network engineers all the way up to providing strategic consulting and CIO services.

What really sets AAC apart from competitors is

its old-fashioned approach to doing business. First, AAC puts its clients’ needs ahead of everything else.

“It sounds simple, but it’s expensive and very rare in today’s world,” Denise said. This ties in with the second precept, that of hiring the most qualified personnel available and providing them with the ongoing support they need. This reduces turnover and helps mitigate personnel risks for the client’s project.

The third principle is supporting economic development in the local community. “We don’t believe that outsourcing or flying in resources from out of town is in anyone’s best interest,” Denise said.

“We believe in local resources for local projects and don’t utilize subcontractors. Everyone we assign to a client’s project is an AAC employee with outstanding benefits.”

AAC has focused on achieving controlled, sustainable growth by focusing on long-term partnerships as opposed to chasing potentially large shortterm deals. It is expanding by opening new offices throughout the Southeast.

AAC is a graduate of the USC Columbia Technology Incubator and was an SC Launch company.

In fact, the first company to pay back its SCRA investment with interest. Denise is proud of that, but he keeps his eyes on the real prize — helping clients.

“The bottom line is that technology is an enabler, but people are the key to successfully implementing and leveraging technology. Better people simply provide better results.”

Pictured Above: John Denise CEO, Advanced Automation Consulting

About our Company: AAC’s old-school approach includes owning their office building.

“Nothing says stability like brick and mortar on the balance sheet.”

– John Denise, CEO, Advanced Automation Consulting

7891 Broad River Road Irmo, SC 29063 803-726-4900 www.AACsc.net

Special Advertising Supplement | 2012 Profiles in Business

23

THE INSIDE SCOOP. INSIDE YOUR INBOX. Sign up today for the MORNING REPORT and the DAILY REPORT email newsletters to stay on top of business news in the Midlands!

Sign up today at www.columbiabusinessreport.com For advertising information, call Steve Fields at 803.401.1094 Ext 209.

ERA Wilder Realty Inc.: Taking the stress out of home buying and selling

M

oving to a new home can be difficult, and moving to a new city, even more so. That’s when ERA Wilder Realty Inc. can help.

“My business is assisting anyone moving into or out of Columbia,” says Candy Welch, ERA Wilder Realty’s vice president of relocation. “I assist corporations when they’re bringing new hires into their organizations. We do everything, soup to nuts.” Settling-in services for international employees, shortterm rentals, area tours, finding a home -- “we assist with any kind of service that a transferee would need,” Welch says. “We also provide in-house benefits programs for corporations, businesses, hospitals, credit unions etc. that offer cash rebates back to their local, loyal employees or members when they buy or sell a home along with many other real estate-related discounts such as attorney fees.”

“We are a principal broker for the world’s largest relocation company, which is Cartus, but we also represent about 40 other major relocation companies.” Wilder is a preferred broker for the “USAA Mover Advantage Program,” through which members of the military and their families can receive cash rebates when buying or selling properties.

Wilder Realty’s relocation division has received numerous awards from Cartus and USAA for outstanding service. “We have passion for what we do, which makes all the difference, and we know at the end of the day that we have been a part of making what can be one of the most stressful times in a family’s life a pleasant, worthwhile experience,” Welch said.

Wilder also has a large REO (foreclosure) and corporate homes division, under the leadership of Mike Scott. Because of the economy, that business has grown tremendously in recent years. “Most listings are on the market just a few days and can range from $14,000 to $1 million. Many are completely refurbished, move-in ready, and great buys,” Welch said.

She attributes Wilder Realty’s success to the caliber of its agents and ongoing training, plus “incredible” technology. “ERA has always been known as the technology brand in the industry. The tools that we provide to both our clients and to our agents are superior to our competition.”

A huge asset, she says, is Wilder Realty’s partnership with New American Mortgage. There are loan officers in all seven ERA Wilder Realty offices, and they make it possible to pre-approve potential purchasers and close loans quickly. Some prospective home buyers are assisted with credit repair.

Welch, a 28-year veteran in the business, joined ERA Wilder Realty eight years ago. The company’s success, she says, starts at the top. “We’re locally owned. We have a visionary as a leader in Eddie Wilder. I don’t know of anyone else like him. Every agent in this company has his cellphone number; he answers every one of his calls personally. There’s not one task that he hasn’t done, from repairing the toilet to sweeping the floor to flipping hamburgers to sitting in a hospital waiting room with an agent or staff member. … We are a family; we are not a corporation.”

Pictured Above: Standing from left to right: Abigail Edwards, Stephanie Johnson, Michael Scott Jr., Megan Dooley Cook, Makenzie Ashley.

Seated: Candy Welch and Mike Scott.

Quote: “We know at the end of the day that we have been a part of making what can be one of the most stressful times in a family’s life a pleasant, worthwhile experience.”

– Candy Welch, vice president of relocation

1730 Main Street Columbia, SC 29201 803-407-5220 www.erawilderrealty.com

Special Advertising Supplement | 2012 Profiles in Business

25

EVENT SERIES 2012 BREAKFAST

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Each event provides tremendous visibility through effective and targeted sponsorship opportunities.

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Advanced Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology Institute:

I

The art and science of creating families

f Dr. Gail Whitman-Elia has one message for couples concerned about infertility, it’s this: Don’t wait. Her clinic, Advanced Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology Institute, can help uncover problems and options for treatment.

There are two reasons to seek help early, she says: First is the woman’s biological clock; after 35, the quality of eggs – and chances for pregnancy – decline sharply. Second is male infertility; in 40 percent of cases, there is a problem with the man’s fertility.

Going to the next level of treatment is a big step.

Realizing that, Dr. Whitman-Elia holds seminars where couples can get information and consult with her. Treatment does not require a physician referral.

An appointment can be made by calling her office.

Advanced Fertility just moved into its newly renovated building in January 2012. Its 14,000 square feet include examination and consultation rooms, classroom, surgery center and laboratory. A clinical

psychologist, Dr. Florence Hightower, is on staff, and an acupuncturist helps with the clinic’s holistic approach to treatment.

The clinic specializes in in vitro fertilization and has an egg donor program. Often, unexplained female infertility will be solved during IVF, Dr. Whitman-Elia said. Male infertility due to environmental factors may be resolved by reducing exposure.

The clinic accepts all who seek treatment, including obese women turned away by others. A conscious effort has been made to add better equipment and special techniques to treat larger women.

In high demand at the clinic is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. If a parent is a carrier of a serious genetic problem, embryos can be evaluated to prevent passing along a fatal or acute condition.

Dr. Whitman-Elia is a board-certified subspecialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. She was a professor at the University of South Carolina and worked in its fertility program before establishing her own practice in 2002.

Advanced Fertility is the only freestanding facility of its kind in the Midlands and has the only area IVF lab. Because treatment may not be covered by health insurance, the clinic offers helpful payment options.

The walls of the clinic are covered in photos of babies born to Dr. Whitman-Elia’s patients. Every year, she hosts a baby reunion for all the families and children she has helped.

“God decides who has a baby,” said Dr. WhitmanElia. “We just assist. We see miracles every day.”

Pictured Above: Dr. Gail Whitman-Elia (center, in black) hosts a reunion for all the children and families she has helped each year.

Pictured Below: Advanced Fertility moved into a modern new clinic in January 2012.

Mission: We are a quality infertility clinic operated by an infertility specialist who really takes care of her patients. A “one-stop shop,” all services needed to complete an appropriate patient evaluation and render successful treatment are offered at Advanced Fertility.

2324 Sunset Boulevard West Columbia, SC 29169 803-939-1515 www.ivfwecare.com

Special Advertising Supplement | 2012 Profiles in Business

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EdVenture Children’s Museum is always growing and changing, just like children Pictured Above:

Matt Aussprung, a member of the Experience Team, leads a science program in the atrium at EdVenture with EDDIE, the world’s largest child, in the background.

Mission: EdVenture’s mission is to inspire children, youth and the adults who care about them to experience the joy of learning.

Vision: Our vision is to create new generations of lifelong learners.

211 Gervais Street Columbia, SC 29201 803-779-3100 www.edventure.org

S

ince November 2003, EdVenture has been welcoming all children to learn about their world in a fun, “please touch” environment.

It is not only the Southeast’s largest children’s museum, but also home to the world’s largest child, EDDIE®.

But, like many almost-9-year-olds, EdVenture Children’s Museum is ready to grow. Coming soon are a Cooking and Nutrition Lab with lessons on food preparation and healthy eating; and an updated Lil’ Spot Diner, Friendly Farm and Grocery Market, with an emphasis on the farm to table concept.

Newly opened exhibits include Body Detectives, exploring the body’s inner workings with interactive learning; BioInvestigations Lab for older kids, delving into biomedical science including DNA, neuroscience and cancer research; and Wags & Whiskers Pet Clinic, teaching responsible pet care.

With an annual local economic impact of $14 million, EdVenture has 92,000 square feet of interactive exhibit space, encompassing eight indoor exhibit galleries and two outdoor spaces. An average 200,000 visitors annually are greeted by EDDIE®, who soars 40 feet tall – sitting down. Children can climb inside and explore his brain, bounce inside his stomach or take a slide through his digestive system.

EdVenture was recently honored with the 2011 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for its health education programs. It was also cho-

28 2012 Profiles in Business | Special Advertising Supplement

sen one of the top 10 children’s museums to visit by Woman’s Day magazine.

A staff of 75 includes educators who teach all of the museum’s programs. “People who work here truly live out the mission. They are very committed,” said Kristy S. Barnes, marketing communications manager.

Early Childhood programs such as Toddler Tuesdays, Tales for Tots and Community Leader Reader are some of the extras at the museum.

Beyond what’s offered inside the building, EdVenture carries learning into the community.

Club EdVenture is an after-school program at six schools in Columbia’s Richland 1 School District.

EdVenture- To-Go brings a museum educator into the school for programs when a field trip isn’t an option. New offerings are a distance learning program for schools and a Home School Program.

EdVenture is a nonprofit educational institution.

It is not a state-funded agency. Its funding comes from donor support, admissions and memberships, facility rentals, government funds, earned revenue and educational programs. EdVenture is partly supported by the City of Columbia and Richland County. All or part of the facility can be rented for events, including a new 12,000-square-foot terrace and the Canal Room, a conference room overlooking the historic Columbia Canal.

Donations from corporations support the “Yes, Every Child Fund” that provides low-cost admission and subsidized tuition for those who need it.

RV Soft Inc. has a new idea: Websites can be affordable and user-friendly

R

VSoft Inc. has exciting news: A business need not spend a fortune to have a website. With RVSoft’s new framework, you can have a customized website – designed by graphics professionals – at an affordable price. There’s no monthly fee, and to update your content, you don’t have to be a tech expert – or pay one by the hour.

RVSoft provides Web design and software development. After 20 months of product development, the company began marketing its new Web framework in late spring.

Its big selling point is price: about one-third, or less, of the cost of similar products, according to Ajeesh Thomas, the chief technology officer.

A native of southern India, Thomas has extensive IT experience in six countries. In the U.S. since 2009, he struggles a bit with English, but his enthusiasm for the new product is crystal clear. He believes the framework he is offering South Carolina businesses is unique and can bring jobs to the state.

“This is a new kind of a system that we are trying to implement to the people to reduce their costs for making the website or making e-commerce site and that kind of thing.”

Here is how he describes his website framework: • User-friendly. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can change the content on your website, or publish photo galleries, calendars or newsletters.

• Already compatible with smartphones or tablets. You can update your website from anywhere.

• No monthly or maintenance fees. “You own it

permanently.”

• 24/7 support, with yearly upgrades available at reasonable prices, and new features added yearly as technology changes.

Valuable features are already included. Searchengine optimization and software tools for human resources, office management, e-commerce and client relations are already there. Social networking software allows client communication within your own private network.

Thomas says other companies can provide similar features, if you pay – and pay again. “Most of the companies I research, they hide costs. They say, ‘Oh, you spend $199 upfront and get a website.’

Later they say, ‘Oh, you must pay $49 a month.’

You want a change, they say, ‘Oh, that is $65 more.’”

Instead, with RVSoft’s framework YOU can make those changes.

Jill Gibson, sales director, says potential customers have been quick to see how easy it is to use. “The people that I’ve shown it to are amazed. I can show them in two or three minutes how it works, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh!’”

Thomas, Gibson, and Nancy Foster, who manages website content and design, make up the executive staff. Technology partners, from the United States and abroad, back up the Columbia operation.

But the ultimate aim of RVSoft is for companies to use its innovative software to bring internationally outsourced jobs back to South Carolina – “to bring that business back to our beautiful state.”

Pictured Above: From left, Nancy Foster, Creative IT Head and Project Manager; Ajeesh Thomas, Chief Technology Officer; and Jill Gibson, Sales & Marketing Manager.

Quote: “Clients can reduce their IT costs with RVSoft’s online system.”

– Ajeesh Thomas

2601 Read Street Columbia, SC 29204 803-748-9988 www.rvsoftinc.com

Special Advertising Supplement | 2012 Profiles in Business

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Lorick Office Products celebrates 75 years of personal service Pictured Above: Karen Lorick Broach, left, and Jeanne Lorick Brutschy of Lorick Office Products.

About the company: “We donate a lot of used furniture (and) paper” to local schools and community organizations, says Jeanne Lorick Brutschy, CEO of Lorick Office Products. “There are so many people that have needs.” The donations are one way Lorick remains committed to its community

910 Washington Street Columbia, SC 29201 803-252-5380 www.lorick.com

L

orick Office Products has come a long way in 75 years, but its history remains just a touch of the finger away.

Sitting on a counter at the company showrooms at 910 Washington St. is the brass cash register that D.C. Lorick bought to start his office-supply business in 1937.

“We don’t use it,” Jeanne Lorick Brutschy, company CEO and D.C.’s granddaughter, says with a laugh. (Brutschy notes with irony that the register probably is more reliable than what employees do use: computers susceptible to power shortages and other electrical flukes.)

Still, the brass register is a touchstone for Lorick and company vice president Karen Lorick Broach, members of the third generation of the Lorick family to run a business that began with two far-sighted founders employing a delivery boy on a bicycle.

Brutschy feels the same obligation to Columbia that her grandfather did, and has since coming on board the company as a college student in 1984.

Originally intent on banking, Brutschy instead joined the family business after graduation.

“We used to hand-write our tickets,” she remembers of her early days in the business. And “you used to have to be able to do math because you had to figure the discounts.”

If much has changed for Brutschy since the 1980s, the changes are nothing compared to those that have occurred since the days of her grandfather.

30 2012 Profiles in Business | Special Advertising Supplement

In D.C. Lorick’s day, the company fulfilled government contracts and lured local business loyalty by maintaining a “feel at home” atmosphere and personal service.

Now, 70 percent of Lorick’s sales are in office supplies and 30 percent, in office furniture – from a box of 100-count paper clips to a multithousanddollar desk with burled-wood and ebony inlays.

The company has 10,000 feet of office space on Washington Street and a West Columbia warehouse.

A staff of three – including that boy on a bicycle – has grown by more than 10 times, with each employee being considered part of the Lorick “family.”

Technology forces Lorick Office Products to continually re-evaluate and restructure its business in order to keep up with – and surmount – competition.

But Brutschy says one thing will never change: the commitment to each individual customer by each member of the Lorick family.

Some customers have been with Lorick’s for decades because of that individualized service and the company’s neighborly feel. That service is what has kept the company booming even through the advent of big-box office stores.

“That’s one of the things that makes local businesses different from big chain stores,” Brutschy says. “You’re helping people that you know.”

Everything else may change, but personal service never will go out of style.

CONNECTING BUSINESS in South Carolina SC Biz News is the premier publisher of business news in the state of South Carolina. We publish the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Columbia Business Report, GSA Business and SCBIZ magazine.

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