SMILEY PETE
PUBLISHING
MARCH 1, 2013 VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5
www.bizlex.com
A PA R T N E R I N P R O G R E S S
$2.25 Design professionals Alt32
Focus: Manufacturing
Parking perplexities
PAGE 7
The health of manufacturing in Kentucky By Pam Mangas
Made in the Bluegrass: Big Ass Fans
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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cross the United States, a renaissance is taking place in an industry once thought to be on the brink of death: manufacturing. According to the Institute for Supply Management, economic activity in manufacturing expanded eight out of 12 months in 2012, although this growth was classified as mostly moderate. Whether Kentucky’s economy has experienced a significant boost from this resur gence may depend on what data is considered and who is asked, but almost everyone agrees that in Kentucky, a vibrant manufacturing industry is vital.
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Integrity/ Architecture: Lexington’s New Blood PAGE 21
SEE MANUFACTURING PAGE 15
Half a Century in Exile: a Q&A with J.P. Pennington PAGE 22
PHOTO BY DREW PURCELL
By Susan Baniak and Tom Martin
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BUSINESS LEXINGTON
t’s not as exciting as a new basketball arena, as entertaining as a distillery district, or as pleasant as a downtown water feature, but business owners, developers and city of ficials agree that parking is a crucial determining factor in the success or failure of the city’s core. By no means is it a new problem. Downtown parking has been the subject of debate and criticism for decades. Some people hold that it is simply a problem of perception on the part of today’s driving consumers, who have been conditioned by the growing number of expansive suburban surface lots. Others see an increasingly confusing, inconsistent and inconvenient network of downtown parking options in need of a complete overhaul. All agree, however, that downtown Lexington cannot support a thriving retail sector in the long ter m unless it develops better parking solutions. SEE PARKING PAGE 11
PHOTO FURNISHED
Zenobia Williams, a production employee, works on bottom-freezer refrigerator doors at GE’s Appliance Park in Louisville, Ky.
Commercial insurance rates expected to rise By Tom Mays, CIC GUEST WRITER
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roperty and casualty rates are on the move, and business owners should be prepared for an increase in pricing when renewing their insurance program in 2013. A few business owners may have seen a slight increase in pricing during 2011, however many more experienced an increase in 2012. U.S. property and casualty rates steadily increased last year an average of 5 percent, according to MarketScout, an insurance exchange based in Dallas, Texas. Depending on the type of b usiness SEE INSURANCE RATES PAGE 9
INSIDE
POINTS OF INTEREST: UNINSURED KENTUCKIANS PAGE 3 • BRIEFS PAGE 4 • WHO’S WHO IN LEXINGTON PAGE 6 • BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW PAGE 8 ACHIEVING AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE PAGE 10 • BROWNFIELDS AND URBAN RENEWAL PAGE 14 • MARKETING GREEN PRODUCTS PAGE 16 E-PROCUREMENT PAGE 18 • BIZLISTS: MANUFACTURING EMPLOYERS PAGE 20 • PARTING THOUGHTS PAGES 24-25 • LEADS PAGE 26