Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly - Oct. 4, 2013

OCTOBER 4-10, 2013 Daily updates at www.fwbusiness.com $1.00

Business WeeklyPAGE 3

GREATER FORT WAYNE

n INSIDEA helping handTrine program works with businesses to make them better

LOCAL NEWS LOCAL NEWS

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Studio opensJiu-jitsu instructor’s passion leads to new FW facility

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Local news .........3-7, 13-15BizView ..............................8Banking & Finance ..........9People on the Move ..... 16Top List ............................ 17BizLeads.....................18-20

Growth modeAdaptek to expand into third building

Vol. 9 Issue 40

LOCAL NEWS

ASHLEY LETOURNEAU

Costco completed its new 130,000-square-foot Fort Wayne store in just 120 days.

The Costco wayCommitment to employees, customer service helps set the retailer apartBY LINDA [email protected]

If there is one key to the success of the Costco Wholesale Corp. store chain, which posted net sales of almost $103 billion for the fi scal year ended Sept. 1, it is in how the company treats its employees.

Compensation is a big part of that. Workers at the new Fort Wayne store, which will open Oct. 16, make $20 an hour plus insur-ance, vacation and other benefi ts. Supervisors pull down more than $23 an hour, and the base pay for managers is $60,000 a year, said Israel Martinez, a Costco corpo-rate trainer and front-end manager

of the Fort Wayne store.“If we take care of our

employees and pay them well, everything else will fl ow from there,” Martinez said.

The company wants its workers to be able to buy their own homes, take good care of their families and live the “American dream,” a philosophy that came straight from Costco founder and longtime CEO Jim Sinegal.

“I think that’s what makes us successful,” said Melanie Crysler, who relocated from Detroit to become the general manager of the Fort Wayne store. “Our employees are invested. They don’t just have a job they go to every day. They n See COSTCO on PAGE 21

New headquarters will speed up Franklin product development

Franklin Electric Co. held an open house at its new headquarters in southwest Allen County Sept. 25.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Lack of space had caused company to use outside vendorsBY DOUG [email protected]

Franklin Electric Co. Inc. has moved into the $38-million world headquarters facility it fi nished building this summer near Fort Wayne International Airport and is doing all of its research and devel-

opment at its new engineering center of excellence.

The company announced in early September that it had completed relo-cating from its former Bluffton head-quarters that it had outgrown. A few weeks later, it held an open house at the new 118,800-square-foot headquarters

on a 100-acre site at 9255 Coverdale Road.

The company makes submersible pumps and motors for the fueling and water-systems industries. More than 20 of its products move and manage water for the new facility’s geothermal heating n See FRANKLIN on PAGE 22

NONSTOP SERVICE FROM FWA TO MINNEAPOLIS.CONNECTIONS TO OVER 120 DESTINATIONS.

DELTA.COM

Flights operated by Delta Connection® carrier, Endeavor Air.

PAGE 2 fwbusiness.com GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n October 4-10, 2013

The Fort Wayne Curling Club has leased warehouse space within the Wells Street Commerce Center that will become the first dedicated curling facility in the history of the city.

Located a block south of the Lutheran Health SportsCenter, where the club has been operating, the new facility is at the site of the former Nickle’s Bakery & Thrift shop. It will have three sheets of ice dedicated to curling and a 2,400-square-foot warm room to provide off-ice viewing of curling matches.

The location will be used for curling from

Oct. 1 through mid-April each year, and will offer men’s, women’s, junior’s, mixed and open leagues. One night a week will be reserved for “learn to curl” sessions and corporate and private events.

During the upcoming Winter Olympics in February, the club will host events nightly to support the interest in the sport that the Olympics have traditionally generated.

October 4-10, 2013 n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly fwbusiness.com PAGE 3

Anyone for curling?

Adapting to growthBY LINDA [email protected]

A Huntertown business founded in 1989 is expanding to keep up with the growing demand for the machinery and production systems it designs and builds for manufac-turers.

Adaptive Technologies Inc., the parent of related companies Adaptek Systems, API Alliance, Northern Apex and Automated Laser, has begun construction on a third building in the Lima Plank Industrial Park. The companies together employ about 80 people and the expansion will probably add another eight or 10 jobs, said Joseph DePrisco, the founder and president of the business.

The manufacturing sector has shown surprising strength in the recovery from the Great Recession, and Adaptek and its complementary companies are reaping the benefits of that comeback.

That doesn’t mean, however, that manu-facturers are returning to “business as usual.” They’re looking for more efficient, more cost-effective ways to do business, and that is Adaptek’s niche.

“Our main focus is to work with manu-facturers on ways to make them more productive,” said DePrisco, a 1977 Purdue University engineering graduate. “We work with manufacturers to overcome obstacles in their production.”

The obstacle may be outdated equip-ment and systems, or it could be a way of doing things that is labor intensive. Robotic systems designed by Adaptek may allow a manufacturer to do the same work or even increase output with fewer workers.

The robotic systems also can complete tasks with a level of precision that ordinary humans could not duplicate, DePrisco said. “We can get labor out of it to make it more

adaptive.”As the economy recovers, the use of

more highly automated systems is allowing some companies to bring work back to the United States that had been outsourced to China and other countries, and still keep their labor costs down, he said.

Adaptek’s customers come from all over the United States, but particularly from the eastern half of the country. It hasn’t had to look for business abroad because there is plenty of demand here, DePrisco noted.

While some companies that do the kind of work Adaptek does specialize in systems and equipment for particular industries, Adaptek doesn’t. “We don’t chase auto. We don’t chase medical,” he said.

On a recent day, the production floor included robotic systems and production lines being built and tested for metal cutting, automotive component manufacturing and medical devices, for example.

Adaptek serves a variety of industries with systems that improve production efficiency.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

n See ADAPT on PAGE 7

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260-484-5555www.saintannehome.com

SAINT ANNE HOMERETIREMENT COMMUNITY

Rehab To Home

“The rehab team made my recovery so much easier. Their love and support helped me return home quickly.”

-Jane Seely Prior rehab guest at Saint Anne Home

Diana Feasby, RN Rehabilitation Nurse at St. Anne’s for the past 8 years

Fort Wayne launches new round of facade grants

Applications for the next round in the city of Fort Wayne’s commer-cial facade grant program are now available online.

The program has generated a private invest-ment of nearly $3 million since it was launched in 2008. Funds are available to businesses in the core of the city in areas designated as economic-de-velopment target areas. Business corridors along Wells, State, Calhoun and Taylor streets, as well as Broadway, all are located in the target areas.

Businesses are eligible for matching grants of up to a $20,000; and multibusi-ness or multitenant buildings are eligible for up to $40,000 to offset the costs of facade renovations, lighting, parking and other exterior enhancements. Funding comes from the Community Economic Develop-ment Income Tax, or CEDIT fund. The city requires applicants to provide matching funds in order to receive the grant.

Applications will be accepted from Nov. 13 through Dec. 13 and are available online at www.cityoffortwayne.org/commer-cial-programs.html or by calling the city’s 311 hotline. Questions may be directed to Aliza Tourkow at (260) 427-2792 or [email protected].

DANCER CONCRETE DESIGNDancer Concrete Design recently

completed the stained and polished concrete fl oors for Jersey Mike’s Subs, a new sand-wich shop at 6408 W. Jefferson Blvd.

The old carpeting and glued-down vinyl tile was removed, and the existing fl oor was polished to a high gloss using special heavy-duty commercial polishing equipment.

DIRIG SHEET METALDirig Sheet Metal was awarded the

contract to install heating, ventilation and air-conditioning ductwork for the Sham-baugh & Son LP fabrication shop in FortWayne.

STREBIG CONSTRUCTIONStrebig Construction recently

completed construction of a 55-foot pedes-trian bridge in the Foxwood subdivision forNorth Eastern Group.

ORCHARD GALLERY SCHEDULES OCT. SHOW

The Orchard Gallery of Fine Art is featuring paintings of northern Indianalakes and art quilts by Dawn Gerardot in October.

Also on exhibit are the creations ofseveral artists from Indiana, Michigan andOhio who work in woods. The exhibit runs Oct. 2-31 at the gallery at 6312-ACovington road. For more information, visit www.theorchardgallery.com.

NAI HARDING DAHMCarl Diehm represented the landlord,

Cenway, and the tenant, Worldwide Auctioneers, in the lease of 2,160 squarefeet of offi ce space at 907 Cardinal Court,Auburn

Diehm represented the same land-lord, Cenway, and the tenant, Contract Metrology Services LLC, in the lease of1,080 square feet of space in Unit 900 in the Cenway Center, Auburn.

Dan Dickey represented the landlord, J.D. Ventures Inc., in the lease of 3,000 square feet of industrial space, at 1901 ProductionRoad to United Seating & Mobility.

Russ Jehl and Al Stovall represented thelandlord, Georgetown Members LLC, inthe lease of 3,000 square feet of retail spaceat 6524 E. State Blvd., Suite 39.

MARSHALLS STORE OPENSThe new Marshalls store at Jefferson

Pointe is now open.

n Reporter’sNOTEBOOK

REAL ESTATE & RETAIL

Linda Lipp

n See REAL ESTATE on PAGE 7


Nyloncraft will close FW plantBY JOEL [email protected]

The closing of a plastic molding plant onIndustrial Road Oct. 1 will prompt 111 Fort Wayne workers to look for new jobs.

The shutdown of the Nyloncraft Inc. plant will be gradual over the course ofthe next year — as will the layoffs. Thecompany announced it will give all Fort Wayne workers the option to relocate to positions at its other plants, one locatedin Mishawaka and the other in Jonesville, Mich., President and CEO Jim Krzyzewski said.

“This plant closure is a business decisionlargely driven by our customer base,” hesaid. “The unfortunate part of this is theupsetting impact on our employees and theirfamilies. We are committed to helping ourdislocated workers with the resources they need to secure other employment.”

Krzyzewski said Nyloncraft, which ispart of Nashotah, Wis.-based the Tech-niplas Group, will work with employeeson a case-by-case basis to make relocations as smooth as possible. Employees couldalso see job offers from other Techniplasplastics companies, which have facilitiesin Wisconsin and Iowa, and also in parts ofEurope.

Nyloncraft employs a total of 526 workers at its three plants and producesplastic products for the heavy trucking,industrial and medical markets. Two other Techniplas Group businesses are Vallotechand Dickten Masch Plastics, both of whichspecialize in thermoplastics.

Nyloncraft aims for continuity in itscustomer service throughout the transition, Krzyzewski said.

“As a business, our No. 1 concern isretaining our demonstrated reputation as a valued supplier to our customers,” he said.

Nyloncraft bought the former NYX plant in Fort Wayne in June. At that time, Krzyze-wski said of the acquisition: “Bringing an operation like the NYX Fort Wayne facility into Nyloncraft further strengthensour position as an automotive industryleader and greatly benefits our customers, who are looking to us as a complete supply chain partner with deep technical expertise and broad geographic reach.”

First Defiance board OKs repurchase programFirst Defiance Financial Corp.’s board

has authorized a repurchase program for up to 489,000 shares, or about 5 percent of the 9.8 million it has outstanding.

The Defiance, Ohio-based holding company for First Federal Bank of the Midwest and First Financial Insurance Group said repurchases would be made periodically based on factors including market conditions.

The repurchased shares will be trea-sury stock available for general corporate purposes such as employee stock option plans. An announcement outlining the program said repurchasing will take place “in the open market, through block trades or otherwise and in privately negotiated transactions.”

“The company’s strong capital position and balance sheet allows the flexibility to fund this program while continuing to finance the company’s operations and growth strategy,” William Small, chairman, president chief executive officer, said in the announcement.

“We believe that the repurchase of our stock is an important tool in our overall capital management and represents another way for us to offer additional value to our shareholders.”

AREA GRADUATES AWARDED SALIN BANK SCHOLARSHIPS

Laudan Oloomi, who graduated from South Side High School, and Kaylee Hartiz, who graduated from Snider High School, were among 14 Indiana students starting a new semester at a college or university this fall with a Salin Bank scholarship.

Each of the students received $1,500 through a 13-year-old program adminis-tered for the bank by Scholarship Manage-ment Services, a department of Citizens’

S c h o l a r s h i p Foundation of America.

“Encouraging more of Indiana’s young men and women to go on to college or high technical educa-tion is one of Indiana’s highest priorities,” Bill Salin II, Salin’s president and CEO, said in a prepared state-ment.

“Our state lags in the percentage of adults with a higher education, and if we are to compete for good jobs and a superior quality of life, we simply must find a way for more of our young people to pursue a higher education,” he said.

“As a community bank with a commit-ment to the hometowns we serve, this program gives us the opportunity to express our gratitude to those communi-ties,” Salin said. “If they can then succeed in persuading more of the graduates to return home, we will have accomplished our goal.”

Students applying for the scholar-ships are selected for them based on their academic achievement, the leadership they have demonstrated in community and school activities and their education goals.

SB FINANCIAL FILES SHELF REGISTRATION STATEMENT

SB Financial Group has filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would

enable it to raise up to $30 million over the next three years.

The Defiance, Ohio-based holding company for State Bank and Trust Co. and RDSI Banking Systems has no immediate plans to start selling securities under the shelf registration statement and said terms of any offering under it would be spelled out in a prospectus supplement.

“Our performance has benefited from the strategic initiatives we implemented across our organization over the past three years. We reduced our problem assets early on, and have since maintained a consis-tently strong and stable portfolio of quality loans,” said Mark Klein, president and CEO, in a prepared statement.

“Revenue growth has been derived from both loan growth and fee income; in particular, our geographic expansion of residential mortgage banking activities has been well-timed to enhance corporate profitability and attract new households for continued enterprise growth,” he said.

“Additional capital can enable us to pursue future banking opportunities that will contribute to the continued growth of the company, while preserving the capital levels of SB Financial Group and State Bank, which are both currently in excess of well-capitalized requirements.”

The amount the company could issue during any 12-month period could not exceed one-third of its public float until the value of its shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $75 million.

If you have items for the banking and finance column, please contact Doug LeDuc by e-mail at [email protected], by phone at (260) 426-2640, ext. 309, or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 3306 Indepen-dence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.

n Reporter’sNOTEBOOK

BANKING & FINANCE

Doug LeDuc

Innovation Center to host Technology ShowcaseBY DOUG [email protected]

Brian Emerick is a great believer in the commercial potential of technology developed at university research centers in Indiana.

The president and chief executive officer of Columbia City-based Micropulse Inc. had attended one of the annual Fort Wayne Technology Showcase events at the North-east Indiana Innovation Center where he saw a presentation on a nanotube coating technology for titanium that improves the

attachment of implants.“We ended up entering into a licensing

deal and forming a company around it,” he said. The result is Nanovis, which has its headquarters at the OrthoVation Center Micropulse operates for startup companies in the medical-device industry.

Emerick said he would be attending the Oct. 9 Technology Showcase at the NIIC, but seven years after licensing its tech-nology, he is still busy helping Nanovis commercialize a portfolio of promising nanostructured products including propri-etary medical devices, which interface

better with everything from bone to cardio-vascular cells.

“It’s one of our incubator companies, one of them that we really are supporting and have a lot of things going on with, so I don’t want to start too many things at one time,” he said.

But Emerick said he would recommend the showcase to other entrepreneurs for the valuable glimpse it provides into research under way at Indiana University, Purdue University and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.n See SHOWCASE on PAGE 7

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Spurring innovationTrine’s program moves into new facilityBY JOEL [email protected]

As it reached the end of its fi rst year of existence, the director of abusiness consulting center at Trine University in Angola pointed to anumber of profi table ventures it had undertaken, including helping to bring a Michigan-based business into Indiana.

Innovation One focuses largely on engineering, technology and marketing. The center seeks to promote innovation and collaborationamong local businesses and also to attract new businesses from outsidethe state. Now that construction has been completed on an $8-million, 25,000-square-foot building to house its laboratories, lasers, classroomsand foundry on the Trine University campus, director Thomas DeAgos-tino hopes to see more successful projects.

“I’ve been doing things without really having the facilities,” he said while giving a tour of the new building. “But now, we are moving in and making progress and going forward with a lot of momentum.”

One of the biggest successes DeAgostino highlights is the partner-ship between a Michigan-based laser coating removal systems companycalled Surclean. Surclean is coming to Indiana in large part becauseof the agreement with the center. Although details are not fi nalized,company CEO Susan Sprentall said one of the elements of the deal is for Surclean to install an advanced laser laboratory in Innovation One’sfacility.

Sprentall plans to begin setting up the laboratory by Nov. 1. Whileit is possible that Surclean could have come to Indiana without it, the partnership with Trine University “was a big factor” in her decision,Sprentall said.

Sprentall said that while the lab will work on operations specifi c to Surclean, it also will offer assistance to other area companies, such as access to laser cutting, laser welding and laser cladding.

Other projects and collaborations with which Innovation One has been involved include producing scale models of heavy miningmachinery for Deister Machine Co. in Fort Wayne. Deister builds largeaggregate shakers that are extremely heavy. Wes Stinson, a project engi-neer, needed small scale models of the machines to take to trade shows, but he found that building the models exactly to scale was problematic.He turned to Innovation One.

“Lugging around a 50,000-pound machine isn’t too easy,” he said.“Innovation One provided the expertise to make sure we were actuallygetting what we wanted. For what we were doing, it was pretty valuable.”

The center worked with Angola-based Vestil Manufacturing Corp. to improve the ergonomics of its lift mechanisms. Vestil produces mate-rials-handling equipment such as loading dock equipment, packaging equipment, drum handing equipment and carts and dollies. DeAgostinosaid the research results that came out of Innovation One not only helped improve the ergonomics of Vestil’s lift machines, but also Vestil can use this data to market its products.

But all of Innovation One’s projects are not on such a large scale. Oneof the more widely publicized projects was the design and constructionof an ergonomic shower for Terry Haffner, a Fort Wayne artist who wasborn without arms and with very small legs. Haffner uses prosthetic arms to paint and to drive a modifi ed van, but struggled with the mechanics of showering without assistance.

Engineers at Innovation One brought Haffner in to have his body measured, both its proportions but also its range of motion in order to design an automated shower specifi cally for him.

It was the fi rst time in his life that Haffner, in his 60s, was able tobathe unassisted. “This shower has been great,” Haffner said.

“I was kidding people. I said, ‘I would almost want to take a showerfi ve times a day.’ Being independent, being able to do things withoutasking for help, there’s no other feeling like it.”


That team includes electrical, mechan-ical and software engineers, machinists, engineering techs, fabricators, general labor and, of course, sales. About 80 percent of its sales come from repeat busi-ness, DePrisco boasted.

The division of tasks among four sepa-rate companies allows each to remain more focused and provide a more custom-ized approach, although it’s not unusual for one customer to contract with more

than one of the ATI businesses for related work.

Customer input plays an important role in the process. “We can’t do this in a vacuum,” DePrisco said.

Also important is speed. Typical proj-ects are done in about 16 to 24 weeks, from contract to equipment installation.

“You have to be fast,” DePrisco said. “If you can’t move fast, you’re not moving.”

Work on the new building has already begun and the company is expected to be in and running by the end of the year.

Continued from PAGE 3

n ADAPT: Divisions foster customization

The discount retailer’s grand-opening festivities were Oct. 3. It is located in the former Old Navy space, which was reno-vated and expanded for the new Marshalls. Old Navy relocated to a smaller space at Jefferson Pointe several months ago. The company has another store at Chapel Ridge, off Maysville Road. It closed its Southgate Plaza store at the beginning of this year before announcing the shift to Jefferson Pointe.

CBRE/STURGESCarolyn Spake-Leeper and Karen

Spake represented the tenant, American Structure Point Inc., in the renewal of a lease for 1,440 square feet of space at 116 E. Berry St., Suite 1505.

Barry Sturges represented the landlord of the East State Medical Clinic in renewal a lease for 3,077 square feet of office space at 3124 E. State Blvd., Suite 2B.

Alexander Genova represented the landlord, Lance Realty LP, and the tenant,

Family Video, in the renewal of a lease of 7,240 square feet of space at 1202 S.R.114 West, North Manchester.

CINDA B TO HOLD SALECinda b, Fort Wayne’s other handbag

manufacturer, will host its annual factory outlet sale of retired colors and patterns and factory seconds Nov. 14-16 at its corporate headquarters, 1530 Progress Road.

Cinda b’s handbags and accessories are made exclusively in Fort Wayne. Founder and chief creative officer, Cinda Boom-ershine, will be available to meet and greet guests and sign bags. Hours are: 2 to 8 p.m. Nov. 14; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 14 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 16.

For more information on the company’s products, visit www.cindab.com.

If you have items for the real-estate and retail column, please contact Linda Lipp by e-mail at [email protected], by phone at (260) 426-2640, ext. 307, or by mail at Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, 3306 Independence Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.


n REAL ESTATE: Transactions completed

“We in the business world need to know what universities are doing and universities need to understand what industry is looking to commercialize, and what industry’s appetite is for new technology,” he said.

Sean Ryan, the director of university engagement at the NIIC, said bringing representatives of the university research community together for networking with the area’s business and investment commu-nities is an important part of the annual event.

“What we’re really trying to do is make a compact, convenient program where busi-nesses interested in developing technol-ogies and people with the universities … who are interested in commercializing tech-nologies get to know one another,” he said.

The universities manage their technology available for commercialization through the Purdue Office of Technology Commercial-ization and the Indiana University Research & Technology Corp. The Purdue Research Foundation also manages technology with commercialization potential for IPFW.

“What I’d like to do is really draw these organizations closer to our businesses here so when something comes out in the future of interest … our universities and busi-nesses already know each other,” Ryan said.

Small businesses or private-sector research-and-development departments also can partner with universities to compete for

research grants, and there are other oppor-tunities to leverage university research and technical assistance and to hire students with special expertise, he said. “It’s more broad than trying to move patents into the commercial arena via licensing agree-ments.”

Ryan said presentations are selected for the annual Technology Showcase based on their alignment with northeast Indiana’s key industrial clusters and likelihood of attracting the interest of area businesses, investors and entrepreneurs.

The showcase will include six 15-minute presentations, with three from each univer-sity organization.

One of the presentations will focus on a new medical technology; two will explain new renewable energy technolo-gies; and three will share information on new biomedical engineering technologies.

The showcase will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Cole Training Room at the Innovation Center, 3201 Stellhorn Road. It is free for technology specialists, entrepreneurs, investors and business and community leaders, but seating is limited and an RSVP is requested.

Register for the event by contacting Ryan at [email protected]. More information on technologies available from the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization is available at www.otc-prf.org/otc. For infor-mation about Indiana University Research & Technology, go to iurtc.iu.edu.


n SHOWCASE: Will feature six presentations

n BizView nPAGE 8 fwbusiness.com

Indiana University’s Center on Congress recently launched a mobile app and accompanying website that uses material from the Library of Congress to help students understand the signifi cance of lawmakers’ response to issues that changed the nation, including civil rights, women’s suffrage and the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Congressional Moments app and website are a good reminder of the challenges this country has faced and how our congressional leaders rose to meet them — albeit at times kicking and screaming.

Now, it seems, all they want to do is scream.

As of this writing, the federal government is shut down and more than 800,000 employees are on unpaid furlough. National parks are closed. Regulating agencies are shuttered. The National Institutes for Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are effectively on unpaid sick leave.

The shutdown is the result of a four-year-old argument over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The law, which was passed by Congress in 2009, signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and subse-quently ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012, is so objec-tionable to some legislators that they’re willing trade the federal government’s

very ability to function for delaying implementation of the act’s individual mandate.

The act — let’s be clear — is far from perfect. Its goal of giving all Americans access to health insurance, while laudable, has already created a series of unintended consequences and reams of regulation. Whether it makes health insurance “affordable” remains to be seen.

But the Affordable Care Act — and let’s be clearer still — is the law. It’s a law like any other law, passed in the same manner as other laws. Upheld by the Supreme Court as other laws. There was a time, not terribly long ago, when after a law was passed, there were winners and losers in Congress. There were those who made the triumphant walk back to their offi ces, and there were those who went home dejected that night. The next day, they all went back to work to argue about the next bill.

This, unfortunately, is not that time. And — unfortunately — shutting down the federal government to get what you want is now considered a viable strategy by both political parties.

If a law is bad, there are only two options: repeal it or change it to make it better. Lighting a match and trying to burn down the house surrounding you is not a third option.

A congressional moment

It was delightful to read in the newspaper and on the Internet that Kokomo, Elkhart-Goshen and Columbus were among the leading metropolitan areas in economic growth in 2012. The report came from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis and stimulated local public-relations people to rejoice with news releases that were sheer exhilaration.

After all, the combined 381 metro areas of the United States managed growth of their gross domestic product by just 2 percent for 2012. But our stars shined: Elkhart-Goshen, 11 percent; Columbus, 10 percent; and Kokomo, 8 percent. Blow that trumpet, thump that gong. Don’t let reality cast a shadow where the stars are shining.

The joy could have been as great and the self-congratulatory remarks from state and local offi ces could have been more useful if the full story were told.

Adjusted for infl ation, GDP for the Elkhart-Goshen metro area remained $586 million or 6 percent below its 2007 peak. The Kokomo metro area was $507 million, or 12 percent below its 2007 peak. These two sterling trend-setters remain among the most economically depressed areas in the United States.

Kokomo ranked 367th of 381 metro areas in its compound annual rate of growth from 2007 to 2012. Elkhart-Goshen ranked 321st. These two Indiana metro areas suffered severe declines in 2008 and 2009 from which they have not recov-ered. Yes, they are doing better, but, as noted above, each has an added half-billion dollars of output to generate before they return to their 2007 levels.

Columbus, by contrast is among the elite metro areas in the country, with real GDP 10 percent greater than in 2007. Bloomington and Lafayette also are among the top 100 metros in average annual real growth rates between 2007 and 2012.

The fanfare that accompanied release of these numbers is not unusual. We have many offi ces and “news” services that are agents of happy tidings. To see data in perspective is not part of their mission statements.

They take almost any news release at face value. For example, both Trine University in Angola and the University of Notre Dame in South Bend recently released their economic impact studies. Trine modestly claimed a $73-million impact on Indiana, while Notre Dame touted a billion-dollar impact on the South Bend community. (A Notre Dame home football game is worth $18 million, in case you wondered.)

Colleges and universities feel compelled to declare their importance through annual economic impact studies. Such studies are generally massive agglomerations of dubious assumptions. These studies are for public relations and not for critical examination.

Yet they are reported by the media as if they were solid academic research when they have many inherent faults. What is the academic community trying to prove to whom?

If city governments or the chambers of commerce are impressed by such numbers, we have to wonder about their naiveté. But then they are the ones who tout the GDP growth numbers. Economic data are part of a large-scale fantasy exchange.

Morton J. Marcus is an independent economist, writer and speaker formerly with Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He can be reached at [email protected].

Selling the fantasy

n

EYE ON THE PIE

Morton J.

Marcus

n EDITORIAL

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GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly n October 4-10, 2013

Banking & FinanceOctober 4-10, 2013 n GREATER FORT WAYNE Business Weekly fwbusiness.com PAGE 9

(AP) — The Federal Reserve’s decision to postpone any pullback in its economic stimulus immediately ignited a debate: Was the Fed right or wrong to delay the inevitable?

Investors had anticipated a small cut in the Fed’s $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, which are intended to keep long-term borrowing rates low to encourage spending. A pullback would have signaled that the Fed felt the economy had shown steady improvement.

If not now, when? That’s what many economists were asking.

By not reducing its purchases as most investors and econ-omists had expected, the Fed has heightened uncertainty about its future actions.

Back in June, it had all seemed clear: Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed planned to slow its purchases by year’s end as long as the economy improved. The Fed’s policymaking board reaffi rmed that time frame at its July meeting. Borrowing rates rose in expectation that a pullback was near, with most economists forecasting that it would start in September.

Now, it isn’t even clear that any pullback will begin before next year. If the Fed thinks the economy hasn’t improved enough yet, there’s little reason to think its view will change soon. The Fed’s own forecasts foresee scant improvement until 2014.

By maintaining the pace of its bond buying, the Fed will aim to keep borrowing rates as low as possible. That’s seen as a recipe for higher bond and stock prices.

But “we wonder whether the longer-lasting reaction will be increased volatility … as the Fed’s communications become even more confused,” said Paul Ashworth, an econ-omist at Capital Economics.

So what’s changed since June?Not much. Employers have added an average of 180,000

jobs a month this year, about the same as last year and in 2011. From April through June, the economy grew at a 2.5-percent annual rate, little changed from its 2.8-percent rate in the quarter when the Fed began its bond buying.

Growth and hiring remain modest by the standards of a robust economic recovery. But they’ve been pretty consistent for the past few years.

The Fed’s efforts, meanwhile, are more appropriate for a recession or other economic emergency, some economists argue.

“The Fed has gone to great lengths to describe its (bond purchases) as extraordinary economic stimulus,” said Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities. “It’s not something you use when the economy is just struggling.”

The Fed’s decision to delay also suggests it’s dismissive of concerns that its policies might be infl ating dangerous bubbles in assets like stocks or real estate in the United States or overseas. By keeping mortgage rates low, the Fed has sought to accelerate the housing recovery. It’s also tried to drive up stock prices. Yet the longer it continues to do so, the greater the risk that it will go too far.

Vitner noted that home prices have jumped 12 percent in the past year even as the number of homeowners has declined. Home and stock prices may have risen too far too fast considering the state of the economy.

The Fed’s policies may have made the housing recovery appear stronger than it is: Much of the increase in sales and prices has been fueled by investors. First-time home buyers, who typically play a vital role in driving housing recoveries, remain largely on the sidelines. They face tighter credit stan-dards, which the Fed’s policies haven’t addressed.

Many argue, however, that the Fed had good reason

to delay any reduction in its bond-buying program: The economy still needs the help. Economic growth and hiring remain weak. The unemployment rate remains high.

The Fed’s bond purchases tend to push interest rates down, making it cheaper for consumers to buy cars and houses. Lower rates also help drive the stock market up and make Americans feel wealthier and more willing to spend. That’s important in a country where consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.

The Fed downgraded its outlook for U.S. economic growth this year and next. The job market doesn’t look as strong as in the spring when the Fed raised the prospect of scaling back the bond purchases. Job growth has slowed to an average of 155,000 a month since April, down from an average 205,000 in the fi rst four months of the year.

True, the unemployment rate has sunk to a 4 1/2-year low of 7.3 percent. But it’s fallen for the wrong reason. More people have stopped working or looking for work. Once people without a job stop looking for one, they’re no longer counted as unemployed.

Their departure shrank the so-called labor force partic-ipation rate — the percentage of adults who have jobs or are seeking one — to 63.2 percent, the lowest since August 1978. If those who left the labor force last month had still been looking for work, the unemployment rate would have risen to 7.5 percent in August.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, noted that the Fed wants to see unemployment decline “because employment improves, not because the number of people looking for work falls.”

The Fed has plenty of other reasons to delay any reduction in the bond purchases.

For one thing, infl ation is under control. Those who want to see the Fed reduce its economic stimulus worry that super-low rates and aggressive bond purchases could ignite infl ation and perhaps create dangerous asset bubbles.

But there’s no infl ation threat in sight. Infl ation is running well below the Fed’s 2-percent target. Consumer prices have risen just 1.5 percent over the past year.

The Fed doesn’t want to reduce economic aid until it’s sure the politicians don’t wreck the economy. The ongoing budget battles “gave them the reason to hold off on tapering right now,” said Greg McBride, senior fi nancial analyst at Bankrate.com.

n InFocus n

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Fed sparks a debate: When to reduce stimulus?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke listens to a reporter’s question at a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., Sept. 18. The Federal Reserve has decided against reducing its stimulus for the U.S. economy because its outlook for growth has dimmed in the past three months.

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Customer complaints can be a tool for keeping them loyalIt’s a fact that

customers are a lot less loyal than they once were. There are a number of reasons why this is true. We have more choices than we used to when it comes to the prod-ucts we purchase or the services we use. With the Internet at our fingertips, we can research and compare value, features and benefits before we enter a store or order online. And along with the economic downturn, many industries, such as banking and airlines, suffered negative backlash. All that adds up to some challenging times when it comes to retaining customers and keeping them loyal.

As we work with companies across the nation and help them see the value of establishing a loyal customer base, we continually point out that it’s six times more

expensive to acquire new customers than to keep existing ones. Now it may seem that the value of a loyal customer would be obvious and not something that would take any convincing, but believe it or not, 63 percent of marketers still think that new customer acquisition is the most important advertising goal.

That statistic is even more astounding when you consider the average conversion rate (actual sales) from promotions sent to new customers is less than 1 percent. It just makes good business sense for companies to make concerted efforts to keep happy customers happy.

There are a number of ways a company can go about building customer loyalty. We’ve created programs around owner magazines and newsletters that help keep the lines of communication open and inform customers about what companies are doing for them. We’ve produced special owner events that brought customers together to celebrate with concerts, games and other entertainment. We’ve developed programs where customers are surveyed at certain times in their ownership experience to inquire about their satisfaction.

But sometimes the biggest opportu-

nity to win a customer for life is when customers are unhappy and you’re able to solve the issue to their satisfaction. Doing that requires taking responsibility even when you don’t believe it’s the fault of your company, your product or your depart-ment. Refusing to take responsibility for any reason tells your customer one thing: “I don’t care about you or your business.”

I volunteer at a nonprofit. An owner of a local business brought his child out to this nonprofit to experience our facility and all we have to offer. The experience was less than thrilling and the people there that day were not friendly or helpful. This gave him a bad impression. And this is someone who may have been willing to donate time, expertise and materials to help upgrade our facility.

When one of our board members ran into him a few weeks later, she made a point of talking with him about his experience and set things right, inviting him and his child to come back and give us another try. In essence, she showed him we care. While it wasn’t the board member who was at fault for the bad experience, she took responsi-bility and rectified the situation.

It’s actually a rare thing for a customer

to complain. In her book, “Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Diffi-cult Customer Into Your Biggest Fan,” Marilyn Suttle postulates that you should always thank customers when they share a complaint with you. That’s because only 4 percent of dissatisfied customers complain. The other 96 percent just go away. So while complaining customers may not be the most pleasant people to talk with, they’re actually giving you a golden opportunity to resolve the issue and make them customers for life.

There are many examples of companies turning dissatisfied customers into brand advocates. When a passenger’s complaints about the food offered aboard a Virgin Atlantic flight went viral, Richard Branson personally called the customer and asked for his help choosing the food that would be served on future flights. The result? He turned an unhappy customer into a brand advocate.

When it comes to turning a dissatisfied customer into satisfied one, there are a few key steps that have to happen. An apology is a good place to start. Again, even if there’s a feeling that someone else is to blame for

n

CONFESSIONS OF AN

ENTREPRENEUR

Barry LaBov

n See LABOV on PAGE 11


the issue, taking responsibility is huge to a customer.

Next, customers are looking for opportu-nities to voice their concerns, so listen and try to identify with their issue. Then restore their trust by fixing the problem to the customer’s and the company’s satisfaction. While that helps resolve the issue, what most customers want is reassurance that some action has been taken so the problem won’t happen again.

Lastly, a follow-up is always a good idea to ensure the customer’s issue has been fully resolved. It’s a great recipe for making customers satisfied and making them even more loyal customers.

When you consider that customer loyalty can be worth 10 times as much as a single purchase, taking advantage of an opportunity to turn an unhappy customer

into a happy one is an obvious win for everyone involved. Go beyond to take care of customers when things go wrong and you’ll gain a loyal customer for life.

My entrepreneurial confession: There’ve been times when I’ve been unhappy with a company, but I haven’t given them the chance to fix the problem. Maybe it’s because I didn’t think they’d fix it or I just didn’t want to take the time to complain. Now when I have an issue, I first try to get it resolved before writing them off.

BARRY LABOV, a two-time Ernst & Young entrepreneur of the year and inductee into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, is founder, president and CEO of LaBov Marketing Communications and Training in Fort Wayne and co-owner and president of Sycamore Hills Golf Club. He has written or co-authored more than a dozen business books, and he blogs at www.barrylabov.blogspot.com.


n LABOV: Follow up after resolving the issue

BRIEFLYALLEN COUNTY

DWD ACQUIRES FORT WAYNE ACCOUNTING FIRM

Dulin, Ward & DeWald Inc. announced it acquired the Bair CPA Group Inc. in Fort Wayne.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Fort Wayne-based Dulin, Ward & DeWald said the former Bair operation will continue to provide audit, accounting and tax services to clients in the region.

Dulin, Ward & DeWald was founded in 1939. The 50-employee firm offers accounting, auditing, tax planning, employee benefit plan administration, business valuation, estate planning and technology services.

CREDIT UNION WARNS OF PHONE SCAM

3Rivers Federal Credit Union is warning its customers and the public about a phone scam in which individuals receive a message stating their debit cards have been deactivated.

The credit union said members and nonmembers have received automated calls claiming to be from 3Rivers that state: “We regret to inform you that your debit card has been deactivated.” The auto-mated message then asks individuals for their personal account information.

The calls show up as being from “595-5” on caller ID.

3River does not call individuals and ask for account information. For 3Rivers

members who provided such informa-tion, the credit union asks them to: email [email protected] or send a message from their Online Access Message Center; call (800) 825-3461; or visit a 3Rivers branch.

HARRISON COLLEGE HAS NEW CAMPUS PRESIDENT

Harrison College announced Kynan Simison will become the new president of its Fort Wayne campus.

The Indianapolis-based private college said Simison most recently served as regional director for enrollment at Harrison and its Chef’s Academy. She has worked at the college for more than eight years.

“Kynan’s wealth of expertise from her various leadership roles within Harrison College will be an asset to the growing Fort Wayne campus and community,” Duane Schmitz, senior vice president of operations at Harrison College, said in a statement. “Her commitment to improving higher education opportunities in the Fort Wayne area coupled with her understanding of the legacy of our school will be an asset as Harrison College continues to provide quality education and career opportunities to our students.”

The college also announced Luke Knoke was selected as the new dean of academic affairs at the fort Wayne campus. He has more than 15 years of academic and operations experience at public and private institutions.

Harrison College’s Fort Wayne campus is located at 6413 N. Clinton St.

In early August, I got a call from a guy named Martin Rooney who had just moved to Char-lotte, N.C., from New Jersey. Turns out we had a mutual friend who insisted Martin and I meet.

I agreed to meet. He was a new guy in town and he’s a friend of a good friend. We’d have a short meeting and be done. So I scheduled a 30-minute breakfast.

At breakfast, Martin and I began to talk. Three hours later, we were still talking.

We talked sales, martial arts, fitness, health, speaking, writing and 100 other things. We exchanged books and agreed to keep the conversation going. Martin agreed to help me get “in better physical shape” at his training facility.

Martin Rooney bills himself as a “fitness philosopher.” But he is at the top of his profession as both a trainer and a speaker on fitness. He has been a trainer-consultant to athletes from the NFL, MLB and NBA, and has trained numerous Olympic medalists. He produced the fastest athlete at the NFL Scouting Combine four times. One hundred of the athletes Martin has trained have been drafted to the NFL, and the contracts signed were in excess of a $1 billion. Not bad.

My training is taking place at one of the facilities he licenses for his “Training for

Warriors” program. He now has more than 70 locations worldwide, and more than 1,000 trainers have become certified in his training system. Not bad.

So what’s the attraction? Adonis wants to train an overweight old man. Doesn’t seem like a fit — until you discover our mutual passions: thinking, writing and speaking. We also both have four daughters, and we’re both from New Jersey. We are helpers at heart, and we exchanged amazing ideas in the first three hours. So many ideas that I believe I have found a new lifelong friend. Not bad.

He gave me a copy of his book, “Rooney’s Rules.” He creates a new health, fitness, sales and philosophical rule every day.

Here are a few examples of his philos-ophy, his thinking and his writing:

• Want to be remembered tomorrow?Then don’t forget to do something greattoday.

• You don’t become the thing you thinkabout all the time. You become the thing you do all the time.

• Success may have less to do with thedepth of your background than it does with the strength of your backbone.

• When fighting this battle called life,taking yourself lightly may be your heaviestartillery.

• Hindsight is worthless until you are ableto use it to gain insight that can be used topositively affect your foresight.

• Algebra and trigonometry are lessimportant than learning to correctly addyour strengths, subtract your faults, divideyour time and multiply your talents.

• If you aspire to retire after building anempire, the best way is to inspire as manypeople before you expire.

• Most people often develop a weak setof knees when it comes time to take a standfor themselves.

• Perhaps the most important thing youcan be when you grow up is yourself.

• The road to success does not intersectwith the path of least resistance.

• Joy follows success. Success followsexperience. Experience follows failure. Don’t fear failure. Without it there is no joy.

• Your life will not be measured by howmany days you get to “take off,” but insteadby how many of the days you “take on.”

• The easiest way to lead an unsuccessfullife is to work hard all day to get out of ahard day’s work.

• Most people think the difference between easy and hard can be found in the problem. Successful people know it’s foundin your head.

• Your reputation and credibility are justlike your muscles. They take years to developbut can be lost in a short time of misuse.

• Action is your most important export.Better to use it up in the storefront than tokeep it stored away in the warehouse.

• You’re a product of your priorities. Youhave 168 hours a week. If you can’t find fiveto work out, you’re not busy; you’re insane.

Pretty cool, huh? Martin Rooney is adeep thinker and doer who is able to expresshimself in a very intelligent and thought-pro-voking way.

So far: I have been to Martin’s workout facility six times. I’m getting personaltraining from a world master. And it’s a funexchange of ideas along with the grunting. Ilove it. I am building strength and friendshipat the same time.

JEFFREY GITOMER, a syndicated columnist, can be reached at [email protected].


Sales, like getting in shape, takes commitment, hard workn

JEFFREY GITOMER


IPFW anniversary celebration puts the ‘fun’ in functionalBY LINDA [email protected]

Who says a bike rack can’t have artistic value? Certainly not well-known Goshen sculptor John Mishler, who is one of 23 artists selected to produce 50 “Sculpture with Purpose” pieces to mark the 50th anniversary of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

“I like the idea of making art that is kind of functional,” said Mishler, who teaches at Goshen College and specializes in abstract works using scrap metals.

Models of all 50 sculptures, including three by Mishler, were to be unveiled by IPFW at an event at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art Oct. 2.

“By bringing this public art project to our streets we are not only enhancing the spirit and culture of Fort Wayne, but we are also encouraging residents to bike and live a healthy lifestyle,” said Vicky Carwein, IPFW’s chancellor.

Like IPFW’s “Mastodons on Parade” project several years ago, the bike-rack sculptures will be scattered throughout the city. Unlike the mastodon installations, which were temporary, the bike racks will be permanent.

Mishler’s three works, sponsored by the IPFW Alumni Club, OmniSource and PHP,

all will be in the downtown area.Mishler got involved pretty early on

in the project and worked with project manager Ruth Stone as the concept evolved. For his own pieces, he let the scrap metals he had collected suggest the ultimate design. Two of them are “almost kinetic,” he noted, with parts that move in the wind. Aluminum is the primary metal, but the OmniSource work also uses copper.

Altogether, 160 designs were submitted from artists in seven states. The first sculp-ture, “Confluence,” by Design Collabora-tive, was unveiled a year ago in Freimann Square. The remaining, full-sized works, each sponsored by a local company or organization, will be unveiled next May 17, the date of the kickoff of IPFW’s official 50th-anniversary celebration.

The models will be available for the public to view at the art museum through Oct. 16. They will be auctioned off after the conclusion of IPFW’s anniversary cele-brations to raise funds for scholarships for IPFW students.

IPFW also is partnering with the AWS Foundation for a related school bike art project. Area schools and organizations are invited to recycle old bicycles into art. Those works will be displayed at the Foundation for Art and Music Education (FAME) festival March 15-16.

“I’ll Keep an Eye on It” by David Bidelhauser is a sculptural bike rack sponsored by Lincoln National Corp.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

BY BARRY [email protected]

On Oct. 1, the first day people could shop for health insurance through a federal exchange created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Michelle Walters went to the HealthCare.gov website and took it for a spin to see what prices it would spit out.

There was, however, one problem. The website wasn’t exactly working. As Walters, executive vice president at Group Insurance Services of Fort Wayne Inc., tried to enter her information, she kept getting kicked out.

The wonky website, which struggled under the weight of visitor demand Oct. 1, could be considered a microcosm of the larger work to implement the Affordable Care Act, and businesses’ and individuals’ understanding of it. There’s been confusion about what the act does and doesn’t do, a self-imposed yearlong delay to 2015 of the employer mandate that forces businesses with 50 or more employees to provide them with health insurance, and there have been numerous attempts to strike down the law, signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.

The latest attempt to postpone or defund elements of the act by Republicans in the House of Representatives that was tied to a bill to fund the federal government has resulted in a shutdown of most government operations.

For businesses that are trying to comply with the Affordable Care Act, the uncer-tainty can be unsettling.

“It definitely creates a situation where some employers are starting to question the seriousness of it,” said Walters, whose company provides group and individual health insurance, Medicare plans, life insur-ance and other benefit products to clients.

She likened the uncertainty to gasoline prices. In a matter of a few hours, gas prices can skyrocket, and likewise they can plummet. At first, drivers paid attention to the wide fluctuations, but over time they’ve

become desensitized.“Make up your mind,” Walters urged

federal agencies and politicians. “Tell us what we need to do and we’ll figure how to go about doing it.”

Oct. 1 also was the deadline by which employers were required to notify their workers of the health-insurance exchanges, and to either provide basic information about the health insurance presently offered to them or state that the business doesn’t provide insurance to employees.

Indiana is one of 36 states that chose not to establish its own insurance exchange; instead, Hoosier residents can get coverage through the federal exchange. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are 34 qualified health-care plans available via the exchange, including products sold by Fort Wayne-based Physi-cians Health Plan of Northern Indiana Inc.

The exchange notifications also should specify whether the health insurance pres-ently offered by a business is “affordable” and meets a “minimum value,” according to an email bulletin from First Person, a bene-

fits advisers firm in Indianapolis. “Afford-able” means that an employee’s share of the premium for the least expensive individual health-insurance plan offered through the company can’t be more than 9.5 percent of his or her annual wage.

The “minimum value” rule requires a company’s plan to cover at least 60 percent of the cost of all health benefits provided under the plan.

“I think most employers were prepared to provide (employees) the notification of the exchanges being available,” said Sheryl Eakins, director of tax services at McGladrey LLP in Elkhart. Her firm offers assurance, tax and business consulting services to clients.

But determining whether their plans were affordable and met the minimum-value threshold might have been a stumbling block for some companies.

“It is so complicated,” Eakins said of the Affordable Care Act. “I think a lot of employers still don’t know it well enough.”

There are no penalties for businesses that didn’t provide the information to employees by Oct. 1.

One thing the health-insurance exchange notices can lead to is additional questions — from employees and businesses. Walters said her firm made a point of reaching out and talking with clients Oct. 1 to address issues as they arose.


Deadline doesn’t do much to clarify ACA

An influx of visitors overwhelmed the HealthCare.gov website Oct. 1.

SCREEN CAPTURE

n “Make up your mind. Tell us what we need to do and we’ll figure how to go about doing it.”

Michelle WaltersGroup Insurance Services of Fort Wayne Inc.

n See DEADLINE on PAGE 15

Dedication takes teacher from dirt floor to new studio

Chet Schemahorn, owner of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Wayne, demonstrates a throw at his studio.

JOEL ELLIOTT

BY JOEL [email protected]

A new Brazilian jiu-jitsu studio opened in September in Fort Wayne. It’s run by Chet Schemahorn, the only licensed Gracie jiu-jitsu instructor in the state of Indiana.

The 3,700-square-foot facility strikes quite a contrast to the dirt-floor base-ment in LaGrange where Schemahorn first started training 18 years ago, he said.

“Yeah, I was in that first little dungeon about eight years,” he said, looking on as a knot of perspiring students prac-ticed their grappling on a mat in the new facility.

Schemahorn said he started studying Gracie jiu-jitsu 18 years ago after having been inspired by one of the sport’s most prominent figures, Royce Gracie, who dominated the Ultimate Fighting Cham-pionships throughout the 1990s. Since there were no Gracie instructors in the

n See STUDIO on PAGE 15


Kris Wurst, director of human relations at party supply dealer Shindigz in South Whitley and president of the Northeast Indiana Human Resource Association, said ongoing communication between companies and their employees will be key as implemen-tation of the Affordable Care Act continues to unfold.

She compared the present situation to when the Family Leave and Medical Act went into effect in 1993, bringing with it addi-tional regulation and reporting requirements.

Wurst said most HR professionals have been diligent in keeping up to speed on the Affordable Care Act.

And they’ll most likely need to stay diligent.“I’m sure there’s still going to be more modifications to it,” she

said.


n DEADLINE: Communication is key

state, Schemahorn began putting away money to fly out to semi-nars four times a year at the Gracie headquarters in Los Angeles. The Gracies reciprocated by traveling to LaGrange and giving seminars there.

Schemahorn’s dedication seemed to be contagious. As he trained and taught over the years, he amassed a small but dedicated group of students who, at least a couple of times a week, would cheerfully troop down the stairs of a dark, musty little cellar and spend the next two hours working and sweating on the mat. The class size expanded and they moved into a larger facility in LaGrange, and Schemahorn continued his quarterly trips to Los Angeles for more training.

“This level of dedication is rare,” Ryron Gracie, a fourth-degree black belt in the style, said of Schemahorn. “Besides traveling to learn the art, he also makes a point to teach everything that he has learned. We believe you can gauge how well someone understands something by their ability to teach it, and Chet is an amazing teacher.”

Ryron Gracie plans to give a self-defense seminar at the Fort Wayne facility Oct. 12.

Although Gracie jiu-jitsu earned much of its fame from the success with which its students met in bloody, televised cage fights, its founder, Grandmaster Helio Gracie, originally developed it as an adaptation from traditional Japanese jiu-jitsu to accommodate his small, not particularly strong frame. It focuses on leverage, rather than strength, which played a key role in searing into the minds of many aspiring martial artists the image of a 176-pound Royce Gracie winning fights against such massive opponents as the 486-pound, 6-foot-8-inch sumo wrestler Akebono Taro.

Schemahorn teaches less about winning cage fights and more about practical self-defense.

“You’re coming here to learn how to defend yourself, you’re not coming here to get beat up,” Schemahorn said. “I’m looking more for business professionals. I’m not looking for thugs; they already know how to fight.”

One such professional is Steve Ribolla, supervisor of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Fort Wayne, who said he uses jiu-jitsu techniques in his work.

“Law enforcement can be a demanding job, and at times there is the possibility where we would need to control a person where we are either arresting them or defending ourselves,” he said. “Jiu-jitsu is the perfect style to control a person without having to strike them.”


n STUDIO: Focus is self-defense

TO LEARN MORE Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort

Wayne is located at 5421 Keystone Drive. The phone number is (260) 444-2155.

YOU CAN’TGO FURTHER WITHOUT A DEGREE

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Telling yourself it’s time for a change? Indiana Tech offers master’s degrees to help you reach the next

level, including an MBA program with several concentrations to suit your goals. Online and classroom

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Call 800.288.1766 for graduate classes forming now.


n PEOPLE ON THE MOVEE-mail your People on the Move items to [email protected].

EARLY CHILDHOOD ALLIANCEJessica Sharpe joined Early Childhood

Alliance in Fort Wayne as its new devel-opment director. She will manage grant writing and fundraising for special events.

Barbara Gingerich joined the alliance as an education specialist. She will plan and implement professional development and technical assistance for early childhood providers and other early childhood profes-sionals.

FWCSFort Wayne Community Schools’ board

of school trustees appointed Shannon Rodgers principal of Shambaugh Elemen-tary. She joined the district in 2010 as a teacher at Fairfield Elementary and in 2012 was named assistant principal at Holland Elementary.

MAPLE STREET MARKETBob Rademaker, business development

manager at Maple City Market in Goshen, was named interim general manager of the 1,700-member cooperative. He replaces Kum Ng, who resigned.

SWEETWATER SOUNDSweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne

recently hired seven new employees. They are:

• Sales engineer Jay Fredrick, who most recently was a technical director at WFWA;

• Sales engineer Drew Foster;• Sales engineer Justin Lieberman, who

most recently was assistant production manager at Sound Liberation Front in New York City;

• Sales engineer Jason Thiele;• Sales engineer Spencer Kennedy, who

has engineered audio for film composers;• Sales engineer Evan Mulvihill, who

has worked as a freelance engineer for recording studios in Chicago; and

• Sales engineer Joe Schafer, who worked at Marshall Music in Lansing, Mich.

SHAMBAUGH & SONDeborah Butler was hired as copy

center/cafe clerk at Shambaugh & Son LP in Fort Wayne.

Martyn Crouch was hired as insulation estimator.

Cherri Lockwood was hired as dispatcher/administrative assistant.

Lee Ann McClaine was hired as accounts payable clerk.

Nicole Muncie was hired as an adminis-trative assistant.

Lieberman

Butler

McClaine

Foster

Schafer

Lockwood

Fredrick

Mulvihill

Crouch

Gingerich

Kennedy

Sharpe

Thiele

Muncie

n Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly TopList

n



n BizLeads n

NEWBUSINESSESGround Effects LLC2810 Beaver Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46807Steven Shine

Coleman Investments LLC2804 Parnell Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46805Daniel R. Coleman

Creative Enterprises USA Inc.4627 E. State Blvd.Fort Wayne, IN 46815Charisse M. Benton

Bonaccisoft LLC1310 Crescent Circle, #2Fort Wayne, IN 46825Michael Campbell

22nd Century Marketing LLC1828 Andrew St.Fort Wayne, IN 46808Kalan Shenfeld

Akm225 LLC4212 Winding Brook RoadFort Wayne, IN 46814Kamran Mirza

Pickett Holdings LLC436 E. Wayne St.Fort Wayne, IN 46802Ann Trzynka

Green Energy Resources of America LLC4526 Mirror Light PlaceFort Wayne, IN 46804Steve Weaver

420 Clinic LLC5719 St. Joe RoadFort Wayne, IN 46835Robert E. Hatcher Jr.

Nuit Technologies LLC5422 Myanna LaneFort Wayne, IN 46835Andrew Provines

C&H Property Manage-ment LLC301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 200Fort Wayne, IN 46802Jeremy V. Senk

Southgate Automotive Two LLC5120 S. Calhoun St.Fort Wayne, IN 46807Eric King

Aegis Dental Group Warsaw PC301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 200Fort Wayne, IN 46802Jeremy V. Senk

Fort Wayne Hotel Suites Inc.4919 Lima RoadFort Wayne, IN 46808Kefeh Shounnia

Beers Law Office LLC810 S. Calhoun St.Fort Wayne, IN 46802Richard Beers

Bernardino Lopez-San-chez LLC4534 Parnell Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46825Bernardino L. Sanchez

Erik Cesareo-Molina LLC4534 Parnell Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46825Erik C. Molina

S&L Motors LLC1510 Fairfield Ave., Suite 149Fort Wayne, IN 46802Larry Wyman

6 Twenty-Six Inc.5402 Dyerbrook PassFort Wayne, IN 46835Tracy May

Superior Satellite Sales LLC1222 N. Anthony Blvd.Fort Wayne, IN 46805Craig Griffith

Portofino Interior Designs Inc.1004 W. Rudisill Blvd.Fort Wayne, IN 46807Amy A. Bell

Cole Bryant Investments LLC215 E. Berry St.Fort Wayne, IN 46802Joshua C. Neal

Nancy Michel Hernan-dez-Valencia LLC1416 High St.Fort Wayne, IN 46808Nancy M. Valencia

The Potter Group LLC12211 Hawkins WayFort Wayne, IN 46814Jeffrey M. Potter

Noe Salazar Castillo LLC1221 Lillie St .Fort Wayne, IN 46803Noe S. Castillo

Something Underneath Inc.5937 Sawmill Woods DriveFort Wayne, IN 46835Leslie Urbine

Kiddy City Child Care Center LLC605 Oakfield DriveFort Wayne, IN 46825Viicki Gorman

Warren Hotel Group LLC200 E. Main St., Suite 1000Fort Wayne, IN 46802Dale A. Bloom

You Make Me Musick Music Group LLC2609 Carew St.Fort Wayne, IN 46805Jamaris E. Tubbs

Time Corners Self Storage LLC4616 E. Dupont Road, Suite AFort Wayne, IN 46825Mark L. Cockcroft

Fort Wayne Youth Cricket Association Inc.11613 Island Cove DriveFort Wayne, IN 46845Ajay Lakhe

Mount Carmel Mission Baptist Church Corp. Inc.3509 Weisser Park Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46806Pastor W. Ward

T7 LLC1910 Grey Birch RoadFort Wayne, IN 46814Sarvjit Pabla

Metro Real Estate LLC2042 BroadwayFort Wayne, IN 46802Brian A. Schaper

Two Daddy’s Hunting LLC15503 Coldwater RoadFort Wayne, IN 46845Kirsten Lasalle

Na-Ginnah Enterprises LLC301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 200Fort Wayne, IN 46802Bruce O. Boxberger

Ideal Clinical Trials LLC126 Chestnut Hills ParkwayFort Wayne, IN 46814Ravi D. Raju

Solid Rock Properties LLC7501 Ideal Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46809Chad Keysor

Radvantage Marketing LLC13101 Bolinni LaneFort Wayne, IN 46845Jason Bowersock

Grube’s Family Lake LLC9815 Dawson’s Creek Blvd.Fort Wayne, IN 46825April S. Grunden

Avilla Liquors Inc.11033 Oakbriar CourtFort Wayne, IN 46845Kathleen K. Bleeke

Bleeke Family LLC11033 Oakbriar CourtFort Wayne, IN 46845Kathleen K. Bleeke

Tradesmans Mark LLC1534 Sweetflag CoveFort Wayne, IN 46814Kage Scheele

Sweet Cravings LLC2108 Deer Lodge DriveFort Wayne, IN 46818Tammi S. Glass

Meister Cook Interna-tional Inc.5316 Hopkinton DriveFort Wayne, IN 46814Meister Cook LLC

Information Forge LLC6510 Covington Road, E309Fort Wayne, IN 46804Glenna Koenig

Summit City Sports LLC1410 W. Washington Blvd.Fort Wayne, IN 46802Jeff Mahoney

Edge Industrial Supply LLC13832 Piedmont CoveFort Wayne, IN 46845Andrea Jones

Gasbi LLC100 W. Coliseum Blvd.Fort Wayne, IN 46805Ryan Campbell

Cardboard Legends Sports Cards & Collect-ibles Inc.7820 Greenbank CourtFort Wayne, IN 46815Timothy C. Jackson II

Barry Knoll Inc.4620 Speedway DriveFort Wayne, IN 46825Lynda Wynn

Kirbside Container LLC419 E. Till RoadFort Wayne, IN 46825Jeffery F. Palermo

Afterthought LLC301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 200Fort Wayne, IN 46802Howard B. Sandler

Manufacturing Edge Inc.2709 Bearberry CourtFort Wayne, IN 46818Carl R. Ehinger

Compassionate Care With Dignity Inc.10033 W. Palo Verde DriveFort Wayne, IN 46825Acacia D. Brown

Parknovation Inc.1515 Sycamore Hills DriveFort Wayne, IN 46814James Park

Adcorral LLC116 E. Berry St., Suite 700Fort Wayne, IN 46802Matthew Kelty

Christman Specialized Consulting LLC13309 Lake Hill DriveFort Wayne, IN 46845Drew Welborn

Simply Bronze by Dawn LLC13309 Lake Hill DriveFort Wayne, IN 46845Drew Welborn

Lions Project for Canine Companions for Inde-pendence Inc.7049 Red How DriveFort Wayne, IN 46855William Ternet

Larue Farms LLC3550 Willowdale RoadFort Wayne, IN 46802Wesley V. Larue

COMMERCIALBUILDINGPERMITSALLEN COUNTYADAMS TOWNSHIPPranger Mechanical Inc.4420 Allen Martin Drive$350,000

FORT WAYNEWASHINGTON TOWNSHIPCME Corp.2785 Persistence Drive$1,800,000

RESIDENTIALBUILDINGPERMITSFORT WAYNEWASHINGTON TOWNSHIPGranite Ridge Builders Inc.5424 Highview Drive$233,731

ALLEN COUNTYABOITE TOWNSHIPGranite Ridge Builders Inc.890 Beal Brook Pass$158,914

KAM Construction Inc.1565 White Coral Court$285,000

Timberlin Homes LLC2809 Grey Oaks Blvd.$385,000

Lancia Homes9828 Chadwick Drive$152,600

Windsor Inc.1510 Cypress Spring Drive$229,119

CEDAR CREEK TOWNSHIPE.E Brandenberger Construction Inc.6733 Hosler Road$500,000

EEL RIVER TOWNSHIPJ&K Contractors12915 Taylor Road$230,000

Ron Hoot Construction Inc.8412 Greenwell Road$12,000

LAFAYETTE TOWNSHIPHeller & Sons Inc.11122 Arranmore Cove$272,000

PERRY TOWNSHIPWestport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc.13057 Starling Cove$170,950

Wannemacher Design Build LLC818 Canyon Cliffs Road$528,000

Lancia Homes13015 Claret Cove$150,011

Lancia Homes11408 Tall Oak Run$207,140

Heller & Sons Inc.13174 Sierra Run$148,000

Heller & Sons Inc.1187 Gateway Trail$139,000

PLEASANT TOWNSHIPBob Buescher Homes1753 W. Yoder Road$322,000

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIPScott Snover Construc-tion22079 Campbell Road$175,000

ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIPWestport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc.7306 Dry Creek Court$165,000

McComb Brothers General Contractor9218 Blazing Woods Trail$225,000

Sterling Homes Inc.7526 Bowlander Way$105,000

REAL-ESTATETRANSACTIONS4681412229 McKaysFrom Joseph A. and Paula M. Svitek to Kurt D. and Jill Schlabach$550,000

13731 Beal Brook CourtFrom Illinois Development LLC to Granite Ridge Builders Inc.$28,607

6018 Sanctuary CourtFrom Steven R. and Cathy C. Wheeler to Brady McArdle$262,000

14835 Harbourside CourtFrom Mark D. and Lora M. Lemon to Adam Hug$232,500

1819 Braemar DriveFrom Hollace D. Chastain II and Kelly L. Chastain to Robert and Susan Ueber$495,000

422 Royal Crest DriveFrom Michael and Tilli Horsley to Naresh Patel$77,000

5103 W. Hamilton Road S.From John C. and Deborah A. Rock to Robert J. and Michelle L. Hatfield$1,255,000

1930 Egert CoveFrom US Bank NA to Resi-dential Recovery Capital Holdings #2 LLC$168,750

1701 Summit Reserve DriveFrom George J. and Trudy G. Frost to Tod and Lynette Heisler$208,000

15122 Brittwood CourtFrom David A. and Nancy S. Joest to Chadwick A. and Dava Leezer$125,000

14420 Marlin CoveFrom Arbor Home Building Corp. to Nicola Perego and Giovanna Garlti$67,400

11434 Bittersweet Creek RunFrom Eric S. and Janet M. Olson to Erick and Aurelia Rivas$466,000

468156924 Winnebago DriveFrom Steven H. and Eula H. Woodhouse to Cheryl L. Belville$107,000

PAGES 18-20

READER’S GUIDE BizLeads is a collection of information gath-ered from northeast Indiana courthouses, state government offices and informational Web sites. These listings are intended to help companies find new customers as well as stay on top of happenings with current customers, vendors and competitors.

New Businesses lists firms that were recently incorporated in the state of Indiana. Information is gathered from the Indiana Secretary of State. Addresses listed may not be the actual address of the business.

Building Permits are issued by the Allen County Building Department during the specified period of time.

Real Estate is a list of agricultural, commer-cial, industrial, and residential real estate sales recorded by the state of Indiana.

Bankruptcies are from the United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Indiana. For complete data involving a particular filing please access the The PACER Service Center, the Federal Judiciary’s centralized registration, billing, and technical support center for electronic access to U.S. District, Bankruptcy, and Appellate court records. Its Web site URL is http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov.

Patents include the following: Patent number, local inventor and assignee, brief description, filed date and approved date. Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Listings may vary due to information availability and space constraints.


468151916 Sovereign DriveFrom Allen County sheriff to Fannie Mae$97,267

4820 Vance Ave.From Margery Gligor to Myra J. Richmond$87,000

1705 Forest Valley DriveFrom Janet D. Arnold and Margaret A. Drew to James D. Fairfield$12,000

6605 Midfield DriveFrom Beau E. Bentley to Tabitha K. Baer$84,000

1518 Landers CourtFrom Lynn A. Nelson to Jennifer M. Roost$159,500

3414 St. Croix DriveFrom Robert C. Hall and Sandra J. Burr to Sarah L. Wilkins$124,900

2835 Devon DriveFrom Linda K. Rohrbacher to Penny and Paul Swope$160,000

1407 Lofton WayFrom Ismael M. and Judith A. Rodriguez to Jonathan M. Fansler and Caroline E. Garner$91,000

6814 Sunland DriveFrom Tarrah R. Roberts to Kevin D. and Kally R. Teeple$99,900

7804 Tipperary TrailFrom Gary L. Schieferstein to Jennifer L. Shaffer$84,500

6436 Midfield DriveFrom Jamie L. and Jacob A. Cross to Kristen Shinn$84,900

7534 Tipperary TrailFrom Patrick Conley to Chad R. Sampson$95,000

5606 Countess DriveFrom Freddie Mac to Prop Sure LLC$48,100

6729 Woodcrest DriveFrom Patrice M. Fox and Marjorie P. Shell to Jason M. Stair$120,000

7607 Glenoak ParkwayFrom Affordable Housing Assistance to Lauren McCallister$106,000

6132 Stellhorn RoadFrom J&R Realty Inc. to Tri-State Property Manage-ment Inc.$300,000

6419 Winnebago CourtFrom Carol A. Mertes to Patrick J. Brazill$90,000

3535 Amulet DriveFrom Rennie N. Kory to Randy L. Knapke$129,900

6015 Andro RunFrom Freddie Mac to Douglas K. and Carol L. Ford$94,000

7517 Greymoor DriveFrom Connie and John Phil-lips to Michael and Corinne Cristante$172,000

3015 Kingsley DriveFrom Mary A. Cline to David F. and Marsha K. Huguenard$111,900

2705 Busche DriveFrom Marvetta G. Myers to Mang Thang$120,000

1826 Sovereign DriveFrom Alvina D. Bebertz to Mitchell A. Rorick and Laura B. Dallman$92,000

468162224 E. Paulding RoadFrom Christian W. and Julie A. Piepenbrink to Juana M. Murphy$84,879

7121 Treverton DriveFrom US Bank to Path-finder Services Inc.$53,000

2614 Dexter DriveFrom Allen County sheriff to Wells Fargo Bank$26,433

1915 Embassy DriveFrom Coleridge L. Brewer Jr. and Daryl F. Brewer to Bar Din$65,000

7415 Maples RoadFrom Deutsche Bank to James J. Griebel and Jarold A. Martin$85,229

6425 Franke RoadFrom Hege Properties LLC to David R. and Jennifer J. Shanebrook$24,000

209 Corwin LaneFrom US Bank NA to Maria Zamudio$12,500

5500 Franke RoadFrom Clayton R. and Carla F. Voegele to Kevin G. and Julie D. Jenkins$30,000

Monroeville RoadFrom Stephen R. and Patricia A. Gerdom to Patrick W. Green$24,000

4100 E. Tillman RoadFrom Roger L. and Linda L. Larue to Wiley Cornell and Tanya D. Padgett$25,500

468184122 Marlton DriveFrom Michael S. Brown to Daniel J. Espinosa$100,500

12508 Lanai DriveFrom Granite Ridge Builders Inc. to Rein-cke-Norris LLC$16,900

2625 Sumac CourtFrom Katherine R. Strubing to Stephanie A. and Hubert R. Ashcraft$199,900

12529 Saddle View CourtFrom Duwayne L. and Lorene K. Guy to Mark and Margaret E. Wilson$275,000

919 Wescott DriveFrom Heller & Sons Inc. to Jonas E. and Megan M. Diehm$175,000

3220 Bluefield PlaceFrom Kurt E. and Kathryn A. Briner to Joseph P. and Julie E. Kogin$119,900

7218 Playwright TrailFrom Equity Land Corp. to Hawthorn Valley Enter-prises, Inc.$18,967

Goshen RoadFrom Richard L. Insley and Shirley A. Burgess to Vern Industries LLC$45,000

11223 Moon Flower PlaceFrom Yasir Shariff to Kurt E. and Kathryn A. Briner$159,000

5123 Macy LaneFrom Hilda F. Shepherd to Michael D. Getlin$104,000

8715 Yellow River RoadFrom Ruth Kelly to Martin and Mary E. Gerding$36,100

7615 Fritz RoadFrom Richard A. and Kath-leen R. Loy to Kenneth M. Baker and Cynthia S. Hicks$102,900

1723 Noble Kinsmen PlaceFrom Allen County sheriff to Fannie Mae$106,200

1817 Klug DriveFrom Donovan T. and Wendy A. Jackson to Travis and Melissa Kisner$70,000

9536 Lima RoadFrom the Bilger Family LLC to Jak Group LLC$110,000

12019 Turtle Creek CourtFrom Michael K. and Denise L. Corcoran to Mark A. and Terese M. Atkinson$165,000

6909 Desdemona CrossingFrom Hawthorn Valley Enterprises to Kasey D. Caldwell$119,900

1917 Danny DriveFrom Artis J. and Linda S. Stacy to David J. and Teri Shepherd$113,000

10505 Lima RoadFrom Lake City Bank to Professional Resource Development Inc.$418,000

6202 Goshen RoadFrom Granite Ridge Builders Inc. to Thomas M. and Amy M. Mason$36,900

3904 Winter Raven TrailFrom Ravens Cove Development Co. LLC to Westport Homes of Fort Wayne Inc.$25,000

4308 W. Cook RoadFrom NSS Properties LLC to Fort Wayne Habitat for Humanity$562,000

468197418 Avalon DriveFrom Louis J. Valentic to Ronal A. Vivas$88,000

9014 Sunflower CoveFrom Kelli E. Kinsey to Seth A. Miller$86,500

8809 Winchester Ridge DriveFrom Allen County sheriff to Everbank$137,467

903 Pinetree DriveFrom Allen County sheriff to JC Gemini II LLC$108,964

9116 Ashton Pointe Blvd.From Allen County sheriff to US Bank$109,120

1322 Dodane RoadFrom Jeremy and Maija Gayed to Jeremy A. Bruns$197,000

46825609 Oakfield DriveFrom HUD to Brad H. and Jill A. Noyes$75,500

103 Caperiole PlaceFrom Margie C. Guthrie and Carol A. Laughlin to Sherri Jankowski$116,000

7914 Canonero LaneFrom Chestnut Group to Tom Schmucker Construc-tion$28,405

8620 Crosier LaneFrom Nicole Leeson to Anthony M. Pickelheimer$107,500

630 W. Dupont RoadFrom Richard K. Hensel and Lou Ann Faurote-Hensel to Ryan and Lindsey N. Kroemer$143,000

622 E. Washington Center RoadFrom Braun F. Norbert Jr. to David L. and Sue E. Farver$65,500

219 Treeline CoveFrom Tes Property LLC to Justin H. Bartlett$146,900

7122 Strawberry DriveFrom Joy L. Dennison and Floie J. Stouder to Wanda K. Wilson$65,000

1333 Mayfield RoadFrom Jeffrey C. Moore to Betty J. York$34,900

10224 Clarks PsgeFrom Guy J. and Nicole D. Dupuis to Tanya T. Soule$209,900

7911 Canonero LaneFrom Fort Wayne Construc-tion Trades to Tarrah R. and Christopher T. Roberts$170,000

322 E. Till RoadFrom Fannie Mae to Jakuf Halimanovic$76,700

BANKRUPTCIESADAMS COUNTYJoshua E. and Alicia J. Tankersley617 Clark St.Berne, IN 46711Assets: $7,495Liabilities: $125,666

Gideon S. and Joan Vanbrabant913 Clark St.Berne, IN 46711Assets: $13,098Liabilities: $213,456

ALLEN COUNTYChristopher J. and Jamie S. McCoy5424 Evard RoadFort Wayne, IN 46835Assets: $8,600Liabilities: $139,268

James M. Welch1501 N. Park DriveNew Haven, IN 46774Assets: $87,545Liabilities: $90,621

John A. and Deborah S. Adams5614 Arapaho TrailFort Wayne, IN 46825Assets: $94,951Liabilities: $71,468

Denise M. Clark2710 Curdes Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46805Assets: $91,973Liabilities: $172,582

Anna M. Gibbs4421 Casaverde DriveFort Wayne, IN 46816Assets: $176,350Liabilities: $169,021

Russell E. and Melissa D. Currin5006 Ridgedale DriveFort Wayne, IN 46835Assets: $5,000Liabilities: $73,154

Robert M. Arnett Jr.8306 Brush College RoadWoodburn, IN 46797Assets: $369,700Liabilities:$338,086

Khaek and Colette R. Matha3702 Wawonaissa TrailFort Wayne, IN 46809Assets: $167,725Liabilities: $201,848

Stanley G. Nowak3427 Kendale DriveFort Wayne, IN 46835Assets: $17,855Liabilities: $143,424

Phillip D. Zimmerman933 Lake Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46805Assets: $84,400Liabilities: $78,786

Adrienne Q. Lawrence4023 S. Park DriveFort Wayne, IN 46806Assets: $5,043Liabilities: $48,152

Kristina M. Shively21221 Ward RoadWoodburn, IN 46797Assets: $10,264Liabilities: $190,448

David M. Jurju5109 Hoagland Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46807Assets: $72,819Liabilities: $99,073

Frederick L. Wiles3834 Stafford DriveFort Wayne, IN 46805Assets: $79,217Liabilities: $83,641

Atlanta D. McPherson2519 Gay St.Fort Wayne, IN 46803Assets: $3,890Liabilities: $70,937

Dawn M. Agler12208 Bufflehead RunFort Wayne, IN 46845Assets: $3,910Liabilities: $89,680

David P. and Sunday J. Maddox824 Willen LaneFort Wayne, IN 46818Assets: $13,352Liabilities: $118,756

Daniel E. Serban10330 Cygnet CoveRoanoke, IN 46793Assets: $574,321Liabilities: $1,671,555

Lynn D. Burnworth5437 River Run TrailFort Wayne, IN 46825Assets: $63,018Liabilities: $264,810

Ryan E. and Paula A. Ford6004 Gate Tree LaneFort Wayne, IN 46835Assets: $5,500Liabilities: $94,986

Russell D. and Bonnie R. Rosco5707 Horseshoe BendFort Wayne, IN 46825Assets: $282,261Liabilities: $487,045

Justin J. and Robyn M. McCrammer2814 Northgate Blvd., Apt. 5Fort Wayne, IN 46835Assets: $4,950Liabilities: $83,456

Derrick L. Smith and Jamkia A. Gates-Smith3654 Gateway Drive, Apt. 2bPortsmouth, VA 23703Assets: $6,100Liabilities: $51,520

Arthur A. Turner6008 Moeller Road Lot 47Fort Wayne, IN 46806Assets: $22,650Liabilities: $31,477

David R. and Christina M. Redmond2207 1/2 Fairfield Ave.Fort Wayne, IN 46802Assets: $7,315Liabilities: $48,258

Janice M. Barr19416 Barkley RoadMonroeville, IN 46773Assets: $82,650Liabilities: $84,797

Michael J. Lytle1350 Baywood DriveNew Haven, IN 46774Assets: $12,650Liabilities: $31,126

Caleb D. and Honesty M. Sorlie2224 Edenton DriveFort Wayne, IN 46804Assets: $82,100Liabilities: $290,900

John R. and Karen A. Parkison13522 Wheat Mill CourtGrabill, IN 46741Assets: $137,965Liabilities: $112,096

Tricia E. Mann7004 Lake Forest Village CircleFort Wayne, IN 46815Assets: $6,698Liabilities: $5,494

Brian D. Spencer15012 Prairie Park DriveHoagland, IN 46745Assets: $154,410Liabilities: $169,184

Rith V. and Sophina Mork11619 Island Cove DriveFort Wayne, IN 46845Assets: $256,917Liabilities: $522,483

Hasnija Hrustic206 E. Essex LaneFort Wayne, IN 46825Assets: $10,300Liabilities: $23,498

Shannon N. Cooke1601 N. Anthony Blvd.Fort Wayne, IN 46805Assets: $84,900Liabilities: $120,435

Joseph J. and Julie I. Jakacky5832 Andorra DriveFort Wayne, IN 46835Assets: $118,579Liabilities: $162,097

Anthony L. and Dionne N. Conwell4321 Alverado DriveFort Wayne, IN 46816Assets: $3,845Liabilities: $249,536

DEKALB COUNTYKevin R. Butler702 Cree CourtAuburn, IN 46706Assets: $67,300Liabilities: $73,799

Monica M. Aschleman365 W. 15th St.Auburn, IN 46706Assets: $6,282Liabilities: $27,956

Mark A. Pierce1400 Portage PassAuburn, IN 46706Assets: $19,515Liabilities: $33,854

Noal B. and Kelly R. Pence1501 Andreson DriveGarrett, IN 46738Assets: $405,830Liabilities: $208,483

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David A. and Teresa K. LeQuia409 S. Taylor RoadGarrett, IN 46738Assets: $105,350Liabilities: $172,393

Heather L. Hurt308 E. 19th St., Apt. 1Auburn, IN 46706Assets: $1,850Liabilities: $169,034

Heather N. Turner685 S. Center St.Waterloo, IN 46793Assets: $61,165Liabilities: $93,568

NOBLE COUNTYJohn E. and Melissa S. Noe700 E. Main St.Albion, IN 46701Assets: $4,998Liabilities: $58,172

Justin W. and Cheri L. Gross3285 W. Quiet DriveAlbion, IN 46701Assets: $41,050Liabilities: $74,883

Amy L. Mast204 LeClere St.Ligonier, IN 46767Assets: $18,967Liabilities: $33,759

STEUBEN COUNTYJames H. and Sharon G. Carpenter460 Lane 415Fremont, IN 46737Assets: $472,150Liabilities: $657,508

Tommy L. Wilhelm Sr. and Debra J. WilhelmP.O. Box 48Hudson, IN 46747Assets: $6,950Liabilities: $234,584

WELLS COUNTYBecky S. Love512 W. Miller St., #1Bluffton, IN 46714Assets: $8,665Liabilities: $9,181

Tracy J. MaserP.O. Box 593Ossian, IN 46777Assets: $126,935Liabilities: $92,312

WHITLEY COUNTYDavid J. Smith413 N. Oak St.Columbia City, IN 46725Assets: $141,240Liabilities: $105,959

Mark J. and Theresa L. Boyer705 Browning St.Columbia City, IN 46725Assets: $135,850Liabilities: $139,744

Madge R. Snook313 S. Main St.Columbia City, IN 46725Assets: $5,575Liabilities: $25,482

244-7606 • 800-451-2709SchraderAuction.com

ARMSTRONG CORPORATE PARKLocated in Columbia City, Indiana has 15 lots still

available. Sizes ranging from 1 to 28 acres. Existing road and utility infrastructure, developed neighboring

businesses, possible Tax Abatement and adjacent toUS 30 with high visibility lots still available. (KJ24W)

Call Kevin Jordan 800-451-2709

Assistant Controller PositionKPC Media Group Inc. is looking for a full-time assistant controller. The Assistant Controller will be responsible for assisting with or leading the development of the annual budget, monthly and annual closes and assisting management with analysis. This position reports to the Chief Financial Officer. This position interacts with all levels of Operations and Administration in a collaborative team environment. The person hired for this position will be responsible for performing the day-to-day general ledger accounting, financial reporting and analysis for as-signed functional areas; Research and resolve Business Unit(s) inquiries for assigned function-al areas; Routine communication with Supervisors relating to financial close, issues and de-liverables; Responsible for month-end, quarter-end and year-end close for assigned functional areas; Research and prepare variance analysis and explanations; Responsible for the prepa-ration and analysis of the periodic management reporting of financial results for assigned functional areas; Prepare all Financial Reporting requirements package; Perform Balance Sheet account reconciliations, account analysis, accrual calculations, and other related accounting documents/schedules; Create appropriate work papers that support journal entries and will be easily understood by reviewers, auditors, etc.; Prepare journal entries related to assigned functional responsibilities; Prepare foreign currency transactions analysis and its impact on financial results; Assist in the bi-weekly payroll; Cross train as back-ups for other staff in the case of emergencies; Other duties as assigned by the CFO.

Requirements for the position include

• 5-6 years related experience; Associates/Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Business• Effective Communication Skills (Written & Verbal) • Ability to succeed in a team environment• Experience managing other employees • Customer Service Oriented • Understanding of accounting processes, procedure and internal controls • Strong research and analysis skills • Ability to adapt quickly and learn new tasks independently• Excellent organization skills • Ability to manage competing priorities • Ability to generate bold, creative ideas to improve performance; experience with Great Plains, FRX and Access preferred.

This full-time position offers many benefits, including health insurance, 401(k) and vacation.

Qualified applicants should forward resumes to Nancy Sible, human resource manager, at [email protected]

BRIEFLYALLEN COUNTY

$5.6M PROJECT WILL UPDATE ST. JOE OPERATING ROOMS

Construction began Sept. 26 on a $5.6-million project to renovate and expand St. Joseph Hospital’s operating rooms, and outfit them with new equipment.

The 20,000-square-foot project includes OR suites and pre- and postoperative areas. The downtown Fort Wayne hospital, part of Lutheran Health Network, said the reno-vation and expansion will be done in three phases to prevent disruptions to surgical care. Work is expected to be completed late next year.

According to the hospital, the project’s first phase will update half of the OR suites and support areas. The renovated OR suites will be larger, and new equipment such as surgical lights, laparoscopic towers, suction systems and sterilizer washers will be installed. Nursing stations also will be remodeled.

St. Joseph Hospital presently has seven OR suites. After the project is completed, the hospital will have five equipped OR suites and space for a sixth suite for future

expansion.The hospital will make an entrance along

its northern exterior wall for constructioncrews and so debris can be removed. The sidewalk along Main Street will be closedthroughout the project.

NATIONAL

BUREAU WANTS BUSINESSES TO COMPLETE CENSUS

The U.S. Census Bureau is reminding businesses that if they haven’t yet filled outtheir 2012 economic census, the time to do so is now.

Participating in the economic census,which is conducted every five years, isrequired by law. According to the CensusBureau, because of concerns expressed by businesses with fewer personnel resources, the bureau extended the deadline to submit census information, but now that informa-tion — if it hasn’t been sent in — is pastdue.

The economic census can be completedonline at econhelp.census.gov/sbo. Census Bureau assistance also is available bycalling (877) 790-1876.

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are invested in our success.”Employee turnover, after the first year, is

less than 1 percent, Martinez added.Satisfied employees are behind another

secret to the success of the Issaquah, Wash.-based chain: a level of customer service that goes above and beyond the level offered by other retailers.

“I will do anything to make a customer happy. If a customer asked me to get up on the counter and dance, I’d get up on the counter and dance,” Martinez vowed.

On one occasion, Martinez recalled, a customer came to a store to return a type-writer that was purchased in the 1970s and had stopped working. It had been years since the store carried typewriters, and no one had any idea what it might be worth. So they asked him what he had paid for it, took his word for the amount, and refunded him the money.

“It didn’t matter how long ago it was,” he said.

As strange as it sounds for a huge corpo-ration that will have about 650 stores in operation by the end of the year, “we try to run as much like a mom and pop as we can,” Martinez said. “We want everyone to go out with a smile. We get to know you because you’re part of our family.”

Costco’s advertising and marketing strat-egies also are employee-based. A team of about 60 people has been visiting area busi-nesses for weeks, telling them about Costco and selling them on the idea of subsidizing warehouse club memberships as a benefit for their employees. Most of those workers will be reassigned inside the store when it opens, but about half a dozen will continue the personal visits, Crysler said.

The company also has been selling memberships at a tent set up near the Lima Road store, with the incentive that anyone who buys a membership before the store opens will also get a $20 gift card.

Traditional advertising is virtually nonexistent; in fact, Costco’s corporate structure does not even include a marketing, media and advertising department.

When a new store comes to town, it runs two print ads, “one saying we’re coming and then another to say we’re here. That’s it,” Martinez said.

Although Costco, like Sam’s Club, requires customers to buy memberships in order to shop there, that’s pretty much where the similarity ends. Costco may offer merchandise at a discount, but its selection includes a lot of high-end brand names, such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Cartier, Chanel, Burberry, Anne Klein and Badgley Mischka, to name just a few.

The typical Costco customer makes just under $100,000 a year and has a four-

year college degree, Martinez said. The store expects to draw shoppers from a 40-mile radius; in the Fort Wayne area, that’s 750,000 potential customers.

Costco also has its own brand name, Kirkland, that includes a popular line of organic food products. In fact, Trader Joe’s often watches Costco’s performance with those products in a new market, and follows it into the community with its own store if Costco is successful, Martinez noted.

Beyond that, Costco members can get discounts on hotel and travel packages, cruises and theme parks; and its third-party providers offer boat and recreational-ve-hicle loans and refinancing; mortgage loans and refinancing; auto, home and health insurance; 401(k) plans; business phone services; payroll services; and domain, websites and online solutions.

Individual memberships and member-ships offered through businesses are $55 per year. The executive membership is $110, but members get a guaranteed cash-back of at least $55 on purchases. If they don’t spend enough to reach $55, the company will make up the difference.

The 130,000-square-foot Fort Wayne store employs 160 people. Construction was done in just 120 days — the typical blazing pace set by the company — and the store was stocked and ready and could have opened earlier, Martinez said.


n COSTCO: Store will have 160 workers

The new Fort Wayne Costco store will open Oct. 16.

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and cooling system and outdoor water features, which include six lake fountains that reach a height of 40 feet.

“Everything that was in Bluffton effec-tively transferred to Fort Wayne; no addi-tional testing is going on in Bluffton,” said John Haines, Franklin’s vice president and chief financial officer.

The company said in a statement the engi-neering center of excellence will contribute to Franklin’s growth through product inno-vation by increasing its engineering and laboratory testing. Its improved capabilities include a state-of-the-art, 24,000-square-foot testing lab.

“We have more absolute space to test products and more capability around the types of tests we want to do, and all of that should shorten the cycle time to develop new products,” Haines said.

“The way our lab was in Bluffton, we had to outsource some product development to outside vendors. The testing capability was not as robust so we had to ask third parties and outside vendors to do some of that,” he said.

In addition to the engineering center of excellence built into its headquarters facility, the company’s investment in research and development grew to $9.9 million last year

from $8.2 million in 2011 and $7.5 million in 2010.

In April 2012, the company held a job fair at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne to hire new engineers, and the resulting hires are among 20 positions Franklin has added to its work force since 2011, bringing the total to 245.

In 2011 — the year it announced plans for the new headquarters and engineering center — it also formalized an approach to research and development it calls “custom-er-centric innovation.”

It increased its emphasis on market anal-ysis, competitive analysis and meeting with groups of customers to discover unmet needs it could address through the improvement of its pumping systems or development of new products.

A new line of solar-powered water pumping products and a line of sump and sewage and affluent pump products are among “a variety of different products we have developed that have come directly from our customers’ requests for them,” Haines said.

“This is all about, ‘How do we develop new products faster and get them to market faster?’ and it all helps our customers,” he said. “Our customer feedback has been very positive.”


n FRANKLIN: Company boosts R&D spending


It is hard to miss ENS Group’s logo-wrapped vehicles on the road or parked at businesses throughout northeast Indiana. The technology consulting firm’s signature colors and logo decorate the cars, demanding the attention of passersby.When they are not in use, the vehicles are parked like ducks in a row at ENS Group’s headquarters. Inside is the fleet’s control center where employees drag and drop vehicles from the touchscreen, checking them in and out during the workday. The control center knows exactly how much gas is in each tank, the mile-age on every odometer, and when each car is due for an oil change.The company’s “office of the future” has adopted a hoteling concept in which no one is assigned a fixed desk. Rather, employee phone extensions, desktops, and work schedules are transferred to any available cubicle by checking into an application. Employees communicate via videophone and often work remotely to increase productivity. Staff members are fed a constant stream of key performance indicators to monitor their clients’ systems on flat screens throughout the office. It seems like something out of “The Jetsons,” but it’s real technology that was developed by ENS Group right here in Fort Wayne.“These are all things we can do for any business of any size,” said ENS Group CEO Tim Savage. “We want to show people how we can enhance their business in an affordable way, to do the things that we are doing here. That’s part of the reason why we built the experience center, to show people that there is a company in Fort Wayne that can do this.”ENS Group’s state-of-the-art experience center is a 3,500-square-foot room filled with interac-tive pods. Business owners can walk through the space, trying out business solutions tech-nology for themselves via touch screens, virtual meeting spaces, phone systems, as well as a home office and conference room built right into the space.“People can really get a feel for how it would work in their own environment,” Savage said.The experience center is part of ENS Group’s

recent expansion to the new headquarters off Jefferson Boulevard. The company, which was ranked No. 1,799 among the top 5,000 privately-owned companies by Inc. Magazine, has grown from 15 to 50 employees since 2009, and has invested in top talent. ENS Group boasts a deep technical bench of more than 300 certifications among 30 engineers. While larger companies outsource for Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts — the highest level of certification offered by Cisco — ENS Group has three in house. In fact, they are one of the fastest-growing partners with Cisco in the country, working with business owners, corporate leaders, IT professionals and the public business sector that includes schools, universities, government organizations and libraries.” Savage said. And their network operations center is staffed 24/7 to take customer support calls at all times.“Traditionally, companies have looked outside Fort Wayne for their higher-level support. We’re here and we’re local. You don’t need to call Chicago or Indianapolis companies anymore. We can do it for you,” Savage said.Adding even more value for business owners, ENS Group offers classes from a training center at the new headquarters. Businesses can receive technical training for in-house IT professionals, or train end users on Microsoft programs like Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

“We also develop custom training,” Savage said. “If someone’s rolling out a new application in their [business] environment — even if it’s a custom application — we can develop the training materials and actually train the employees on how to use that application.”By design, guests visiting ENS Group for classes will walk through the experience center to reach the training facilities, providing them with a chance to see how the local company’s technology is helping businesses run more efficiently.“By implementing all these higher-level services that people used to have to go out of town for, we are keeping business local, using local people to do that work for you,” Savage said. “Let’s stop going to Indianapolis or Chicago to get people to do the higher-level projects that we can do right here and now.”A ribbon cutting with the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, followed by an open house from 2:30-6 p.m. to celebrate the open-ing of ENS Group’s experience center. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will include remarks from Savage, ENS Group president Matt Gerber, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry, and a represen-tative from Cisco Systems Inc., Door prizes in excess of $10,000 will be given away during the open house. To learn more about ENS Group, visit the website at ensi.com.

ENS Group Experience Center High Tech Show and Tell

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