Business Lexington October 2020

IN THIS ISSUE

BusinessLexington OCTOBER 2020 | VOL. 16 ISSUE 10

BizIQ: Nancy Wiser, founder and president of Wiser Strategies, posits seven questions for better communication PAGE 6

CraveWorthy: Scoop shops put inventive twists on old-fashioned favorites PAGE 8

UP TO THE JOB Kentucky leads the way in shifting gears and making what the nation needs

IndependentBusiness: Kre8Now Makerspace equips local makers with the tools and know-how they need PAGE 20

PAGE 16

PHOTO FURNISHED

BizLists Manufacturing Investments | PAGE 17 Information Technology Firms | PAGE 18

www.bizlex.com

VISIT BIZLEX.COM TODAY TO SUBSCRIBE.

GET WEEKLY WIRE EMAIL UPDATES AT BIZLEX.COM FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CALL 859.266.6537 OR EMAIL ADVERTISE@BIZLEX.COM BUSINESS LEXINGTON IS PROUDLY PRODUCED BY SMILEY PETE PUBLISHING

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 1

10/1/20 6:46 PM

Fifth Third Means Business™ From assessing risk to M&A advisory, we know your business requires unique solutions to meet the specific moments you’re navigating. That’s why, at Fifth Third Bank, we have a team of local experts who understand your business. Whatever your business goals are, we’re here to help you succeed. Let’s build, together.

Fifth Third Means Business™

53.com/CommercialBank

Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 2

10/1/20 6:46 PM

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

BusinessLexington Chuck Creacy PUBLISHER

chuck@bizlex.com Chris Eddie

CONTENTS PVAStatistics

The latest statistics on local commercial and residential properties PAGE 4

PUBLISHER

chris@bizlex.com Tom Wilmes EDITOR

tomw@bizlex.com Susan Baniak FEATURES EDITOR

susan@bizlex.com

EconomicAnalysis

A monthly look at economic indicators compiled by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Kentucky PAGE 5

Protecting Your Digital IP: What small businesses and content creators need to know about safeguarding intellectual property in the digital age PAGE 12

Independent Business With a new location and expanded offerings, Kre8Now Makerspace equips local makers with the tools and know-how they need PAGE 10

The Show Goes On: As the COVID curtain falls on large in-person gatherings, MSI Production Services upgrades virtual events with professional presentation PAGE 14

Drew Purcell ART DIRECTOR

drew@bizlex.com Sharon Metz BIZLISTS EDITOR

sharon.metz66@gmail.com Donna Hodsdon ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

donna@bizlex.com Theresa Stanley DIRECTOR OF EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS

GrammarGourment

By the numbers: When and when not to spell out numerals PAGE 5

BizIQ

Founder and president of Wiser Strategies posits seven questions for better communication PAGE 6

theresa@smileypete.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Amy Eddie

amy@bizlex.com Ann Staton

G

BL

IS HI

N

P

U

Y ILE PE

TE

SM

ann@bizlex.com

P.O. Box 22731 Lexington, KY 40522 P: (859) 266-6537 F: (859) 255-0672 www.smileypete.com

3

Kentucky Manufacturers Up to the Job: The Commonwealth leads the way in shifting gears and making what the nation needs PAGE 16

CraveWorthy

Scoop shops put inventive twists on old-fashioned favorites PAGE 8

QuickBites

Distilled on the move, North Lime heads to Greyline, and more restaurant news PAGE 9

BizList

Manufacturing Investments PAGE 17

Information Technology Firms PAGE 18

Who’sWho

Employment updates from around the Bluegrass PAGE 22

PHOTO FURNISHED

Q&A with Gina Greathouse: Commerce Lexington’s executive vice president for economic development on attracting — and keeping — business in the city PAGE 20

It s our pleasure to serve you Weddings • Corporate Events Special Occasions

Lansdowne Shoppes 3373 Tates Creek Road, Lexington

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 3

10/1/20 6:46 PM

4

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

PVAStatistics These statistics on local residential and commercial property are compiled by the office of the Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator. The data reflect the most up-todate information available at the time of printing for this publication, but monthly figures may be revised as additional public records of property transactions are submitted and become available.

Top Commercial Transactions for September 2020

Right now a lot of WKLQJV DUH uncertain.

SALE DATE ADDRESS

PRICE

STRUCTURE

8/19/20

2376 Sir Barton Way

$3,100,000

Office Building

8/14/20

112 Westhampton Drive

$930,000

Manufacturing

8/17/20

3600-3604 Appian Way

$850,000

Office Building

8/17/20

1163 Centre Parkway

$850,000

Office Building

8/14/20

696-698 Blue Sky Parkway

$800,000

Auto Service Garage

8/26/20

165 Constitution St.

$540,000

Office Building

8/3/20

763 Lane Allen Road

$382,450

Retail

8/5/20

365 Transylvania Park

$372,500

Multifamily

8/3/20

440 Marquis Ave.

$330,000

Multifamily

8/6/20

348 Woodland Ave.

$270,000

Multifamily

8/12/20

785 N. Broadway Ave.

$268,000

Retail

8/18/20

1795 Alysheba Way Unit 5104

$160,000

Office / Condo

8/20/20

1031 Wellington Way Unit 125

$141,000

Office / Condo

$120,000

Multifamily

8/26/20 347 Oldham Ave.

Residential Sales Data for September 2020

:H­UH KHUH WR PDNH VXUH \RXU WHFKQRORJ\ LVQ­W

The chart below shows the monthly residential sales activity in Fayette County for the previous 24 months. The data for the most recent month reflect a projected estimate from the office of the Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator and are subject to change.

2018 RESIDENTIAL SALES

2019 RESIDENTIAL SALES

2020 RESIDENTIAL SALES

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

800.955.9706 www.mcmtsg.com

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 4

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

8%

4%

2%

-20%

-23%

-8%

12%

-28%

14%

4%

6%

19%

MONTHLY PERCENTAGE CHANGE OVER PREVIOUS YEAR For more local residential and commercial real estate information, visit the website of the Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator at www.fayettepva.com.

10/1/20 6:46 PM

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

5

EconomicAnalysis A monthly look at economic indicators compiled by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Kentucky. For more on CBER, visit www.cber.uky.edu.

Recent Data Sept. 2020

1-Month 1-Year Change Change

Payroll emp. MSA**** Manufacturing Employment Durable Goods (KY) **** Manufacturing: Lexington-Fayette MSA Total Employees**** Unemployment Rate MSA****

257,200 July 152,900 July

2.19% 0.99%

-7.78% -7.05%

28,475 July 5.30% Aug.

0.61% 1.20%

-4,92% 1.90%

Payroll Employment, US Manufacturing Payroll Employment US Unemployment Rate, US

140,914,000 Aug. 12,132,000 Aug. 8.40% Aug.

0.98% 0.24% -1.80%

-6.78% -5.57% 4.70%

Consumer Price Index, Southern Region Consumer Price Index, US Producer Price Index, US

249.639 Aug. 259.918 Aug. 202.6 Aug.

0.40% 0.30% -0.05%

1.10% 1.30% -1.41%

Index of Leading Indicators** Fed’s Index of Industrial Production**

104.4 July 101.4 Aug.

1.40% 0.40%

N/A -7.73%

3-Month Treasury Yield*** 10-Year Treasury Yield***

0.11% Sept. 11 0.68% Sept. 11

0.00% -0.01%

-1.84% -1.07%

Real GDP (millions $)

1-Month 1-Year 2nd Qtr. Change Change 2020 $19,486,509.00 June 30 -9.62% -8.64%

MSA: Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area; (p)=preliminary; NA=not available * Source: http://www.conference-board.org ** Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release — http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/G17/ *** Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release — http://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/H15/data.htm **** Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve — https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/ Note: In some cases 1 mo. and 1 yr. changes are based on revised data from previous mo./yr. GDP is reported in Current Dollars.

GrammarGourmet

By Neil Chethik

By the Numbers For the 2,559th time, please do not spell out two-thousand, five-hundred and fifty-nine.

So, when should you spell out numbers and when should you use an actual numeral?

When deciding, the general guideline is this: Spell out a number when it’s under 10 (e.g., “I am planning to go to all five UK home football games this year”). Use a numeral when it’s 10 or more. (“We haven’t beaten Alabama in 23 years, darn it.”)

Regardless of the general rule, here are several instances in which you should always use numerals: • Dates: The UK football team’s first game is Sept. 26 (not September Twenty-Sixth).

• Times: The time of the game is 4 p.m. (not four pee-em).

• Scores: I predict UK will win the opener against Ole Miss by 24-7 (not twenty-four to seven).

• Percentages: I also predict that UK will win 60% (not sixty percent) of its 10 games this year.

• Weight: The biggest UK football player, nose guard Marquan McCall, weighs 379 pounds (not three-hundred and seventynine pounds).

• Ages: Mark Stoops, 53, is beginning his ninth season as Kentucky’s head coach.

• Exact amounts of money: Ticket prices

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 5

PHOTO fUrNISHEd

for UK-Alabama on Nov. 21 range from $128 (not one-hundred-twenty-eight dollars) to $400 (not four hundred dollars) each. When ticket prices reach the million-dollar mark, you write it this way: $1 million (not one million dollars).

Most people won’t notice a slip-up or two as long as you’re consistent. Just don’t use 11 in one sentence and eleven in the next. BL Neil Chethik, aka the Grammar Gourmet, is executive director of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning (www.carnegiecenterlex.org) and author of “FatherLoss” and “VoiceMale.” The Carnegie Center offers writing classes and seminars for businesses and individuals. Contact Chethik at neil@ carnegiecenterlex.org or 859-254-4175.

10/1/20 6:46 PM

empowering businesses to help employees and customers drive electric.

More and more people are driving electric these days. That’s why we offer businesses the option of hosting charging stations for their employees and customers. In fact, we’ve already partnered with communities and businesses to install more than 20 electric vehicle charging stations across the state. If your business is interested in hosting a charging station, visit lge-ku.com/ev to get started. Empowering businesses to be more sustainable is just another way our energies go to serving you.

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 7

10/1/20 6:47 PM

8

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

CraveWorthy Scoop Shops Put Inventive Twists on Old-Fashioned Favorites

BY SHANNON CLINTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

ith fall in full swing, there’s no need to abandon your favorite frozen treats. Thanks to the creativity of local ice cream shop owners, you can have your holiday pumpkin pie in milkshake form, sample sorbets with exotic ingredients and, for adults only, indulge in a boozy ice-cream based cocktail or float.

Sav’s Restaurant and Gourmet Ice Cream on East Main Street in Lexington sells scoop after scoop of out-of-the-ordinary ice cream flavors to try by the cup, cone, milkshake or pint. The dual concept is owned and operated

by Chef Mamadou “Sav” Savane, who originally hails from Guinea in western Africa.

Sav’s administrative assistant Reina Slaymaker said lavender is one of the best-selling ice cream flavors.

“Made with edible lavender, this ice cream is a vanilla base and really captures the strong floral flavors of lavender,” she said.

Customers also enjoy mixing lavender ice cream or milkshakes with chocolate, coconut and pistachio for an added flavor boost, she said.

What caught my eye on a recent visit was hot banana ice cream, made with real bananas and blended with Sav’s specialty hot sauce, “Sav’s Piment.” Being a hot sauce fiend, I had to try a cup of this one alongside a scoop of lavender in hopes of a yin-yang experience.

The perfectly smooth hot banana ice cream briefly tastes only of fresh banana before a tongue tingling, peppery heat akin to coarsely ground peppercorns begins to build. The lavender ice cream didn’t taste like soap as feared — it has a delicate, pleasant flavor that paired well with the hot banana variety.

I also sampled a bite of my husband’s two scoops — Kentucky Coffee (with a bourbon kick) and Spanish Peanut Butter, which Slaymaker said is Sav’s personal favorite. The latter had a vanilla base with a fudge swirl and overall creamy mouthfeel while tasting predominantly of freshly roasted Spanish nuts.

Sav also makes his own vegan Beesop and JinJon sorbets in house from west African juices by those names. Beesop, Slaymaker explained, is a best-selling sorbet, made from hibiscus flowers and lemon and JinJon is made from ginger and pineapple.

At Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream, I’ve sampled and swooned over the Bourbon and Honey flavor on many occasions, so it’s no wonder that owner Toa Green said it’s become their top-selling variety.

“I thought, ‘I’m very proud of being a Southern girl, and we’re going to showcase Southern desserts.’”

TIA CHANCELLOR OWNER, SWEET MaTRIaRCH BakERy

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 8

Located in the distillery district of Lexington, Crank & Boom found some inspiration for its newest cocktail menu creations in neighboring Ethereal Brewing Co. and Barrel House Distilling Co., with a lineup of boozy ice-cream cocktails, floats and “spiked scoops,” a shot of your choice of alcohol drizzled over your favorite ice cream flavor.

Some of the ice cream concoctions feature Buffalo Trace bourbon cream, Barrel House Distilling’s oak rum and Ethereal Brewing’s oatmeal stout beer, which is used in Crank & Boom’s coffee stout ice cream.

The drinks range from elaborate to simple, and can also be made without alcohol.

A cocktail called the “Berry White” contains Kentucky Blackberry & Buttermilk ice cream, Barrel House oak rum, cherry liqueur, amaretto, fresh strawberry sauce and whipped cream. The Bourbon & Root Beer Float combines Bourbon & Honey Ice Cream, Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream and root beer.

Fall and winter menus are on the horizon. To create seasonal cocktail menus, creative sessions are held to mix and match ingredients.

“We did a lot of trial and error,” Green said. “We’ve done this long enough that we know what combos work really well and we know what people love.”

At Sweet Matriarch Bakery in Georgetown, owner Tia Chancellor found inspiration for her over-the-top confections during a trip to New York about five years ago. She’d been standing in line at a renowned milkshake bar for about 45 minutes, when an employee emerged to tell the crowd they didn’t know how much longer the wait would be.

The demand for these extravagant milkshakes gave her plenty of time to mull over its applications in her own bakery back home.

“I thought, ‘I’m very proud of being a Southern girl, and we’re going to showcase Southern desserts’,” she said.

Chancellor created “cattywampus shakes,” served in Mason jars and piled high with outrageous trimmings like cake pops and banana bread, whipped cream and homemade chocolate or caramel sauce drizzles.

There’s a core shakes menu, along with seasonal creations. The fall menu includes a pumpkin milkshake with a homemade pumpkin roll affixed, a caramel apple milkshake and a sweet potato milkshake. December’s menu will have some cocoa-based treats and ice cream options, Chancellor said.

The most unusual variety so far is the Bacon-Butter Pecan Shake, with a maple buttercream, caramelized brown sugar and bacon pieces in a butter pecan ice cream milkshake.

People will literally go the extra mile for a cattywampus shake — Chancellor said she’s had customers drive four or five hours one way to her shop.

If feeling neither catty nor wampus, customers can also order classic milkshakes in a jar.

The bakery business also benefits, as the brownies and cakes adorning shakes in single-serving sizes are often ordered later in full-sizes once customers try them.

Although the customized milkshakes are gargantuan, “We have a lot of people who do not share,” she said. “They want one all to themselves!” BL

PHOTO By THERESa STaNLEy

Tia Chancellor, owner of Sweet Matriarch Bakery in Georgetown, says customers drive from all over for a taste of the shop’s cattywampus shakes, which are piled high with sweet treats.

PHOTO By SHaNNON CLINTON

Sav’s Restaurant and Gourmet Ice Cream offers several unusual flavors, such as Kentucky Coffee and Spanish Peanut Butter (both pictured above), lavender and hot banana.

10/1/20 6:47 PM

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

QuickBites

9

RESTaURaNT NEWS TO USE

Distilled on the move, North Lime heads to Greyline, and more restaurant news

BY SHANNON CLINTON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

O

ne Lexington dining spot is checking out of its hotel location and into its own storefront while a few others are closing up shop in this month’s installment of Lexington food and beverage industry happenings.

Distilled restaurant had been located at the Sire Hotel (formerly Gratz Park Inn) on West 2nd Street since opening six years ago, owner Mark Wombles said, but announced recently it would be moving to the former Nick Ryan’s location on Jefferson Street on Sept. 26.

Wombles said he wanted a more noticeable storefront with patio seating, and the new location has a covered patio that could potentially be enclosed this winter to meet COVID-19 dining restrictions.

“We wanted a spot that was more centralized, that had other restaurants around it, and Jefferson Street has always been known as a restaurant street,” Wombles said.

He expects business to double in the new location, and while most menu items will remain, he plans for an overall more casual dining experience. He expected the move to take about a week before opening back up in early October.

“We’re just super excited about it and can’t wait to reopen,” Wombles said.

North Lime Coffee & Donuts is also relocating, from the corner of North Limestone and West Sixth Streets to Greyline Station at the corner of Loudon and North Limestone.

A Sept. 8 Facebook post said: “We are so grateful to all of you for supporting us through the years and helping give us this opportunity to move to a bigger, even more beautiful location.”

The post said the new location is receiving a new floor coating, painted walls and bar installation, with an opening date to be announced.

Tudor’s Biscuit World has signage up at 757 East New Circle Road with promises of opening soon.

Hot dog lovers have a new option in Katie’s Happy Hot Dogs, a mobile hot dog cart by Katie Flora that debuted in midAugust.

Flora said she had wanted to operate a hot dog cart since she was young, and wanted a name that reflected her own fun, cheerful nature. Eventually “Friendly Franks” was nixed in favor of Katie’s Happy Hot Dogs, she said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided it was time to follow her dreams, and after researching carts and hot dogs extensively, she’s selling simple, all-beef hot dogs with special seasonings and “a heaping side of happiness.”

The cart will appear at various locations in Lexington, Versailles and Georgetown, primarily Fri.-Sun. The cart’s schedule can be tracked at the business’s Facebook page, facebook.com/katieshappyhotdogs.

In not-so-happy news, Hopcat has closed at 410 W. Short St. following local speculation to that end.

“It is with a heavy heart that we confirm the rumors,” a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page said. “We are permanently closed.

We cannot say ‘Thank you’ enough for the support you have given us the past five years.”

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 9

PHOTO FURNISHED

North Lime Coffee & Donuts is moving down the street to Greyline Station, which is scheduled to open later this fall.

The establishment was known for its craft beer and Cozmik fries. The post asked that customers continue to support its local brewery partners.

Lexington-based chain A&W Restaurants confirmed plans for closing its 652 E. Main St. location in late September. The location had been open five years, and the chain operates two other Lexington locations.

Marbled Pig BBQ has launched in Georgetown by husband-and-wife team Chris and Katie Logan and their two sons, offering a varying “Weekly Smoke” menu featuring smoked meat goodness like Carolina pulled pork, Georgetown chopped chicken, brisket, smoked mac n’ cheese and baked beans. They take a limited amount of orders per week and when that cap is reached, the ordering period is closed, Katie said. Then the following week, customers can pick up their orders.

Chris is a captain with the Georgetown Fire Department who formerly worked in the Lexington restaurant industry, including a management position with Bluegrass Hospitality Group, and Katie works for the Scott County Sheriff’s Office.

“We both have a passion for service to our community and, over the past 10 years, have had a building desire of fitting barbecue somewhere in the midst of our lives,” Katie said.

Plans are to have a full commercial kitchen and/or food truck by spring 2021, she said.

The business can be followed at facebook.com/marbledpigbbq until its website is completed.

Frank and Dino’s Italian restaurant is on track for a late November opening at the corner of Short and Mill, owner Carlo Vaccarezza recently posted on Facebook.

Bombay Palace Indian restaurant has opened at 1801 Alexandria Dr. for dine in, takeout and delivery.

In late August, ItalX, an Italian fine dining concept at the corner of Main and Upper Streets spearheaded by T.J. Cox and Jonathan Lundy, posted on social media that they were about a month out from opening.

Brevedé Coffee Co. opened at 1170 Manchester St. Ste. 110 on Saturday, Sept. 5 with handcrafted coffee and Belgian waffles on the menu.

In Versailles, Alfonso’s Taco Shop has opened at the corner of U.S. 60 and Crossfield. BL

10/1/20 6:47 PM

10

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

IndependentBusiness As Kre8Now Makerspace founder Doug Clarke describes it, “my business brings together people who like to build stuff and I provide the tools and the space to do it.”

PHOTO fURNISHEd

Making Space With a new location and expanded offerings, Kre8Now Makerspace equips local makers with the tools and know-how they need

BY KATHIE STAMPS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

hat’s a ‘maker space’? Think of a gym, “except instead of gym equipment, we have tools,” said Doug Clarke, founder of Kre8Now Makerspace in Lexington. “My business brings together people who like to build stuff and I provide the tools and the space to do it.”

Clarke formed the business in October 2012. At the time, he and five other people were interested in a maker space. Now more than 100 members of the maker community take advantage of the equipment and tools in the building. Clarke moved Kre8Now from Manchester Street to an 8,700-square-foot facility on Codell Drive, near Woodhill Circle Plaza on New Circle Road, at the beginning of June. There’s a machine shop and welding shop, sewing machines and quilting machines, 3D printers and screen printing equipment, hand tools and a laser engraver — even a podcast recording studio. As for the

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 10

capabilities of the fully equipped woodworking shop, Clarke said: “What aren’t people making here?” He has seen Kre8Now members making everything from small trinkets to large pieces of furniture.

Membership is on a monthly basis, with no long-term commitments required, at $75 per month or a family plan of $115 for up to five members of a family. “Once you’ve been cleared on the tools, you’re allowed to come in here 24/7,” Clarke said.

Kre8Now Makerspace also has seven offices laid out as business incubators, which are leased at $250 per month. ArtLab Kentucky is a graduate, so to speak, of Kre8Now’s incubator space, and current tenants include Martin Metalworks, Longtail Designs and Mason Violins. “These are just some of the successful businesses we’ve helped to incubate,” Clarke said. “Then there are the countless individual makers who have come to the Makerspace and learned a new skill or skills to either propel their careers further or open up new opportunities.”

With fellow entrepreneurial business partners David Helmers, David Hempy and Michael Kreisle, Clarke has been able to put tools and technology into the hands of the people who want to use them, accompanied by the spirit of collaboration. “Kre8Now Makerspace is a community workshop, with an emphasis on community,” Clarke said. “We’ve had to put strict guidelines in place to keep folks safe and comfortable visiting the Makerspace.”

Now that masks and social distancing protocols are in place, workshops and classes have resumed. Kre8Now members can take an introduction to screen printing class or a design and draw class, learn how to work with resin for artistic projects, how to cut flat sheet metal into shapes with the plasma cutting table, or sign up for an arc welding workshop.

No stranger to working with tools and high-tech equipment himself, Clarke worked on flight simulators when he was a civilian contractor for the Air Force; he earned a degree in computer-aided drafting from Bluegrass Community Technical College in 2010, where he also took tool and die classes and welding classes; and he has a day job at Xometry as a water jet operator, cutting metals with highpressure machines.

“We’ve always wanted to make access to tools, knowledge and high-tech equipment accessible to everyone,” Clarke said. “So, our price structure is very low. But we still have to balance that out with the cost of rent, utilities, insurance, upkeep of equipment and compensation for instructors.” And even though it’s tough, he thinks “it’s worth having a place like this available to the community.” BL

PHOTO fURNISHEd

Lexington-based violin maker and Kr8Now member Ben Mason works on a violin. Mason’s custom-made string instruments can be found at Old Town Violins, located on South Broadway in Lexington.

10/1/20 6:47 PM

201 East Main Street, Suite 900

500 West Jefferson Street, Suite 2400

Lexington, Kentucky 40507

Louisville, Kentucky 40202

(859) 231-8780 | www.mcbrayerfirm.com

(502) 327-5400 | www.mcbrayerfirm.com

A BIG DEAL FOR BIG DEALS.

Introducing our Corporate Deals Team of Keeana Sajadi Boarman, James H. Frazier, III, Maria C. Doyle and Kenton L. Ball.

Corporate

Services may be performed by others.

Foundations Human Resources Consulting

We are local.

We know local businesses.

We know Human Resources.

We can help.

Some of our Services • Training & Development* • Workplace Investigations* • Policy Review & Development* • Coaching* • HR Issues Related to COVID-19* • • • •

Return to Work Services and Support* Culture/Morale Assessments HR Organizational Infrastructure Other Human Resources Projects

* Foundations can provide these services remotely or live, according to your needs.

Managing 2020 Workplace Tensions – Interactive Training Do your supervisors know how to handle difficult conversations that may be caused by the pandemic, social justice issues, and the upcoming election?

Do you have appropriate policies in place to foster an environment of dignity and respect in your workplace? If not, your organization could pay the price in terms of potential litigation, low morale, lost productivity – even workplace violence. So what can you do? Foundations has specifically designed this training to meet the unique challenges we are facing at the current time. Don’t get caught unprepared – contact us or visit our website to learn more.

FoundationsHR.com Executive Directors Carol Sampson and Stephanie Prewitt 249 East Main Street, Suite 200 | Lexington KY 40507 859.286.1100 | FHRC@FoundationsHR.com

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 11

10/1/20 6:47 PM

12

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

Protecting Your Digital IP What small businesses and content creators need to know about safeguarding intellectual property in the digital age

BY LIZ CAREY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I

n June, photographer Matilde Gattoni filed suit in the Southern District of New York against Microsoft, alleging that the company used 15 of her photographs without permission, infringing on her rights as the copyright holder.

And since those photos are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, if she can prove that Microsoft’s use of the images was “willful”, she could collect up to $150,000 in statutory damages, per image.

That’s right. For grabbing a few photos off the internet and using them in a story, Microsoft could be facing a $2.25 million fine.

While most businesses in Central Kentucky probably won’t have to deal with lawsuits of that magnitude, or face charging Microsoft with stealing their content, copyrights around digital content and intellectual property are things all businesses and content creators need to be aware of.

Copyrights are literally the exclusive right to use a piece of original work, said Brian Chellgren, a partner at Denton’s Bingham Greenebaum in Lexington.

“A creative work of authorship, which can be a photograph, written text of sufficient length … or creative design work, music, etcetera, all of that is protected by copyright,” he said. “And once it is fixed in a tangible medium of expression, it is protected. Essentially, if you’re writing on a sheet of paper, the minute you put your pencil down, there is copyright protection. The minute you take the picture and there is a storage version of it, there is copyright in that creative work.”

The issue with copyright protection, Chellgren said, is enforcing your rights.

If you find someone using your work, you can ask them to take it down, or pay you for the content, but unless you can prove that you created it, or have registered it with the federal government, it can be tough to prove its yours.

“It is very, very common that when an allegation of copyright infringement is made, the first response is ‘Oh. Okay, well, prove that you have exclusive rights to this,’” Chellgren said.

Registering the material with the federal government is a cheap and effective way to prove that he said, but when businesses make multiple postings on social media or blog posts, it can be a bit more complex.

“I think the government filing fee now is around $55 and someone who knows what they’re doing can prepare an application in probably an hour or less,” he said. “Let’s say I am Company X, and I have a website, and I have content creators who blog on the website every day or two … what I would do is file a copyright application for the entire website and then, every six months or so, file a new application that would … only seek protection for all the new content and changes.”

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 12

The challenge comes, John Krieger, a copyright attorney with Dickinson Wright, PLLC, said, in knowing where the content is coming from and whether or not you actually have permission to use it.

“A lot of people have the assumption that if it’s on the internet they can use it … and that’s not always the case,” Krieger said.

“When it comes to your own small business, it’s important that you create the content that you’re going to be using.”

That means taking one’s own pictures, or writing one’s own copy.

It’s important to note, he said, that the owner of the copyrights to a photograph is not the person whose equipment the photo is taken on, but the person who actually takes the photo. Copyright ownership is based upon who created it, not who owns the equipment or how much was paid for it.

“If you hand your phone to a friend and have them take a picture of you, the person who owns the rights to that photograph is your friend, not you,” he said. “The rights are attributed to the photographer, not the person who owns the phone.”

That’s also a crucial element to consider when hiring someone to create content and post it to social media. If the social media person is one of your employees, the rights to that content belong to the business. But, if the social media person is an independent contractor you have hired to work on your behalf, the rights belong to the independent contractor.

“You can negotiate in your contract with them that they assign the copyright to the content to you,” he said. “But it should be spelled out in any agreement you have with them who owns the copyrights to the materials they produce.”

Jack Wheat, a Louisville attorney who is head of the intellectual property department with McBrayer PLLC, said businesses should keep an eye out for their work online.

“A lot of people have the assumption that if it’s on the internet they can use it … and that’s not always the case.

When it comes to your own small business, it’s important that you create the content that you’re going to be using.” jOhn kRIEgER dICkINSON WRIGhT PLLC COPyRIGhT aTTORNEy

IMaGE fURNIShEd

“As we like to explain to our clients, registration is the best form of protection for trademark and copyright intellectual property as an initial matter,” he said. “Start there, then keep an eye out for infringement. There are plenty of search tools available to see if your content has found its way elsewhere.”

Laws have not kept up with the changes the digital age has brought about, he said, but some make protecting yourself easier.

“As with most technological issues, the law has struggled to keep up with the advancements of the internet at the same pace at which they’re occurring,” he said. “The last major legislative statement on copyright law, for instance, is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which passed in 1998 and predated iPods, social media and most forms of practical streaming of content. The way we consume content has changed completely, and intellectual property law is only just getting around to meet it.”

But the Digital Millennium act has made simple enforcement of copyright infringement easier for small businesses, he said.

“The most prominent way to enforce a copyright is to file suit against alleged infringers, but there are other means to protect a copyright, especially online,” he said. “The Digital Millennium Copyright Act allows copyright holders to fairly easily send a ‘takedown demand’ to a website owner or internet service provider to have allegedly infringing

content removed, and if the infringement claim appears plausible, this simple request often results in discontinuation of the internet posting which is the subject of the ‘take down’ demand.”

If that fails, he said, it’s time to contact an attorney.

But even then, said Mari-Elise Paul, an attorney with Stites & Harbison’s Intellectual Property & Technology Group, don’t expect a $2.25 million settlement.

“There is a common misconception that copyright owners are entitled to lots of money anytime their IP is stolen on the internet,” Paul said. “This is probably not the case, unless that IP really is worth millions of dollars.

Copyright owners who have had their works infringed are generally only entitled to the fair market value of the stolen work.”

That content and those images, however, are part of your business’s intellectual property, and as such, have value. Just how much value is tricky, she said.

“In general, the same rules apply to the protection and enforcement of digital IP as do to non-digital IP. Assessing the monetary value of digital IP is no different than assessing the value of non-monetary IP,” she said.

“It is important to keep in mind that not all IP is created equally. The value of IP is dependent on the amount of money that someone is willing to pay to purchase or license that particular piece of IP.”. BL

10/1/20 6:47 PM

COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS: LEXINGTON, KY

WE’RE HERE FOR

Lexington!

The last few months have been…well, different. As Kentuckians have continued adjusting to the constantly evolving situation due to COVID-19, one thing that hasn’t changed is Commonwealth Credit Union’s commitment to support our communities and local businesses. Our President/CEO Karen Harbin, along with the Board of Directors at Commonwealth Credit Union, allocated $5 Million into our Member Assistance Loan Program.

of our branch locations. Groups providing childcare for healthcare employees and meals for students on free and reduced lunches were also included in this project. In total, 8,095 meals were served through working with 34 caterers, helping bring in more than $50,000 in revenue to local businesses. One caterer we partnered with said that, thanks to our efforts, they were able to keep 40 employees on their payroll.

When the citizens of our state were asked to stay healthy at home, our small business sector was impacted by the financial pinch of this pandemic. As many businesses closed or moved to delivery and carryout, they needed the community just as we needed them. Commonwealth Credit Union created a list of businesses that were still serving the communities to empower our members in this stressful time. We chose to support local businesses while still continuing to focus on staying safe.

If you haven’t tried Commonwealth Credit Union, you should!

We’re a “bank” with heart. That’s why, year after year, our communities have voted us BEST place to work, Favorite Credit Union, Favorite Mortgage Provider, Favorite Investment Services Firm, and more.

We are all in this together. We are friends, family, neighbors, and nothing is more important than protecting and serving one another. We will continue working every day to empower our members and to better lives in our communities.

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES Our Community Relations Team partnered with local caterers to provide meals to first responders and essential employees, serving as our first line of defense and keeping our children academically engaged. We delivered meals to firefighters, police officers, sheriff’s departments, emergency management technicians, and school district employees in every community that is home to one

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 13

Though these are uncertain times, you can know one thing is for certain: Commonwealth Credit Union is here for you! We are committed to continue doing our part to support local businesses, who are the fabric of our communities.

“Thank you Commonwealth Credit Union for the lunch on Friday. Our staff certainly appreciated it. You all are amazing partners for us. We can’t thank you enough!”

JESSICA BERRY

Vice President of Mission Advancement, YMCA OF CENTRAL KENTUCKY

LEARN MORE AT

10/1/20 6:47 PM

14

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

MSI Production Service’s black-box studio is built to accommodate a variety of productions, with equipment operated remotely.

PHOTO By aLLEN HaRRIS PHOTOGRaPHy

The Show Goes On As the COVID curtain falls on large in-person gatherings, MSI Production Services upgrades virtual events with professional presentation

BY NATALIE VOSS NEVILLS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

F

or millions of Americans, March 2020 saw daily life change tremendously in the course of a few weeks. For Sam White, owner of MSI Production Services, things changed so quickly he almost had whiplash.

MSI Productions has specialized in producing live events since its foundation in 1997, creating and organizing everything you see at a typical corporate convention or

event, from tables, linens and chairs to sound systems, lighting and presentation equipment for intimate receptions or enormous galas.

In early March, when the country first began shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, White was loading his truck to prepare for an event in Frankfort hosted by Gov. Andy Beshear. He got a call the event was off. His phone kept ringing.

“We lost millions of dollars’ worth of contracts in 48 hours,” he said. “We had to pivot really quickly.”

Many industries have seen heavy job

losses since the pandemic began, but White says people in his line of work — those who work behind the scenes to make live events happen — have been especially hard-hit. A survey taken in mid-April by the publishers of “Projection, Lights and Staging News” and “Front of House” magazines found only 5.75 percent of surveyed business owners were able to keep all their employees through the pandemic. The survey also found 76 percent of business owners lost 100 percent of their existing cash flow streams, and 47.6 percent had to lay off all employees. Some 97 percent of freelance workers, who make up a substantial portion of the employees at MSI and companies like it, lost their 1099 income.

“Think about all the thousands of people out of work — there’s not been a state fair or a local fair,” said White. “The concerts, the trade shows; all of them are cancelled. We’re just starving … and unemployment is running out on all these guys. We were the first industry to close and we will be the last industry to reopen.”

White has never been one to stay down for long. A Lexington native, he toured with rock and Christian bands out of high school, learning the ropes behind the scenes on how to set up the lights, sounds and scenery for big shows.

He launched MSI in 1992 and went full-time in 1998, and he wasn’t about to let COVID-19 make his business another statistic.

The solution for almost everyone unable to host an event in person these days is a virtual event, but anyone who has sat on a painful Zoom call knows they’re not a comparable or well-polished alternative to sitting in a ballroom. National television stations are conducting more interviews by setting up subject matter experts and politicians with a webcam, charities have taken their biggest fundraisers online, and large companies still need to host events where a speaker can show their screen to a large digital audience. Poorly positioned cameras showing an executive shadowed by inadequate lighting and struggling to mute conference participants isn’t going to cut it for a lot of those situations.

The studio is equipped to broadcast a high-quality video feed to all social media channels simultaneously.

PHOTOS By aLLEN HaRRIS PHOTOGRaPHy

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 14

10/1/20 6:47 PM

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.bUSineSSleXingTOn.COM

15

WE’RE HERE TO HELP. PHOTOS by allen HarriS PHOTOgraPHy

MSI Production Services owner Sam White, above and below, moved quickly to transition his business from in-person events to remote production.

White set about figuring out how to give web events the same polish he brought to in-person events, while maintaining social distancing. First, he needed to create a studio where someone could be recorded or livestreamed without cameramen or sound engineers getting close to them, so he built a black-box studio and modified existing camera equipment to be controlled remotely and transported if needed. (The control room is in the office’s kitchen.) He had to ensure the internet signal would be strong enough to upload a livestream without crashing. He had to write code to make things look the way he wanted them to. He had to hire a lawyer to rework contracts to structure deposits and cancellation clauses in case of pandemic changes.

Part of what makes MSI’s approach unique is the company is able to broadcast professional-quality video to up to 35 different social media channels at once, so a business or organization doesn’t have to worry about followers in different spaces missing the live event.

MSI has also been creative in adapting to whatever arrangements clients feel comfortable with. White has done hybrid events for the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, setting up an in-person event at a hotel with a limited, distanced audience and broadcasting to another three quarters of the audience online.

Kyle Bedford, events manager for the Chamber, said that when coronavirus cancellations first began happening, he called White to brainstorm.

“We had to reimagine how this was going to work,” said Bedford, who pointed out

it’s important for audience members to be able to ask questions of speakers like they would at an in-person event. “What Sam is able to do is he takes Zoom and throws it on steroids. He’s got a lot of nice equipment that’s much better than your typical Zoom meeting. I think the events we put on are known for not being half-done. We try to provide the attendee with the best experience possible and we know Sam is such a perfectionist he’s not going to cut corners.”

White has worked with Rep. Andy Barr to broadcast a remote live spot for Fox News. He has hosted weddings, church services, awards shows and drive-in movies. He even has a plan for how to help the Lexington Ballet go on with its yearly production of the Nutcracker, one of its biggest fundraisers. The ballet has rented out the Lexington Opera House for four days and dancers will perform in front of a camera crew and an editor, who will create a video version of the experience available to paid subscribers online.

“We’re salvaging people’s events,” White said. “Are they what they were? No, but it’s better than not having them because, if you don’t, people will forget about you. Especially on the [nonprofit] side. Don’t not do it this way because you don’t know how.”

White said he’s thankful to have been able to adapt so quickly, because he doesn’t anticipate things are going to be getting “back to normal” in the live events world anytime soon.

“You will not see another live event with over 1,000 people in a room until a year from now,” he predicted. “It’ll be two years before you see 25,000 people in a room. People are spooked.” BL

We’re here for your business, and we’re here for you.

To discuss your business options, give us a call at 859-253-6222 or visit us at centralbank.com.

CENTRAL TO YOU

12 Lexington Locations Member FDIC

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 15

10/1/20 6:47 PM

16

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

PHOTO FURNISHED

Bullard employee Abby Cooper works on the company’s new sewing line. Bullard teamed with Toyota Production System Support Center to greatly increase its PPE production capacity.

Kentucky Manufacturers Up to the Job The Commonwealth leads the way in shifting gears and making what the nation needs

BY LIZ CAREY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A

short seven months ago, most of us didn’t even know what PPE stood for.

But for some manufacturers across the state, pivoting to the production of personal protection equipment — from sneeze guards to hand sanitizer to face masks — has helped keep customers safe and employees busy. Most of all, manufacturers say, it has helped them help their communities.

Elizabeth Pitchford, project manager with Ruggles Sign in Versailles, said their business opted to start making see-through plastic barriers after a customer asked if they could.

“Our customer knew we did operate in plastic and asked if we could do something like that,” she said. “Once we looked at it, we knew it was a natural shift for us to take.”

According to Ruggles president Tim Cambron, in late March DHL shipping reached out with a request for sneeze guards. After about 24 hours, Cambron said, his company had put together a prototype and produced 120 sneeze guards for their client. Since then, dozens of other clients have requested the same product.

While demand for the product has declined some, Cambron said, school openings in the area have created an uptick in orders.

Other companies, like Bullard, a safety

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 16

equipment company headquartered in Cynthiana and with facilities in Lexington, were already creating face shields and other PPE and have seen a significant increase in demand. According to one press release, the company saw demand for its products reaching as much as 30-times its normal orders.

Bullard teamed with Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC), who worked with Bullard team members to apply the Toyota Production System into Bullard’s manufacturing process. That meant shifting from a one-person unit system to a more assembly line process, where multiple people each have a part in creating the product.

The result meant a 700-percent increase in production for Bullard between March and April.

“We are very grateful for the partnership with Toyota and proud of what we have accomplished together,” Wells Bullard, CEO of Bullard, said in a statement. “We are driven every single day to advance human safety and it was incredible to see that Toyota shares that same mission. It’s in Bullard’s DNA to protect people and save lives — we’ve been doing it for more than 120 years, starting with our invention of the hard hat.”

Across the state, other manufacturers have stepped up as well, said Jack Mazurak, Communications Director for the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (KCED).

“Some facilities established separate pro-

duction areas and processes for PPE. Others, especially those already in the industry, continued and increased their output,” he said.

“Interestingly, some Kentucky distilleries have made sanitizer production a permanent part of their business.”

More than 30 distilleries across the state have begun to make hand sanitizer. Through a partnership between the Kentucky Distilleries Association, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and KCED, businesses who need hand sanitizer can purchase it without having to contact the distilleries directly, but by going to kyhandsanitizer.com instead and filling out a request.

The cabinet also established a list of manufacturers in Kentucky and what they produced to help companies within Kentucky find producers of PPE if they needed it, he said.

“In many of the cases our Cabinet tracked, Kentucky manufacturers opted to fill local, regional and state needs first. That includes a significant amount of donated products,” he said. “However, others in the PPE industry already had established customer networks, which could take their products nationally and globally. Further, companies with existing relationships with big-box stores and major online retailers likely saw their products go geographically further.”

But the impact to the manufacturers’ bottom lines wasn’t nearly as impactful as the impact the companies could have on fighting the pandemic, Mazurak said.

“Overall, it’s fair to say in many cases profit came as a secondary concern to helping to limit the spread of COVID-19. Certainly, PPE production helped many businesses offset some pandemic-related losses for businesses, but many companies also donated

large amount of PPE to first responders and frontline operations,” he said. “It’s important to note, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear encouraged the state’s manufacturers to produce PPE as they could, and highlighted companies that found ways to contribute. Kentucky plays a nationally outsized role in manufacturing, so we as a state had a lot to give. With nearly 13 percent of Kentucky’s workforce in manufacturing, versus a national average of 8.5 percent, facilities in the state have been able to make significant contributions to PPE production when the nation needed it most.”

According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, Kentucky manufacturers added 26,500 jobs between May 2020 and June 2020, second only to job additions in the hospitality and leisure industry, which added 33,200 jobs during the same time period.

Most of those, 26,400, were in the food service and accommodations subsector.

From March to April, at the height of stayat-home orders, manufacturing employment fell by 54,500 jobs, according to the Center, the equivalent of a 21.7 percent decline. In March, Ford and Toyota laid off 20,000 workers. Over a seven-week period at the beginning of the pandemic, as much as 30 percent of Kentucky’s workforce claimed unemployment.

Ruggles’ Cambron said keeping his employees working was one part of his decision to make the sneeze guards, but more importantly to him it was about making a difference in his community.

“The truth of the matter is it absolutely did keep people employed, but it was not about creating another profit center for us,” Cambron said. “It was an easy move to make.

For me, it was more about doing what we could to get the world back on track.” BL

10/1/20 6:47 PM

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

BizList

17

Please email questions regarding our BizLists to Sharon Metz at sharon.metz66@gmail.com.

Manufacturing Investments Ranked by dollar amount of expanding industry investments

Rank

Company Name Address, Phone Website

Investment Amount ($)

County

New Jobs Announced

Oct. 2019 – Aug. 2020

Products/Services Provided

Top Official

1

Sherwin-Williams Co. 395 Boggs Lane Richmond, KY, 40475 (859) 624-1240 www.sherwinwilliams.com

$42,930,000

Madison

20

Distribution of coatings related products and material for the Sherwin-Williams Company

Amanda Baker (HR Manager)

2

Hyster-Yale Group, Inc. 2200 Menelaus Pike Berea, KY 40403 (859) 986-9304 www.hyster-yale.com

$25,730,600

Madison

0

Manufacture lift trucks

Rodney Wilson (Plant Manager)

3

WestRock 200 Stephens Dr. Nicholasville, KY 40356 (859) 885-6021 www.westrock.com

$5,000,000

Jessamine

30

Paperboard/fiber-based packaging

George Wurtz (General Manager)

4

TEMA Isenmann Inc. 2107 Sandersville Road Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 252-0613 www.temaisenmann.com

$2,300,000

Fayette

3

Polyurethane screening media

Daniel Craft (Vice President)

5

Blastics, LLC 304 Triport Road Georgetown, KY 40324 (502) 863-2268 www.ecoblastics.com

$2,000,000

Scott

2

Paint-stripping and repainting aluminum wheels and other metal objects

Thomas Houdeshell (President)

6

Kito USA 2259 Jaggie Fox Way Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 367-7414 www.kitousa.com

$1,500,000

Fayette

0

Robotic welding machine, conveyor, assembly jig

Ken Yamauchi (President)

7

Accuromm USA Inc. 101 Westhampton Drive Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 254-4334 www.accuromm.com

$865,000

Fayette

WND

Carbide/PCP cutting tools for the automotive industry

Cory Davis (President/CEO)

8

NSG-Pilkington NA Inc. 102 Industry Drive Versailles, KY 40383 859-873-2800 www.pilkington.com

$850,000

Woodford

8

Automobile windshield and side and back window glass-paned sunroofs

James Vicary (Plant Manager)

9

Fuso U.S.A. Inc. 1712 Jaggie Fox Way Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 373-0206 www.fusokoki.co.jp/en/

$766,400

Fayette

WND

Design, fabrication, modification and construction of custom assembly line machines and parts for automotive and other related industries

Masaya Iwata (General Manager)

10

Asahi Bluegrass Forge Corp.

3007 Bill Robertson Way Richmond, KY 40475 (859) 408-2140 www.asahiforge.co.jp/en/

$648,890

Madison

20

Automotive press forging, gears, bearings, joints

Kiki Creech (Administrative Manager)

11

Everburn Mfg. Inc. 454 Fairman Road Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 231-6492 www.everburn.com

$500,000

Fayette

0

Ceramic fiber fireplace logs, panels, and burners.

Outdoor kitchen islands, pergolas, outdoor fireplaces and firepits

Ajay Gupta (President)

12

Hallway Feeds 251 W. Loudon Ave. Lexington, KY 40508 (859) 255-7602 www.hallwayfeeds.com

$450,000

Fayette

0

Equine feed and nutrition

Robert Hall (President)

13

Hummingbird Nano Inc. 450 John C. Watts Dr. Nicholasville, KY 40356 (859) 241-1799 www.hummingbirdnano.com

$250,000

Jessamine

2

Contract manufacturing for polymer microfluidic chips

Michael Wissman (COO)

14

Irving Material 613 Laco Drive Lexington, KY 40510 (859) 231-6180 www.irvmat.com

$240,000

Fayette

4

Ready-mixed concrete

Jim Spalding (Vice President)

15

Southeastern Kentucky Rehabilitation Industries Inc. 1 W. 20th St. Paris, KY 40361 (859) 987-5261 www.sekri.org

$185,000

Bourbon

125

Apparel and gear manufacturing for U.S. military and other cut/sew customers

Norm Bradley (Executive Director)

16

Birtley Industrial Equipment Corp.

2333 Innovation Drive Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 721-1740 www.birtley.us

$165,000

Fayette

25

Coal processing equipment. Coal certrifuges, feeder breakers, screens and rebuild services

Chow Zhao (General Manager)

Source: Team Kentucky, Cabinet for Economic Deelopment, new and expanding Industry - Oct. 2019 through Aug. 2020. Key: WND=Would Not Disclose

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 17

10/1/20 6:47 PM

18

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

BizList

Please email questions regarding our BizLists to Sharon Metz at sharon.metz66@gmail.com.

Information Technology Firms Ranked by total number of Lexington market employees Firm Name Address, Phone Website

Number of Lexington Market Employees/ Tech/Other Staff

1

The AME Group (formerly Integrity IT) 3080 Harrodsburg Road, Ste. 104, Lexington, KY 40503 (859) 253-4284 www.theamegrouplex.com

2

Rank

2020

Top Local Official

Key Services

Notable Clients

235/ Tech 180/ Staff 55

Information security, managed IT, managed security, healthcare IT, cloud consulting, software development, ERP, virtual CIO services, strategic planning, IT support, IT staffing, backup and disaster recovery, cabling/phone/ audio/visual/access control

Bluegrass Care Navigators, Baptist Health, Greater KY Credit Union, Clay Ingels, VisitLex, Ruggles Sign, Lexington Podiatry

Phil Miller (Regional Manger)/ Bryan Pryor (CIO/Strategic Advisor)

NetGain Technologies 2031 Georgetown Road Lexington, KY 40511 (859) 255-0155 www.netgainit.com

144/ Tech 118/ Staff 26

Managed IT services, IT security services, cloud, IT projects and consulting

Kentucky Bank, Camco Chemical, Christian Appalachian Project, Tower Community Bank, Oppa! Food Management

Tim Burke (CEO)

3

46Solutions 657 Blue Sky Parkway Lexington, KY 40509 (859) 788-4600 www.46Solutions.com

99/ Tech 36/ Staff 33

Managed IT services, cybersecurity, cloud services, network consulting, VOIP, corporate AV/conference room design, compliance consulting

Accounting, banking, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, engineering, legal services, small business

Bob Fronk (Vice President)

4

SIS, A Converge Company 165 Barr St. Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 977-4747 www.thinksis.com

55/ Tech 40 Staff 15

Data center infrastructure in the cloud and on-premise, cyber security, analytics, cognitive, hybrid IT, talent acquisition

Healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, higher education, state government and logistics

Steve Sigg (CEO)

5

Volta, Inc. 208 Steele St. Frankfort, KY 40601 (859) 296-5780 www.voltainc.com

31/ Tech 19/ Staff 12

IT support services, data center infrastructure solutions (compute, network, and storage), cybersecurity and managed it services

State and local government, K-12, higher education, manufacturing, healthcare, public utilities, finance and retail

Marshall Butler (President)

6

Box Lake Networks 400 Shoppers Drive Winchester, KY 40391 (859) 355-1390 www.boxlake.com

17/ Tech 13/ Staff 4

Managed IT services, cabling, network services, managed data services, cyber security, help desk, back up and disaster recovery

Proprietary/confidential

Kevin Hale (President & CEO)

7

Hensley/Elam, LLC 163 E. Main St., Ste. 401 Lexington, KY 40507 (859) 389-8182 www.HEA.biz

14/ Tech 11 Staff 3

Consulting for PII, PCI, and PHI (HIPAA) compliance, data center design and hosting, VOIP telephone systems, IT staff augmentation; server, storage area networks (san), PCs and tablets hardware and software; firewall security for intrusion detection and prevention

Proprietary/confidential

Russ Hensley, CISSP (CEO)

8

Tactical IT Group 201 E. Main St., Ste. 760 Lexington, KY 40507 (888) 223-6781 www.tactical-it.com

10/ Tech 8/ Staff 2

Managed IT, business continuity and disaster recovery, infrastructure implementation and support, outsourced information security officer (ISO) services for financial institutions, virtualization, vcio services, supplemental IT services

Kenney Orthopedics Group, Eclipse Bank, Meijer Credit Union, CFG Community Bank, First South Bank, Kinkead & Stilz PLLC, Habitat for Humanity, Lexar Labs, Dupree Financial Group, First National Bank of Middle Tennessee, National Tour Association, Upper Right Marketing.

Jeff Propps (CEO)

9

Next Century Technologies 1795 Alysheba Way Ste. 5104, Lexington, KY 40509 (859) 245-0582 www.nextcenturytechnologies.com

7/ Tech 6/ Staff 1

IT consulting services, managed services, IT security, HIPAA/banks compliance, network design & virtualization, cabling, VOIP phones, disaster recovery/ business continuity

Century Bank, American Health Management, WinFirst Bank, Meridian Wealth Management, Kellwell Foods, Hayashi-Telempu

Tracy Hardin (Founder & President)

10

SimplifIT 112 E. Main St. Frankfort, KY 40601 (502) 783-6630 www.wesimplifit.com

3 Tech 3/ Staff 0

No contract managed IT services, cybersecurity & consulting

Capital Medical Group, Nephrology Associates of Lexington, Denham-Blythe Company, Davis & Plomin Mechanical, Permit America, Associated General Contractors of KY

Craig Willard (COO)

Source: Information was obtained from Business Lexington questionnaire, Commerce Lexington Business Directory, company representatives and websites. In the result of a tie, each company is listed in alphabetical order. More companies may have been eligible but did not respond by given deadlines. Due to spacing, some information may have been shortened. Footnote: * February 2019 figures. Key: WND=Would Not Disclose; NA=Not Available;

SPECIAL EVENT & STORAGE SERVICES

COMING IN NOVEMBER The November 2020 Business Lexington will feature the following BizLists: • Hospitals • Nursing and Personal Care • Healthcare Law AD SPACE DEADLINE: OCT. 9 AD MATERIALS DEADLINE: OCT. 14 FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CALL (859) 266-6537 OR EMAIL ADVERTISE@SMILEYPETE.COM

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 18

BusinessLexington

FOR THE BEST PRICE AND SERVICE MAKE A1 PORTABLES YOUR GO TO FOR: • RESTROOMS - OFFICE AND STORAGE • CONTAINERS - FENCE & BARRICADE RENTAL

10/1/20 6:47 PM

DON’ TCANCEL YOUR EVENT! We make Virtual Events Easy!

Studio46 Media is prepared to take your next event Virtual without sacrificing the production value or interactivity of an in person event.

TELL YOUR STORY Video Production for Lexington, Kentucky & Beyond.

Need a way to get your message heard? Have a story to tell? Whether you are re-opening to the public, needing to train your employees, or simply looking to impress a future customer – Studio46 Media will walk alongside you each step of the way to produce something memorable.

SEE OUR WORK

STUDIO46MEDIA.COM

HOW CAN WE HELP? 859.977.5846 VIDEO PRODUCTION | LIVE & VIRTUAL EVENTS

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 19

team@studio46media.com

10/1/20 6:47 PM

20

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

BizLexQ&A

Gina Greathouse Commerce Lexington’s executive vice president for economic development on attracting – and keeping – business in the city

BY TOM WILMES BUSINESS LEXINGTON

G

ina Greathouse has been involved in economic development for more than 30 years, beginning with state government and with Commerce Lexington since 1995. As the executive vice president for economic development with Commerce Lexington, Greathouse and her team help promote Lexington as great place to do business; advocate for favorable public policy; and serve as an intermediary for the city and the local business community.

“My main role with our team at Commerce Lexington is recruiting new businesses to Lexington and the region to create new jobs,” Greathouse said. “Equally important is working closely with existing businesses who are looking to expand or who may have issues with trying to expand here. ” She explains more.

What are some of the challenges for Lexington? Our biggest constraint is land use and a scarcity of affordable, available land. In addition to land for our more traditional economic development projects, lack of [developable] land is driving housing costs up and then property taxes, making it more difficult for many families to afford homes. It all ties together.

Workforce is always an issue, so we also work to identify gaps in what companies need and try to help fill those gaps, such as working with or our educational institutions to let them know ‘these are the jobs that are available,’ and we need to start teaching our students the importance of those jobs so they have an opportunity to stay in Lexington, if they choose to. We are a highly educated city, and this also is competitive advantage. We have a fairly tight job market requiring higher wages to attract and retain talent, so it is important to try to retain the talent we have.

Is manufacturing still a primary focus? Manufacturing is the most challenging, so you’ll hear me talk more about those projects more because they require more time to develop and, generally speaking, they’re looking for land, but they’re not our main focus. Office projects — when we have them — are easier for Lexington because we do have available buildings and properties out there to fit a variety of needs. We also focus on software and IT, and life sciences to name a few other areas. We will also be working with Mayor Linda Gorton and her team to develop a more formal Ag-Tech initiative.

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 20

How do you communicate with existing businesses in the community?

We have a newly formed group called the Lexington Economic Partnership, which the city has contracted with Commerce Lexington to manage. We have partners from Bluegrass Community and Technical College, the University of Kentucky, the Workforce Investment Board, the Economic Development Cabinet and the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

We call on companies that are based in Lexington to learn more about their needs and to gather feedback.

Right now, we’re meeting via Zoom. I wasn’t sure how it was going feel with so many people in a meeting, but it’s working out quite nicely. Generally, company leadership and HR representatives are also on the call, and we try to identify any issues that may be are impeding their growth or opportunities to help them with their growth.

How has the pandemic impacted your role and how Lexington is looking at economic development? Well, ‘Zoom’ says it all. While our overall prospect activity is a little bit slower, it’s still a great opportunity to be prepared. What we’re seeing now, too, as we talk to these economic development consultants and host virtual site visits, is that it provides an opportunity much earlier in the game for a CEO [of a company looking to locate somewhere] to have eyes on your community. Whereas before, they did not come into your community until after the legwork was done in narrowing down the prospects. Virtual site visits are never going to provide the depth or breadth needed to pick a final site, but it does offer an opportunity to eliminate sites quicker and for us to interact with C-suite level representatives earlier in the process.

The good news for Lexington and the Bluegrass is we’ve had so many of these relationships [with economic development consultants] for years, that I don’t feel like we’re going to be impeded by COVID. They know what we have to offer in the Bluegrass, and I don’t see that slowing us down nearly as much.

For new businesses considering Lexington, what are the top criteria?

Location is key. And you’ve got to be able to hire people. A high-quality, educated workforce — which we have — is priority number one. But if you plan on paying someone below X-amount of dollars, then you’re going to have a hard time finding people. You can’t come here and think that we’re going to be the lowest-cost labor force.

How does the Kentucky Business Incentives program and other incentives compare nationally? I think we stack up pretty well, but I do think there’s going to need to be some adjustments.

You’ve got to be careful right now with your incentives, because states’ budgets are not in the greatest situation and their revenues are down sharply, too. So, the tax credit programs need to be looked at very carefully. But I still think they’re going to be very important, because corporations are also in the same situation. Their revenues are down and they’re looking for ways to cut costs.

Your office maintains a ‘flight risk’ list? Our city’s revenues are funded

significantly by the local occupational tax. So, we want to know why companies are not coming here, or why they are not able to stay here or why they’re not able to expand. It’s all confidential, but we keep an eye on companies that say, ‘Hey, we need a new location and we’re willing to consider all kinds of options.’ A lot of companies are in growth mode, and we hope to keep them here. And while we don’t want to lose anyone, if we do, I’d rather see us lose them to the region than to some other major metro area outside of the state. Our first priority is to see what we can do to help resolve any problems and find a solution in Lexington. If not, then we’re happy to share the region and help support the growth happening all around Fayette County. BL

Gina Greathouse and Commerce Lexington work to keep the city in the conversation wherever business is discussed.

PHOTO fUrNISHEd

10/1/20 6:47 PM

Eunice and Anthany Beatty

with sons Anthany Jr. (left) and Embry.

SIMPLIFY YOUR GIVING. EASY. COST EFFECTIVE. REWARDING. Eunice and Anthany Beatty and their family use a charitable giving account to manage their personal giving.

Maximize your giving and minimize your taxes just like the Beattys.

Establish your charitable fund today. Call us at 859.225.3343.

bgcf.org

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 21

499 East High Street • Suite 112 • Lexington, KY 40507 / 859.225.3343

10/1/20 6:47 PM

22

OCTOBER 2020

WWW.BUSINESSLEXINGTON.COM

Who’sWho New Hires & Promotions Remmco Property Management has announced the addition of Fred Fiscus as property manager.

Adam Ogle, MSN, RN, CEN, NEA-BC, has been named the new director of the Baptist Health Lexington Emergency Department.

Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP has welcomed Lexy Gross as a member of the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution team.

Farmers National Bank has announced the retiring of CEO Greg Caudill effective at the end of this year. Bank president Marty Gibson will become the organization’s chief executive officer.

University of Kentucky extension associate professor, Carrie Knott, has been named new director of UK’s Research and Education Center in Princeton.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles was elected president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Quarles is the first Kentuckian to serve in this role since 2001.

EMPLOYMENT NEWS AND AWARDS IN OUR COMMUNITY

Kentucky American Water has announced the appointment of Robert Money as manager of water quality and environmental compliance.

Kelly Stephens has been appointed clerk of the Supreme Court of Kentucky.

John Soper has joined the SVN Stone Commercial Real Estate team as an advisor.

FISCUS

OGLE

GROSS

CAUDILL

GIBSON

KNOTT

QUARLES

MONEY

STEPHENS

SOPER

KENDALL

MULLINS

SAMMONS

BLACK

Central Bank has announced the promotions of Mark Kendall to assistant vice president, financial planning, and Becky Mullins to assistant vice president, special assets.

Kudos The new Lexington Opera House marquee was awarded a top prize in the 2020 Signs of the Times Signshop Competition, it was announced in September by sign industry news organization, Signs of the Times. Designed by Eric Larson of Wagner Electric Sign Company, the Opera House marquee won first placein the category of Best Original Design and Fabrication, Illuminated, Large Shop of 2020. The interna-

tional design competition, now in its fifth decade, included signs across 10 categories.

A veteran teacher at Tates Creek High School, Cathy Sammons is among 30 educators chosen for the 2020-23 Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s BioInteractive Ambassador Academy. This professional development

pathway welcomes high school and undergraduate teachers who are thoughtful, passionate, and dedicated to high-quality life and environmental science teaching.

NAI Isaac property manager, Laura Black is celebrating 20 years with the commercial real estate firm.

Commerce Lexington announced its annual Salute to Small Business Awards presented by Forcht Bank. The 2020 category award winners are as follows: Minority Business Award, Elaine Allen, LLC; Nonprofit Community Impact Award, CASA of Lexington; Business Success Award, Churchill McGee; Entrepreneur Award, AU Associates, Inc. BL

Submit your company’s recent hirings, promotions, and awards for listing in the Who’s Who section of Business Lexington. Email a press release and photo to info@bizlex.com.

GREAT. BIG. GRAPHICS. Creating larger-than-life graphics specifically crafted to support your marketing campaigns is what SpeedPro® is all about. We’re a locally owned and operated

Its not IF you’ll be attacked, but WHEN.

print studio with the support of a national brand, and we’re known as a leader in the wide format printing industry. From banners, posters and trade show displays, to wall murals and window graphics — we create the graphics that will get you the attention you want from potential clients. Schedule an appointment with us today.

Call TODAY to schedule a FREE Cybersecurity consultation!

859.788.4600 46Solutions.com

Your ORFDO technology partner.

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 22

1022 Nandino Boulevard • Lexington, KY 40511 • 859.721.1832

www.speedpro.coom

10/1/20 6:47 PM

ONLINE

CELEBRATING

SERVING LEXINGTON FOR 15 YEARS!

YEARS

INDIANA WE SLE YAN UNIVERSIT Y . NATIONAL & GLOBAL

DEVOE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATE >> BACHELOR’S >> MASTER’S >> DOCTORATE >> CERTIFICATES

DeVoe School of Business is a Christ-centered academic community committed to transforming the global marketplace through life-shaping preparation, helping students to ask essential questions, exploring their call to business as God’s work, and preparing for a fully integrated life of service.

»

ACCOUNTING, BUSINESS, HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION, IT, MANAGEMENT AND MORE!

NEW DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION | NEW BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CYBERSECURITY

TEXT

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 23

IWU TO 58052 FOR MORE INFORMATION 866.498.4968 | IWUBUSINESS.COM 10/1/20 6:47 PM

BLX_1-24_1020_NEW.indd 24

10/1/20 6:47 PM