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SEPTEMBER 5 - 11, 2011
CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
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THEINSIDER
THEWEEK AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4 The big story: Team NEO and several entrepreneurial programs in Ohio will see their financial support increase now that the Ohio Third Frontier Commission approved most of its budget for fiscal 2012, which marks the start of a new era for the economic development program. The commission gave Team NEO, a business attraction organization, $4.1 million — the largest of six JobsOhio Network grants awarded. The commission set aside $122 million for several initiatives within the Third Frontier program, a 10-year-old effort meant to stimulate the state’s economy through investments in technology. See related story, Page 3.
It adds up: Toronto-based SP Data LLC is expanding its presence in Northeast Ohio by adding the call center company’s U.S. headquarters to its downtown Cleveland contact center. The company has a 150-person operation in Post Office Plaza, a part of the Tower City complex, and intends to add between 300 and 400 employees in the Great Lakes region in the next few years, many of those in Cleveland.
The check’s included: The Commission on Economic Inclusion received $1.1 million from the federal Minority Business Development Agency to kick off a local MBDA Business Center. The center will help minority businesses across Ohio raise capital and secure contracts with larger private companies and public agencies. The center is housed at the offices of the Greater Cleveland Partnership in downtown Cleveland. The inclusion commission is a program of GCP.
REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOK BEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS
Here’s a lesson we all could learn ■ My friends and I share fun banter each June and September, a mocking of sorts of teachers as they prepare for a summer off or new school year. (It all began when a high school friend insisted years ago that teachers work incredibly harder than everyone else, a point with which you could say I disagreed. Vehemently.) Lost in the sarcasm is a sincere appreciation I have Zitzner for teachers; they have an incredibly thankless job. My appreciation has grown: I left work last Thursday to find a broken mirror on my month-old car. I also found a note — from John Zitzner, who’s president of the fundraising arm for the well-regarded Breakthrough Charter Schools in Cleveland and who apparently was the culprit. I called Mr. Zitzner, and he offered to compensate me in full for the damages, which were substantial. Teachers: Incorporate this story of accountability and responsibility into your next plan. Oh, and stop rubbing it in about your summers off. — Joel Hammond
The branch is the same, even if the name isn’t ■ For two days last week, KeyBank’s East Ninth Street branch was renamed “Midtown Financial Center” as part of “The Avengers” movie shoot.
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Timken Co. of Canton agreed to pay $92 million in cash for an Illinois company that makes engineered drive chains, roller chains and conveyor augers for agricultural and industrial markets. Drives LLC of Fulton, Ill., posted sales of about $100 million over the last 12 months. It has about 430 employees in North America. The deal is expected to close in about 30 days.
Seeing the light: Global Lighting Technologies Inc., which employs 15 at a sales and engineering office in Brecksville, went public on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company, based in Chung-Li, Taiwan, sold 15.35 million shares at an initial price of about $1.77 in U.S. dollars. Global Lighting Technologies makes products for LED-based systems that illuminate flat panel displays, keyboards and other electric equipment.
This and that: Eaton Corp. acquired IE Power Inc., a company based in Mississauga, Ontario, that provides high-power inverters for use in solar, wind and battery energy storage. The diversified manufacturer did not say what it paid for IE Power, which has 24 employees. … Kent State University president Lester Lefton named Roxia B. Boykin, a top executive at Summa Health System in Akron, as his next “presidential ambassador,” a program designed for minority professionals to share with the university community their business expertise and experiences with diversity. Ms. Boykin, a Kent State alumna, is Summa’s vice president for community benefit and diversity.
McDonald Partners blows into Chicago ■ In what its spokesman calls a logical next step, Cleveland-based McDonald Partners LLC has opened an office in the Windy City. The brokerage and investment advisory firm’s Chicago office opened officially for business Aug. 22. The office is the firm’s fifth overall and is staffed with three new hires,
Driven to a deal:
All mine: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. said a company subsidiary and its joint venture partner, HWE Cockatoo, as well as Cockatoo Mining entered into an agreement with Pluton Resources Ltd. to sell its beneficial interest in the iron ore assets of its Cockatoo Island joint venture in Australia. The potential transaction is expected to occur at the end of the current stage mining of Cockatoo Island, known as Stage III, which is anticipated to be complete in late 2012.
Two branch signs were covered with the new name as local filming concluded last week. Bank officials also obliged producers and ran fake stock information on KeyBank’s exterior electronic ticker on Aug. 30. “It’s a huge production, (and) we’re part of it,” said Omar Kalim, assistant vice president and branch manager. “It was amazing. For Cleveland to be part of a major movie production is just exciting times for not just KeyBank, but everyone in downtown.” The branch employees had a front-row seat to the action, as their ground-floor office faced the street where the filming was occurring. However, when producers were filming toward the building on Tuesday, the bank was asked to pull its blinds and to not have people peeking through them, noted spokesman Dan Davis. The production work wasn’t too loud, with the exception of Monday, when two vehicles were crushed, Mr. Davis said. Branch traffic remained steady, Mr. Kalim said. The bank informed some clients of the fleeting name change, plus the bank’s Superior Avenue sign and the East Ninth signs facing north remained KeyBank signs. — Michelle Park
Excerpts from recent blog entries on CrainsCleveland.com
The more we know, the worse it looks
THE COMPANY: Tharo Systems Inc., Brunswick THE PRODUCT: Tharo PA500w Wipe-On Label Printer/Applicator The company says the Tharo PA500w is designed for accurate, moderate- to highspeed labeling to the top, side or bottom of a product. Tharo’s PA500w is capable of printing and applying more than 100 labels per minute and is delivered with a product sensor and controller to ensure accurate label placement on the product, the company says. A wipe-on brush assures proper adhesion to smooth flat surfaces as well as uneven surfaces. Users also can apply labels up to 4 ½ inches by 7 inches to a variety of materials, such as cartons, tray and blister packages, bags and cans. Tharo was formed in 1982. It makes the bar code label printing software Easylabel and bar code label printers, thermal transfer bar code printers, supplies and label design software. For information, visit www.Tharo.com. Send information about new products to managing editor Scott Suttell at ssuttell@ crain.com.
■ A former Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland official figured prominently in a New York Times story that made the case that the 2008 bank bailout overwhelmingly benefited institutions rather than people. The Times story followed a Bloomberg report that the Fed “provided a stunning $1.2 trillion to large global financial institutions at the peak of its crisis lending in December 2008.” The report “detailed the surprisingly sketchy collateral — stocks and junk bonds — accepted by the Fed to back its loans,” according to The Times. For instance, the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008 received $84.5 billion, and Dexia, a Belgian lender, borrowed $58.5 billion from the Fed at its peak. Walker F. Todd, a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research and a former assistant general counsel and research officer at the Cleveland Fed, told The Times that such details confirm public skepticism about the value of the bank bailout. “What is the benefit to the American taxpayer of propping up a Belgian bank with a single New York banking office to the tune of tens of billions of dollars?” he asked. “It seems inconsistent ultimately to have provided this much assistance to the biggest institutions for so long, and then to have done in effect nothing for the homeowner, nothing for credit card relief.”
Oh, now he’s a big-time scorer ■ Fortune had a little fun by filling out a roster of former NFL players who
who add a new level of expertise in insurance that will strengthen the entire firm, said Brian McDonald, firm spokesman. Establishing a presence in Chicago made sense because it allows founder, president and CEO Thomas McDonald to reconnect with people he met while running a broker dealer in the city from 2003 to 2005, Brian McDonald said. “We know the market,” he said. “We know the players in Chicago. Knowing your market is the first part of success.” — Michelle Park
The lowdown on what’s up in the Warehouse District ■ The Historic Warehouse District neighborhood development group has gotten into the publishing business. The organization has begun producing “What’s New In the Neighborhood,” a newsletter designed to highlight “the positive things that are happening in downtown Cleveland,” says Howard Landau, president of Landau Public Relations on West Sixth Street and chairman of the Historic Warehouse District’s marketing committee. The bimonthly newsletter highlights coming public events and activities as well as stories about people who live and work in the district. The August issue features a story on investigative reporter Carl Monday and his wife, Sandy, who bought their West 10th Street condo more than 10 years ago. The newsletter is distributed in print and electronic form; to sign up for the latter, address an email to Kelly@warehouse district.org. — Mark Dodosh
now work in the private equity business. Some positions are better represented than others, and the running back slot is quite light. Fortune’s pick there is former Cleveland Browns fullback Tommy Vardell — you remember “Touchdown Tommy” out of Stanford, right? — who now serves as managing director with Northgate Capital, a fund-of-funds manager. Mr. Vardell only scored 18 times in his NFL career, so presumably he’s doing better in his current field.
When the tide doesn’t rise here, consultant looks abroad ■ Roeder Consulting Inc., a project management and training firm in Cleveland, was one of the companies that provided an anecdote for a Wall Street Journal story about small business owners looking for new customers outside the United States. They’re looking abroad due to lower demand at home and a cheaper dollar, The Journal said. Even so, the paper says, “overseas expansion is often harder and more complicated for small businesses, which lack the deep pockets and expertise of larger firms.” Tres Roeder, president of Roeder Consulting, told The Journal he’s looking for international clients for the first time in the company’s 10-year history. “The overall tide isn’t rising here,” he said. “But I look at foreign markets and they’re growing.” American clients have been canceling training sessions, but more international participants have joined the company’s monthly webinars. He’s also looking into offering full-time training services in India. But The Journal noted the process “has been challenging.” For instance, trying to find business advisers with country-specific knowledge and skills has been time-consuming and costly.