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SEPTEMBER 17 - 23 2012
CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
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THEINSIDER
THEWEEK SEPTEMBER 10 - 16 The big story: FirstMerit Corp. in Akron agreed to buy Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. of Flint, Mich., in a stock transaction valued at $912 million. The companies said the transaction “creates a unique, contiguous Midwest banking franchise, expanding FirstMerit’s footprint into Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as strengthening its presence in Northeast Ohio.” The combined company will have $24 billion in total assets, $15 billion in loans, $19 billion in deposits, 415 branches and 452 ATMs. It will employ more than 5,000 workers in five states.
CRAIN’S FILE PHOTO
Enjoy your trip?: Travel and tourism is on the rise in Cleveland, according to Positively Cleveland, the region’s convention and visitors bureau, which released data detailing the economic impact in 2011 of the growing tourism trade in Cuyahoga County. In 2011, according to a study conducted by D.K. Shifflet & Associates, 14.9 million visitors came to Cuyahoga County, up nearly 15% from 13 million in 2009. The study found tourism generated $6.7 billion in related business activity last year, up 12% from 2009. Tourism employment generated $1.8 billion in wages in 2011. Leaving a legacy: The Bertram L. and Iris S. Wolstein Foundation made a $4.9 million commitment to Ohio State University, with $3.4 million designated toward the school’s Fisher College of Business and the rest to its Department of Athletics. With those dollars, the Fisher College of Business will establish the Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative Fund, which will support the new Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Seminar in Entrepreneurial Leadership, a capstone course for advanced students. They mean business: The Cleveland Clinic’s business development unit soared into the upper echelon of a list that ranks similar organizations around the world. Cleveland Clinic Innovations was named the fourth most influential health care corporate venturing unit in the world by Global Corporate Venturing, a London-based business that publishes a magazine and web content written for venture capital groups that are part of larger organizations. By comparison, Cleveland Clinic Innovations ranked 27th in 2010. The main reason for its rapid rise is the Clinic’s new Healthcare Innovation Alliance, said James Mawson, founder and editor of Global Corporate Venturing. Come together: Eaton Corp. in Cleveland and electrical equipment supplier Cooper Industries plc of Dublin, Ireland, scheduled shareholder meetings for Friday, Oct. 26, so stockholders can vote on the proposed, $11.8 billion acquisition of Cooper by Eaton. Eaton’s special meeting is slated for 3 p.m. Eastern time at Eaton Center, 1111 Superior Ave. in Cleveland. There will be two meetings in Houston for Cooper shareholders. Spin cycle:
Nacco Industries Inc. set into motion the process for spinning off its lift truck business to its shareholders. Nacco said its board declared a stock dividend of one share of HysterYale Materials Handling Inc. Class A common stock and one share of Hyster-Yale Class B common stock for each share of Nacco Class A or Class B common stock owned on the record date for the distribution. Nacco said assuming the effectiveness of the registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Hyster-Yale stock will be distributed Sept. 28 to stockholders of record on Sept. 25.
REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOK BEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS
You might want to make a note of this website ■ Tackk.com is centered on simplicity. You don’t need to log in to post something on the Cleveland-based social media site, which launched in September. Tackk is designed to replicate the experience of “tacking a flier to a telephone pole,” according to the site. Though the site is casual, the company means business: It just raised a $400,000 investment from for-profit startup accelerator Hatch Partners and two individuals from the Cleveland area. It also has new leadership: Hatch co-founder Christopher Celeste is now the company’s CEO, and Hatch partner Robert Hatta is its chief operating officer. Co-founders Eric Bockmuller and Dan Klammer remain on board. The site could have all sorts of uses, Mr. Celeste said. For instance, if you want to make your own beer, you could seek out Tackk boards with videos and recipes showing you how to do it. If you want to sell that beer, you can post virtual fliers on the site targeting people with similar tastes. “I have a bike to sell. I want to tell you about my baby that was just born. I want to tell you about my trip to Italy,” he said. For now everything on the site is free. The company eventually might charge for premium features or build an online purchasing
system that would pay Tackk when something is sold through the site. Making money from social media is hard even for big companies, but these guys just might “find a way:” That was the mantra Messrs. Celeste, Hatta, Bockmuller and Klammer lived by back when they worked for Solon-based Findaway World, which makes digital audio players. — Chuck Soder
Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on in Geauga County ■ They’re here! Shale gas drillers in Geauga County, that is. We received numerous reports last week of “thumper” trucks operating in the county, along Auburn Road and other nearby areas. Residents said they received notices asking for their signed permission to allow the trucks to operate, but even those who did not sign said they still saw the trucks working from the road in front of their homes. The trucks thump the ground and then take seismic readings that help geologists figure out what’s beneath the ground as they search for shale gas. It’s just one more sign that the shale gas business is heating up in the county. Businesses in that area can learn a little about the industry this Tuesday, Sept. 25, when the Geauga Growth Partnership will hold a supply chain conference at Punderson
Manor in Newbury from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The event is free, but it requires registration at ggpshalesupplychainconf.event brite.com. — Dan Shingler
He makes the jump; his athlete clients don’t ■ Heads up, athletes and entertainers: As of Monday, Britton Gallagher is in your corner. The insurance brokerage firm, which recently moved its offices to downtown Cleveland, has recruited from Wells Fargo Insurance Services James J. Convertino to form and direct a niche serving professional athletes and entertainers. Mr. Convertino, who worked for the Wells Fargo subsidiary for more than eight years after it acquired another firm for which he worked, is an insurance broker for these high-profile people, helping them to insure their homes, automobiles and commercial endeavors. In 2004, he and another broker made news for telling LeBron James to take his business elsewhere because they both didn’t think Mr. James’ coverage was adequate. The team joining Britton Gallagher totals five and includes two people who did not work for Wells Fargo but whom Mr. Convertino recruited. While Mr. Convertino brings to Britton Gallagher years of experience, he cannot bring the book of more than 300 clients he served with Wells Fargo, per a two-year noncompete agreement. He said they included players for the Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and spokesmodels.— Michelle Park
BEST OF THE BLOGS
MILESTONE
Excerpts from recent blog entries on CrainsCleveland.com.
land institutions. In its profile of significant new architectural projects coming online this fall, The Times said new museums “seem to be popping up all over,” and Cleveland has one that’s especially notable. “A building by London-based architect ■ A Smithsonian Magazine blog looked at Farshid Moussavi for the Museum of Conthe rise of so-called “market cities” — temporary Art in Cleveland, covered in mirplaces where public food sources “act as ror-finish black stainless steel, will open to hubs for the region and function as great the public on Oct. 8,” the paper noted. multi-use destinations, with many activities The Times also looks forward to a Nov. 13 clustering nearby” — and finds Cleveland is Carnegie Hall visit by the Cleveland Orchesone of the models for smart development. tra. “The greatest public markets are the ones “Here it sets down on the way to that simultaneously serve city resione of its regular Miami residendents’ daily food needs, while funccies, with Franz Welser-Möst, its tioning as a tourist attraction for music director, conducting works visitors who want to witness local by Beethoven (Symphony No. 4, culture in action,” the blog post ‘Grosse Fuge’), Matthias Pintscher said. (‘Chute d’Étoiles,’ in its New York While there are a number of premiere) and Scriabin (‘Poem of good examples of market cities in Ecstasy’),” The Times wrote. the United States, “one of the best Welser-Möst However, it said Mr. Welseris Cleveland, where the century-old Möst will “reserve his big New York West Side Market has become a key engine statement this season for the Vienna Philin the city’s revitalization,” according to the harmonic’s Carnegie weekend in March.” post. It called the West Side Market “just
Cleveland’s a leader in the market economy PHOTO PROVIDED
Jerry Burris, president and chief executive officer, Associated Materials, Inc., speaks at Alside’s 65th anniversary celebration.
THE COMPANY: Alside, Cuyahoga Falls THE OCCASION: Its 65th anniversary The maker and distributor of residential vinyl windows and siding products was founded in 1947 by Jerome J. Kaufman, who that year introduced the world’s first residential baked enamel aluminum siding. Since then, Alside has expanded to produce and distribute vinyl windows, vinyl siding, vinyl fencing and other exterior building products through 100 companyowned Alside Supply Centers and a network of independent distributors nationwide. Products are sold via these wholesale channels to professional remodeling companies, contractors and builders. Alside “is dedicated to advancing innovative exterior building products for the residential marketplace,” said Jerry Burris, president and CEO of Associated Materials Inc., the parent company of Alside. Donald L. Kaufman, a member of the founding family, said Alside “not only survived but prospered over the last 65 years because of their determination and resiliency. I feel honored to have spent 46 years there as an executive and CEO.” For information, visit www.Alside.com.
one node in a buzzing network of foodrelated endeavors — restaurants, farmers’ markets, urban farms — which are assembling into a whole new identity for … the city.” The post noted that the nonprofit Project for Public Spaces is holding its eighth annual Public Markets Conference in Cleveland later this week. The event, held Sept. 21-24, is designed to help more cities leverage their markets as engines for urban growth.
Orchestra, MOCA Cleveland on NY Times’ cultural radar ■ The New York Times finds great cultural significance in Cleveland this fall. The paper’s comprehensive fall arts preview included nods to a couple key Cleve-
In this ranking, Cedar Point’s coasters go on straight path ■ It’s getting to the point where trade publication Amusement Today might as well retire the “Best Amusement Park” category in its annual Golden Ticket Awards. For the 15th straight year, Cedar Fair Entertainment Co.’s Cedar Point took home the top honor at the awards, handed out Sept. 8. Cedar Fair took home lots of other hardware, too. For instance, Millennium Force at Cedar Point was named the world’s best steel roller coaster. (Four of the top 21 coasters in that category are at Cedar Point.) And Kings Island near Cincinnati took the “Best Kids’ Area” award.