Crain's Cleveland Business

Many more are on the way, given thatmost of the increase was from SummaHealth System, said Thom Olmstead, director of technology assessment andbusiness development for the Medical Device and Development Center at theAusten BioInnovation Institute of Akron.Akron General Health System and AkronChildren’s Hospital are just starting toramp up their innovation efforts, Mr. Olm-stead said.

“We’re not even beginning to scratchthe surface there,” he said.

The huge increase in invention disclo-sures is one of the early achievements ofthe Austen BioInnovation Institute, whichwas founded three years ago by the threehospital systems, the University of Akronand the Northeast Ohio Medical University,or NEOMED.

The institute — an effort designed to getthe institutions to work together to createtechnologies and improve patient care —also will spend $12.8 million to transformthree floors of a 32,000-square-foot building

$2.00/NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 4, 2011

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Vol. 32, No. 48

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648 SPECIAL SECTION

EVENT PLANNINGBusinesses incorporate nontraditional elementsof entertainment into their gatherings ■■ Page 13PLUS: SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH ■■ ADVISER ■■ & MORE

NEW

SPAP

ER

THESCOOP ONPIERRE’S

Ice cream maker to unveil newitems, possibly boost output

By KATHY AMES [email protected]

Sure, it may be its most popularflavor, but hardly anythingPierre’s has done in the ice creammarket has been plain vanilla.

The Cleveland-based company thatwas founded in 1932 has expanded sev-eral times within the city’s borders, andcontinues to innovate by adding prod-ucts that satisfy the cravings of a diversecustomer base.

“Every flavor we come out with has tobe, ‘Wow, amazing,’” said Shelley Roth,president and CEO of Pierre’s Ice Cream Co.“You’d think it were simple, but it’s not.It’s really a mix of art and culinary skills.”

JASON MILLER/PROVIDED ART

ABOVE: Pierre’s CEO Shelley Roth chills out in the company’s freezer, which is set to acool minus 25 degrees and holds the equivalent of 36 million scoops of ice cream. TheCleveland company in June unveiled its new 35,000-square-foot ice cream factory,which enables Pierre’s to at least double its production capacity.

LEFT: Ice cream containers move through the production process.

INSIDEBioinnovation progress seen in invention uptickAkron institute, hospitalsalso confident in potential

Companies’confidencein economyregressesSurvey: Manufacturers skittish, but area firms optimistic on futureBy DAN [email protected]

In what may be the first chinks in the armor of an ane-mic recovery, confidence is waning and order expecta-tions are declining among U.S. companies that machine,bend, stamp and fabricate things from metal, accordingto a survey by the Precision Metalforming Association inIndependence.

PMA surveys its members across the country eachmonth. This month, it found that more of them werepessimistic about the economy, as well as their near-term business prospects,than at any time since 2009.

Only 11% of 132 com-panies surveyed said they expected general businessconditions to improve overthe next three months.The last time optimismwas that tough to findamong the survey’s respondents was in February 2009,when only 9% predicted the economy was about to improve. At that time, the nation lost nearly 700,000 jobsin a month and the stock market was dipping to a 12-year low that was only half of its peak value.

To be sure, businesses today are not as concerned asthey were in early 2009 — and the PMA survey only asksif they think business and the economy will improvefrom their present conditions, not if they will plunge intoanother recession. What’s more, only 28% of November’s

See SURVEY Page 16

Browns after more certainty The team is offering club seat customers a three-year

price freeze if they commit to five more years. But withthose ticket prices rising only slightly over the past fourseasons, is the commitment worth it?

ALSO INSIDE:■ Tallmadge tech outfit helping banks better identify

customers’ habits. PAGE 5■ Mystery buyer nabs mortgage on office portion of

downtown Cleveland’s Chase Tower. PAGE 9

See PIERRE’S Page 9

See AKRON Page 4

INSIDE: A month-by-month look at the declinein confidence among PMAsurvey participants on projected order volumeand general business conditions. Page 16

By CHUCK [email protected]

Doctors at the three major hospital systems in Akron have submitted 88 ideasfor new inventions over the past year.

That’s up from 25 last year. And zero theyear before.

20111128-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 11/23/2011 11:33 AM Page 1

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COMING NEXT WEEKLaw firm managing partners are tasked withhandling many different duties. We look at how theybalance those varied tasksin our periodic Legal Affairssection.

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PARTY TIME

If for some reason you really don’t want to attend the office holiday party, your career probably won’t suffer from the decision. In a survey by staffing services firm OfficeTeam, 61% of executives whose companies host holidayparties said there’s no unwritten rule requiring employees to attend. Of course,that means 39% of bosses expect you to be there, so judge accordingly.Here’s how more than 1,000 senior managers surveyed said their companies will celebrate the holidays this year (multiple responses were allowed):

Informal gift exchanges 17

Our company does not host holiday celebrations 16

In the Forty Under 40 section published Nov. 21, the story onSparkBase Inc. president GeoffHardman incorrectly described howhis older brother Doug Hardmancame to own SparkBase.

In 2007, the elder Mr. Hardmanbought NewMarket Solutions’ cardprocessing partner, SparkBase, and recruited his brother to join him.


By STAN [email protected]

Starmax Resource LLC, a global com-pany that embraces the foundation of acentury-old local concern, is turning onthe lights at the former 7UP building inMaple Heights.

Starmax leased the entire, 115,000-square-foot industrial building at 14301Industrial Ave. because it needs room toexpand, particularly with additional park-ing for trucks on the property’s 10-acregrounds, said Karl Zou, Starmax presi-dent and owner.

Previously, the company was in100,000 square feet in the Collinwoodneighborhood of Cleveland. However, Mr.Zou said its operations were constrainedby multitenant operations there, and thelayout was less efficient than that offeredby the Maple Heights building.

With its move to Maple Heights alreadyunder way, Starmax is shifting 16 jobs toMaple Heights from Collinwood. Thecompany sells a variety of mops, broomsand other cleaning apparatuses and materials wholesale to a bevy of nationalretailers.

Mr. Zou said he founded Starmax in2000 in Beachwood as a warehouse anddistribution company after he worked foryears as an international trade specialist

annual revenue growth rateof 542% as more hospitalsoutsource their radiologicalwork. Mr. Kozlowski main-tains it turned a profit just21 months after its founding.

Simply put, Aris allowshospitals and other medicalgroups to transmit imagesover a secure network to beanalyzed by the company’s on-call radiologists. Mr. Kozlowski saidcommunity hospitals have difficultystaffing radiologists, particularly spe-

cialists, 24 hours a day.“Now these hospitals

know they don’t have todeal with the limitations of having one radiologist in the chair that day,” Mr. Kozlowski said.

Mr. Kozlowski said a Connecticut-based privateequity firm, Great Point

Partners, recently invested anundisclosed amount in Aris, whichis owned by Summa Health Systemand Akron Radiology Inc., a private

radiology group.The investment will allow Aris

to expand its national footprint, according to Mr. Kozlowski. Arishas clients in 14 states, but over thenext five years it plans to expand itsclient base to more than 40 states.As part of the growth, the companyplans to build regional offices aroundthe country with sales people, mostlikely starting out west.

Aris was largely the brainchild ofa handful of executives at Summa,

NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 4, 2011 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 3

THE WEEK IN QUOTES“It’s starting to goback to the rollercoaster ride up anddown. One week, youget a bunch of quotesand orders and thenext week it’s dead.”— Jim Drabik, owner of DrabikManufacturing in Cleveland.Page One

INSIGHT

X-rays mark the spot for radiology firmAris takes advantage of hospitals’ move to outsourcing work, sees business boomBy TIMOTHY [email protected]

Chances are your late-night X-rayafter an unexpected emergencyroom visit won’t be analyzed downthe hall, but rather by a radiologisthundreds — if not thousands — ofmiles away.

And if Carl Kozlowski has a say in the matter, the Hudson-based company of which he’s president,Aris Teleradiology Inc., will be a partof the imaging equation.

Since Aris’ launch in 2007, Mr.Kozlowski said, the provider of radi-ology services on a contract basishas seen its business explode at an

ArcelorMittal, Lakeland team on training programSteelmaker anticipating big needs as current work force continues to age coursework designed to teach safety

regulations and procedures specificto the steel industry. In addition tothe two paid internships at Arcelor-Mittal during their schooling, they’llget another year of training at thecompany as paid employees once hired.

Working closely with manufacturersis not new for Lakeland.

One hand washes anotherThe school already designs much

of its coursework to meet the needsof area manufacturers, and it worksclosely with many of them in Lake

See MITTAL Page 17

See ARIS Page 18

By DAN [email protected]

With many of its existing steel-workers nearing retirement, Arcelor-Mittal knows it will need new onesin Cleveland soon. So the steelmakerintends to forge them itself from thelocal population with the help ofLakeland Community College andpossibly other schools.

“The average age of our employeesin Cleveland is 57,” said Mark Langbehn, the company’s head of

hourly employee training. “Wehave an image we have to rebuild asfar as jobs in manufacturing andjobs in the steel industry go.”

To recruit and train the newworkers it needs, the company haspartnered with Lakeland to intro-duce a two-year associate’s degreeprogram. It includes two intern-ships at ArcelorMittal that will payenough to cover the cost of the degree before the student gradu-ates, according to the steelmaker.

“The cost of going to a community

college is between $7,000 and $9,000,so they’ll make enough betweentheir two internships to pay for theireducation,” Mr. Langbehn said.

After that, he said, students havea huge leg up on getting a job at theplant — and those jobs pay well.

“The average steelworker makes$70,000 to $75,000 a year with fullbenefits,” Mr. Langbehn said.

Students who enroll in the pro-grams will earn associates degreesin either industrial electronics ormaintenance and repair, with special

MARC GOLUB

Starmax, founded by Karl Zou company in 2000, sells mops, brooms and othercleaning supplies.

Room for expansiondrives cleaning supplywholesaler’s moveStarmax Resource calls former 7UP plant inMaple Heights home, lauds central location

See STARMAX Page 5

“We want to focus onNortheast Ohio; thatis our core customerbase, and we want tomaintain and exciteand enhance thatcustomer base. Butwe’d like our brand tobe enjoyed in othermarkets in the EastCoast and Midwest.”— Shelley Roth, president andCEO of Pierre’s Ice Cream Co.Page One

“Clients are demandingand wanting out-of-the-box entertainmentsolutions. … They arereally looking for cre-ative options.”— Geoff Short, sales and promotions manager for JerryBruno Productions. Page 13

“There’s a hyper focuson specific strategies.… Companies aren’tdoling money outacross the board;they’re being very specific, with educa-tional or community-based opportunities.”— Gina Morris, director of marketing and public relationswith Downtown Cleveland Alliance. Page 15

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Browns offer pricefreeze on club seatsBut customers must commit to five seasonsBy JOEL [email protected]

The Cleveland Browns are makinga push to lock in premium seat buyersat Cleveland Browns Stadium, litera-ture recently distributed by theteam to those customers shows.

The Browns are offering club seatbuyers the opportunity to lock intheir current prices — ranging from$1,260 to $2,800 for a season ticket,depending on location within theclub seating area — for three yearsif they commit to buying their seatsfor five years and sign up for thatplan by this Thursday, Dec. 1.

The five-year option would be sub-ject to a 3% hike in 2015 and againin 2016, according to team literature,which would amount to a first-yearjump of $38 for the cheapest clubseats and $84 for the most expensive.

The plan is an attempt by theBrowns to maintain their seasonticket base in an era where uncer-tainty — especially in premium seatareas — reigns.

“The certainty is obviously advan-

tageous for us” in terms of the effortrequired to sell those seats if it canlock buyers in for multiple years,said Jim Ross, the team’s vice pres-ident of business development.“We’re not renewing that entirebase every year. For customers, it’sprice assurance.”

The club area at Browns Stadiumoffers customers a climate-controlledbar and seating area. In addition to the price freeze, the Browns are providing fans who commit to fivemore years a $250 voucher to beused at concession or merchandisestands at the stadium.

The Browns’ offer is not unusual.Bill Dorsey, chairman of the

Cincinnati-based Association ofLuxury Suite Directors, said someteams are including an all-inclusivefood option in similar long-termclub seat deals, thus giving thosewho commit for an extended periodanother perk that customers withshorter terms don’t have.

Whether the Browns’ offer luresmore customers to commit longterm remains to be seen.

“Every team has its own supply-and-demand curve,” Mr. Dorsey said.“If it’s the (Green Bay) Packers? Fanslikely would jump on it. If it’s theBrowns, where there is excess inven-tory? It’s not as easy a sell.”

One club ticket buyer who spokewith Crain’s said his tickets haven’trisen in price since after the 2007season, the Browns’ last winning year,when they went 10-6 and nearly madethe playoffs. He said he’s still consid-ering whether to make the five-yearcommitment for his four club seats.

Customers who only want to renewtheir club seats for 2012 will not seea price increase next year if they commit by Thursday. In addition,customers who pay for their club seatplans in full by March 1 will have access to a Meet the Coaches event,a $50 merchandise/concession voucherand a hat. Customers who pay in fullby April receive the voucher and hat.

Those who don’t renew their clubseats could be subject to repaymentof their personal seat license fee —the fee customers must pay for theright to buy seats at the stadium, except in the east end zone — whichcosts as much as $1,500 per seat forclub seats.

Mr. Ross acknowledged that priceshave not gone up in the club seatarea. “But,” he added, “that doesn’tmean they won’t.”

“The time to raise these prices maybe coming soon,” he said. “That’s theproposition for (ticket buyers).” ■

in downtown Akron into a mockhospital. There, medical studentsand practicing physicians wouldtrain and practice their skills withthe help of actors, cadavers, dummiesand computer simulators.

The building, at 47 N. Main St., isscheduled to be finished by April. Itwill house the institute’s headquar-ters on its third floor.

The institute has faced challenges,said president and CEO Dr. FrankDouglas. For one, it lost a $5 millionearmark from the U.S. Departmentof Defense a year ago, when bothhouses of Congress decided not topass any earmarks for two years, hesaid. Plus, the institute expects toreceive less state money than origi-nally forecast because the OhioThird Frontier economic developmentprogram now aims to fund morestartups and less research.

Dr. Douglas said he plans to spendmuch of 2012 raising money from thephilanthropic community. Regard-less, the institute — which still re-ceives money from its five partner in-stitutions and several other sources— is off to a good start, he said.

“I will say without fear that youwill not find another institution thathas made as much progress” inthree years, Dr. Douglas said.

Full disclosureThe Austen BioInnovation Insti-

tute has played a big role in changingthe culture at Summa, said StevenSchmidt, vice president of clinical re-search and innovation at the hospitalsystem.

Summa has been issued only ahandful of patents over the past 35years, he said. The system started

working to change that situation in2009, when it updated its intellectualproperty policy to extend beyondAkron City Hospital and to give biggerpayouts to whomever invents technology that produces revenue.

In June 2010, staff from Austen’sMedical Device and DevelopmentCenter started meeting with Summaphysicians to gather their ideas forinventions, help them identify prob-lems and find ways to solve them.

Summa already is negotiating adeal to license out a technology itdeveloped with the institute’s help.That technology, called PacerMan,includes a dummy made with mate-rials designed to give medical stu-dents and doctors a realistic sense ofwhat it feels like to guide pacemakerleads through the body to stimulatethe heart. The technology also includes software that gives usersfeedback on their performance.

Summa alone produced more than50 invention disclosures over the past12 months, Mr. Olmstead said. AkronChildren’s produced 20 and AkronGeneral produced six, but thosenumbers should go up considerablybecause neither of those hospital systems had viable intellectual property policies in place when theystarted working with Austen, he said.

As real as can beAusten’s medical device center —

which also helps partner institu-tions develop device prototypes andis almost done building out a proto-typing laboratory near the institute’snew headquarters — is just one ofthe four centers within the organi-zation, which employs 25 people.

For now, Austen’s Center for Simulation and Integrated Health

Akron: Hospitals alter approachescontinued from PAGE 1

Care Education is using a large ambu-lance that has been converted into amedical simulation center.

Once built, the permanent simula-tion center should portray what it’slike to treat a patient from the momentan actor arrives in the fake waitingroom through the end of a fake surgeryon a dummy or cadaver in the fake operating room, said Dr. MichaelHolder, vice president for the center.

Dr. Douglas, the institute’s leader,noted that researchers from partnerinstitutions are working together onseveral grant-financed research projects related to wound healing andorthopedics through the institute’sCenter for Biomaterials and Medicine.

That center includes the six-month-old Akron Functional Materials Center, housed on the University ofAkron campus. There, researchersare collaborating with 15 companiesto develop new technologies, mostwhich would be available to thewhole group, Dr. Douglas said.

“We may bring together a polymerscientist with a physician from Summa with a biochemist fromNEOMED,” he said.

The Center for Community HealthImprovement is working on ways tounite Akron’s social service agenciesand health care providers to makethe community as a whole healthier.

For instance, it is creating a pro-gram to help diabetes patients moreeasily tap community resources.Plus, the center is building a networkof physicians interested in helpingdrug companies do clinical trialsthat would test the effects of drugsafter they have been released.

The institute aims to bring evenmore clinical trials to the communi-ty through a newly created ClinicalTrials Center, Dr. Douglas said.

“We recognize the fact that there’sa real opportunity,” he said. ■



Tallmadge tech outfit sees dollar signs with banking softwareBy MICHELLE [email protected]

It has doubled its work force inthe past year, and Segmint Inc. inTallmadge expects to accelerate itsgrowth further by banking on whatit deems “a bank’s most successfulbranch of the future” — Facebook.

Incorporated in 2007, Segmintprovides a digital platform that analyzes customers’ spending pat-terns, which enables companies todeliver highly targeted online adver-tising to those customers, all withoutrevealing a person’s identity.

For example, if Segmint identifiesfor a bank that customer No. 345 hasstarted spending money frequentlyon home improvement, that infor-mation presents an opportunity forthe bank to advertise a home equityproduct, said Rob Heiser, Segmintpresident and CEO.

Segmint’s work force, which includes employees, consultantsand interns, has increased to roughly30 from 14 last November, Mr. Heisersaid.

In addition, the company now hasmore than 40 customers, whereas ayear ago it had signed its first cus-tomer, Mr. Heiser noted. Segmint’scustomers include banks, creditunions and financial technologyproviders.

And there’s more to come, according to Mr. Heiser. The com-pany has a “very robust sales funnel”and likely will make a lot of large announcements in the next few

months, Mr. Heiser said.Segmint, he noted, is talkingwith some of the country’slargest institutions.

“We’ve had a very goodyear,” he said. “I think nextyear will be a much biggeryear than this year.”

The Facebook connectionLater this month, Segmint

plans to introduce its new,trademarked SegmintSocial,which allows banks to iden-tify their customers preciselyon Facebook and to engagethem in real-time, personal-ized dialogue.

This newest productmimics the way a bank employee might recognize acustomer inside a branch,only it allows for a different kind ofrecognition on Facebook.

The way it works: A person visitingan institution’s Facebook page must“allow” the sharing of informationper Facebook policy. If he or shedoes, Segmint’s technology assessesif the visitor is a bank customer, andif so, the bank’s Facebook page auto-matically is customized to deliver apersonalized experience for that individual.

The customer then can use a private dialogue box on a bank’sFacebook page to submit questionsand concerns, though they stillneed to visit the bank’s official site totransact business. On the other endof that dialogue, the bank can see

for Sunshine Industries Inc., whichbecame Starmax’s largest customer.While he had worked at Sunshine, acentury-old supplier of cleaningequipment, Mr. Zou launched a factory of his own in Shanghai thatproduced equipment for Sunshineand other customers.

The classic immigrant entrepre-neurial story is at work at Starmax.Mr. Zou grew up in China and emi-grated in 1991 to the United States,where he received a master’s degreein economics at the University ofToledo. He came to Cleveland towork for Sunshine, he said.

After Sunshine succumbed in2005, Starmax bought its assetsfrom creditors.

One change Starmax made inSunshine’s business was the verticalintegration provided by its ownmanufacturing capability.

That operation grew so muchthat it replaced its original Shanghaifactory with a larger one 100 milesaway at Jiangsu, China, that nowemploys 300 people. The companycontinues to maintain an office inShanghai and has another in HongKong. Total sales are in the $10 mil-lion range today compared with $3million in 2004, Mr. Zou said.

Filling a big holeLeslie Gambosi, Maple Heights

economic development director,said Starmax sought no incentivesfrom the city and moved on the dealbased on the building’s central loca-tion and proximity to highways.

“It’s huge for us to get this,” Miss

Gambosi said, because Starmax fillsthe third-largest empty space in thesuburb. The 7-Up bottling opera-tion moved to Twinsburg last winter,she said.

Terry Coyne, executive vice pres-ident of Grubb & Ellis Co., repre-sented the building owner, DonDaLLC, in the transaction. David Stern-berg, the broker at Metro Space Realty of Cleveland, represented thetenant.

Mr. Coyne said the transactionshows continuing appetite for industrial real estate in NortheastOhio as manufacturing and relatedindustries remain stronger than thelagging economic recovery.

Next on Starmax’s horizon at aso-far-undetermined date is a dis-tribution operation somewhere onthe West Coast.

“Sometimes we ship productshere from the West Coast only toshift them back,” Mr. Zou said. “It’swasteful.”

Avenues for growth for this con-cern remain. Mr. Zou said Starmaxis pitching to become a supplier tonational big-box home improve-ment retailers, which it does not sellto currently.

Among Starmax’s workers areemployees from S.A.W. Inc., a non-profit organization that provideswork for people with developmen-tal disabilities and is a partner withthe Cuyahoga County Board of Development Disabilities. S.A.W.workers sometimes can number asmany as 40 for Starmax, dependingon the workload and marketingpromotions, Mr. Zou said. ■

continued from PAGE 3

Starmax: Supplier spotsopportunity with big boxes

what Segmint calls a customer’s“Key Lifestyle Indicators,” such ashow they’ve spent money recentlyand their overdraft history.

The result? A bank doesn’t needto look up account information inorder to respond quickly to thosereaching out to it on Facebook. Forexample, if a customer asks why heor she was assessed an overdraftcharge, a bank could see immedi-ately via SegmintSocial that the per-

son has an account subject tooverdraft charges; it thencould suggest that the cus-tomer switch to an accountthat will avoid them in thefuture.

Segmint executives demon-strated SegmintSocial inSeptember for 1,000 bankersat a conference in New YorkCity.

“Honestly, it blew every-body away,” Mr. Heiser said.“We’ve talked to some verylarge institutions that had noidea that this was possible.”

Banks need to adopt andembrace social media, Mr.Heiser said.

“If they don’t, their cus-tomers are going to startmoving to institutions that

are,” he said. “The social lives of a lotof citizens are going to happen dig-itally.”

It’s working in SmithvilleSegmint’s only active client in

Ohio, Wayne County CommunityFederal Credit Union, has seen online product applications doublesince it began using Segmint thisspring, according to CEO ChrisBlough. The credit union based in

Smithville, a village in WayneCounty, is receiving at least five on-line applications a month where itused to receive one or two, he said.

Tailoring the credit union’s adsto specific members has helpedconvince them to do more on theinstitution’s website than blindlyclick through to their own onlinebanking accounts, Mr. Blough said.

The credit union, with $42 millionin total assets and 5,500 members, isplanning to use SegmintSocial, too.

“It’s a step forward in social mediamarketing,” Mr. Blough said.

Segmint last month secured a$1.5 million loan through the state’sThird Frontier program, which pro-motes technology-related economicdevelopment in Ohio. The moneywill be used for software develop-ment, Mr. Heiser said.

Mr. Heiser is adamant aboutgrowing Segmint in Northeast Ohioand helping to establish a technologyhub in the Midwest.

“Many people have told me Ishould move to the coasts, and Irefuse,” he said. “This is my home.

“I am ecstatic,” he continued. “Ithink what we’re doing — doingthis from Ohio — is incredible. Asyou have successes, it definitelyspawns more successes. ■

20111128-NEWS--5-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 11/22/2011 4:07 PM Page 1


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WHAT’S COOKINGWhat’s Cooking is a Crain’s blog that

each Monday posts business news occurring in Northeast Ohio’s culinary,winery and brewery industries. Check itout at www.CrainsCleveland.com. Tosubmit information, email Kathy AmesCarr at [email protected].

■■ Healthy Foods LLC is realizing the fruits of its labor after it re-cently announceda strategic part-nership with DoleFood Co. that willexpand the avail-ability of healthysoft-serve dessertsmade with theCleveland manu-facturer’s yonanasfrozen treat maker.

Healthy Foodsand the Hawaii-based producer offruit and vegeta-bles will developand launch a com-mercial yonanasmaker to be used in restaurants,schools, hospitals, hotels and othercommercial institutions. HealthyFoods’ yonanas maker transformsfrozen fruit into a product that tasteslike soft-serve ice cream.

The two companies will encourage

restaurants and other institutionalcustomers to use Dole fruit with theyonanas maker. The alliance also willinvolve co-branding of the compa-nies’ other products.

“This partnership will quicklymove yonanas to a larger stage,” saidWinston Breeden, Healthy FoodsCEO. “With the power and reach ofthe Dole brand, our company will be

able to raise ourprofile at both theconsumer andcommercial levels.”

Healthy Foodssaid the partner-ship includes newpackaging for the$49.99 consumerversion of theyonanas maker,which is sold atmajor retailers including Target,Sears, Bed Bath &Beyond and Ama-zon.

“At Dole, wecontinuously strive to bring healthy,nutritious food options to peoplearound the world. Working withHealthy Foods is consistent with thismission,” said David H. Murdock,chairman of Dole Foods. “The yonanasproduct gives us a new platform to

increase fruit consumption and helppeople live healthier lives.”

This will perk you up■■ Erie Island Coffee Co. likely willexperience a pleasant jolt in saleswith its first foray into the grocery retail market.

The operation thathas locations in RockyRiver and downtownCleveland said it has entered into anexclusive agreementwith Heinen’s forthe grocer to carryseveral of the localbrand’s coffee prod-ucts throughout thenext year.

Annalie Glazen,an Erie Island Coffeepartner, said all 17 Northeast OhioHeinen’s stores are selling Erie Island’s signature blend, craftsmanblend, French roast, decaf signatureblend, Hazelnut blend and a flavoredcoffee that combines Mexican liquor,caramel and vanilla bean.

“This is our first major retailerplacement and it has been reallywell-received,” Ms. Glazen said. “Wewould love to reach other markets inthe future, but our relationship withHeinen’s is unique because (it is) alocal company as well.”

The coffee sells for $8.99 a pound.

Cut out the pork

■■ Market Garden Brewery’s inau-gural “nose to tail” beer dinner hasbeen set for 6:30 p.m. this Tuesday,Nov. 29. Chef Michael Nowak willpair a five-course pork-based menuwith beers brewed by the Market

Garden and Lan-caster-based Rock-mill Brewery.

Matt Barbee fromRockmill and Mar-ket Garden’s AndyTveekrem will dis-cuss each beer pair-ing and will revel inthe festivities. Thedinner will featurean heirloom pasture-raised pig from Tea Hills Farm inLoudonville, Ohio.

The menu itemsinclude:

■ mixed charcuterie, house picklesand fruit mostarda, paired withRockmill Saison;

■ roasted loin with sunchokepuree and herbed carrots, with BossAmber Lager;

■ crispy smoked face with OhioCity chard, black-eyed peas andMarket Garden’s Pale Ale;

■ lacquered belly with squashvariations, paired with Festivus;

■ braised shoulder with baconbread pudding and braised greens,with Rockmill’s Maraschino Dubbel;and

■ mixed sweets with St. EmericStout.

Tickets cost $45. To make reser-vations, call 216-621-4000.

And for the gumbo crowd … ■■ A restaurant that serves Southerncuisine has opened in Cleveland’sOhio City neighborhood.

Chef and owner Nolan Konkoskihas unveiled his much-anticipatedSouthern Hospitality concept, known

as SOHO, at 1889 W. 25th Street. Themenu includes items such as duckgumbo, crawfish fritters, fried greentomatoes, catfish po’boy, shrimpand grits, low country boil, chickenand waffles, pecan pie and, ofcourse, beignets.

Mr. Konkoski said the total project cost was $150,000, paid for in part with a $40,000 low-inter-est loan from the city of Cleveland,an SBA loan and $7,000 from theCharter One Growing Communi-ties grant. The grant will assistSOHO’s patio build-out along GouldCourt, between West 25th Street and the West Side Market parkinglot.

Hours are 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tues-day through Thursday, and 5 p.m.to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Sweet event for children ■■ A culinary instructor in Perrys-burg who also has been a contestanton a Food Network competitionshow will guide children and theirfamilies through a gingerbread house-making event from 9 a.m. to noonon Saturday, Dec. 3, at the CulinaryVegetable Institute in Milan.

Chef Jim Rhegness of Penta Career Center will show young bakers how to construct and deco-rate a gingerbread house they cantake home and enjoy as a seasonaldecoration.

“This annual event has becomeone of the highlights of the holidayseason,” said Barb Jones, director ofthe nonprofit Veggie U, which edu-cates students on nutritional eatingand food sourcing.

Mr. Rhegness is a past “Food Network Challenge: GingerbreadChampions” contestant and has appeared with his gingerbread creations nationwide.

Cost for the class is $35 and islimited to 35 participants. Call 419-499-7500 for more information.Proceeds benefit Veggie U.

Chef Jim Rheg-ness of the Perrysburg-based PentaCareer Centerwill help chil-dren build gin-gerbread housesas part of anevent that benefits Milan-based VeggieU.

PHOTO PROVIDED



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BRIGHT SPOTSBright Spots is a periodic feature in

Crain’s, highlighting positive businessnews in Northeast Ohio. To submit information, please e-mail Scott Suttell at [email protected].

■ There are five Ohiocompanies, including

three from NortheastOhio, on the new Top100 Military-Friendlyemployers list fromG.I. Jobs magazine.

Magazine editorsreviewed data from

more than 5,000 compa-nies nationwide. This is an award

for large organizations, as only com-panies with more than $500 millionin revenue were eligible to compete.

Topping the list among NortheastOhio companies was FirstEnergyCorp. at No. 42. Also on the list wasauto insurer Progressive Corp. (No.67) and diversified manufacturerEaton Corp. (No. 78).

The two other Ohio companiesthat made the cut were uniformcompany Cintas (No. 64) and Amer-ican Electric Power (No. 82).

Among factors considered in therankings are a company’s assetsdedicated to hiring military, the per-centage of new veterans hired andReserve/Guard policies.

■ The Timken Co. has taken its onlineauto-aftermarket catalog site mo-bile, with new applications designedfor iPhones, Android devices andBlackberry smart phones.

Each app contains all the func-tionalities of the original site,www.TimkenInfo.com.

Through the applications, userscan search for Timken products byyear, make, model, part number oreven an industry part number, thecompany said. In addition, the app“offers convenient access to torquespecifications for Timken products,as added earlier this year to TimkenInfo.com,” according to the company.Available torque specs cover axlenuts, flange bolts and wheel studs.

“Our customers tell us trainingand easy access to information aretwo of the most important things wecan provide beyond quality productsthemselves,” said Barry Harris,Timken’s manager of global strategy,marketing and cataloging, in a state-ment. “We want Timken to be thetrusted source for professional tech-nicians to find technical informationabout today’s toughest bearing andseal questions.”

■ Cleveland law firm Weltman,Weinberg & Reis Co. received the“Most Valuable Partner Award” fromthe China Export & Credit Insur-ance Corp., known as Sinosure.

Weltman Weinberg said the reward is “in recognition of the out-standing performance in amicabledebt collection, litigation, investiga-tion, response, efficiency, value-added service and flexibility duringthe period of 2009 and 2010.”Sinosure has been a client of Welt-man Weinberg since spring 2006.

Weltman Weinberg partnersGeorge R. Hicks Jr. and Michael F.Schmitz were presented the awardin Guilin, China, on a visit in October.

Sinosure is China’s official exportcredit insurance agency, offering export credit and credit insurance.

Its services include short-term export credit insurance; medium-and long-term export credit insur-ance; investment insurance, bondand guarantee business; debtand capital retrieval busi-ness; and credit assess-ment business.

■ The Lake CountyCaptains, the Class Aaffiliate of the ClevelandIndians, have intro-duced a new logoto commemoratethe team’s coming10th anniversary sea-son in Northeast Ohio.

The team moved from Columbus,Ga., and began playing at ClassicPark in Eastlake in April 2003.

Its new logo incorporates theship design that is featured on thesleeve patch Captains players wear

on their uniforms and adds “10” tothe bow of the ship. A ribbon belowthe ship with “2003” and “2012” signifies the inaugural year as

well as the coming season. ACaptains “C” logo with the

lighthouse rising fromthe bottom of the letterwill separate the twoyears on the ribbon.

“This is a milestoneyear for our organiza-tion and we feel that

the logo that willrepresent the 10th

anniversary is onethat our commu-

nity will be proud of,” said BradSeymour, Captains vice presidentand general manager, in a statement.

The logo will be featured on mer-chandise available at the gift storeat Classic Park as well as online atthe team’s website. It will be seen

on all team-issued print materialsproduced for the 2012 season.

■ Beckham’s B&M Bar-B-Que plansto celebrate the grand opening of itssixth store at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec.1, as it takes over a former Taco Bellat Hawthorne Valley ShoppingCenter in Oakwood Village.

The 2,000-square-foot store at23840 Broadway offers seating for 60.Beckham’s co-owner Greg Beck-ham said customers of the newstore “will always enjoy the deli-cious barbeque made from scratchevery day with the same familyrecipes that have been passeddown from my father over the last53 years.

“But this location may also be theplace to change up the menu a bitwith more salads, more vegetarianplates and other healthier choices,”Mr. Beckham said.

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So far, only Steve LaTourette is inspiring any confidence amongNortheast Ohio’s congressionaldelegation as citizens fumed last

week over the latest fiasco to come out ofthe nation’s capital.

Members of Congress couldn’t bringthemselves to jettison their petty parti-san squabbles and deal with thebudget mess we’re in, so theycreated the so-called “supercommittee” of 12 members tofashion a compromise. Theirtask was to work a deal thatwould make sense to both sidesof the aisle.

Hovering like the sword ofDamocles was the threat that if the committee couldn’t reacha deficit-reduction deal, thenharsh, non-strategic, across-the-boardcuts of $1.3 trillion would begin in 2013.This was the chance for lawmakers to doreal good — to ignore the shrill criesfrom their extremist wings and mix taxincreases with sensible entitlement cuts.

But, no, they couldn’t do it. EvenOhio’s U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a respected

member of the committee and a formerU.S. trade representative, wouldn’t bepart of a compromise plan. Political analysts immediately began to suspecthis heretofore attractiveness as a candi-date on the national stage, and that’sprobably not unfair.

What was unfair was for the largerbody to abdicate its responsi-bility and push this tough workto these 12 members. What’salso unfair is that the Americanpeople, suffering through whatis for most the worst economictimes they’ve faced, get nothingfrom their elected representa-tives. Nothing but the same,tired blame game.

The Democrats chide the Republicans for their insistence

on no tax increases as part of a deficit reduction plan. The Republicans attackthe Dems for refusing to cut expensiveentitlement programs. Nobody caresabout the middle ground, that spot onwhich most of their countrymen reside.

As the deadline neared, Rep. LaTourette,who represents much of Greater Cleve-

land’s eastern suburbs as well as AshtabulaCounty, declared that he no longer wouldabide by lobbyist Grover Norquist’snow-infamous “no new tax” pledge thatRep. LaTourette signed years ago.

Anyone with half a brain knows thatwe can’t cut this enormous budgetdeficit without a combination of taxes orrevenue enhancements, as well as enti-tlement program reductions. That’s thepledge we should demand from all ofthem, starting now.

So write or call the offices of MarciaFudge, Dennis Kucinich, Betty Sutton,Marcy Kaptur and Jim Renacci and demand that they start acting like responsible adults who care more abouttheir constituents than they do for theirpowerful Washington positions. Right now,none of them — except for Rep. LaTourette— has had the courage to say that it’stime to compromise and do what’s right.

If they don’t make that promise, theyall should be removed from office at thenext earliest election. The American peo-ple are sick and tired of their selfishnessand slavish allegiance to party ideo-logues. ■


Hold the axE

very few years, someone in Washington circles raises the idea of abolishing the U.S.Small Business Administration. The basic argument is that government shouldn’t put

at risk taxpayer money, in the form of SBA loanguarantees, in order to provide a safety net forbanks that take on small business borrowers theyprobably wouldn’t lend to otherwise.

Well, that idea is coming up again as the federalgovernment wrestles with how to bring down itsmassive budget deficit. But now is not the time totake an ax to the SBA.

Ted DeHaven, a budget analyst for the free-market public policy think tank The Cato Institute,called for terminating the SBA in an August op-edpiece at WashingtonExaminer.com. Mr. DeHavensaid while lawmakers portray SBA loans as a boostfor small business, “they’re actually a form of corpo-rate welfare for some of America’s largest banks.”

“The banks reap profits from the program, but tax-payers are liable for the losses,” Mr. DeHaven stated.

It’s a legitimate complaint. SBA loan guaranteesdo put taxpayers on the hook for up to 85% of thelosses of loans that go into default. However, thecase he makes for abolishing the SBA ignores thesorry manner in which the credit markets are func-tioning following the subprime lending crisis of2008-2009.

Small business borrowers that can’t issue theirown debt in the form of bonds and notes, like bigcompanies can, have been caught in a Catch 22nightmare with their banks. The banks, desperate toavoid adding to their nonperforming loans, havebeen willing to extend credit only to customers thatcan prove beyond a doubt they have the wherewithalto repay their debts. But those businesses that qualify for loans often don’t need them becausethey have enough cash and existing credit capacityto make investments without them.

Where does that scenario leave small businessesthat need money to grow but that aren’t so flushwith cash or assets that they’re a lead-pipe cinch tomake good on their debts? It apparently leaves themturning to loans backed by the SBA, if statistics fromthe agency are any barometer of the lending atmos-phere.

As Crain’s finance reporter Michelle Park wrote afew weeks back, the Cleveland district of the SBAbacked more dollars to more borrowers during thefiscal year that ended Sept. 30 than it has in any yearsince fiscal 2008, just before the Great Recession kickedin. The district’s loan volume totaled $363.6 millionin fiscal 2011, up 66% from $218.6 million in fiscal2010. And the number of borrowers receiving SBA-guaranteed loans climbed 37%, to 1,434 from 1,048.

These numbers and national loan figures fromthe SBA that tell a similar story indicate more busi-nesses are willing to invest in themselves again ifonly they can gain access to money.

With the U.S. unemployment rate stuck at around9%, it is going to take many such investments to getthe recovery truly into gear. If the government iswilling to lend trillions of dollars to bail out bigbanks, it surely can afford to put a few billion dollarsat risk to energize lending to small business.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

BRIANTUCKER

A pox on the cowards in Washington

PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR:Brian D.Tucker ([email protected])

EDITOR:Mark Dodosh ([email protected])

MANAGING EDITOR:Scott Suttell ([email protected])

OPINION

DEQUAN WILLOUGHBYMaple HeightsI’m just ambivalent about it. Icouldn’t care less if we had aseason right now. I’m out herestruggling.

THE BIG ISSUE

ZACH CHRISTYLakewoodI don’t really care. I’m not reallya basketball fan. I like baseballand football a lot more.

JACQUIE WELCHPainesvillePersonally, no, I don’t care because I don’t follow basket-ball. I do care because it will affect the economy.

ARTHUR PUSCHStrongsville I care because with the NBAand the Cavs, it attracts peo-ple downtown. … But at thispoint, it looks pretty futile.

At this point, it doesn’t look like there is going to be an NBA season. Do you care?

➤➤➤➤ Watch more of these responses by visiting the Multimedia section at www.CrainsCleveland.com.



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Pierre’s CEO Shelley Roth said the company is in a position to ramp up production now that its expanded $9.2 million ice creamfactory is online and has worked out operational kinks.

Pierre’s operation on Euclid Avenue in the city’s Midtown neigh-borhood, where it already churnsout 60 ice cream flavors and about235 products in total, has somepretty chill new concepts that are setto come out by the end of the year.

Pierre’s will reintroduce in a pint-size version its line of sorbets, including a new mango flavor, andis dipping into a new niche by intro-ducing lactose-free ice cream invanilla and chocolate.

“We would always try to steer lactose-intolerant customers to thedairy-free sorbets, but they stillwanted that ice cream,” Ms. Rothsaid. “We’re now brainstorming forother product ideas as well.”

Pierre’s latest expansion — a35,000-square-foot addition thatcost $9 million and was completedin June — has enabled the 85-em-ployee company to branch out itsproduct line, with the potential to atleast double its production capacity.

“I think we could easily go to fouror five times our current produc-tion” capacity, Ms. Roth said. Shedeclined to discuss current and projected production, and said shewasn’t sure when a leap in outputmight come. The company does notdisclose its revenues.

Pierre’s core brands are distrib-uted primarily throughout North-east Ohio, western Pennsylvaniaand Michigan. Its ¡Hola Fruta! purefruit sherbet that was launched in2007 reaches a larger market, withpenetration in 11 states, from NewYork and Kentucky to Texas. Yova-tion probiotic frozen yogurt was introduced in 2009 and is distributedin Ohio and five East Coast states.

“We want to focus on NortheastOhio; that is our core customerbase, and we want to maintain andexcite and enhance that customerbase,” Ms. Roth said. “But we’d like ourbrand to be enjoyed in other mar-kets in the East Coast and Midwest.”

Ms. Roth said she currently is intalks with other retailers and dis-tributors about carrying the Pierre’s

line, but would not disclose theiridentities.

Staying true to its rootsPierre’s has a rich history with

several local businesses, includingHeinen’s and Dave’s Markets, eachof which has been selling the com-pany’s products for decades.Pierre’s also produces the privatelabel ice cream for each of the twofood merchants and distributes various national brands for bothgrocers.“Pierre’s dominates our icecream category,” said Rob Miller,Dave’s senior vice president of marketing and merchandising. “Theoffer value to our customers, not justin product quality, but in the qualityof weekly specials they run, too.”

Likewise, Les Gyerman’s per-spective of the ice cream stalwarthas not waffled during the 40 yearshe has worked for Heinen’s.

“We’ve been doing business withPierre’s for 50 to 75 years, andthey’re always investing in theirproduct,” said Mr. Gyerman, Heinen’sdairy/frozen category manager.

While local food manufacturerssuch as Orlando Baking Co. have in-dicated that they’re pretty muchtapped out in the Northeast Ohiomarket, Ms. Roth said she continuesto eye growth opportunities here.

“We still see potential in our ownbackyard,” Ms. Roth said. “If I see astore with 10 doors (in its frozendessert section), and we’re only occupying two doors of space, I seepotential.”

Pierre’s over the last 80 years hasevolved from an ice cream shop atEast 82nd Street and Euclid Avenueto what now is an eight-acre, 91,000-square-foot campus at Euclid Avenue and East 65th Street. Pierre’sresearch and recipe development isdone onsite, with a team of marketing,quality assurance and productionfolks, and even Ms. Roth.

“It’s really a lot of fun,” said Ms.Roth, who noted that ice cream is apart of her daily nutritional intake.“I enjoy the equivalent of about adish a day.” ■

Pierre’s: CEO eyes larger,broader market penetrationcontinued from PAGE 1

Mystery buyer lands Chase Tower$13 million mortgagefor office complex sellsat lower number; value still hard to determine By STAN [email protected]

SOLD!!!That word as it appears on an

online auction site may have lessdrama than an auctioneer’s voice inperson, but the outcome is the samefor the $13 million mortgage on theoffice portion of Chase FinancialTower at Tower City Center in down-town Cleveland.

The winning bid for the nonper-forming mortgage was $3.5 million,though the identity of the winningbidder remains unknown. Bids esca-lated from an opening bid of $1.6million and met the minimum priceset by the marketer of the loan, Ar-chetype Advisors of Miami Beach,according to postings on the websiteAuction.com.

The mortgage, issued in 2006 byJPMorgan Chase, is secured by thefour floors of office space that Forest

City Enterprises Inc. developed at250 W. Huron Road, but which sitsempty because banking giant Chaseterminated its lease and left thebuilding in 2008. Forest City quitpaying on the mortgage after itfailed to reach an agreement withthe lender for a reduced principalpayoff for the loan, which ArchetypeAdvisors now is marketing. Arche-type handles distressed debt forlenders and sometimes disposes ofit.

Jonathan Russo, the ArchetypeAdvisors account executive who ranthe auction, did not return threecalls from Crain’s.

Neither of the most likely auctionbidders — Forest City or the partiesbehind Horseshoe Casino Cleve-land — would comment on whethereither was the winning bidder. Thecasino interests may have been attracted to the 125,000 square feetof office space because they hold anoption to buy from Forest City theRitz-Carlton Hotel Cleveland, whichrises eight stories above the officespace.

The tower sits near the city’s firstcasino at the Higbee Building aswell as the Huron Road land thecasino group acquired from Forest

City earlier this year for construc-tion of a new casino complex. Thecasino interests consist of ClevelandCavaliers co-owner Dan Gilbert andCaesars Entertainment Corp. of LasVegas.

Although the bid looks like anepic bargain-hunter purchase,Mark Nasca, head of the ChagrinFalls office of JDI Real Estate LLC,said the key factor is what the prop-erty itself is worth in the currentmarket.

“The original balance on the notemight mean something to thelender as they might have to take a losson it,” Mr. Nasca said. “But from abuyer’s point of view that is irrele-vant to the liquidation value of theloan. I tell lenders that on a regularbasis.”

Mr. Nasca should know; Chicago-based JDI regularly invests in mort-gages that lenders are shedding. Securing a mortgage means thenote buyer still might need to gothrough foreclosure to obtain own-ership of the property.

In the Chase tower case, Mr.Nasca said the property might betough to value because it is sand-wiched between other portions ofTower City Center and the hotel. ■

Boss of pension policy oversight will retire By ROB KOZLOWSKIPensions & Investments

Aristotle L. Hutras, director of theOhio Retirement Study Council, thestate Legislature’s pension over-sight committee, will retire Dec. 30.

Mr. Hutras has been directorsince 1990. The council was formed

in 1968 to assist the governor, stateLegislature and other public officialson public pension policy.

A job posting for his position willappear on the council’s websitesoon, according to Mr. Hutras.

The council advises on the bene-fits, funding, investment and admin-istration of the $76 billion Ohio

Public Employees’ Retirement Sys-tem; the $62.6 billion Ohio StateTeachers’ Retirement System; the$11.6 billion Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund; the $10.6 billionOhio School Employees RetirementSystem; and the $692 million OhioState Highway Patrol RetirementSystem, all in Columbus. ■



GOING PLACESJOB CHANGES

ARCHITECTURECBLH DESIGN: John Rach to director of marketing.VAN AUKEN AKINS ARCHITECTSLLC: Traci Thomas-Walkosak toproject manager.

ENGINEERINGWISS, JANNEY, ELSTNER ASSOCI-ATES INC.: Mark D. Chase to seniorassociate.

FINANCEHUNTINGTON BANK: RichardPohle to senior vice president, commercial region manager; KarenDavies to senior vice president, commercial team leader.

FINANCIAL SERVICE212 CAPITAL GROUP: AndrewBaszuk to financial adviser.COHEN & CO.: Magdalene Bihn,Ashley Marucci, Jamie Ferline andRichard Boswell to staff accoun-tants, accounting and auditing; Anthony Suttle to staff accountant,tax; Andrew Klek to staff accountant,corporate.REA & ASSOCIATES INC.: DanBialek to supervisor.UBS FINANCIAL SERVICES: MillCreek Wealth Consulting Services —Jason L. Seifert and Gregory S.Perram to vice presidents, invest-ments and financial advisers; Ken F.Senvisky Jr. to vice president, invest-ments; Patrick G. Hahn to assistantvice president.

HOSPITALITYKALAHARI RESORT SANDUSKY:David Friedberg to director of sales.

INSURANCEKAISER PERMANENTE OHIO:Nancy E. Paton to chief public affairsofficer.

LEGALBENESCH: Julie R. Fenstermakerto associate.MCDONALD HOPKINS: David G.Johnson to of counsel.MEYERS, ROMAN, FRIEDBERG &LEWIS: Gerald Goldberg andDaniel N. Steiger to of counsel.SQUIRE, SANDERS & DEMPSEY:Daniel G. Berick to regional practicecoordinator for the Americas; CiprianoS. Beredo III to Cleveland deputypractice group leader.

MANUFACTURINGAMERICAN ROLL FORM PRODUCTS:Chris Schmitt to director of marketing;Dave Zaragoza to director of engi-neering.MAIN STREET GOURMET: BrettBoyer to custom projects director;Angela Kelley to project sales specialist.OM GROUP: Christopher M. Hix tochief financial officer.

MARKETINGHITCHCOCK FLEMING & ASSOCI-ATES INC.: Maggie Harris to vice president, account services;Katie Greenwald to account manager of public relations; MichaelAnthony to assistant account manager.

NONPROFITCLEVELAND HEIGHTS-UNIVERSITYHEIGHTS LIBRARY: KimberleeDeNero-Ackryod to deputy director.JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND:Kim Meshanko to manager of business development, JFSA Care atHome.PSYCHOLOGICAL & BEHAVIORALCONSULTANTS WILLOUGHBY: Dr.Toni L. Carman to psychiatrist.SOURCING OFFICE INC.: Don Iannone to executive director.

REAL ESTATESUMMIT MALL: Tim Hill to mall manager.

SERVICERESIDENTIAL SECURITY SYSTEMS:Scott O’Brien to vice president, operations.

BOARDSAMERICAN OSTEOPATHIC COLLEGE OF ANESTHESIOLO-GISTS: Dennis E. Kane, D.O.,(South Pointe Hospital) to president. FAIRMOUNT CENTER FOR THEARTS: Jim Cowan to president.NORTHEAST OHIO MEDICAL UNIVERSITY: Dr. Eric Kodish(Cleveland Clinic) to chair; Dr. Chander M. Kohli to vice chair.WVIZ/PBS AND 90.3 WCPN IDEAS-TREAM: Robert C. Smith (Spero Smith Investment Advisors) to chair;Edward P. Campbell to immediatepast chair; William R. Stewart tosecretary; Jerrold F. Wareham topresident, CEO; Kathryn P. Jensento chief operating officer; Larry Pollock to vice chair; Kevin McMullen to treasurer.

Send information for Going Places [email protected].

FenstermakerPatonRach

KaneCarmanMeshanko

Fewer auto industry execs expect rebound in near futureBy DANIELLE EMERSONAutomotive News

DETROIT — A new survey showsautomotive industry executives areless optimistic about the economythan they were three months ago,but remain mostly positive about2012 business forecasts.

Accounting and consulting firmKPMG conducted the study in Julyand October.

The October survey found 42% ofthe executives responding expectthe economy to improve in 2012,down from 58% in July.

Likewise, 73% don’t foresee a fulleconomic recovery until the end of2013 or later, up slightly from 71%who said the same in July.

The survey measured the re-sponses of 89 executives, more thanhalf of whom work for companiesthat generate more than $10 billionof revenue annually, the firm said.

“There’s a sense of this cautiousoptimism where they see this growthopportunity,” Gary Silberg, nationalauto industry leader for KPMG, said.“And they’re willing to invest. All theCEOs I’ve talked to feel this way.”

Mr. Silberg said many of the exec-utives remain on edge about how

government regulations, such asthe new fuel economy standardsproposed in mid-November, willimpact their companies.

KPMG found more regression regarding plans for hiring and capitalspending in 2012.

Fifty percent of executives sur-veyed after September expected toadd employees next year, comparedto 62% who said they would in July.A similar decline was found in projections for capital spending: InJuly, 71% expected to increase cap-ital spending. Now, only 62% expectto do so.

“One major finding of our mostrecent survey is the concerns thatexecutives have over the macroeconomy,” Mr. Silberg said in astatement. “In addition to the uncertainty regarding the globaleconomic environment, auto exec-utives are challenged with intensi-fied competition, pricing pressuresand volatile commodity prices.”

Mr. Silberg said auto executivesfeel good about the orders andnumbers they’re seeing.

Those surveyed believed newmodels and products, as well as expansion into new geographicmarkets, will increase revenue. ■

Akron companynabs patent forgreen technologyBy SHAWN WRIGHTWaste & Recyling News

The U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice has issued Polyflow LLC inAkron a patent for its pyrolysisprocess, which converts mixed andcontaminated plastic and rubberwaste into transportation fuels andchemical intermediates.

The recycling technology companyis designing a full-scale processorthat it said is capable of convertingup to 2½ tons of mixed and contam-inated polymer and rubber wasteper hour into transportation fuelsand aromatics. The technology is expected to be implemented duringthe second quarter of next year, thecompany said.

In addition to the U.S. patent,Polyflow said it also received a processand apparatus patent from the Com-missioner of Patents in Australia.

“As the world continues to seekmore efficient and sustainable methodsof managing complex waste streamsembedded with polymer and rubber-based items, the Polyflow process iswell-positioned to meet this demand,”Polyflow CEO Jay Schabel said. ■


To those making all the difference:

Thank you.

T H E C A M PA I G N F O R U N I V E R S I T Y H O S P I TA L S

Discover the Difference

With your generous gifts, Discover the Difference: The Campaign for University Hospitals has now reached $804 million towards our $1 billion goal. Nearly 55,000 friends have contributed to help advance our timeless mission — To Heal. To Teach. To Discover. And for that, we extend our deepest gratitude.

A special thanks to the following benefactors, for their gifts of time, talent and treasure:

Monte Ahuja, Co-Chair

John G. Breen, Co-Chair

Sheldon G. Adelman, Vice-Chair

Paul H. Carleton, Vice-Chair

Ralph M. Della Ratta Jr., Vice-Chair

Candice J. Burr

Kathleen A. Coleman

Christopher M. Connor

Ronald E. Dziedzicki

Avroy A. Fanaroff, MD

Allen H. Ford

Richard A. Hanson

Patricia J. Ljubi

Cliff A. Megerian, MD

Henry L. Meyer III

Janet L. Miller

Thomas G. Murdough Jr.

Richard W. Pogue

Ann Pinkerton Ranney

Julie A. Raskind

Robert S. Reitman

Barbara S. Robinson

David M. Rosenberg, MD

Enid B. Rosenberg

Barbara P. Ruhlman

Kathleen J. Sanniti

Jacqueline F. Woods

CAMPAIGN CABINET

CAMPAIGN HONORARY VISIONARIESThe following Visionaries have made transformational gifts.

* deceased

Monte and Usha Ahuja and Family

The Dolan Family

Char and Chuck Fowler Family

The Cleveland Foundation

Dr. Donald J.* and Ruth W.* Goodman

The Harrington Family

Leonard and Joan Horvitz, and Richard A. Horvitz and Family

George Humphrey Family

The Elizabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation

Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation

Bob, Eleanore and Kathy Risman

Jane and Lee Seidman

Iris S. and Bert L.* Wolstein

To learn how you can make a difference, visit www.UHGiving.org



P E R S O N A L B U S I N E S S C O M M E R C I A L W E A LT H

Member FDIC

F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N O R T O E N R O L L , contact Chris Pilkington at 614-429-7440 or [email protected]

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use some local advice?

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From advisory, trade, and payment services to working capital and foreign exchange,

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from a larger institution, with the personalized service of a trusted neighborhood bank.

TAX LIENSThe Internal Revenue Service filed taxliens against the following businessesin the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office. The IRS files a tax lien to protect the interests of the federalgovernment. The lien is a public noticeto creditors that the government has aclaim against a company’s property.Liens reported here are $5,000 andhigher. Dates listed are the dates thedocuments were filed in theRecorder’s Office.

LIENS FILEDHealthrapid Inc.6739 Ridge Road, ParmaID: 20-4135845Date filed: Oct. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemployment

Amount: $28,524

Cardiology Associates of Cleveland Inc.12000 McCracken Road, Suite 460,Garfield HeightsID: 34-1358270Date filed: Oct. 31, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $23,959

Victory Solutions LLC6505 Rockside Road, Suite 175, IndependenceID: 20-4833667Date filed: Oct. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $23,803

Solution Source Inc.26404 Center Ridge Road, Suite B5,Westlake

ID: 56-2554446Date filed: Oct. 20, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $22,566

Special Transport & Rigging Inc.4730 Warner Road, Garfield HeightsID: 34-1898934Date filed: Oct. 14, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $18,856

Rybak & Associates Inc.21821 Libby Road, Suite 102, BedfordID: 03-0514289Date filed: Oct. 20, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $18,477

Martin Cement Co.P.O. Box 461091, BedfordID: 34-1613970Date filed: Oct. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding

Amount: $16,304

Hanson Services Inc. 2070 Chesterland Ave., LakewoodID: 65-0805630Date filed: Oct. 20, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $15,303

Manju Govind LLC Knights Inn221156 Brookpark Road, Fairview ParkID: 34-1831580Date filed: Oct. 12, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $12,183

Avon Drive In Laundry & Dry Cleaning Co.1830 Superior Ave. E., ClevelandID: 34-0866085Date filed: Oct. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding

Amount: $11,892

Residential Appraisal Group Inc.6882 Karen Drive, Seven HillsID: 34-1676267Date filed: Oct. 14, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, corporate incomeAmount: $11,748

Wirtanen Insurance Agency Inc.23615 Lorain Road, North OlmstedID: 34-1846529Date filed: Oct. 25, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $11,511

Peter G. Gordon, D.D.S., Inc.Beachwood Dental Group23300 Chagrin Blvd., Suite G10,BeachwoodID: 34-1134403Date filed: Oct. 31, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $11,382

Taylor Road Discount Center Inc.2467 Warrensville Center Road, University HeightsID: 34-1354758Date filed: Oct. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholding, unemploymentAmount: $9,621

Quality Care Residential Homes Inc.P. O. Box 605641, ClevelandID: 75-3189085Date filed: Oct. 31, 2011 Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $9,443

Platinum Plumbing Inc.5914 Ridge Road, ParmaID: 52-2385110Date filed: Oct. 12, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $8,899

Thomas Faroh LLC8040 Strongsville Blvd., StrongsvilleID: 01-0851289Date filed: Oct. 31, 2011Type: Employer’s annual federal taxreturnAmount: $7,903

Farohs Candies & Gifts LLC7223 Pearl Road, ClevelandID: 01-0851289Date filed: Oct. 14, 2011Type: Unemployment, employer’s annual federal tax returnAmount: $7,689

Will Repair Inc.2901 E. 65th St., ClevelandID: 34-1577547Date filed: Oct. 14, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $7,499

Fresh Start Inc.4807 Cedar Ave., ClevelandID: 34-1032718Date filed: Oct. 20, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $7,007

Abeco-Ayad Inc. Grandpas Kitchen2165 E. 55th St., ClevelandID: 34-1784858Date filed: Oct. 7, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $5,945

Taqueria Mexico Tacos Inc.Mi Pueblo12207 Lorain Ave., ClevelandID: 34-1745953Date filed: Oct. 12, 2011Type: Employer’s withholdingAmount: $5,193

LIENS RELEASED

ARB Marine Group Inc.6140 Parkland Blvd., Mayfield HeightsID: 31-1636806Date filed: Sept. 1, 2011Date released: Oct. 12, 2011Type: Corporate incomeAmount: $140,904


EVENT PLANNINGI N S I D E

NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 4, 2011 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 13

15 SPONSORS’COMMITMENTSSTAY STRONGAMID DOWNTURN.

MOLLY NOOK PHOTOS

TOP: Magician Rick Smith Jr. (far right) entertains guests at a HowardHanna managers dinner earlier this month at the IntercontinentalHotel in Cleveland. LEFT AND ABOVE: The event, which was planned byElizabeth Denton Spencer of Spencer Creative Strategy, played offthe “Magic of Howard Hanna” theme all the way down to the tablesettings and desserts.

Planners tap larger audience through mobile apps, social mediaBy TIMOTHY [email protected]

Sending an email alert or distributing an old-fashionedpaper flier to attendees at anindustry conference or other

special event is becoming slightlypassé. After all, thanks to an avalancheof smart phone applications andother emerging mobile technologies,special event planners are discoveringnew ways to engage their audiences.

Oftentimes, it’s no cheap endeavor,either — developing a mobile appcan cost an organization thousandsof dollars. But as more consumerscontinue to migrate from their anti-quated flip phones to handheld supercomputers such as the iPhoneor Android devices, event plannersare shelling out the dough.

See WOW Page 15

See ENGAGE Page 14

A WAYTO THE‘WOW’

FACTORClients more often asking for unusual

entertainment options

By AMY ANN STOESSEL [email protected]

Sometimes meeting plannershave to pull a few tricks out oftheir hat to get guests’ atten-tion — at least when it comes

to entertainment. Just ask Elizabeth Denton Spencer

of Spencer Creative Strategyin Moreland Hills, who helped plan aHoward Hanna managers dinner earlier this month.

The event, at the InterContinentalhotel in Cleveland, was attended bymore than 150 from Ohio, New York,Pennsylvania and West Virginia andfeatured the magic of Rick Smith Jr.,a founder of the entertainmentagency, Cleveland Entertainers.

The illusionist not only wowed thereal estate agency’s guests with histricks, according to Ms. Spencer, hehelped drive home a marketing message of the firm: “The Magic ofHoward Hanna.”

“It just made sense to have a magician perform,” Ms. Spencersaid. “It takes a corporate event andmakes it entertaining.”

Mr. Smith — who has performed

More event organizers add emerging technologies to their platesMore than one-third of American

adults — or 35% — own smartphones, according to a study released last summer by the PewResearch Center. Additionally, thesurvey states that mobile phonesare the primary source of Internetaccess for 25% of those with thedevices.

“The convergence of mobile inevery part of our lives is here,” saidJohn Heaney, brand director atSparkBase, a Cleveland companythat processes loyalty and gift cardtransactions. “It’s in shopping,dining, where you go on vacation.People feel more naked withouttheir phones than their wallets.”

The Cleveland International

Film Festival, for one, introduced afree smart phone app about threeyears ago, said Debby Samples,the festival’s marketing and membership director. Last year,the application was downloadedmore than 700 times. The app features movie show times, trailersand other news updates.

The application will be updatedfor this spring’s film festival, whichruns March 22 through April 1 ofnext year.

“We pride ourselves on keepingour audiences informed abouteverything — the good, the badand everything in between,” Ms.Samples said. “This was just another way to do that.”

Not one size fits all

Though mobile applicationsmight signal that an organization’son board with the latest technolo-gy, they’re not for everyone, ac-cording to Andrea Aber, an accountmanager for the Cleveland-baseddigital marketing agency thun-der::tech.

They can be costly endeavors,and it’s important to note whetheran application would offer somesort of value for the consumer, Ms.Aber noted. Thunder::tech, for instance, developed a free mobileapplication for Cleveland BeerWeek, which carries a list of upcoming events and participat-

ing pubs.“We’re getting more and more

requests for apps for specificevents. Individuals are there, andthey’ll most likely be on theirphones anyway,” she said.

Cleveland Independents, a con-sortium of locally owned and inde-pendently operated restaurants, isslowly dipping its toe into the mo-bile realm to determine whether anapp might suit its audience.

As part of its Cleveland Restau-rant Week earlier this month,Cleveland Independents intro-duced QR codes — a bar code, ofsorts — on its promotional materi-als to gauge whether people accessits website through mobile devices.

The idea is to determine whetheran app would be a worthwhile



EVENT PLANNING

Planners now called upon to consider procurement

investment for the group.“If our customer base is accessing

our website through cell phones,we wanted to know if a smartphone app would increase ourbusiness,” said Myra Orenstein,the acting executive director ofCleveland Independents. “Wecould potentially expand our cre-ative to meet our audience better.”

Cleveland Independents hastapped Barcode Connections, a localstartup that offers mobile, Internetand social media marketing services, to conduct the research,but the results aren’t yet available.

It ain’t all expensiveMany of the event-driven smart

phone applications display sched-ules or other nuggets about thegatherings, and while useful, thereare other — and cheaper ways —that event planners throw smartphones into the mix.

The Cleveland Clinic, which hasa robust presence online and inseveral social media channels, hasused Twitter to engage audiencesduring its “Ideas for Tomorrow”speakers series. A Clinic communi-cations staffer generally live tweetsthe events with the hash tag #CCIdeas.

When Federal Reserve chairmanBen Bernanke spoke at the Clinicin September, 259 tweets includedthe #CCIdeas hashtag, which was a

trending topic in Cleveland thatnight. The tweets weren’t from theClinic alone, but those in the audience and those following theevent online as well.

“It’s a huge opportunity to reacha national or global audience,”said Paul Matsen, the Clinic’s chiefmarketing officer. “An effectiveTwitter network or bringing in agroup of interested bloggers willmultiply your message, particularlyto people who are passionateabout the subject matter.”

Meanwhile, developers andmarketing experts expect other web-based technologies to be throwninto the event planning mix, whichcould drive down the cost of plan-ners using mobile technology.

Dan Young, the principal of theCleveland-based mobile technologydeveloper DXY Solutions LLC, expects to see event planners continue to integrate Facebook,Twitter and other social media andblogging platforms into mobilesoftware to create turnkey solutionsany organization can pick up andtailor to its needs.

“Mobile has really taken on afront-and-center position withhow people are getting informationabout a variety of things,” Mr.Young said. “Events are one of theareas that are starting to get sometraction now because almosteveryone’s got a smart phone.” ■

Procurement should be inte-grated in the total strategicmeetings management pro-gramming of your company.

Buyers and agencies need to understand their roles, and themeeting planner is sometimescalled upon to be a liaison betweenthe two.

As defined by The National Busi-ness Travel Association, strategicmeetings management program-ming “means the management ofenterprise-wide meeting-relatedprocesses, spend, volume, standardsand suppliers to achieve quantitativecost-savings, risk mitigation andsuperior service. It includes matchingdepartment goals to corporate val-ues/objectives and using data con-solidation and reports to enhancethe strategic nature of meetings.”

Procurement is defined as thepurchase of goods and services atthe best possible prices, deliverydates and legal terms. The definitionis changing over time as procure-ment evolves in the workplace.

As more planners are beingviewed upon as strategists — notjust as a person who’s responsible

of executing meetings and events— it’s imperative they understandthe procurement process and whatthey can do to assist those in chargeof procurement with their jobs.

First steps■ Find out who is in charge of

the buying process within yourcompany. Inquire to see if there isa company procurement departmentor figurehead. Make an appointmentand inquire about what currentpolicies are in effect with regards toprocurement, specifically as it relates to meetings and events, andwhat is being tracked.

■ Gather data from your ownmeeting planning department, andshare all of the information youhave gathered so everyone will understand procurement in regardsto meetings/events.

■ Look at other spending inyour company, and how otherbusiness units are working towardwatching their costs. Is there a tie-in to your department?

■ As you integrate event planningprocurement into the company,ensure that all stakeholders (basi-

TODDSCHWARTZ

ADVISER

cally everyone in the company fromthe mailroom to the C-level execs)play a role. To ensure there are noloopholes in company spending as itpertains to meetings and events, makesure mailroom, graphics department,security and those in travel supportand are abreast of costs. One areamight have an effect upon the otherand not even realize it.

■ As an event planner you shouldbe prepared to make a study or document the big picture of meeting/event spending dollars while sharingall the details that go into putting a large/medium sized program together.

■ Be open and collaborative;nothing is worse when doors are

closed before they are opened.Don’t be the “controlling planner.”If you don’t appear to be forthright,a team player or proactive, youmight find yourself out of a job.Again, today’s job scope is vastlydifferent than it was even just a fewyears ago. A planner today is lookedupon as a strategist and not just aperson who executes.

■ Clearly articulate what it is thatyou as a planner are doing and youroutcome for all involved as it pertainsto procurement.

■ A planner’s buying power mightbe something that’s not understoodcompanywide, and therefore aplanner/strategist must enlightenothers about the why of doing whatyou do.

■ Benchmark and tabulate infor-mation along the way; it’s a processand a lengthy and arduous one atbest, but in the end, it will be goodfor the company — and even better— for your reputation.

Other considerationsPricing can increase once a

company obtains preferred vendorstatus. The opportunity to bid as inthe past might be minimized and apreferred vendor may capitalize onhis or her status. However, the costsof working with a vendor whocharges a bit more might be worthit in the long run for your peace ofmind — but then again, maybe not.

Look into specialized softwarewith your procurement departmentto integrate all departments, andchoose the best software to supportyour procurement department aswell as suppliers. If there isn’t aprocurement department in yourcompany, then look at how a smaller company does it and then

possibly a larger organization.Procurement departments are

looking at the bigger picture, andyour job is to work with them andmove toward the same goal ofreaching companywide savings.

In turn, procurement departmentsshould assist you in helping yourplanning department shine. Theyshould support your desire to reducethe risks and costs associated withmeeting planning, bids for supplierservices or venues and contracts.

They should have some formatsand forms that will assist some ofyour efforts. If not — look at creatingsome with them.

Identify all suppliers to ensure thatyou are meeting your procurementdefinition of purchasing goods orsupplies at the right prices andterms. Set procedures to evaluate anyproposals and quotes that maycome from your suppliers.

Also, don’t be shy or afraid to callyour competition. They might notbe able to share specifics of whatthey are doing but they should beopen to share best practices as theyare planners just like you in thisever-changing, vastly scrutinized,meeting event industry.

In closing, it’s imperative to be acatalyst in delivering savings to yourcompany through procurementand reducing meeting costs. Value-add is a term used when identifyingcost savings, and there are measure-ments of control you can leveragewhen monitoring spending as it per-tains to your meetings and events. ■

Mr. Schwartz is a certified meetingplanner and president and founderof The Professional Planner Group,a full-service, meeting, event, con-ference and incentive managementcompany. He has been in the field ofcorporate meeting, event and con-ference management for more than10 years.

Engage: Twitter may sufficecontinued from PAGE 13


on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”and “America’s Got Talent” and in2002, broke the world record forthrowing a playing card 216 feet, 4inches — performs roughly 600shows a year across the country,from birthday parties to corporateand fund-raising events.

Calling magic a “hobby thatturned into a big-time career,” Mr.Smith reports that his sales nation-wide regularly trend upward, a factthat’s not surprising given the observations of Sherri Foxman,founder and CEO of Clevelandevent-planning firm Party411.

“People want to do what peoplehaven’t done,” she said. “Theywant entertainment that is also interactive.”

Getting into the gameWith corporate and private

clients looking for the unusual,Northeast Ohio meeting plannersand entertainment providers arestepping up and taking advantageof the opportunity for business.

Party411, for example, has pro-duced an array of events on thecorporate side with a creative flairfor entertainment, featuring evengo-karts for Hyland Software inWestlake and a petting zoo for National Interstate in Richfield.

Green screens are popular forplacing guests in unusual scenes.Hat makers, hypnotists, masseusesand airbrush tattoo artists also aregetting into the act of entertainment— “unusual distractions,” as Ms. Foxman calls them.

In the corporate realm, videoscavenger hunts even are beingused to get people involved. “Teambuilding is always going to be a bigthing. … Some of these differentactivities also are marketingbased,” Ms. Foxman said.

Take the experience of JackpotGaming, where corporate eventsmake up about 90% of the firm’sbusiness. Located for more than 42years on East 185th Street in Cleve-land, Jackpot puts on casino nightsfor both corporate and nonprofitorganizations.

“We’ve entertained a lot of people,” said owner John A. Copic,whose father founded the business.Today, Jackpot produces on averagefour to five events each week, and2011 will be Jackpot’s busiest year.

Mr. Copic said gaming activities

not only serve as great team-buildingactivities, you might also get aglimpse into how someone mightplay their cards in real world.

He used blackjack as an example:“It’s a really powerful way for these seven guys to get to knoweach other.” And a traditional gameof cards: “You can actually get a lotof business done playing poker.”

Hitting the right notesMusician Matthew Skitzki also

has discovered that NortheastOhio is a good place to entertain.He founded his business, Profes-sional Piano in 2007, providingpremium piano services for cus-tomers, entertaining at specialevents and providing collaborativeservices for other performers.

Mr. Skitzki has played the pianosince the age of 4 and graduated in2010 with a master of music degreefrom Cleveland State. “For me, Ifound that it’s better to corner asmaller market,” he said.

And his business seems to havestruck a chord. Professional Pianohas experienced an increase inboth sales and engagements sinceits inception, presenting 117 performances in 2010 and alreadylogging 144 in 2011.

“I think live music is making acomeback in sort of the same wayvinyl records are,” he said. “Peoplewant a unique experience.”

Geoff Short, sales and promo-tions manager for Cleveland-basedJerry Bruno Productions, a full-service entertainment provider,couldn’t agree more.

“Clients are demanding andwanting out-of-the-box entertain-ment solutions,” he said. “They arereally looking for creative options.”

Jerry Bruno provides entertain-ment for roughly 1,200 events year,75% of which are weddings. It hasa full roster of disc jockeys andbands, as well as specialty actssuch as theme artists, steel drumperformers and belly dancers.

“I do see more and more clientswanting different kinds of things,”he said. And this stretches into allparts of an event’s production,from aspects like lighting to littlethings like electronic placards.

Ultimately, Mr. Short said he encourages clients to consider thetotal guest experience: “There is somuch more involved in the enter-tainment experience,” he said. ■


For more info: ExecutiveCaterers.com/philanthropia - or call 440.449.0700

MONDAY,DECEMBER 5, 2011

11:00 am Registration& Meet & Greet

12 NoonLuncheon & Program

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EVENT PLANNING

Sponsorsmonitoroutlayscloser

Wow: Unique events can offer insight into co-workers

Commitments for eventsthat benefit community,extend message persistBy JOEL [email protected]

Looking to nail down sponsorsfor your upcoming event?

The days of companiessimply forking over a check,

no questions asked, appear to beover. So, according to Cleveland-area event planners and industryobservers, best bets are centeredaround one of two themes: eventsthat serve the community wherethey’re held, or those that address atimely subject and allow sponsors todeliver their message on that topic.

The former group includes eventssuch as the Pro Football Hall ofFame Enshrinement Festival inCanton, held each August in con-junction with the hall’s annual induction of former NFL players andcoaches, and the upcoming down-town Cleveland Winterfest, whichwas scheduled to be held last Satur-day, Nov. 26, on Public Square.

The latter includes associationtrade shows, panel discussions andother events dedicated to a topicrelevant to sponsors — such asCrain’s Cleveland Business’ Ideas atDawn business breakfast series.

It all adds up to a local flavor of anationwide uptick in sponsorship,according to Chicago-based IEG,which measures sponsorship trendsnationwide. The company projectedNorth American sponsorship growing by 5.9% in 2011, to $18.2billion, after a 3.9% increase in 2010.

“And it’s actually a very underuti-lized market,” said Dave Lutz, themanaging director of Aurora-basedVelvet Chainsaw Consulting, whichtracks the events industry nationally.

Much of the football hall’s enshrinement festival actually isstaged by a department of the Canton Regional Chamber of Com-merce, and Joanne Murray, the di-rector of the enshrinement festival,said sponsorships constitute about45% of the two-week-long festival’sbudget, which is about $2.3 million.

From 2008 to 2010, the group fellshort of its budget, meeting 94% ofits goal in 2008, 87% in 2009 and89% in 2010. But this past summer— despite uncertainty surroundingthe crowning moment of the event,the Hall of Fame Game, which even-tually was canceled due to the NFL’slabor issues — the chamber exceededits sponsorship goal by 3%.

“We get great year-to-year support from local companies, whosee the event as part of the Cantonarea’s tradition,” Ms. Murray said.

Ms. Murray said the slide insponsorship from 2008 to 2010 wasdue in part to national tours cuttingback. For instance: Ford, Honda,Pepsi and other companies havetraveling tours to promote prod-

DAN O’KEEFE/DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND ALLIANCE; COURTESY OF PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEMENT FESTIVAL

ABOVE: Winterfest, held each November in downtown Cleveland, is one event see-ing consistent support from corporate sponsors. BOTTOM: Five 2011 Pro FootballHall of Fame enshrinees participated in the Enshrinees GameDay Roundtable,which is part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival.

ucts, which land at different eventsnationwide. She said those nationalbrands cut back on tours duringthe recession, but that is an area inwhich things continue to improve.

Sponsorship increases at any eventsignal value, said Joel Solloway, theowner of Beachwood event planningcompany EventWorks Inc. Hiscompany has helped the Cantonchamber with the festival for 14 years.

“It’s always challenging,” Mr.Solloway said. “There are only somany companies in NortheastOhio, and they’re all being askedby so many different organizations.It’s hard to make those dollars goas far as they used to.”

A part of the communityLike those companies seeing

value in the football hall enshrine-ment’s place in the Canton com-munity, downtown Cleveland’sWinterfest — which includes atree-lighting ceremony, wine andale fest, concerts and more — offers similar potential value tosponsors.

Gina Morris, the director of marketing and public relations withDowntown Cleveland Alliance,which produces the event, is twomonths into the job after being onthe opposite end of the spectrum:working for Time Warner, coordinating partnership andsponsorship opportunities.

“From the money-giver role,there’s a hyper focus on specificstrategies from sponsors,” Ms.Morris said. “Companies aren’tdoling money out across theboard; they’re being very specific,with educational or community-based opportunities.

“Winterfest gives them a chanceto give back to the communitythey’re serving,” she said.

Ms. Morris said Winterfest sponsorship is up about 20% fromlast year, though it’s a moving target of sorts since some of thosecommitments are not cash; for

instance, the Lake Erie Monstersand Quicken Loans Arena offerpromotions during games.

Huntington Bank is the presenting sponsor of the event,and spokesman Brent Wilder said since Dan Walsh joined the bank’s Cleveland office last year,the company has increased its sponsorship commitments substantially, including a $500,000gift to the Global Cleveland initiative, the goal of which is to attract newcomers to Cleveland.

“Our commitment to Clevelandis deep, and we are constantlylooking for opportunities to catalyzeCleveland’s economic renaissance,”Mr. Wilder said in an email, notingthat the bank also is sponsoring a“Power of Three” event this Satur-day at PlayhouseSquare.

The City Club, too, is seeing increased sponsorship from Cleve-land corporations that, accordingto public relations and programmanager Carrie Miller, “see valuein showing the community they’realigning with us” and the club’sfree speech mission.

Crain’s breakfast series also hasgrown, from three events in 2008 to11 this year, as sponsors increas-ingly have expressed interest in presenting topics on which theyhave an expertise.

One of those sponsors is Cleve-land law firm Benesch, which hasadded to its sponsorships regionallyand nationally, said spokeswomanJeanne Hammerstrom.“It’s good exposure for (attorneys’) expertise,”she said.

Associations that hold similarevents can offer company spon-sors additional opportunities,such as placement in their maga-zine, a presence in e-learning ini-tiatives and other ways to offersponsors more value, said VelvetChainsaw’s Mr. Lutz.

“Companies like to sponsorthings that are valued, somethingthat’s helpful,” he said. ■



survey respondents were predictinga decline in the economy over thenext three months; by contrast, 70%believed things were about to get worsein November 2008, as the recessiontook hold of the nation’s psyche.

But, economists say, optimismdefinitely is teetering again.

“Turkeys may be the appropriateseasonal symbol,” said economistNed Hill, dean of the Levin Collegeof Urban Affairs at Cleveland StateUniversity, in discussing the newdark outlook.

Dr. Hill was not surprised to seemore pessimism and less optimismamong manufacturers. He said it’sdriven by anxiety and fear of theunknown.

“Uncertainty has an economiccost,” Dr. Hill wrote in discussingthe survey results by email withCrain’s. “This reflects a combina-tion of Europe’s slide into recession,the possible contagion of Americanmoney center banks, and gridlockin Washington reflecting conflictingviews on how to move the economyforward among the public.”

Other economists agree. For instance, Ken Mayland, presidentof ClearView Economics in PepperPike, has been saying for more thana year that uncertainty is holdingback the recovery. The uncertaintyis not just about the economy, butabout government regulations andtaxes that business leaders eitherknow or fear are coming, Dr. May-land told the National Tooling andMachining Association on Nov. 7.

But businesses in the PMA pollaren’t worried just about the econ-omy in general.

Only 21% in November said they

expect their own orders to increaseover the next three months, downfrom 35% in August and a peak of61% who said order flow was aboutto improve in February 2011. Thelast time 21% or fewer of the poll’sparticipants predicted their ordervolumes were about to pick up wasthe dismal month of February 2009,when only 16% saw their sales onthe verge of increasing.

Likewise, layoffs also are up. Thismonth, 17% of the PMA’s polledmembers said they had employeeson layoff, up from just 8% in October.That number, however, has variedbetween 6% and 25% since the beginning of 2010, including twicethis year when 18% of surveyedcompanies had layoffs in effect —so the 17% showing for Novemberis not a stark new peak.

It’s better in OhioPMA president Bill Gaskin said

the numbers indicate a near-termslowdown. However, he said hismembers also tell him they still areconfident with regards to theirlong-term prospects.

“Undoubtedly, year-end willbring softness as signaled by ourBusiness Conditions report, butmost are getting signals from theircustomers that business will con-tinue to grow in 2012 by another10% or so,” Mr. Gaskin said.

Shale gas drilling, a still-recoveringautomotive sector and other factorsmay be helping Northeast Ohio tooutperform the nation as a whole.When the Chicago-based accountingfirm McGladrey polled more than600 of its manufacturing clientsaround the nation in September andOctober, it found Ohio companies

were among the most optimistic.Karen Kulek, head of the firm’s

national manufacturing and distri-bution practice, said while 43% ofthe businesses she polled nation-wide reported their business wasgrowing or thriving, that numberwas significantly higher — 52% —for Ohio companies.

On the ground, local manufac-turers that spoke to Crain’s reportmixed results, though they say theydon’t fear the sky is falling. Ordervolumes continue to be strong andskilled labor is still in short supply,they report.

But, with regard to new businessopportunities, or “quotes,” the pic-ture is mixed.

Back on the ‘roller coaster’Jerry Zeitler, president of Die-

Matic Corp. in Cleveland, said busi-ness still is going strong, with neworders coming in nicely. Mr. Zeitlersells precision stamped metal parts,primarily to automakers. He saidthat sector is still on the upswing, inpart due to a pickup in sales to theU.S. plants of Japanese companiesas they recover from the effects ofthe earthquake and tsunami thathit Japan, he said.

Somewhat less upbeat is Jim Drabik, of Drabik Manufacturing in Cleveland, which makes largemachined parts that often go intonew plants other manufacturers areconstructing. He said his companystill is busy, “but things have defi-nitely slowed up.”

“It’s starting to go back to theroller coaster ride up and down,”Mr. Drabik said. “One week, you geta bunch of quotes and orders andthe next week it’s dead.”

That said, Mr. Drabik is confidentenough, and busy enough, that he’slooking for help. And he doesn’t seelayoffs to the extent that skilled

workers must hunt for work.“I am running three ads looking

for skilled machinists, with no reply,” he said. ■


Survey: Ohio companies more optimstic

CRAIN’S 2011 FORTY UNDER 40 AWARDS

ABOVE: A group of Forty Under 40 honorees and alumni gather after theawards ceremony. LEFT: The 2011Forty Under 40 awards.

Crain’s last Monday celebrated its 20th Forty Under 40 class witha gala at Executive Caterers in Mayfield Heights. For more photos and a video from the event, visit www.CrainsCleveland.com.

JASON MILLER PHOTOS

ABOVE: Honoree Eric Logan (center) from Precision Castparts Corp., with ChuckCave (left), Robert Half International’s senior regional manager and Crain’s pub-lisher and editorial director Brian Tucker. BELOW: Honoree Timothy Burke of First-Merit Bank NA, alumna Lisa Zone of Dix & Eaton, alumnus Mike Shafarenko ofCivic Commons and honoree Mike Swallow of CBiz Retirement Services.



LARGEST SAVINGS INSTITUTIONSRANKED BY NORTHEAST OHIO DEPOSITS(1)

Deposits Non-performing loans

Rank

Company nameHeadquarters addressPhone/website 6-30-2011 6-30-2010 % change

2011 entiremarket share

%(2)Total assets($millions)

$ millions6-30-2011

% of grossloans

6-30-2011

Netincome

($millions)Top local executiveTitle

1Third Federal Savings & Loan Assn.7007 Broadway Ave., Cleveland 44105(216) 441-6000/www.thirdfederal.com

$6,156.4 $6,281.2 -2.0% 7.3 $10,833.0 $190.9 1.9% $7.0 Marc A. Stefanskichairman, president, CEO

2Ohio Savings Bank, A Division of New York CommunityBank1801 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 44114(216) 588-4100/www.amtrust.com

$1,947.0 $2,438.7 -20.2% 2.3 $38,055.6 $819.9 2.9% $233.8Robert J. Tolomerexecutive vice president, officer-in-charge, Ohio operations

3Dollar Bank FSB1301 E. Ninth St., Cleveland 44114(216) 736-8900/www.dollarbank.com

$1,654.1 $1,595.8 3.6% 2.0 $6,144.6 $48.3 1.0% $19.3 Andrew D. Devonshirepresident, Ohio banking region

4First Place BankP.O. Box 551, Warren 44482(330) 373-1221/www.firstplace.net

$1,575.7 $1,838.6 -14.3% 1.9 $2,781.5 $131.5 5.7% ($17.8) Steven R. LewisCEO

5Home Savings & Loan Co.275 Federal Plaza W., Youngstown 44503(330) 742-0500/www.homesavings.com

$1,236.9 $1,243.9 -0.6% 1.5 $2,106.4 $139.1 8.9% $1.7 Patrick W. Bevackpresident, CEO

6First Federal Savings & Loan Assoc.14806 Detroit Ave., Lakewood 44107(216) 221-7300/www.ffl.net

$1,154.9 $1,067.7 8.2% 1.4 $1,344.9 $23.7 2.3% $1.9Gary R. Fixpresident, CEO,managing officer

7Park View Federal Savings Bank30000 Aurora Road, Solon 44139(440) 914-3900/www.parkviewfederal.com

$688.5 $695.7 -1.0% 0.8 $799.6 $38.2 6.6% ($4.8) Robert J. King Jr.president, CEO

8Westfield Bank FSBTwo Park Circle, Westfield Center 44251(800) 368-8930/www.westfield-bank.com

$436.4 $351.8 24.1% 0.5 $578.2 $9.4 2.5% $1.7 Timothy E. Phillipspresident

9First Federal S&L Assn. of Lorain3721 Oberlin Ave., Lorain 44053(440) 282-6188/www.firstfedlorain.com

$356.1 $349.7 1.8% 0.4 $479.3 $11.8 3.1% $1.2 John R. Malanowskipresident, COO

10Wayne Savings Community Bank151 N. Market St., Wooster 44691(330) 264-5767/www.waynesavings.com

$305.4 $291.7 4.7% 0.4 $412.0 $4.4 1.9% $1.0 Rodney C. Steigerpresident, CEO

11Geauga Savings Bank10800 Kinsman Road, Newbury 44065(440) 564-9441/www.geaugasavings.com

$261.0 $253.8 2.8% 0.3 $425.0 $20.2 8.5% $1.0 Allen Lencioni Sr.president, CEO

12CFBank2723 Smith Road, Fairlawn 44333(330) 666-7979/www.cfbankonline.com

$149.0 $131.6 13.2% 0.2 $276.4 $5.8 3.2% ($3.1)Eloise Mackus, CEOTherese A. Liutkus,president, CFO

13Home Savings Bank142 N. Water St., Kent 44240(330) 673-9827/www.homesavingsbnk.com

$124.5 $113.8 9.4% 0.2 $148.7 $2.4 2.0% $0.5 Howard T. Boyle IIpresident, CEO

14North Akron Savings Bank158 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave., Akron 44310(330) 434-9137/www.northakronsavingsbank.com

$113.9 $111.6 2.1% 0.1 $162.2 $1.1 1.0% $0.2 Stephen D. Hailerpresident, CEO

15Valley Savings Bank140 Portage Trail, Cuyahoga Falls 44222(330) 923-0454/www.valleysavingsbank.com

$90.6 $71.4 26.9% 0.1 $107.8 $0.4 0.4% $0.4 Ann Durrpresident, COO

16Conneaut Savings Bank305 Main St., Conneaut 44030(440) 599-8121 /www.conneautsavings.com

$70.3 $75.3 -6.6% 0.1 $83.9 $0.8 1.4% $0.1 Philip Heffelfingerpresident, CEO

17Home Federal Savings & Loan Association of Niles55 N. Main St., Niles 44446(330) 652-2539

$61.5 $65.6 -6.2% 0.1 $106.0 $1.5 4.8% $0.9 Lawrence Safarekpresident

18Northwest Savings Bank2 Liberty St., Warren, Pa. 16365(814) 723-9696/www.northwestsavingsbank.com

$59.8 $67.3 -11.1% 0.1 $8,114.0 $161.2 2.9% $33.7Thomas Stantonvice president, Crawford, Lawrence,Mercer and Ohio district manager

19Northern Trust Bank FSB10 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. 48304(248) 593-9300/www.northerntrust.com

$18.3 $18.9 -3.0% 0.0 $1,483.3 $16.1 1.2% $4.4 Michael A. Coganpresident, CEO Ohio

20Pioneer Savings Bank6701 Detroit Ave., Cleveland 44102(216) 961-0422

$14.0 $14.2 -1.4% 0.0 $28.2 $0.9 6.1% $0.0 Virginia C. Barsanpresident, CEO

21First Federal Bank of Ohio140 N. Columbus St., Galion 44833(419) 468-1518/www.firstfederalbankofohio.com

$4.2 $4.3 -2.6% 0.0 $249.6 $5.9 4.9% ($0.4) Thomas L. Moorepresident, CEO

Source for financial data: Highline Financial LLC, a Thomson Reuters Company. NA=Not available. Crain's Cleveland Business does not independently verify the information andthere is no guarantee these listings are complete or accurate. We welcome all responses to our lists and will include omitted information or clarifications in coming issues.Individual lists and The Book of Lists are available to purchase at www.crainscleveland.com.(1) Deposit information includes branches located in Ashland, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull andWayne counties, as of June 30, 2011, and June 30, 2010. All other numerical data is institution-wide as of June 30, 2011.(2) Includes all financial institutions in the 15-county coverage area.

RESEARCHED BY Deborah W. Hillyer

Mittal: Steelmaker offers students opportunities across U.S.County on work force initiativessuch as the Alliance for WorkingTogether. The new program,dubbed “Steelworker for the Future,”will prepare workers for a job in asteel mill, or most any other manu-facturing setting, say school andcompany officials.

“Lakeland is committed to bridgingeducation with jobs,” said schoolpresident Dr. Morris W. BeverageJr. “With degrees in industrial elec-tronics or maintenance and repair,we ensure the needs of Arcelor-Mittal are met, while providing our

graduates with high-tech skills nec-essary for today’s manufacturingand engineering sectors.”

ArcelorMittal knows the programlikely will end up training workersfor other companies, but that out-come has happened before and thecompany doesn’t mind, Mr. Lang-behn said.

The company has worked withcommunity colleges in Illinois andIndiana for the past two years onsimilar programs, Mr. Langbehnsaid, and it might expand the pro-gram to other schools in NortheastOhio as well.

This year, the company got itsfirst shot at hiring the first crop ofgraduates and offered jobs to all 23students who finished their degrees.Mr. Langbehn said 18 accepted andfive went elsewhere.

Students also can go to work atother ArcelorMittal locations, andthe company has 20 operationsacross the United States.

“If they are interested, there areopportunities to go anywhere inthe U.S. where these plants are located, because all of our plantshave the same attrition issues,” Mr.Langbehn said.

While ArcelorMittal is not goingso far as to guarantee jobs for grad-uates of the program at Lakeland,its track record in hiring from otherprograms and the age of its 1,700-person work force in Cleveland definitely means jobs will be openingup at its Cleveland works for students,said Mark Granakis, president ofUnited Steelworkers Local 979 inCleveland, whose members staffthe plant. Local 979 will help trainstudents in the program during internships, as well as mentor themwhen they are hired by the companyafter graduation.

“People with an electrical or mechanical skill set will soon beneeded to replace retiring workers,”Mr. Granakis said. “This partnershiphelps us properly educate and encourage careers in manufacturingas a step towards sustainable future.”

ArcelorMittal spokeswoman MaryBeth Holdford said the company ishiring in Cleveland. ArcelorMittaljust posted job openings for an unspecified number of electricaland mechanical maintenance tech-nicians. Those are just the start ofthe new employees it will need going forward, she said. ■



which owns about a 60% stake inthe company, according to UnheeKim, Summa’s system vice presi-dent of service lines and ancillaryservices.

Ms. Kim said Summa and AkronRadiology saw an opportunity totap into an underserved market assmaller hospitals — particularlythose in rural areas — had difficultystaffing their radiology departments24 hours a day.

“We’re not turning out a lot of

new radiologists in the marketplace,so there are going to be a variety ofreasons to seek companies like Aristo provide these services,” Ms. Kimsaid.

Mr. Kozlowski attributes part ofAris’ growth to its ability to offer anumber of subspecialty services toits roster of 74 clients, which rangefrom 25-bed to 400-bed hospitals.The idea is to provide them with theservices of radiologists trained incertain areas that can diagnose ail-ments properly, and quickly.

Given the federal government’spush to decrease the number of unnecessary medical tests as a wayto get a handle on skyrocketinghealth care costs, properly analyzingpatient X-rays the first time willmake Aris an attractive partner, Mr.Kozlowski noted.

“That’s what we do,” he said.“This lowers costs.”

An attractive investment?Aris might be the latest, but it’s

certainly not the first teleradiology


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Aris: Competitors also raising moneycompany in the region to attract interest from investors.

Radisphere of Beachwood, one of Aris’ competitors, last year raised$27.5 million to support the com-pany’s growth. Maverick CapitalLtd. of New York led the financinground, which also included Radi-sphere’s existing investor, Oak Investment Partners, which has offices in Connecticut, Californiaand Minnesota.

“The problems are significant,and the solutions to them are signif-icantly challenging,” RadisphereCEO Scott Seidelmann said of theneed to keep health care costs incheck. “I’m glad to see companies

raising capital because in the endyou need to solve these problems inan appropriate way.”

Providers of specialized healthcare services have become attrac-tive propositions to outside in-vestors, said Susan Luria, a vicepresident at BioEnterprise Corp. inCleveland, a nonprofit that assistshealth care companies in the region.

“There’s increased interest inlooking at service-related companiesbecause you can see more quicklywhether or not these companies canexecute,” Ms. Luria said. “There’s arelative easy test to see whether thebusiness model functions.” ■


A whale of a find for Cod lovers■ If you give some old scrap iron toworkers at the ArcelorMittal steelworks in Cleveland, they’re likelyto melt it down and turn it intogleaming new steel.

But a recent junkyard find willbe spared such a fate thanks to itshistorical significance.

ArcelorMittal has volunteered tostore two submarine engines thatrecently were discovered in the Great LakesTowing Co.’s yard in the Flats. The engineswere made in Cleveland around 1942 for usein U.S. submarines for World War II.

That’s not the real reason they’re such agreat find, though.

They’re also the same engines used in theUSS Cod that’s docked near Burke LakefrontAirport — where restoration teams had givenup on restoring that boat’s engines for a lackof spare parts.

Now they’ve got those parts, say Arcelor-Mittal’s spokespeople, who note the companywas glad to be of service to such an impor-tant piece of American history. — Dan Shin-gler

Love Vikings hoops?Here’s an app■ Just in time for another hot start by theCleveland State University men’s basketballteam, following the Vikings just got a littleeasier.

The Horizon League’s “Horizon League

Network Live” is now available fordownload on any iOS smart phoneor tablet, with availability on theAndroid operating system comingsoon. The app will offer any gamecarried live on the Horizon LeagueTV network, plus all league games,which are available on HorizonLeague.com.

The league says it’s the only col-lege conference to offer its entirelive video collection through a

mobile app. The Vikings, who started 12-0 last season

before finishing 27-9 and playing in the NIT,were 4-0 on this young season after a roadvictory over Kent State last Tuesday night. Inlast week’s Associated Press poll, CSU reachedNo. 26, thanks in large part to a season-opening road victory over then-No. 7 Vanderbilt. — Joel Hammond

Attention all flower children ■ Are you a child of the ’60s?

If so, Kent State is asking you to uploadpictures to its website that show what peoplelooked like, what they experienced and whatthey cared about during the tumultuousdecade.

The photos will be displayed at the uni-versity’s new May 4 Visitors Center, whichwill explore the iconic shootings that leftfour Kent State students dead and nine otherswounded at the hand of the Ohio NationalGuard on May 4, 1970. The center is slatedto open sometime next year.

Photos should be submitted by Dec. 21

and must be no larger than 5 megabytes. To upload a picture, visit www.kent.edu

/about/history/may4/virtualtour/photos/.— Timothy Magaw

A short taleabout tall letters■ Ever wonder how tall letters that are 350feet in the air need to be to be seen across acity skyline?

The F, T and B on the new signs that willtop Fifth Third Bank Center, 600 SuperiorAve. in downtownCleveland, are 8 feettall, and the rest ofthe letters are nearly7 feet tall, accordingto a bank spokes-woman. All of themdwarf a certain Crain’sfinance reporter, whostands roughly 5’2”.

All four signs —one for each side ofthe building —should be up nextweek pending theweather, the spokes-woman said. She noted the signs, which useLED bulbs, are 60% more energy efficientthan the previous signs that shouted FifthThird’s name atop the 28-story building.

The new signage reflects the bank’s newbranding, which was introduced in 2007 andincludes a new logo and new colors. Thebank has staggered replacement of corpo-rate signage for cost reasons. — MichellePark

WHAT’S NEW

THE COMPANY: WeatherchemCorp., TwinsburgTHE PRODUCT: MegaFlap

Weatherchem, a maker of plastic dispensingclosures and controlled access packaging,describes its new MegaFlap as “a unique closure system that features an integratedscoop retention mechanism.”

It’s designed for containers that are bulky,heavy and hard to handle, and the MegaFlapcan be used in a variety of sectors.

The MegaFlap’s scoop retention feature allows the scoop to clip onto the inside of thelid, which the company expects will be “pop-ular with consumers frustrated with separatescoops that are easily lost or misplaced.”The ability to clip and store the scoop ontothe MegaFlap’s interior “solves another con-sumer frustration — scoops no longer fallinto the container and become messy andhard to find,” according to Weatherchem.

The company says the MegaFlap’s “unusu-ally large and flat surface area on the top ofthe closure provides abundant space for decorating with a logo, marketing message,or product information.”

For information, visit www.Weatherchem.com.

Send new product information to managing editor Scott Suttell at [email protected].

REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOKBEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS

THEINSIDER

THEWEEK NOVEMBER 21 - 27

A developing situation: Drug developerChanRx Corp. of Garfield Heights raised additional capital from both Sante Ventures ofAustin, Texas, and the company’s founder, Dr.Arthur “Buzz” Brown. ChanRx will use the moneyto pay for Phase IIb clinical trials on a drug it developed to treat atrial fibrillation, a commoncardiac rhythm disorder. The company in anews release did not say how much money it received, and a ChanRx official did not respondto an inquiry about the amount.

Setting the stable: Moody’s Investors Service revised Summa Health System’s ratingoutlook to stable from negative, citing the Akron-based health system’s improved operating per-

formance and expanding presence inthe Northeast Ohio’s healthcare market. Moody’s also

affirmed the health system’sBaa1 bond rating, which affects

about $360 million of the health system’s debt.The Moody’s announcement “underscores thethoughtful manner in which we operate our organization and the steps that we have taken toredesign the way we deliver care,” said Summapresident and CEO Thomas Strauss.

Strong flight pattern: Akron-Canton Airport reported that last month set a record fortravel in October through the airport. A total of148,113 passengers passed through the airportlast month, which was up 11% from October2010, the previous record. For the first 10 monthsof the year, 1,378,318 travelers flew through Akron-Canton, a 5.3% increase compared to the like period in 2010. The largest carrier at Akron-Can-ton, AirTran Airways, saw its passenger trafficthrough the airport increase 19% last monthcompared to October 2010.

Moving in, and moving on: PolyOne Corp.named Cynthia D. Tomasch as vice president ofplanning and investor relations, at the polymerproducer based in Avon Lake. Effective Dec. 14,Ms. Tomasch will succeed Joseph P. Kelley andwill be responsible for PolyOne’s corporate financial analysis and planning functions. Mr.Kelley is moving to Materion Corp. in MayfieldHeights, where he will be vice president of finance for the company’s Advanced MaterialsGroup.

Along for the ride: National Interstate Insurance Co., a unit of National Interstate Corp.in Richfield, joined the newly assembled Mid-west Bus & Motorcoach Association. The insurerof buses and other commercial vehicles said theassociation was formed to support the bus andmotorcoach industry by providing advice onlaws and regulations, as well as various educa-tional programs, conferences and activities toincrease awareness of current issues facing busoperators, owners and the general public.

This and that: The Cleveland InternationalFilm Festival received a three-year, $150,000grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Artsand Sciences for a program that focuses on minority filmmakers. The film festival this yearwas the only recipient of the grant. … LincolnElectric Holdings Inc. announced two executivepromotions. The producer of welding equip-ment named Doug Lance as vice president ofoperations and Thomas Matthews as vice pres-ident of R&D. … Ohio Attorney General MikeDeWine said the state will receive $22.8 millionas its share of a settlement with drug maker Merckover misleading marketing of the painkillerVioxx. The company agreed to pay a total of $950million in its agreement with the federal govern-ment, 43 states and the District of Columbia.

To keep up with local business news as it happens, visit www.CrainsCleveland.com.


BEST OF THE BLOGSExcerpts from recent blog entries onCrainsCleveland.com.

Aleris is in elite companyamong U.S. private firms■ There are 212 private compa-nies in the United States thathave at least $2 billion in annualrevenue, and four of them arebased in Ohio.

So said Forbes.com in its annual list of the nation’s largestprivate companies. The 212companies on this year’s list aredown from 223 in 2010, Forbes.com said. Despite the drop,though, combined revenues thisyear are $1.33 trillion comparedwith $1.35 trillion a year ago.

Only one of the four Ohiocompanies is from NortheastOhio. That honor rests with Aleris Interna-tional of Beachwood, a producer of alu-minum rolled and extruded products.

Aleris was No. 85, up from No. 135 in 2010.Forbes.com puts Aleris’ 2011 revenues at$4.12 billion, up 37% from the previous year.The company, led by CEO Steven Demetriou,has about 7,000 employees.

The largest private company based inOhio, according to Forbes.com, is Momen-tive Performance Materials, a Columbuschemicals company. It was No. 42 on the list.Also on the Forbes.com list are HCR Manor-Care (No. 76), a nursing home and rehabil-itation center operator based in Toledo, andNewPage Corp. (No. 111) of Miamisburg, aproducer of coated and carbonless paper.

NE Ohio’s retiring typesneed to start saving more■ It looks like Northeast Ohioans have somework to do to be prepared for retirement.

MarketWatch.com reported that anAmeriprise Financial survey of 11,600 adultsin 30 large U.S. cities, including Cleveland,found wide variations in retirement readiness.

At least 300 in each city were surveyed.They were asked “whether they’ve saved anymoney in a retirement account, consulted

with an adviser about retirementgoals, or assessed how much in-come they’ll need in retirement,”MarketWatch.com said.

People in three California metroareas — San Francisco, Sacra-mento and San Diego — are themost prepared for and opti-mistic about retirement. Indi-anapolis, New York and Atlantacame in at the bottom of the list ofcities for retirement readiness.

The national average for re-spondents who say they’reputting aside enough money forretirement is 69%.

Cleveland/Akron was one of 15 marketsthat fell below that mark, at 67%.

Your shopping trip isa data miner’s delight■ Forest City Commercial Management,part of Forest City Enterprises Inc., is testing anew survey technology by a U.K. firm totrack mall shopping behavior and flow byusing mobile phones.

Chain Store Age reported the surveys arebeing conducted at Promenade Temeculain Southern California and Short PumpTown Center in Richmond, Va., throughNew Year’s Day. They mark the first use ofthis kind of technology in a mall setting.

The survey system, called FootPath Tech-nology, “consists of a small number of mon-itoring units installed throughout the cen-ter,” Chain Store Age reported. “The unitrecognizes signals from shoppers’ mobilephones and sends the data to be evaluated.”


6135 Kruse Dr. • Solon • (440) 542-0600 • www.DavisAutomotive.com

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Weight is the enemy of performance. So the 2012 Jaguar XJ employs a 100% aluminum body.To that we add an abundance of luxury and distinction. The result is a flagship sedan that isuncommonly quick and surprisingly agile. It’s a rare achievement. For some. But not for us.

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I believe the answer to the age-old question, “Where has the timegone?” is both simple and direct: Use your time well so you canlook back with contentment and say, “I’m pleased with what I ac-complished with my time.”

My wife, Marti, and I just celebrated our 21st anniversary. Ourson, Taylor, is 20. Our daughter, Sydney, will be 19 next month.Davis Automotive Group is 20 this month. It seems like yesterdayPaul Yusko and I walked into Jaguar Cleveland that first day not ful-ly knowing what we bought. Little did we know where this wouldtake us and the success we would achieve.

Back in 1991, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo were facingcompetition from new entrants into the luxury car business. Therewas also an economic recession. Ford had just acquired Jaguarand would later acquire Volvo. BMW was foundering and RangeRover was a sport utility outlier.

Within a few short years, our business began to improve. BMWintroduced the new 3 Series, followed by a 5 Series and then 7 Se-ries. Under Ford, Jaguar’s quality improved and new products were

in the offing. Land Rover introduced the a new version of theRange Rover along with the Defender 90 model, still highly soughtafter and valuable, and the Discovery. In 1996, BMW acquiredRover Cars which included many iconic names, including RangeRover and Mini Cooper. With increased business and more mod-els, it was time to move our business.

In 1996, we began construction on our new campus in Solon atSOM Center Road and U.S. Route 422. Everyone told us we wouldfail because there were no other dealers in the vicinity of our pro-posed new location. From our real estate experience, we knew theright location would be the key to our success. As our reputationand brands improved, so did our business and the need for evenmore space. Today, we are finishing our fourth major expansionfor BMW and will begin work on the Jaguar, Land Rover andMaserati facility next year.

Over the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to share mythoughts and feelings with the readers of Crain’s Cleveland Busi-ness. I’ve written about my mother and father, my relationshipswith my wife, our children and often about our valued customers.

I have also had the opportunity to share my appreciation for thepeople I work with each day and their commitment to Davis Auto-motive Group and our customers. The vast majority of the Davis

personnel our customers see each day have been with us since wemoved to Solon 14 years ago. It is satisfying to know we’ve cre-ated an enjoyable working environment for our team and cus-tomers alike. Without the great people we work with, and the cus-tomers we have, Davis Automotive Group would be just anothercar dealership.

This article is a tribute to the commitment, hard work and hon-esty of each person at Davis Automotive Group.

Thank you for being who you are and how you’ve helped us be-come what we are.

-- Jeff Davis

Through two decadesof change, we grew byserving customers first


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