Business Connection December 2014 by AIM Media Indiana

A publication of

DECEMBER 2014

Looking at 2015 Economic Outlook Breakfast served with a side of optimism

DECEMBER 2014 The Business Connection 1

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Contents

L O C A L LY O W N E D . N AT I O N A L LY R E C O G N I Z E D .

Accelerate Your Business! On the cover

Training programs, such as this one for Ivy Tech faculty, at the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence contribute to economic growth in Columbus. The Republic file photo. Story on the Economic Outlook Breakfast, page 4.

EXPERIENCE I N D I A N A’S

Fastest Internet Lafayette

Indianapolis

Iler and Associates page 6

Cummins logistics center page 11

Also inside

Southern California’s tech scene. . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chamber Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Around the Watercooler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Mark McNulty column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 On the Move. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Business Leads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Morton Marcus column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Business Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Comments should be sent to Doug Showalter, The Republic, 333 Second St., Columbus, IN 47201 or call 812-379-5625 or dshowalter@therepublic. com. Advertising information: Call 812-379-5652. ©2014 by Home News Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reproduction of stories, photographs and advertisements without permission is prohibited. Stock images provided by © Thinkstock.

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Economic outlook brighter ... for now Panel from IU’s Kelley School of Business brings predictions for global, national, state and local levels

By Barney Quick n photos by Andrew Laker

mprovement was the theme running through the observations of the four panelists featured at the annual Economic Outlook Breakfast. While there were some mixed signals on the global, national, state and local levels, and in financial markets, each panelist agreed that the overall trend was toward better conditions. The event, presented at the Columbus Learning Center by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and IUPUC and sponsored by Centra Credit Union, took place Nov. 12. As in recent years, the session began with a polling of the audience, via cellphone text response, on questions regarding the local economy, such as current and short-term future business conditions and employment conditions. Most respondents had favorable views. Ellie Mafi-Kreft, clinical professor of business economics and public policy at IU’s Kelley School of Business, addressed the global and national outlook. She said that the previous Friday’s payroll data had presented an optimistic picture, with national unemployment down to 5.8 percent and 214,000 jobs added in October. Household

4 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014

Above: Guests mingle at the Columbus Learning Center at the annual Economic Outlook Breakfast. Top: Frank Wadsworth welcomes guests. Opposite page: Panelists Ellie Mafi-Kreft, left, Robert Jennings, Jerry Conover and Ryan Brewer discuss global and local economies.

balance sheets showed a decline in debt. The data indicated high demand for drilling technology, medical equipment and jets. She predicted real gross domestic product to increase by 3 percent. She also said that mid2015 was a likely time for the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates. “The economy is resilient enough now for a small step-up.” Regarding the global level, recovery from the world debt bubble was ongoing. With regard to concern over the Mideast and Ukraine, she said, ‘We believe the media is overplaying the risk. The reality is not as bad in financial markets.” She mentioned as “one little worry” the latest business survey in Germany, which indicated a lessening of confidence in its manufacturing sector. She tempered this by noting that Germany’s government is “very fiscally disciplined.” The Eurozone generally is stalling, according to Mafi-Kreft. The dollar is appreciating relative to the euro. The European Central Bank should continue stress tests on the continent’s banking system, she noted. Robert Jennings, Kelley’s Gregg T. and Judith A. Summerville professor of finance, characterized the stock market as “muddling along.” He said stock prices were being driven by two factors: earnings and how much investors were willing to pay for a dollar’s worth of earnings. He noted a profit margin of 12.5 percent for the Standard & Poor’s 500, and that S&P 500 firms are heavily invested internationally, which presents some risk, with Europe “teetering on the brink of recession.” “Very low rates abroad make the dollar strong, but make it harder for U.S. firms to export,” he said. Jennings said that the Federal Reserve was backing out of quantitative easing and that there is “almost certainly going to be volatility in the markets. Plan for it, but don’t react to it.” Jerry Conover, director of the Indiana Business Research Center at Kelley, began his remarks about Indiana by saying that last year’s predictions had been made with some degree of uncertainty. “I’m glad to tell you we were wrong about growth rates,” he said. He expects the state’s overall growth to move in the same direction as the national trend, but at a slower pace. (It had kept the same pace for the last three years.) He looked for Indiana’s growth rate to be a little under 3 percent for 2014. He looks for 55,000 more jobs to be on Indiana’s payroll next year and predicts a 5.2 percent unemployment rate. Indiana ranks 12th in the nation in dependence on exports. “If Europe’s slowdown continues, demand for Indiana exports will decline,” he said. He characterized the Indiana housing market as “choppy but somewhat positive. Home prices are rising. Construction permits are up. Weather put a damper on the first quarter of 2014. A

Federal Reserve pullback on quantitative easing could put the brakes on the rise in home-buying.” He said that one “positive shock” to the state economy was the fall in fuel prices. The outlook is good for them to stay low. Ryan Brewer, IUPUC assistant professor of finance, presented a picture of a “mixed outlook” for Columbus. “We’ve worked ourselves into a position of full employment, which dampens expansion.” The city had experienced a fall in GDP for the first time since the recession. “We’re butting up against a scarcity of skilled workers.” Columbus was having to import 9,000 workers from

surrounding communities to fill jobs. He said Cummins Inc. was doing well. The company had increased capital deployment, was engaging in stock repurchases, had $2.4 billion in cash and a manageable debt level. He spoke of mixed signals in leading economic indicators. “Most of the advantage over national indicators that Columbus sustained was in the early part of the recovery,” he said, noting that the outlook “gets murky” beyond 2015. Brewer noted that among the city’s strengths was good leadership. He was encouraged to see the formation of a coalition to foster skilled trades. DECEMBER 2014 The Business Connection 5

Every team needs a good quarterback Iler and Associates can manage all phases of a construction project so you don’t have to By Barney Quick

I Dave Iler | submitted photo

“The first order of business is to sit down with the client and completely understand what he wants.” — Dave Iler

6 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014

n today’s world, sometimes a “company” consists of a person, his laptop and phone, his expertise and his network of collaborators. Such is the case with Iler and Associates Project Management LLC. President Dave Iler can point to company projects ranging from a renovation of a historic home to adding a controlled-environment facility to an industrial plant, and note that they all happened because he knew how to marshal the right resources for his clients. The most succinct way to describe Iler and Associates is as an owner’s representative. An organization needs something built, altered or restored, and enlists Iler to put together a team including an architect, a contractor and any other functions, such as surveying, safety consulting, legal advice or accounting services, and get it done. “My role is kind of like that of a quarterback,” Iler explains. “Typically, you have an owner, a designer and a builder. I can speak the language of each party in that triangle.” While he has to have a considerable body of technical knowledge to be the owner’s advocate in a construction project, his work is really about learning what people intend to do with their buildings. “My services can grow or shrink depending on what the client wants me to handle,” he says. “The first order of business is to sit down with the client and completely understand what he wants.” Then comes establishing a budget, site selection assistance, solicitation of bids from architects and selection of one, and a feasibility analysis. The procurement phase entails such considerations as prequalification of bidders, assistance with permitting and taking care of bonding and insurance. Iler’s work during actual construction consists of making sure everything is on schedule, quality assurance, monitoring safety compliance, and coordinating the acquisition of furniture, fixtures and equipment. When the building is up, he makes sure operation and maintenance manuals are available, and helps to obtain a certificate of occupancy. “I’m a geek about details,” he says. The Rochester native says he’s always been curious about how structures are put together. “Any house or apartment I ever lived in, I was always looking at floors, walls, ceilings, asking myself why particular choices were made. When I was 5 years old and our

family lived in Lafayette, I would go every day to Amish homebuilders’ job sites and pick up trash.” After obtaining a degree from Purdue University, he came to Columbus and spent 32 years with Force Construction Co., serving in such capacities as purchasing agent, safety director and senior project manager. He founded Iler and Associates in 2010. His first project was building three group homes in the hills of Brown County for New Song Mission, an organization dedicated to providing help and guidance to orphaned children. New Song’s founder and executive director is Columbus-based attorney Robert Schloss. “My wife’s office was in the same building as Bob’s office,” Iler says. “He asked me some questions about selecting a contractor, and I told him what was involved. He said, ‘I need you.’” Iler listened closely to what Schloss envisioned. “The kids would live and sleep and be educated there, so it needed to be a nurturing environment.” The homes were 5,000 square feet each and included bedrooms and house parent and teacher quarters. The project also included an entrance road and fishing pond. Next up was renovation of The Clearinghouse, a building in downtown Madison that was to house a food pantry and offices of six social agencies that all addressed the needs of the underemployed and unemployed in Jefferson and surrounding counties. The 1940s-era two-story structure had primarily served as a warehouse and required extensive remodeling. “That was my most comprehensive project so far,” says Iler, noting that it involved accountants and lawyers. He also oversaw the renovation of a historic home in Madison. The 1849 Shrewsbury-Windle House, a National Historic Landmark sporting 12 rooms, 13 fireplaces and a 53-step spiral staircase, needed

The Shrewsbury-Windle house in Madison was completed in 1849 and is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Iler was hired as the owner’s representative for a comprehensive exterior renovation of the house in April 2013 and saw the project through completion last August. | submitted photo

Joel Meinhardt, left, listens as Dave Iler explains a detail of the project to construct a new clean room in what used to be production space of a local manufacturing company. | photo by Greg Jones

The Clearinghouse in Madison is located in a building constructed in the 1940s. It had primarily been used for warehousing and had fallen into disrepair. Extensive remodeling was necessary to house a food pantry and office space for six social agencies in Jefferson and surrounding counties. Iler served as the owner’s representative from March 2011 through project completion last April. | submitted photo

comprehensive exterior renovation. Iler completed his work last April. He worked with Indianapolis-based Ratio architects on that project. He has also undertaken some industrial projects. He designed and oversaw implementation of proper parking lot drainage at the Columbus plant of pressure-sensitive adhesive maker MacTac to address a storm-water issue. For powdered-metal components maker PMG, he oversaw creation of an assembly area within the plant that had to conform to stringent environmental requirements. “They needed an area that was free of the particulates that powdered metal puts into the atmosphere,” explains Iler. “It had to be separate from what they mainly do. We looked at clearances, the foundation and the exterior.” Dunlap Inc. was the contractor on that job. Iler says he prefers to stay within an hour’s drive for his work, but that he’d “travel anywhere for the right project.” When he’s not on a job site, he works from a home office on Columbus’ north side. Such an arrangement can make maintenance of a balance between work and home life a challenge. He and his wife have an agreement to turn off their cellphones during dinner. He finds being an owner’s representative rewarding. “I tell people a construction project is like childbirth. There are anxious, even painful, moments, but it’s really gratifying to see the look on a satisfied client’s face when it’s done,” he observes. “My wife can tell I’m doing what I love.” DECEMBER 2014 The Business Connection 7

‘Silicon Beach’ brings

tech

boom to Los Angeles

8 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014

Web surfing meets wave surfing in Southern California’s ‘Silicon Beach’ tech scene RYAN NAKASHIMA, MICHAEL LIEDTKE n AP Business Writers

LOS ANGELES — So long Silicon Valley. These days entrepreneurs and engineers are flocking to a place better known for wave surfing than Web surfing. Amid the palm trees and purple sunsets of the Southern California coastline, techies have built “Silicon Beach.” In the past few years Google, Microsoft, Facebook and YouTube have opened offices on the west side of Los Angeles from Santa Monica south to Venice and Playa del Rey. They are joined by hundreds of startups including Hulu, Demand Media and Snapchat, which nixed a $3 billion takeover offer from Facebook. Major Hollywood players like The Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. have launched startup accelerators to help local tech entrepreneurs. The city of Los Angeles even hired its first chief technology officer, former Qualcomm executive Peter Marx, earlier this year. “Historically, Silicon Valley has been the center of gravity for tech and startups but I think more and more, these types

of companies can be built anywhere,” says Erik Rannala, who moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles with his entrepreneurial partner William Hsu several years ago. Rannala and Hsu oversee MuckerLab, a technology incubator in Santa Monica, California, that has invested in 45 startups such as flower marketplace BloomNation and online tuxedo rental outfit The Black Tux. Many of the ideas for the companies were hatched in MuckerLab’s concrete-walled space, which is covered with white boards and sticky tabs. The vibe is eclectic. No office-park chic here. Graffiti murals mix with coffee shops, foodie scenes, and boutiques. Companies allocate ample space for bikes and surfboards so employees can hit the beach after work. Social media software maker Epoxy TV, founded by Juan Bruce and Jason Ahmad, is located in a Venice complex formerly owned by the late actor Dennis Hopper. They still get his mail. One of Hopper’s sculptures adorns the yard, and inside, there’s a staircase to nowhere designed by renowned Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry. The Venice scene also has helped online razor service Dollar Shave Club recruit employees, according to founder and Philadelphia native Michael Dubin. “It’s very different to be at the heart of Venice than to be in the heart of Mountain View,” says Epoxy TV’s Ahmad. “Culturally it’s just a vastly different place.” What’s happening here is part of a growing movement of U.S. cities seeking to duplicate the formula that turned northern California’s Silicon Valley, slightly south of San Francisco, into a mecca of society-shifting innovation and immense wealth. Cupertino-based Apple Inc., Mountain View’s Google Inc. and Menlo Park-based Facebook Inc. collectively have created more than $1 trillion in shareholder wealth while routinely paying employees sixfigure salaries, generous benefits and stock options that can generate multimillion-dollar windfalls.

Above: Dollar Shave Club CEO and co-founder Michael Dubin at the company’s headquarters in Venice, Calif. Opposite page: Erik Rannala, left, and William Hsu, founders of technology incubator MuckerLab at their offices in Santa Monica, Calif. Below: Jason Ahmad, top, Epoxy TV chief product officer and co-founder, and Juan Bruce, CEO and co-founder, at the headquarters of the company in Venice, Calif. | AP photos/Jae C. Hong All the prosperity has caused the cost of living in Silicon Valley to soar. It’s nearly impossible to buy even a small home for less than $1 million in San Francisco and many other nearby cities. Tiny apartments can cost $2,500 to $3,500 per month. Prices like those are one more reason that less expensive, but still enticing places like Los Angeles make sense to tech entrepreneurs, says Chris DeWolfe, who runs a rapidly growing company called the Social Gaming Network in Beverly Hills. “It’s more affordable to live almost anywhere in Los Angeles, and you still get a great variety of life here with an amazing culture, super beaches and great hiking,” DeWolfe says. “And the sun is almost always shining.” The only thing that remains as a major benchmark for Los Angeles is to give birth to a city-defining company in the same way that Facebook, Google and Apple have defined Silicon Valley, or how Amazon and Microsoft have reshaped Seattle. On the other opposite side of the U.S., New York’s “Silicon Alley” has been a high-tech cove for the past 15 years. Boston and Washington, D.C., also have had some success cultivating a vibrant technology scene, though neither city has coined a catchy nickname that has stuck. Billionaire Steve Case, who co-founded AOL Inc. in Virginia, is trying to spread the tech gospel in U.S. cities that have been brushed off as rusty relics of a bygone industrial era. In June, Case visited more than 100 entrepreneurs and see Silicon Beach on page 10 DECEMBER 2014 The Business Connection 9

Silicon Beach continued from page 9 startups during a bus tour of Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Nashville, Tennessee, that he called the “Rise of the Rest.” This month he followed up with another round of technology-preaching stops in Minneapolis; St. Louis; Madison, Wisconsin; Des Moines, Iowa; and Kansas City, Missouri. “This tech phenomenon in other parts of the country besides Silicon Valley is only going to increase as it becomes easier and cheaper to start companies,” Case predicts. DeWolfe said he had trouble luring technology engineers to Beverly Hills a decade ago when he was trying to expand MySpace, the social networking forerunner to Facebook that he co-founded. That’s no longer a problem now that there’s a steady stream of local students graduating with engineering degrees from local colleges like CalTech, UCLA and USC, says Marx, Los Angeles’ chief technology officer. Those students are flocking to local universities inspired by Southern California’s own success stories, including Internet search engine Overture Services of Pasadena, which Yahoo Inc. bought for $1.3 billion; MySpace, which News Corp. bought for $650 million; YouTube channel producer Maker Studios of Culver City, which sold to Disney in May for up to $950 million; and virtual reality headset maker Oculus of Irvine, which agreed to a $2 billion sale to

Venice beach boardwalk in Los Angeles. | AP photo/Richard Vogel 10 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014

Facebook in March. Meanwhile, venture capitalists continue to pour more money into Southern California startups. In the first nine months of this year, venture capitalists invested $1.6 billion in startups based in Los Angeles County and neighboring Orange County. That’s up 26 percent from the same time last year, according to figures compiled by PricewaterCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. That’s still a pittance compared to Silicon Valley, where venture capital investments nearly doubled to $17 billion during the same period. DeWolfe, who shuttles between Social Gaming Network’s Beverly Hills headquarters and a San Francisco office, doubts Silicon Beach will ever come close to matching Silicon Valley’s technology prowess. “There is something about Silicon Valley lore that you will never be able to reproduce, no matter how much you say you want to,” he says. That doesn’t mean Silicon Valley can’t be toppled from its perch, Case cautions. “It’s important to never get cocky or complacent. Fifty or 60 years ago, Detroit was like the Silicon Valley of its day. You have to constantly attract talent and constantly innovate.”

$15 million Cummins logistics center will open this year By Chris Jones n The Republic

build its own facility rather than leasing spaces throughout southern Indiana. Cummins received approval from Columbus City Council in July 2013 to designate the project location as an economic revitalization area, allowing the company to seek a tax abatement for the warehouse facility. The city gave Cummins approval in April to develop the site and build the warehouse. In May, Cummins asked the city to annex 5,227 square feet of land in Wayne Township into the city for the purpose of developing the land for the logistics center. City Council approved the annexation June 17. Furnish said the company hopes to have the facility completed soon because some of the leases from the five other properties are set to expire before the end of the year. Josh Duncan, facilities and construction manager at Cummins, said the facility will have 42 loading docks, dozens of stacks to hold products and supplies, and a special area with a reinforced foundation to store Cummins’ new ISG engine model. The model is an in-line, six-cylinder engine available in 11- and 12-liter models to meet a broad variety of global market requirements and emissions standards. Cummins also is in the process of building a new 28,000-square-foot wellness center in downtown Columbus at Eighth and Jackson streets that will open in 2016. That facility will function as a health and wellness center for Cummins employees and their dependents.

photo by Chet Strange

new Cummins Inc. facility in the Walesboro Industrial Park is on track for completion before the end of the year, bringing with it 25 new jobs. The $15 million Cummins Southern Indiana Logistics Center — a warehouse and distribution facility — will consolidate 80 employees from three distribution centers in Seymour, one distribution center in Jonesville and one distribution center in Greenwood. Once the consolidation is complete, there will be 105 Cummins employees working at the warehouse. Employees transferring to the new center make an average of about $21 an hour, while the 25 new jobs will pay between $10 to $15 a hour, said Catina Furnish, real estate manager for the Columbus-based diesel-engine maker. Once complete, the building will have 428,400 square feet of space for storing equipment and parts for Cummins facilities and products, she said. Indianapolis-based firm ARCO Design/Build Inc. was hired to design and build the new facility. The new warehouse is located just west of the Cummins Midrange Engine Plant in the Walesboro Industrial Park. “Two and a half years ago, we did some analysis on our warehouse space that we lease today. We undertook a project with our logistics people to say, ‘What are we paying today?’” she said. “We did a request-for-proposal to see what it would cost to do a consolidation effort.” Furnish said the company realized it would be cheaper to

DECEMBER 2014 The Business Connection 11

chamberc DECEMBER 2014

2014 at the Columbus Chamber: By the Numbers

Monthly publication of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerc

Ribbon Cuttings

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been an exhilarating year for your Chamber. The energy and excitement were fueled by our engaged members, our dedicated board and volunteers, our partners at SCORE and the Indiana Small Business Development Center, our ambassadors and our outstanding Chamber staff. Check out the highlights for 2014, by the numbers:

71 new members 2,400 event attendees throughout the year 33 ribbon cuttings 200 members visited during our two-day ambassador blitz 520 attendees at our annual meeting 300 attendees at our first-ever Women in Leadership Lunch 150 attendees at the Columbus Young Professionals Ignite Columbus idea competition

140 students participated in the regional Maverick Challenge 6,000 visits to the Chamber website 750 volunteer hours 185 meetings at the Chamber offices 578 business counseling hours by the Indiana Small Business Development Center The numbers tell the story of a Chamber that is helping to propel the community forward. As we wind down the year and transition into 2015, this Chamber will continue to work on behalf of this community so that Columbus continues to be a place where businesses and people thrive. Cindy Frey President

12 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014

1 1. Happy Happy Self Storage, 4725 Jonesville Road 2. Peterman Heating Cooling & Plumbing, 1003 Washington 3. Family Chiropractic and Wellness, 1405 Washington St.

Annual Chamb Holiday Party

Jingle, Jingle, Mix & Mingle Thursday, Dec. 4 5 to 7 p.m. Clarion Hotel & Conference Cente Join us as we close out the year w networking. Come for a few minutes time. All employees of Chamber mem ed to attend. Reservations requested

www.columbusa

connection Growing BUSINESS. Growing people.

ce • 500 Franklin Street • Columbus, IN 47201 • 812-379-4457

New Members Boy Scouts of America Bob Dewar 5625 E. State Road 46 Bloomington, IN 47401 Primary Phone: 812-657-5228 Website: http://www. hoosiertrailsbsa.org Email: bdewar@bsamail.org

Chevrolet of Columbus Leo Portaluppi 3560 N. National Road Columbus, IN 47201 Primary Phone: 812-375-2900 Website: http://www. chevyofcolumbus.com Email: leo@chevyofcolumbus. com Columbus Canvas Susan Stier 810 Brown St., Suite C Columbus, IN 47201-6214 Primary Phone: 812-552-1462 Website: http://www.columbuscanvas.com Email: columbuscanvas@gmail. com Duffy-Warble Insurance Inc. David Warble 411 Sixth St. Columbus, IN 47201-6214 Primary Phone: 317-512-4300 Website: http://www. duffywarbleinsuranceinc.com Email: dwarble@duffywarble.com

St.

ber

Calendar

er – poolside with fun, food and s or stay the entire mber firms are invitd, but not required.

Dec. 3, 10, 17 — Office hours in The Fishtank, 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 4 — Ribbon cutting – The Merit Group, 11:30 a.m. Dec. 4 — Jingle! Jingle! Mix and Mingle After Hours at the Clarion, 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 10 — Ribbon cutting at Victoria’s Custom Apparel, 4:30 p.m. Dec. 11 — SPARK Columbus: Networking for Entrepreneurs, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

areachamber.com

J&J All-Pro Driving Academy Jerry Burton 1609 Orinoco Ave., Suite A Columbus, IN 47201 Primary Phone: 812-390-0014 Website: http://jandjdriving.com Email: jerryburton704@yahoo. com Legal Aid – District Eleven Inc. Alaina Sullivan 1531 13th St., Suite G330 Columbus, IN 47201 Primary Phone: 812-314-2721 Website: http://www. legalaiddistrict11.org Email: executivedirector@ legalaiddistrict11.org

Mountjoy Chilton Medley LLP Dan McCauley 702 North Shore Drive, Suite 500 Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Primary Phone: 812-670-3400 Website: http://www.mcmcpa. com Speedy Shred Deryk Baurle P.O. Box 14 Seymour, IN 47274 Primary Phone: 812-376-6364 Email: speedyshred@gmail.com The Merit Group LLC Vicki Cooper 9465 Counselor Row, Suite 288 Indianapolis, IN 46240 Primary Phone: 317-805-4896 Website: http://www. themeritgroupindy.com Email: vcooper@ themeritgroupindy.com Victoria’s Custom Apparel Trish Meier 4181 N. Road 150W Columbus, IN 47203 Primary Phone: 812-350-7958 Website: http://m. victoriascustomapparel.com/ Home.html Email: trish@ victorygymacademy.com WestPoint Financial Group Jacob Martin 900 E. 96th St., Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN 46240 Primary Phone: 317-469-9999 Website: http://www. westpointfinancialgroup.com White River Running Company Brandi Legge 325 Fifth St. Columbus, IN 47201 Primary Phone: 812-584-4499 Website: http://www. whiteriverrunningcompany.com

DECEMBER 2014 The Business Connection 13

Around the WATERCOOLER Kemper acquires Larry Nunn & Associates

Kemper CPA Group LLP announced a merger/acquisition with Larry E. Nunn & Associates, CPAs, LLC that was effective Sept. 1. The resulting offices are operating under the Kemper name and are located at the existing Larry E. Nunn & Associates offices in Columbus, Seymour and Plainfield. The members of Larry E. Nunn & Associates are remaining on staff at Kemper, with Mary Ann Nunn and Randy Effner joining Kemper CPA Group as partners, and Steve Blacketer serving in an advisory capacity. The acquisition of Larry E. Nunn & Associates, which was established in 1976, strengthens Kemper CPA Group’s presence in Indiana. Kemper CPA Group is headquartered in Greenfield and also operates offices in Connersville, Evansville, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Vincennes and Washington. With 22 offices in Illinois, Indiana, California and Kentucky, Kemper CPA Group LLP is one of the 100 largest CPA firms in the nation. Services offered include tax return preparation and consulting, asset management services, medical practice management, computer network design and installation, and accounting software implementation. Additional services include employee benefit plan administration, auditing, bookkeeping and payroll services.

Cook CEO tops list of richest Hoosiers

Cook Group Inc. CEO Carl Cook is the richest person in Indiana with a net worth of $6 billion, according to calculations by Forbes magazine. Cook, 52, is among four Hoosiers on the magazine’s annual list of the 400 richest people in America. He ranks 83rd overall. Cook received most of his fortune from his parents, Bill and Gayle Cook, who spent several years transferring the family’s wealth to their son. Bill Cook, who founded the Bloomingtonbased life sciences company, died in 2011. Next on the list is Indiana Pacers owner Herbert Simon, 79, who ranked No. 272 with net worth of $2.3 billion. Simon was co-founder of Melvin Simon & Associates, the precursor to Simon Property Group, the world’s largest shopping mall company. Hotel and billboard magnate Dean White, 91, of Crown Point was ranked No. 334 with net worth of $1.96 billion. White is the sixth oldest person on the list. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, 55, rounded out the Indiana contingent at 368th, with $1.7 billion in net worth. 14 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014

Zeller Insurance offers new online tools

Zeller Insurance of Columbus has launched a new website and interactive digital marketing campaign designed to improve the way the agency connects with, markets to and serves its community. Zeller Insurance has partnered with Astonish – an insurance digital marketing, technology and sales training company that specializes in helping local insurance agents modernize the way they do business. The agency’s new marketing strategy features an exclusive “virtual insurance office” meant to improve consumer engagement and provide the visitor with a personalized experience. The agency’s new website, www.zellerinsurance.com, is easy to navigate, making it simple for online consumers to find what they need. The ultimate goal is to make the online insurance-buying experience pleasant and easy to understand.

Job cuts affect Rolls-Royce operations

The Indianapolis operations of Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc will be hit by job cuts over the next 18 months as the world’s secondbiggest maker of aircraft engines plans to eliminate about 2,600 positions company-wide. The bulk of the cuts will be made in Rolls-Royce’s aerospace division, the London-based company announced. The firm employs about 4,500 workers in its Indianapolis operations, devoted mostly to civil and defense aerospace work. Company spokesman Joel Reuter confirmed to IBJ that the Indianapolis operations will be affected by the cuts, but said that specific plans and numbers were not yet available. Rolls-Royce employs more than 55,000 people total in 45 countries. The cuts would come in a variety of positions, including engineering, administrative, managerial and operational, Reuter said.

Indiana University opening overseas offices

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana University officials are planning to open at least half a dozen overseas offices to help raise the school’s profile around the world. IU Vice President David Zaret says the offices will be a fiveyear experiment aimed at recruiting more international students,

increasing research projects and boosting interaction and donations from graduates living in those countries. IU opened its Beijing office in May and university President Michael McRobbie is planning to visit one near New Delhi. Zaret says the next possible locations for IU offices are Berlin and Istanbul. Future offices in Africa and Southeast Asia also are being planned. He says these sites aren’t branch campuses, but a home base where IU can have events.

Electricity provider gets federal loan guarantee

An Indiana electric cooperative is receiving a $5 million federal loan guarantee to improve delivery of its power. The grant to the Decatur County REMC is one of $1.4 billion in loan guarantees announced recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The cooperative plans to add 49 miles of transmission and distribution lines. It also will receive nearly $97,000 from the USDA for smart-grid technology. Smart grid helps rural electric utilities manage power use more effectively.

Google unveils Inbox app

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Google is introducing an application designed to make it easier for its Gmail users to find and manage important information that can often become buried in their inboxes. The service, called Inbox, can sort electronic receipts and bank statements into bundles so they can be quickly fetched. This method is similar to the way that Gmail currently separates promotional emails from other communications sent to its Gmail users. Google says Inbox can also figure out the key points of an email, such as travel itineraries, event times and photos, and highlight the information. Inbox can also be used to create to-do lists. Invitations to test Inbox will be sent out. Recipients can then invite their friends and families to check out Inbox.

Final path of I-69 unsettled

Indiana transportation officials say it could be three years before the state determines the exact route of Interstate 69 from Martinsville to Indianapolis. The state says no decision can be made until a Tier 2 environmental impact statement is completed. That process is expected to take two to three years, The Herald-Times reported. A study of the 142-mile interstate expansion from Evansville to Indianapolis in 2004 recommended that the stretch from Martinsville to Indianapolis follow the path of Indiana 37 to Interstate 465. But legislation passed in 2006 upended those plans by including language intended to prevent I-69 from passing through Perry Township in Marion County. Indiana 37 goes through Perry Township. Construction on the fifth section of the highway, from Evansville to Martinsville, is expected to ramp up later this fall, with the section open to traffic by the end of 2016. Work will begin in the Bloomington area and continue north to Martinsville, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. — Staff and Wire Reports DECEMBER 2014 The Business Connection 15

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coach’s corner

Mark McNulty

How to hold employees accountable Over the last three weeks, I have been asked multiple times by frustrated business owners how to hold people accountable for their work. It is one of the biggest challenges, yet one of the most misunderstood concepts, in the business world. When I started asking people what they thought about the issue, I heard a lot of absolutes in their beliefs and approaches to accountability. A common theme that arose was that most people seemed to think it was a “do what I ask/say or else” scenario, which I believe is the absolute wrong way to go about accountability. The first problem with the “do what I say” approach is that accountability isn’t about doing anything. Accountability is about achieving mutually agreed upon results/outcomes, not simply about completing a task (although completing tasks is obviously part of getting results). You and your team should be working at how to be accountable for results, not just completing tasks. The second problem with this approach is that most teams that I talk to simply don’t know how to be accountable. They just don’t understand the concept, and their misunderstanding is often magnified by their leaders’ incorrect approach of “holding them accountable.” What I have found over the years is that the best way to hold someone accountable is to teach them how to be accountable. If you have to hold them accountable or call them on it, then you have likely already lost the battle and will end up with the dreaded lose-lose situation instead of a win-win. Teaching people how to be accountable will take some time, but it is always worth it because they will improve for you on a steady basis long before they get to owning their accountability. The steps are fairly simple and straightforward, just like most fundamentals of business. The key is to decide whether you want to be a great taskmaster or a great leader. Step one is setting expectations for the results/outcomes you get from each person. Since accountability is all about outcomes, you have to clearly define what you are expecting. The second step is the most obvious, but also the least utilized. You have to now share your expectations with your team. The third step is the most important, and it is what makes accountability work. You have to get the employees’ commitment to achieve the outcomes you are requesting as their personal goal/ target. Without the team buying into the expectations, you will just be beating your head against the proverbial wall trying to hold them accountable to something they never agreed to do for you in the first place. This might take a discussion or two. You may have to help them understand how they can achieve what you are asking, and you will need to ensure that you provide the tools and environment for

them to succeed. Now that you have defined the expectations, shared them and received a commitment from your team to perform to these expectations, it is time to start teaching them how to be accountable to their agreement. Some people get it from day one, others take time and coaching; all need you to be a great leader for them. Here are some of my favorite coaching methods for helping people to be accountable. First, catch them doing well, even if it is just them trying. Ask them how they are doing in relation to their commitments. Ask them what help/support they need, what is preventing them from meeting their goals/targets/commitments. The key to success is getting their participation in the discussions, so be sure to ask, then listen. If they don’t know, tell them it’s OK and ask them what they think. Ask them to recall what you talked about last time. The key to all employee coaching is to get them talking so that they take ownership of their own development and success. If they forget something, that’s OK. Have them think back to the last time it was discussed and help them to do their own recall. Don’t do it for them. The bottom line for accountability is that holding people accountable is difficult to do and establishes an adversarial relationship where someone wins and the other loses. Helping people be accountable is much easier and establishes a trusting, supportive win-win relationship. Mark McNulty is a business coach with ActionCoach Business Coaching. He can be reached at 350-4903 or mark@coachmark.biz.

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on the move

Jesse Brand

Derek Kintner

Jesse Brand, recently retired president of Brands Inc., a family-owned building supply firm in Columbus, has been appointed by Gov. Mike Pence as a state trustee for Ivy Tech Community College. The Ivy Tech Community College State Board of Trustees is composed of 14 members, appointed for three years in overlapping terms. One trustee must reside in each of the college’s 14 regions. Brand is a 1966 graduate of Columbus High School and a 1970 graduate of DePauw University. He served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He served on the Columbus City Council from 2006 until 2012, serving as president from 2011 until 2012. His current board service includes the Heritage Fund, the Community Education Coalition, Barcon Vocational Builders (the vocational building trades program of Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.), the Indiana Builders Association and director emeritus of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Brand’s past board service includes the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers Association, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Lumber and Builders Supply Association, Tri-County Builders Association, Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, and State Board of Trustees of Ivy Tech Community College. Derek Kintner, director of field operations at Harmon Steel Inc. in Indianapolis, has been appointed to the Ivy Tech Community College Columbus Board of Trustees. The North Vernon resident will represent the labor segment of the board. Other segments represented include commerce, manufacturing, agriculture and education. Harmon Steel is the largest steel erecting company in Indianapolis. As director of field operations, Kintner is responsible for the supervision of all day-to-day field operations from the superintendents through the workforce. He has lent his expertise during the construction of the new Indianapolis airport parking garage, the Clarian Saxony Hospital, the I-69 expansion,

18 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014

the Ohio River bridge project and Smithland Hydroelectric Powerhouse. Brandon Foster and Bob Schafstall, specialists at Burt’s Termite & Pest Control, recently attended Bed Bug Boot Camp, an intensive two-day course presented by Bed Bug Central covering bed bug biology, behavior and treatment protocols. Burt’s is certified as part of the Bed Bug Free Network.

Brandon Foster

Bob Schafstall

MainSource Financial Group recently finalized its purchase of the common stock of MBT Bancorp in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $35.4 million. MBT is headquartered in West Harrison and is the holding company for Merchants Bank and Trust Co. Michael Sweet, a front desk associate at the Hampton Inn Columbus/Taylorsville/ Edinburgh since March, has been honored with the company’s Spirit of Hampton Award in recognition of exemplary loyalty, attitude and service. Nominated for the award by his peers, he will receive a cash prize, a plaque and other special recognition during the year. The hotel is located on U.S. 31 near Edinburgh Premium Outlets. Bill Mahoney of Columbus has been promoted to vice president of indirect lending at Centra Credit Union. He joined Centra in February 2013 as director of indirect lending and played a key role in expanding Centra’s partnerships with local auto dealers. He formerly served as business manager at Country Chevrolet and Acra Automotive Group. He is a graduate of Columbus North High School and studied economics at Franklin College. For the second time, the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana has selected Shepherd Insurance as the 2014 Agency of

the Year. Shepherd has a Columbus office at 333 Eighth St. The Agency of the Year award is presented to an agency that exemplifies leadership and innovation in the insurance industry. Agencies that earn the award are characterized by strong growth, innovative marketing strategies, implementation of a perpetual plan, creative utilization of automation and top level customer service. Shepherd earned the same award in 2003. Teri Schwartz has joined Northwestern Mutual of Columbus as an associate wealth management adviser. She is a native of Columbus and a graduate of Franklin College, with a degree in finance. With more than 10 years of experience in the investment industry, her primary role will be implementing and servicing investment advisory accounts. Teri Schwartz

Michael Matheny of Columbus has joined Dallas-based residential mortgage company PrimeLending in Indianapolis. A former loan officer at Fifth Third Bank, he has more than 13 years of mortgage industry experience and will

work with residents in south central Indiana on purchase and refinance mortgage loans.

Jonathan Wilson

Jonathan Wilson, recently retired dean of the School of Fine Arts & Design at Ivy Tech Community College Columbus, has received this year’s Leave a Legacy Award, given annually to a retired faculty, staff or board member who has epitomized the Ivy Tech mission of “changing lives” by sharing his or her time, treasure, and/or talent for the benefit of our students. Wilson was honored with this award for having given in all three of these ways, according to Therese Copeland, Ivy Tech executive director of resource development. He has “devoted countless hours of dedication to his students and his work in the community. He developed robust partnerships that have been the catalyst for incredible community events,” she said. Wilson and his wife, Anne, have also been financially generous to the campus and its students throughout his 38-year tenure. Wilson was also honored for his work with Flashes of Hope, an annual event during which photographers donate their time to photograph children fighting cancer and other life threatening illnesses. — Staff Reports

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5400 YELLOWWOOD DR COMMERCIAL REMODEL $157,300 ALL SAINTS COMMUNITY HOME, OWNER MILLER, JOHN, CONTRACTOR REPLACE HVAC UNITS

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2655 CENTRAL AVE COMMERCIAL ADDITION $20,000 CROWN CASTLE, OWNER OVERLAND CONTRACTING, CONTRACTOR CELL TOWER ADDN 3055 E 25TH ST COMMERCIAL REMODEL $700,000 PARDIECK DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER DKMULLIN ARCHITECTS LLC, CONTRACTOR COM REMODEL 19342 SF/ PLANET FITNESS 2423 N NATIONAL RD COMMERCIAL REMODEL $5,200 CVS, OWNER DEEM, LLC, CONTRACTOR REPL HVAC UNIT

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SKAGGS BUILDERS INC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 4674 MAPLELAWN DR $115,000 NEW 3415 SF RES/GAR BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 4678 MAPLELAWN DR $95,000 NEW 2848 SF RES/GAR BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 4814 PINION CIR $86,500 NEW 2370 SF RES/GAR BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 4869 PINION CIR $115,000 NEW 3549 SF RES/GAR BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 3213 RED FOX TRL $220,000 NEW 5950 SF RES/BMT/GAR DREES HOMES, OWNER/ CONTRACTOR 16285 S 250 W $419,500 NEW 6742 SF RES/BMT/GAR SPEAKER, REBECCA, OWNER PRUITT STEVE, CONTRACTOR 3961 S SUMMIT LN $38,5000 SINGLE FAM RES O’BRIEN DAVE M, OWNER SKAGGS BUILDERS INC, CONTRACTOR 2433 SHADOW BEND DR $131,600 NEW 2331 SF RES/GAR BEAZER HOMES, OWNER/ CONTRACTOR 2332 SHADOW CT $222,000 NEW 4050 SF RES/GAR BEAZER HOMES, OWNER/ CONTRACTOR

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DECEMBER 2014 The Business Connection 21

Eye on the pie

Morton Marcus

Funding for local government: To take or not to take from fed? The elections of 2014 are over, and now we must turn to another set of extremely important elections — those of 2015. Next year we will elect mayors in Indiana’s cities, and those races are crucially important for our future. The basic framework of how we live is determined, in large measure, by where we live. What businesses are available to us for jobs and for shopping? Are our streets and homes safe? Are health regulations for our children and our seniors enforced? Are businesses and families protected by intelligent zoning and code enforcement? Answers to these and a dozen other questions are strongly dependent on whom we elect as our mayors. Indiana is fortunate to have many fine mayors who promote community harmony and progress. But it becomes increasingly difficult to find good people to run for those demanding offices. Of course we do have a few mayors who sow discord and retard the development of their communities. It’s our job to see they do not get re-elected.

Each mayor must choose what services to augment and how to finance improvements in his/her city. Take these two examples: In Gary, Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson is using federal funds to assist in clearing away many vacant, dilapidated properties for redevelopment. In Indianapolis, Mayor Greg Ballard has used and is being urged to use federal funds to make downtown streets exciting places for dining and entertainment. Gary is a city that needs all the help it can get. The consequences of accumulated neglect and mismanagement are being addressed by an energetic, practical mayor. It is consistent with our national interest to see to it that endangered cities are given a chance to be resuscitated. Gary has suffered at the hands of the state legislature and its own internal conflicts. Mayor Freeman-Wilson looks forward without blaming anyone. Her gaze is fixed firmly on what can be done today with available resources to build consensus and community. Indianapolis, the core of Indiana’s most thriving metropolitan area, is the polar opposite

of Gary. It has been on an upward trajectory of more than 30 years with a string of prudent, but progressive mayors. Yet, Indianapolis, like Gary and other Hoosier cities, has been throttled by the small-town, small-minded General Assembly. Should Indianapolis use federal or state funds to create more outdoor eating on The Circle? What is the national or state interest in this $60 million project? Will Indianapolis fail to thrive if local property owners, the presumed beneficiaries of this project, foot the bill? Gov. Mike Pence turned down the chance to receive $80 million in federal funding for pre-K education because strings “might be” attached. This sets up questions for Indiana and the nation. Should Hoosiers reject federal funds to improve our most damaged cities because of strings? Or should there be strings (safeguards) on federal funds to prevent them from being used to further enhance already prosperous communities? Morton Marcus is an economist, formerly with the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

Business Indicators for Bartholomew County

Jun 2014

Jul 2014

Aug 2014 Sep 2014

Labor Force % Chg from Year Ago

42,629 42,643 42,680 42,482 1.96% 2.14% 2.71% 3.48%

Employed % Chg from Year Ago

40,664 40,837 40,960 40,861 3.76% 4.02% 4.42% 4.98%

Unemployed % Chg from Year Ago

1,965 1,806 1,720 1,621 -24.94% -27.41% -26.09% -23.9%

Unemployment Rate 4.6 4.2 4.0 3.8 Chg from Year Ago -1.7 -1.8 -1.6 -1.4 — Center for Business and Economic Research, Ball State University 22 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014

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business, considers its history and ometimes a new owner acquires a rather than abruptly change reputation, and opts to build on that Curt Aton purchased Noblitt its direction. Such was the case when Fabricating in 2010. short-run production of The company, which provides prototypes, has original equipment manufacturers, components and special projects to for that it was already a go-to house been around since 1965. Aton saw as unique. Since then, he has added manufacturing work that qualified marketplace. the in image that capabilities that enhance the assets of Columbus Tube Form. In 2011, Noblitt Fabricating bought the that types assembly the range of That move significantly expanded did the June 2012 purchase and installation company could offer customers, as control) mill and lathe. of a Hyundai CNC (computer numerical warehouse, with In 2013, Aton and crew added a 5,000-square-footin the previously processes the intent to consolidate all manufacturing also acquired the ability to existing space. That year, the company to its versatility. make flexible hoses, once again adding offer everything under one “What we’ve really tried to do is of capacity kind the have “We Aton. says roof,”

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Smithville

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ConneCT 12 The Business

By Barney QuicK n photoS By

Health Columbus Regional

up for a challenge Noblitt Fabricating proud of its manufacturing precision and versatility

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Canteen Services of Kentuckiana

PEOPLE. ESS. GROWING GROWING BUSIN

an assortment of bottom: Derieck Hillenburg welds a sheet of steel plate. opposite page a Bridgeport milling a laser cut part that was nested on one of the oldest tools in the shop, opposite page top: Curt Aton lifts the CNC lathe. Below: Carl Lucas uses complete part. above: Blanks from individual components to create a machine, to countersink parts. period as needed, which we did during a that allows us to set up a second shift of peak demand last year.” to A PUBLICATION OF milestones, it’s reasonable of pace of accomplishing With this kind looking at building a finished-goods ask what’s next on the horizon. “We’re shipping and receiving,” says Aton. warehouse, from which we’d do our are nt role in manufacturing. “Not only Precision plays an ever-more-domina specifications,” Aton customer ever-tighter meeting we ISO certified, but we’re layout, material certifications, the notes. “Customers now want a prototype noVeMBeR 2014

WWW.COLUMBUS

AREACHAMBER.C

The Business ConneCT

2014 ion noVeMBeR

ion 13

NOVEMBER 2014

whole nine yards.” a 9-foot Faro Edge Measuring Arm, To that end, the company acquired Other lab equipment includes which allows it to perform laser inspections. system and a coordinate a hardness tester, a six-axis tube measurement measuring machine. with cutting a blank on the laser cutter, Typically, a Noblitt project begins and to an inch thick, and stainless steel which can handle 22 gauge steel up the Forming might be done on one of aluminum up to a quarter-inch thick. presses. stamping or presses brake department. Al the welders are Aton is particularly proud of his welding and gas aluminum, metal inert gas (MIG) certified in mild steel, stainless steel, tungsten arc welding, known as TIG. sawing. and painting, machining Other secondary operations include the shop floor is meticulously documented. Routing of part numbers through is some niche is specialized projects, there Even though Noblitt Fabricating’s but you be the only one bidding on a job, competition. “Sometimes you might may even be bidding against an international don’t know that,” says Aton. “You

array of companies.” is a high priority for the Noblitt crew. Staying abreast of industry trends an annual trade show held in various Staff members generally attend Fabtech, Technology Show, held yearly at cities, and the International Manufacturing see noBLitt on page 16 15 noVeMBeR 2014 The Business ConneCTion

noVeMBeR 2014 14 The Business ConneCTion

Starting in March of 2015, we’re going to a quarterly glossy magazine format! You’ll want to keep this publication in front of you to be on top of local and national trends in the business world. Chamber events, business changes, personnel policies – all the important information you have grown accustomed to in The Business Connection – all in a sleek new package. This December and January could be your last issues of The Business Connection! To ensure you continue receiving The Business Connection at no charge, or to begin receiving it, send us an email at: BZCT@therepublic.com with your name and where you would like your copy of The Business Connection mailed and we’ll make sure you continue to receive it starting in March, 2015.

Retail assessment Local business owners optimistic as year winds down

NOVEMBER 2014 THE BUSINESS CONNECTION 1

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24 The Business Connection DECEMBER 2014