Business Connection October 2014

A publication of

OCTOBER 2014

Well-connected

IUPUC center collaborates with local business community

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 1

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Contents

On the cover

Greg Knudson is director of IUPUC’s Center for Business and Economic Development.

Photo by Joe Harpring. Story page 4.

Economic Development Board page 6

Meet the Kochs page 8

Also inside Chamber Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Around the Watercooler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Mark McNulty column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 On the Move. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Business Leads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Morton Marcus column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Business Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Comments should be sent to Doug Showalter, The Republic, 333 Second St., Columbus, IN 47201 or call 812-379-5625 or dshowalter@therepublic. com. Advertising information: Call 812-379-5652. ©2014 by Home News Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reproduction of stories, photographs and advertisements without permission is prohibited. Stock images provided by © Thinkstock.

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 3

IUPUC sparks

connections

Center for Business and Economic Development promotes community collaboration

By Barney Quick n Photos by Joe Harpring

I

UPUC has always seen itself not just as a place to go to college, but also as a community member, a contributor to the quality of life in south central Indiana and a resource for the area’s efforts to ensure a robust economic environment.

Since 2008, its Center for Business and Economic Development has been a primary way for that role to be fulfilled. Its courses and programs have provided area companies with knowledge they’ve been able to put to immediate use.

According to the center’s stated mission, it provides this function by “leveraging the talent of faculty, staff, students, local business consultants and experts.”

Lately, those involved with the center have sensed that a wider array of firms could be making use of its services. They’ve wanted to see more participation from startup ventures and small to mid-sized companies as well as large

4 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

manufacturing corporations.

That’s where Greg Knudson, the center’s director since the spring, comes in. “My charter is to really grow the visibility and brand in this part of the state,” he says.

Knudson brings a background including management support to startup companies, managing a venture capital firm and a stint as marketing manager for General Motors’ Latin American and European operations. His doctoral work in economics, demography and international studies is being done at the University of Florida.

“Universities have to continue breaking out of their walls to be as relevant as possible,” he says.

“Because I’m talking to corporations all the time, I can tell them how we’d like for their associates to come to IUPUC.” He speaks of a recent three-hour workshop at which the center hosted 12 companies and gave them a chance to “kick the tires of our program.

They loved the three-hour format. It’s not easy

to get people away from the workplace. We offer hands-on, implement-the-next-day kinds of activities.”

The center already has an established track record, having had over 1,500 participants go through its programs. Sectors represented include manufacturing, service, nonprofit and civic organizations. Many of these were front-line managers from Cummins Inc. Knudson says there are four critical elements to the center’s direction: executive education; coaching/consulting/mentoring; entrepreneurship/ innovation; and community engagement.

There are programs and services for each of these elements.

He notes that southern Indiana has a different kind of managerial talent pool from concentrations of urban areas. In this region, people often advance into managerial positions with a background mainly involving technical knowledge of their specialties. “We’re

helping people grow and mature into real leaders,” he says.

The center offers a number of its characteristically hands-on courses in the area of executive education. The Management Development Series includes modules on such topics as managing teams, managing employee performance, championing change, creating collaboration and business ethics. Each module is three hours long. There are similar courses for effective business communications, professional sales leadership and innovation.

Regarding coaching, consulting and mentoring, he says that the first phase involves asking, “OK, guys, what’s working and not working?”

After evaluating that, center personnel can begin the actual consulting. “I’m working with a pharmaceutical company that’s growing like crazy,” he says. “We’re helping them organize their processes for professional development.”

Knudson is developing a number of programs for the center’s focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. “Because of my background, I’m interested in helping the community grow its entrepreneurial base,” he says.

The center and the Chamber are co-sponsoring a series of networking events called SPARK Columbus. The first gathering was held at LHP,

and the keynote speaker was Rick Johnson of the capital investment firm Johnson Ventures.

The second installment was held Sept. 26 at Data Cave. The format for SPARK Columbus is a speaker, a time for networking and then two or three entrepreneurs telling their stories.

Another project in this area is a series of workshops. The first one, an Entrepreneurial Boot Camp, was held Sept. 19. Topics covered included lessons from startups; developing a business plan; what is needed in terms of a foundation, such as banking, accounting and legal support; identifying customers; marketing; and local, state and federal resources.

“I bring in bankers, CPAs, lawyers and experts on social media,” says Knudson. “Participants either come out saying, ‘I’m going for this,’ or ‘I’m going to keep my day job.’”

In November, the workshop will focus on getting an entrepreneur to think like a CEO. Another workshop in the works will be on finance for startups.

The center is active on the community engagement front as well. Knudson is one of the community leaders involved in establishing Connect Columbus, which will have as its mission creating a welcoming environment that encourages engagement. “We want to help new

arrivals become active participants,” he says.

The Heritage Fund, The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, will have oversight of Connect Columbus. It will be managed by a community navigator, who will act “almost like an ambassador.” Its offices will be in the carriage house building on Sixth Street, behind the Heritage Fund offices on Franklin Street.

“We envision a one-stop shop for diversity resources,” says Knudson. “Newcomers to Columbus are increasingly from other cultures, and we’ll provide the answers to their questions about getting involved in the community. It’s kind of an experiment. No one else is doing it quite this way.”

The center under Knudson’s leadership is getting high marks from IUPUC’s administrative ranks. “Greg has taken the vision behind the creation of CBED and has been surely making it a reality on a daily basis,” says Marwan Wafa, the campus dean and vice chancellor.

“His past responsibilities in Michigan and Ohio along with the fact that he himself has been an entrepreneur aligns well with the vision of CBED. Through CBED, IUPUC is building a bridge between the campus community and area businesses of south central Indiana.”

Greg Knudson, left, director of the IUPUC Center for Business and Economic Development, chats with Kevin McCracken, associate director at the center and for graduate education at IUPUC. OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 5

Photo by Joe Harpring

Support group

Company executives, Mayor Kristen Brown and Gov. Mike Pence broke ground for another expansion of Sunright America’s automotive fastener plant in Columbus.

Columbus Economic Development Board emphasizes expansion and recruitment

By Barney Quick

T

he mention of the Columbus Economic Development Board probably most readily conjures an image of a group focused on bringing new companies to town.

That’s certainly a large part of what the board does, but its ways of helping existing businesses in the Columbus area are many.

There is good reason for supporting existing employers. They provide the majority of new jobs, and that has allowed Columbus to boast a June 2014 unemployment rate of 4.6 percent, compared to a national rate of 6.1 percent for that month. In the 12 months from August 2013 to August 2014, 11 firms expanded, translating into 148 new jobs.

Much of that growth is in the manufacturing sector. “It’s very true that, in some places, it looks like manufacturing has died in the United States,” says EDB Executive Director Jason Hester, “but Columbus, Indiana, is one of the centers of manufacturing excellence.”

The EDB’s expansion-assistance service takes a few forms. It works with brokers to help businesses find sites. It offers incentives, generally tax credits. It also steers expanding businesses to state incentive programs. EDB also helps with resume searches through Indiana Career Connect.com. Referrals to banks, construction firms

6 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

and other resources are another form of help.

“Expansion of existing companies and attraction of new businesses is not an either-or proposition,” says Hester. “Today’s recruitment project is tomorrow’s expansion opportunity.”

A major form of support to existing businesses is providing information that can help with decision-making and strategic planning. Two surveys that the EDB conducts yield a variety of useful data on a wide array of business aspects.

The board began a formal survey last year that involved hourlong meetings with executives of companies and in-depth questions on such matters as sales, research and development and the nature of their workforces. The companies that have participated represent 43 percent of all county jobs.

“Over the course of three years, we will have interviewed three distinct pools of companies,” explains Hester. “On the fourth year, we’ll repeat the cycle.”

The survey has three purposes: understanding the companies’ needs, identifying areas in which the EDB can improve its assistance and looking for other opportunities to be of help. “If we find that three or four companies have the same need, such as for the same type of supplier, it may be an opportunity.”

The tool the board uses for this survey is a software

Submitted photo Photo by Joe Harpring Photo by Andrew Laker

Top left: Pence and Jason Hester, Columbus Economic Development Board executive director, talk to prospects on a trip to New York City. Bottom left: Toyota Material Handling USA and Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing are headquartered in Columbus. Above right: Six Sigma winners greet guests before the Cummins annual meeting of shareholders at the Columbus Engine Plant. package called Synchronist. It’s used by economic development organizations across North America. Its ability to identify companies at risk, expansion opportunities and community issues allows those using it to focus on face time with people in the organizations being surveyed.

The survey has yielded some facts that speak well of Columbus.

Area businesses are more pleased with local public services than is the case with the North American sample. They generally find the metro area a good place to live and do business.

Last year, a concern that was expressed with great frequency was a shortage of rental housing. “We brought that to our partners, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Community Education Coalition, the Visitors Center, the Redevelopment Commission and the Heritage Fund, and then we all got the word out,” says Hester. “Now, hundreds of new units are coming on line. The market responded to the demand.” He notes that the new units are springing up on both the east and west sides of the city.

“This year, that issue didn’t even rise to the top among their concerns,” he says. The top issue according to the Year 2 survey data is worker availability. “Education is a big piece of that,” says Hester.

Another survey the EDB conducts is on wages and benefits. “We

say to employers, ‘Here are all the occupation codes. How many people do you employ in each of them? What are the starting wages you offer in each one?’”

The survey also asks about benefits, such as medical and dental insurance and sick leave. “We share that information with survey participants so they can see whether they are behind or ahead of the curve.”

The board also asked about turnover rates. “Then we were able to do some analysis,” says Hester. “We tracked that information against wage-and-benefit data. Not surprisingly, we found that a lower wage equaled a higher turnover.”

Hester explains that the board focuses on primary, or base, employers with a geographically broad customer base. “An example would be that we wouldn’t be in a position to be of much help to, say, Subway with putting up franchises here. However, Estep, a national call center for Subway’s catering line, is headquartered here. That call center is a primary employer. We want it to be successful, and we can be of help.”

The high-visibility projects are usually the cases when the EDB makes news. There’s an ongoing system of support for what is already here, however, that is a large part of the board’s role in keeping Columbus an exceptional place to do business.

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 7

Meet the

Kochs

AP Photos

Four brothers took the family money in different directions

David Koch outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Koch, the executive vice president of Koch Industries, is a trustee of the museum.

By Nancy Benac n Associated Press

They are the outsized force in modern American politics, the best-known brand of the big money era, yet still something of a mystery to those who cash their checks.

They’re demonized by Democrats, who lack a liberal equal to counter their weight, and not entirely understood by Republicans, who benefit from their seemingly limitless donations.

These are the Koch brothers, and perhaps the first thing you need to know is that there are four of them. The constant shorthand reference — “Koch brothers,” pronounced like the cola — that lumps them all together shortchanges the remarkable story of four very different people who rode the Koch genes and the Koch money in vastly different directions.

Charles is the steady, driven one. He’s grounded in the Kansas soil of their birth.

David is his outgoing younger brother. He’s a New Yorker now and pronounces himself forever changed by a near-death experience.

William is David’s free-spirited twin, a self-described contrarian whose pursuits beyond business include sailing, collecting things and suing people (his brothers included).

And then there’s the oldest, Frederick, who’s as likely to turn up in Monte Carlo as at his apartment on New York’s Fifth Avenue and doesn’t have much to do with the rest of the lot.

They’re all fabulously wealthy, all donate lavishly to charity, all tall — Frederick is the shortest at 6-foot-2 — and all are prostate cancer survivors.

Two of them, Charles and David, have defined the public notion what it means to be a “Koch brother.”

In the eyes of the political establishment, it’s the willingness to freely spend their awesome wealth in the pursuit of a smaller, more limited 8 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

government. Among the executive set, it’s their success at turning Koch Industries into a corporate behemoth whose reach extends into every corner of American life — toilet paper to jet fuel, fertilizer to cattle.

Among Democrats? Well, it’s the idea that success at business allowed them to advance a political agenda that is designed to benefit those businesses.

The other two brothers — known in the family as Bill and Freddie — cut their ties to the family business decades ago and don’t show the same passion as Charles and David to change the world. One of them, if you can believe it, has even given money to Hillary Rodham Clinton. (That would be Bill.)

As Bill sizes up his siblings during an interview with The Associated Press: “David and I like off-color jokes, Freddie likes more sophisticated jokes.”

Charles? “Charles likes golf.” o o o Let’s start with Charles and David, the two in sync on business and politics whom most people think of when referring to the “Koch brothers.”

To even pair these two together risks missing their differences, of both geography and style.

Charles is the white-haired alpha male at the helm of Koch Industries.

Midwestern through and through, the 78-year-old still walks up four flights of stairs to work at Koch headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, each morning and eats his lunch in the company cafeteria.

After building Koch Industries into the nation’s second-largest private company, he turned his business philosophy into a book, “The Science of Success,” drawing on — take a breath here — “economics, ethics, social philosophy, psychology, sociology, biology, anthropology, management, epistemology and the philosophy of science.”

“He’s the most focused person I’ve ever met in my life,” says Koch Industries general counsel Mark Holden, who’s worked at the company since 1995. “A purpose-driven life, that’s Charles. It’s always, ‘What’s next?

Let’s focus. Let’s keep moving.’”

What’s next has become the next election. After spending decades promoting his libertarian ideas through think tanks and other educational organizations, some of which he founded, Charles wrote in The Wall Street Journal this spring that in the past decade he’s seen “the need to also engage in the political process.”

And how.

Thanks to changes in the nation’s campaign finance laws, it’s not possible to know for sure how much he and David have spent to create a sprawling network of groups working to promote free-market views, eliminate government regulations, fight President Barack Obama’s health care law, oppose an increase in the minimum wage, shift control of the Senate to Republicans and oust Democratic officeholders — from Obama to folks at the local level.

Money from Charles and David got Americans for Prosperity started, empowering the tea party activists who have tugged Republicans to the right. Eyeing younger voters, they back Generation Opportunity. Older voters? The 60 Plus Association, a conservative alternative to AARP. Their political hub, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, has funneled cash to a Who’s Who of conservative groups, including Concerned Veterans for America, the Republican Jewish Coalition and the National Rifle Association.

For all the money Charles is pouring into politics, he’s never out front waving a banner for their cause. He’s more comfortable behind the scenes, particularly as death threats and protests have escalated to match the Liz and Charles Koch at Koch Industries headquarters in Wichita, Kansas.

see koch on page 10

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 9

Koch continued from page 9 brothers’ political activity.

“It’s made them stronger in their resolve,” says Holden. o o o David, an executive vice president and board member at Koch Industries, is more often the public face of their politics. He ran for vice president on the Libertarian ticket in 1980, drawing little more than 1 percent of the vote with presidential nominee Ed Clark. He is chairman of the Americans For Prosperity Foundation, a tax-exempt corner of the brothers’ network that advances a message of low taxes and limited government.

At 74, with a distinctive bray of a laugh and an aw-shucks manner, David is a fixture in New York: His name is splashed across his many charitable causes. Among them: the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center ($100 million), the forthcoming David H. Koch Plaza at the Metropolitan Museum of Art ($65 million), the forthcoming David H. Koch Center for ambulatory care at New York-Presbyterian Hospital ($100 million).

David’s money follows his passions — the arts, medical research, education, less-is-more government — and he frequently lands on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the country’s top 50 most generous donors.

His giving escalated after two searing experiences: his survival of a 1991 plane crash that killed 34 people, and a subsequent diagnosis of prostate cancer that left him believing he didn’t have long to live. (His brothers all began regular testing and caught their cancers much earlier.)

David is equally passionate about his politics, once telling a reporter for the liberal blog ThinkProgress, when asked if he was proud of Americans for Prosperity, “You bet I am, man oh man.”

It’s the extraordinary success of Koch Industries that has allowed Charles

(812) 372-7829

Mike Bonham

mbonham@jwinsurance.com

10 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

Dan Fox

dfox@jwinsurance.com

Frederick Koch, right, with his sister-in-law, Angela Koch.

and David to spend so freely. The two are tied for fourth on Forbes’ list of the richest Americans, with fortunes of $41 billion each. Since 1961, when their father persuaded Charles to come back to Kansas and work for him, the value of Koch Industries has grown more than 2,400-fold.

The company that was founded by the brothers’ father in 1940 got its start building oil refineries. It now has 100,000 employees worldwide in a range of businesses that include refining, consumer products, chemicals and electronic components. That red and blue carpeting on Obama’s 2008 inaugural podium? Made with fiber from INVISTA, a Koch operation.

Like Charles, David rarely gives interviews; both declined requests to talk for this story. o o o And what of Bill and Freddie — the other Koch brother and the other other Koch brother?

Bill worked for Koch Industries in the 1970s, but he grew frustrated over time about what he saw as Charles’ autocratic management style, how much money was being plowed back into the company rather than distributed to shareholders and how much corporate cash Charles was diverting to the Libertarian Party.

What came next played out over two decades: Bill enlisted Freddie in a 1980 plan to oust Charles as chief executive.

Charles and David derailed it. Bill got fired. Charles and David bought out Fred and Bill for a combined $800 million. Bill had second thoughts and sued for more. In 2000, Charles and David won.

Today, the 74-year-old Bill runs his own energy company, Oxbow Carbon LLC, ranks 122nd on Forbes’ richest-people list, and has stopped collecting artwork because he’s “run out of wall space.”

He’s reconciled with his 19-minutes-older twin, David, whom he considers “an extremely good friend.” He describes a “peaceful co-existence” with Charles, but makes mention of a 2012 Forbes article in which Charles would refer to Bill only as “the brother of the twin.”

Over the past two decades, Bill has donated more than $1.5 million to various candidates, party committees and causes across the country — both Republican and Democratic — but nothing on the scale of the political activity of Charles and David.

He gives mixed reviews to Charles’ and David’s political pursuits. He says he’s glad they’re “fighting the socialistic trends in this country,” but worries that Charles’ politics sometimes are a “bit extreme.”

What about Freddie? The oldest brother, 81, loves restoring castles and historical houses. His whereabouts at any given time are unknown.

“I think he’s a resident of Monaco,” says Bill, “but he has a place in New York, he has a place in London, he has a place in Austria — he bought Archduke Ferdinand’s hunting castle — and then he has a place in Butler, Pennsylvania.”

William Koch at an interview in New York.

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 11

chamberc OCTOBER 2014

Monthly publication of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerc

From the president

Columbus Chamber endorses pre-K referendum

Ribbon Cuttings

Express Employ 3515 Two Mile H 812-376-2425

Our businesses need workers who are job-ready and well-prepared. Right now, our workforce pipeline is not generating enough skilled workers to fill the vacant jobs in Bartholomew County.

Efforts to repair that pipeline began at the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce in the late 1990s, and they continue today through the data-driven work of the Community Education Coalition and its partners who represent business, local government, nonprofits and educational institutions.

We know more now than we knew 20 years ago. The data are compelling. The foundation of many fundamental skills required for 21st-century jobs – creativity, teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving and communication – is established in the earliest years.

That’s why the Chamber’s board of directors unanimously endorsed a public referendum to invest in early childhood education. Voters will be asked to vote on a 5-cent property tax rate increase to create scholarships so that 450 of our most at-risk 4-year-olds may attend all-day prekindergarten. At 5 cents per $100 in assessed valuation, the average homeowner will pay between $1.33 and $3 extra a month to educate 4-year-olds whose family income makes them eligible for lunch assistance.

The money will be invested in the education of those students who are most at risk. The learning gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children shows up as early as 9 months of age. Disadvantaged children can start kindergarten as much as 18 months behind their peers. Many of these children never catch up and are at an increased risk of dropping out of high school.

Your Chamber has studied the business case and has found that the economic value of investing in early childhood education is clear. For additional information refer to www.prek4all.org or www.readynation.org.

I urge you to vote on Nov. 4 and to vote in favor of this referendum.

Cindy Frey

12 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

New Members Franklin College Theresa Lehman 101 Branigin Blvd.

Franklin, IN 46131-2623 317-738-8176 www.franklincollege.edu

Tri-State Artisans Jaime Mustaine 422 Columbus, IN 4720 812-528-5748 www.tsartisans.com

Wordplay – Powered To Move You Upword Anthony Blair 641 Washington St., Suite 25 Columbus, IN 47201-6214 812-565-2711 www.iwordplay.com

Rudolph Family D Ronnie Jarvis 3200 Sycamore Ct. Columbus, IN 4720 812-379-9211

Agresta, Storms & Rita Wilder 324 N. Broadway S Greensburg, IN 472 812-663-9999 www.asocpa.com

www.columbusa

connection

ce • 500 Franklin Street • Columbus, IN 47201 • 812-379-4457

Chamber Expo

yment House Road

s 2 Washington St. 01

m

Dentistry

., Suite 1C 03

& O’Leary, PC

St. 240

Growing BUSINESS. Growing people.

Spartan Staffing 236 Chestnut St. 812-376-7778

The Chamber’s Expo is a proven tool for marketing and growing your business.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, at The Commons, 325 Washington St. Booths are approximately 8-by-10-feet and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Cost per booth is $350. To have your company featured in this event, register online at www.columbusareachamber.com.

Main Event Sponsor: JCB Also supported by: Blue & Co. LLC

Open Board Meeting Noon to 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 Clarion Hotel and Conference Center MOOR Limousine, LLC Sharman Johnson Columbus, IN 47201-6214 812-418-8238 www.moorlimousine.comcastbiz.net Free to Be Naturalee LLC Linda Van De Wege 903 Washington St. Columbus, IN 47201-6214 812-341-8070 www.freetobenaturalee.com Stanley Steemer Mike Frye 128 S. Park Blvd.

Greenwood, IN 46143 317-859-1296 www.stanleysteemer.com

areachamber.com

Atterbury Job Corps Center Jeff Byrd 1025A Hospital Road Edinburgh, IN 46124-0187 812-526-1499 www.atterbury.jobcorps.gov Power House Brewing Co. Jon Myers 322 Fourth St. Columbus, IN 47201 812-375-8800 www.powerhousebrewingco.com Big Daddys Donuts and BBQ Kipper Doran 1626 Gilmore St. Columbus, IN 47201-6214 812-603-6882 www.donutsandbbq.com

John Pepper, former CEO and president of Procter & Gamble and former chairman of Walt Disney Co., understands that companies like yours face a daily challenge to find skilled workers. While efforts to improve the workforce pipeline are showing signs of success here in Bartholomew County, it is becoming more evident that educational investments in our youngest, at-risk children have the greatest social impact and achieve the highest return on investment. Please join us to learn why Pepper thinks this is critical to our community’s and our nation’s success.

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 13

Around the WATERCOOLER Greenwood chamber to host symposium

The Greater Greenwood Chamber of Commerce will host a new women leaders’ symposium on Oct. 30 at the Johnson County National Guard Armory, 325 Minute Man Way, Franklin. The keynote speaker will be former IndyCar driver and current racing team owner Sarah Fisher.

“We are specifically opening this up to business women in Johnson, Bartholomew and Shelby counties,” said Christian Maslowski, president and CEO of the Greater Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. “This professional development day is not exclusive to our Sarah Fisher members. In fact we chose our location in part so it was easier and closer access to Columbus-area attendees.”

The symposium will kick off at 9:30 a.m. with a discussion of women’s participation rate in business and the gender earnings gap, followed by opportunities to network. After lunch, three breakout sessions will center on best practices in growing profit, mentoring, negotiating, nurturing your client base and more.

During this time, attendees can opt for a mentor visit with an expert. The day will conclude with a session over wine where local business startup owners will discuss their journeys. The event ends at 6 p.m.

The symposium is presented by Financial Center Federal Credit Union, Johnson Memorial Health and Masters Heating and Cooling by Van Valer Inc. Individual registration is $99 and can be made online at www.GreenwoodChamber.com or by phone to the chamber at 317-888-4856.

Mike’s Carwash splitting in two

INDIANAPOLIS — The central Indiana locations of Mike’s Carwash Inc., including the Columbus location, will undergo a name change as part of a reorganization in which the Indianapolis-based business will split into two separate operations.

Brothers Bill Dahm and Mike Dahm have completed what the company is calling a “friendly reorganization” that calls for Bill to operate the 26 central Indiana locations under the new name Crew Carwash. Mike will operate the other 15 locations under the established Mike’s name, but with a new look, the company said. Overall, Mike’s has 41 locations in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The split is expected to take effect Oct. 5.

14 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

Locations in Indianapolis, Anderson, Lafayette, Terre Haute, Columbus and Kokomo will switch to the Crew name. Carwashes in South Bend, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Dayton, Cincinnati and Florence, Kentucky, will remain Mike’s.

Aisin expanding in Jackson County

Work is underway on a new 100,000-square-foot Aisin Chemical Indiana LLC plant in Crothersville. Officials with ACIN, a Japan-based supplier of automotive industries such as Toyota, Subaru and Nissan, also announced the hiring of about 100 people by 2017.

Those jobs include engineer positions with salaries ranging from $45,000 to $65,000 and a pay range of $12 to $17 an hour for other team members. An investment of $30 million is expected over the next three years.

The new steel-frame plant, which will sit on 39 acres north of the current 100,000-square-foot plant at 104 Industrial Way in Crothersville, will create wet friction materials for automatic transmissions, liquid applied sound dampening and anticorrosion paint.

Seymour Tubing to add jobs

SEYMOUR – Seymour Tubing Inc., a manufacturer of automotive carbon and stainless steel tubing components, announced plans to expand its operations here, creating up to 22 new jobs by 2015.

The company, which is a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Steel & Sumikin Pipe Co., will invest $2.44 million to equip its 432,000-square-foot facility at 1515 E. Fourth St. in Seymour, bringing in new high-speed cutting equipment and additional processing equipment, which will be installed by December. With its growth, the company plans to expand its automotive customer base and increase business with current customers.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Seymour Tubing up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The city of Seymour approved additional incentives at the request of the Jackson County Industrial Development Corp.

Seymour Tubing, which currently employs more than 400 full-time associates, announced plans in 2012 to create 18 new jobs at its Seymour operations by 2014. The company has more than doubled that goal and has already begun hiring for production positions.

Sun King plans second facility

FISHERS — Craft beer maker Sun King Brewing Co. is planning to build a second production facility and tasting room in central Indiana.

Sun King announced it would spend about $9 million for the new brewery near Interstate 69 in Fishers. The company will keep open its current brewery in downtown Indianapolis.

Sun King President Omar Robinson said the new brewery will help it keep up with demand and have outdoor space for events with up to 3,000 people.

The Fishers Town Council is considering a $2.5 million development agreement with Sun King. Town Manager Scott Fadness said Sun King fits with Fishers’ growth plans.

The new brewery is expected to open next summer.

Mattress maker bringing 300 jobs

PLAINFIELD — State officials say mattress maker Tempur Sealy International Inc. will locate a new manufacturing plant and distribution facility near Plainfield, creating up to 300 new jobs by 2015.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says the Lexington, Kentucky-based company will open a 600,000-square-foot leased facility that will be Tempur Sealy’s first combination assembly and distribution center. It will manufacture and distribute the Tempur Sealy brands and distribute Tempur-Pedic products.

Tempur Sealy plans to begin accepting applications for nearly 200 manufacturing, office and supervisory positions at the Plainfield plant in October. The IEDC says it offered the company up to $2.8 million in conditional tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the job creation plans.

Hoosiers rebound from recession

INDIANAPOLIS — A new report by the U.S. Commerce Department shows that consumer spending in Indiana has rebounded from the end of the recession faster than the national average.

The report estimates state-by-state consumer spending on a variety of goods and services to provide a snapshot of consumer confidence. The data show that per-capita personal spending in Indiana increased 12.2 percent between 2009 and 2012. Spending rose from $28,870 per person in 2009, when the recession ended, to $32,418 in 2012. That’s the most recent year included in the data. Per capita spending increased 10.7 percent nationally in that period.

The report for 1997 through 2012 represents the first time the government has issued state-level consumer spending data. That information reveals the nation’s uneven recovery from the recession.

Vera Bradley to cut manufacturing

NEW HAVEN — Vera Bradley has announced plans to phase out a shift that 150 people work in an effort to reduce the manufacturing capacity at its New Haven plant.

The producer of quilted accessories will cut about a quarter of the plant’s manufacturing capacity by eliminating its second shift in the next couple of months.

A spokeswoman says the company is offering buyouts to employees who leave voluntarily. The company may also allow employees to move to the first shift or transfer to one of three other facilities in northeast Indiana.

The plant in New Haven currently has about 360 fulltime employees and produces around 7 percent of all Vera Bradley products.

Purdue Research, Crane form partnership

WEST LAFAYETTE — The Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue’s Discovery Park have signed a partnership agreement aimed at showcasing their intellectual property and moving their innovations to the public.

Crane and Purdue will remain independent in ownership of their intellectual property, but Crane’s intellectual property will be marketed alongside Purdue University’s innovations through the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization. see WATERCOOLER on page 16

FOR

INDUSTRIAL • RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL ROOFING SPECIALISTS Slate roof and lead coated copper steeple at North Christian Church, Columbus

State needs better water management

INDIANAPOLIS — A new report from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce says the state must do a better job managing its water supplies to make sure businesses and residents have ample availability in the decades ahead.

Bloomington-based geoscientist Jack Wittman conducted the water analysis for the business group. He says Indiana needs a single entity to assess its future water needs and determine how to manage its water supplies to avoid shortages.

Wittman says central Indiana will need an additional 50 million gallons of water per day to meet its needs by 2050, and some southern Indiana water resources won’t meet local future needs.

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OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 15

coach’s corner

Mark McNulty

The power of effective meetings Whether I’m talking to my friends who work at big companies or the ones who work at or own smaller businesses, I typically hear one of the following complaints: “too many meetings” or “not enough meetings.”

When I ask those in the “too many” camp a few more questions, what I typically learn is that the problem isn’t really too many meetings, the problem is that the meetings aren’t very effective and are considered a waste of time by most attendees.

When I talk to the owners of small businesses in the “not enough” camp, I typically hear that they are trying to avoid the “death by meeting” environment of big companies, but often at their own expense.

The reality is that effective, informative meetings are required and actually desired to grow any business, big or small. How else do you expect to communicate and coordinate efforts among team members and/or departments?

There really aren’t any secrets to effective meetings, as there are dozens of books and seminars and workshops on how to run effective meetings. The basic concepts include having a published agenda (standard if possible), starting on time, ending on time, etc.

So if it is so easy, why do so many people and businesses struggle with them? While I am sure

there are lots of reasons, I have always focused on one basic principle – ineffective meetings come from ineffective leaders.

Here are three simple keys to leading effective meetings that will help you get more done in less time and energize your team before, during and after your meetings.

The first key is to make sure that there is a very clear, specific objective for the meeting. Not just a reason for having the meeting, but a very clearly stated and agreed upon objective or result that you desire for the meeting.

Even for a general staff meeting, where the objective seems obvious, there can be a higher purpose to the meeting, something that even ties back to the vision and mission of the company for instance.

The second key is to start every meeting with the first agenda item (remember, a published agenda is a cornerstone of effective meetings), a recap of what went well since the last meeting.

Each person should be prepared to share their (their team’s) biggest win(s) since the previous meeting.

We are all very good at focusing on problems and spend a great deal of our time focusing on what went wrong.

As leaders, we need to remember to get our teams to focus on what went right and to

recognize the successes they have, big and small.

If time allows, the natural follow-up question for any win should be, “And what did we learn from that?”

We usually remember to learn from our mistakes, but what about the power of learning from our successes?

The third key for leaders is to remember that the biggest value of the meeting may not actually be the meeting contents but the process you take your staff/team through before, during and after the meeting. Of course the contents needs to be relevant and meaningful, and related to the objectives of the meeting, but quite often the more important value comes from the process your staff must go through to prepare for the meeting.

Personally, I have found that the process of sitting down to prepare my list of wins/successes for the week to be a very uplifting and motivating activity, and feedback from the dozens of teams that I have taught this key reveals that they feel the same.

By mixing the good in with the bad and ugly, leaders can send the message that they are all about building their staff/team, not breaking them down.

time positions at its Indianapolis office.

Toyota to boost SUV production

Mark McNulty is a business coach with ActionCoach Business Coaching. He can be reached at 350-4903 or mark@coachmark.biz.

WATERCOOLER continued from page 15 Purdue Research Foundation President Dan Hasler says because much of Crane’s and Purdue’s research is focused on similar disciplines and industries, the partnership could lead to bundling their licensing deals.

Brooke Pyne from Crane’s Technology Transfer Office says partnering with academia provides Crane a credible avenue to move even more innovative technology through the commercialization pipeline.

Customer service company adding jobs

INDIANAPOLIS — A customer service company plans to add 1,000 new full- and part16 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

Most of the new jobs at Interactions Corp. will be data entry positions or customer service assistants.

Interactions marketing manager Dan Fox says the new jobs will pay $12 to $18 per hour, based on an employee’s productivity, speed and accuracy.

Interactions employs workers it calls “virtual assistants” who listen in on customers’ calls to voice-response systems and direct the systems when they can’t understand customer responses or hit a glitch. Interactions’ customers include online retailers and health insurance companies.

The Boston-based company currently employs several hundred workers in Indianapolis.

PRINCETON — Toyota says it will spend $100 million to boost production of the Highlander SUV at its factory, with plans to add 300 workers in the next couple of years.

Company officials said the project would allow it to build up to 30,000 more Highlanders a year at the factory near Princeton. It is the sole builder of Highlanders in North America and also exports the midsize SUV to Australia, New Zealand and Eastern Europe. The factory now has about 4,700 workers and also produces Sienna minivans and Sequoia SUVs. — Staff and Wire Reports

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 17

on the move

Dr. Julie Byers has joined Dr. Jeff VanDeventer at North Park Dentistry. She is a 2013 graduate of Indiana University School of Dentistry, has spent the past year in a general residency program at the VA Medical Center in Indianapolis and is proficient in all aspects of general dentistry and emergency care.

Dr. Julie Byers

Craig Kessler

Drs. Mark and Allison Royer have joined the medical staff at Columbus Regional Health with their new practice, Columbus ENT and Allergy, 2326 18th St. They are graduates of the Indiana University School of Medicine and completed residencies in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery.

Mark Royer has a particular interest in caring for patients with head and neck cancer, allergy and sinus disease and benign or malignant facial lesions requiring excision and plastic surgery reconstruction.

Allison Royer’s expertise and interests center on pediatric patients, those suffering from allergy and sinus disease, and patients with ear disease.

Craig Kessler, chief investment officer at Kessler Investment Group, has been named top investment manager in the 2014 Indianapolis Monthly Five Star Wealth Managers of the Year Awards and will be featured in the October issue of the magazine.

Five Star Wealth Manager Awards are determined by surveying consumers, financial service professionals and Indianapolis Monthly subscribers. Winners are selected from more than 8,400 wealth managers using several categories, including customer service, integrity, knowledge and expertise, post-sale service and overall satisfaction.

Three new employees have joined the dental team at Gausmann Family Dental in Columbus.

Lori Ault, a dental hygienist, is a 2013 graduate of IU School of Dentistry and a native of the Columbus area. She holds degrees in dental

18 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

Lori Ault

Darla Brown

Marcia Potts

hygiene and dental assisting. Before joining the dental community, she was a professional stylist at the Cameo Room for nine years.

Darla Brown, a dental assistant, was formerly employed at the practice of the late Dr. Ted Zaharako, where she worked as an assistant for over 30 years. She is a native of Brown County.

Marcia Potts is joining the office in the role of patient coordinator. The Columbus native holds a degree in elementary education from IUPUI and taught at Smith Elementary School for 10 years. After teaching, she started The Right Angle Studio, specializing in family photography.

Elise Foster, president of Leadership Potential Consulting and co-author of “The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools,” recently published an article in School Administrator titled “The Logic of Multiplication in Management.” She and co-author Liz Wiseman share their research on tapping into the latent intelligence to be found inside organizations.

Foster is a graduate of Virginia Tech, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering. She also is a graduate of Harvard University, with a master’s degree in education. She founded Leadership Potential Consulting four years ago in Columbus and offers more than 15 years of engineering and organizational development experience to her clients locally and around the world through large groups, executive workshops and individual executive coaching.

Marc Woods of RE/MAX Professionals in Seymour recently earned the Accredited Commercial Professional designation from Commercial Real Estate Advisors. He has been serving real estate clients in Jackson and surrounding counties since 2000. The training course, “How to Successfully List and Sell Commercial Real Estate,” provides fundamental terminology and essential resources needed by

new and transitioning commercial real estate professionals in six categories. Information: 812525-2919 or marc-woods.com.

Hillary Toppe

AFTER HOURS

Hillary Toppe, a lifelong resident of Jackson County, recently joined Jackson County Visitor Center as office manager. She is a graduate of Brownstown Central High School, a 2014 graduate of Leadership Jackson County, and attended Indiana State University and IUPUC. Jerry Burton and Justin Williams recently opened J & J All-Pro Driving Academy at 1609 Orinoco Ave., Suite A, offering a complete driver education course approved by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles for both teens and adults. Office hours are 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Information: jandjdriving.com, 812-614-1025 or 812-390-0014.

— Staff Reports

Miller’s Merry Manor at Hope was among 15 Miller’s facilities and 34 nursing facilities statewide recognized recently for meeting or exceeding standards of quality care established by the state’s Quality Improvement Organization.

The awards process was sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and ran from February 2013 through July 2014. Members of the Hope facility’s staff accepting the award were, from left, Kerry Hurd and Terry Bryant, assistant directors of nursing; Carol Wilkins, administrator; and Lorie Birge, MDS coordinator.

October 30, 2014 | 5 pm to 7 pm Home News Enterprises Printing Facility 3330 West International Court, Columbus, IN (I-65, Exit 64 - Ogilville) Connect with longtime members and newcomers alike at the business networking event. Tour the Home News Enterprises production facility via a special behind-the-scenes tour.

You may be surprised to learn the full breadth of publications and commercial printing produced here.

Green Signs, based in Greensburg, won two categories in the recent United States Sign Council Design Contest for 2014. These were for two Decatur County businesses. Dr. Paul Nahmias Family Dental Care’s sign won in the category of Best Free Standing Sign while Enneking Pressure Cleaning’s signage won in the category of Best Vehicle Design and Application.

Sponsored by

Home News Enterprises

Visit www.columbusareachamber.com to register for this event and to learn more.

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 19

BUSINESS LEADS COMMERCIAL BUILDING PERMITS 6220 S INWOOD DR COMMERCIAL REMODEL $153,000 ENKEI AMERICA, OWNER REPP & MUNDT INC, CONTRACTOR ENKEI REMODEL 3040 SF 1340 12TH ST NEW COMMERCIAL BUILDING $126,000 WETTSCHURACK, JOE, OWNER BUILDING CONCEPTS OF IN, CONTRACTOR NEW STORAGE LIST CASE NUMBERS 500 CENTRAL AVE COMMERCIAL REMODEL $560,000 CUMMINS INC, OWNER TAYLOR BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION, CONTRACTOR CUMMINS REMODEL 4220 SF 2380 25TH ST COMMERCIAL REMODEL $93,255 NEW FAIROAKS MALL OWNER LLC, OWNER VERSATILE CONSTRUCTION, CONTRACTOR FAIROAKS REMODEL 12161 N US 31 COMMERCIAL REMODEL $1,500,000 SPRAGUE COMPANY, OWNER REI CONSTRUCTION, CONTRACTOR REM/HAMPTON INN 10121 N US 31 DEMOLITION CARVER TOYOTA LLC, OWNER RH EXCAVATING, CONTRACTOR DEMOLITION BUILDING 330 S MAPLETON ST COMMERCIAL REMODEL $10,000 CAMM PROPERTIES, OWNER, CONTRACTOR COM REMODEL 720 SF 20 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

3200 N NATIONAL RD COMMERCIAL REMODEL $20,000 THARP INVESTMENTS, OWNER B & T BUILDING SOLUTIONS, CONTRACTOR COM REMODEL 1560 SF 4035 MIMOSA DR FOUNDATION ONLY $0 HOOVER INVESTMENT, OWNER DESIGN & BUILD OF COLUMBUS, CONTRACTOR HOOVER INVESTMENTS 1521 STATE ST COMMERCIAL ADDITION $139,400 NATIONAL OIL & GAS INC, OWNER BURNS BUILDERS INC, CONTRACTOR COM ADDN& REMODEL SERV STATION 987 SF 2190 N NATIONAL RD NEW COMMERCIAL BUILDING $240,200 NATIONAL OIL & GAS, OWNER BURNS BUILDERS INC, CONTRACTOR NEW SERV STATION/CON STORE 1805 SF

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS 2894 BUTTERCUP CT W $374,000 SINGLE FAM RESIDENTIAL M/I HOMES OF INDIANA, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 3351 CESSNA DR $87,000 NEW 1760 SF RES/GAR BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 3359 CESSNA DR $90,000 BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 1986 CREEK BANK DR $196,400

AUGUST

NEW 3996 SF RES/GAR BEAZER HOMES, OWNER/ CONTRACTOR 2191 CREEK BANK DR $169,100 NEW 3168 SF RES/GAR BEAZER HOMES, OWNER/ CONTRACTOR 2611 DAFFODIL COURT WEST $265,000 SINGLE FAM RESIDENTIAL M/I HOMES OF INDIANA, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 1933 DEER CREEK CIR $420,000 6294 SF SINGLE FAM DWELLING CUDDINGTON, JAMES, OWNER SKAGGS BUILDERS INC, CONTRACTOR 3341 DEERBROOK DR $130,000 NEW 2378 SF RES/GAR MODEL HOME BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 3342 DEERBROOK DR $100,000 SINGLE FAM RESIDENTIAL MILLER, BILL R, OWNER MILLER, C L, CONTRACTOR 5103 DELRAY DR $300,000 SINGLE FAM DWELLING LOAHAN DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 5113 DELRAY DR $280,000 SINGLE FAM RESIDENTIAL LOAHAN DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 5123 DELRAY DR $260,000 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL LOAHAN DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 5133 DELRAY DR $300,000 SINGLE FAM DWELLING LOAHAN DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR

8335 E 900 N $350,000 SINGLE FAM RESIDENTIAL SHEARER, DARIN, OWNER COLUMBUS CONSTRUCTION, CONTRACTOR 4682 MAPLELAWN DR $110,000 SINGLE FAMILY NEW BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 4686 MAPLELAWN DR $115,000 SINGLE FAMILY NEW BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 3595 N 250 W $274,000 NEW 3532 SF RES/BMT/GAR NEWELL, JAMES, OWNER JOE ARNHOLT CONSTRUCTION, CONTRACTOR 4010 NAPLES DR $290,000 SINGLE FAM DWELLING LOAHAN DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 4020 NAPLES DR $240,000 SINGLE FAM DWELLING LOAHAN DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 4030 NAPLES DR $210,000 SINGLE FAM DWELLING LOAHAN DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 4040 NAPLES DR $290,000 SINGLE FAM DWELLING LOAHAN DEVELOPMENT LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 3818 PAWNEE TRL $310,000 NEW 3516 SF RES/BMT/GAR THOMPSON CONSTRUCTION, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 1725 PINION CT $115,000 3549 SF 2ST RES/GAR

BEACON BUILDERS LLC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 3194 RED FOX TRL $220,000 NEW 5965 SF RES/BMT/GAR DREES HOMES, OWNER/ CONTRACTOR 10395 S 800 W $250,000 NEW 5266 SF RES/BMT/GAR LEWIS, JIM, OWNER/ CONTRACTOR 2443 SHADOW BEND DR $149,500 NEW 2549 SF RES/GAR BEAZER HOMES, OWNER/ CONTRACTOR 2837 SUNFLOWER CT $329,500 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PHILLIPS DEVELOPMENT, OWNER M/I HOMES OF INDIANA, CONTRACTOR

2810 TRILLIUM WAY $200,000 4369 SF 1ST RES/BAS/GAR PHILLIPS DEVELOPMENT INC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 7326 W 550 S $600,000 NEW 7360 SF RES/BMT/GAR PATBERG, RON, OWNER PRATT, TIM/BREEDEN INC, CONTRACTOR 6601 W SR 46 $500,000 NEW RES/GAR GREEN, THOMAS, OWNER T.H. GREEN LLC, CONTRACTOR 5026 WEST QUINCY CT $300,000 NEW 3441 SF RES/GAR SKAGGS BUILDERS INC, OWNER/CONTRACTOR 187 WESTBROOK CT $425,000 NEW SINGLE FAMILY

SPOON CONSTRUCTION, OWNER/CONTRACTOR

CERTIFICATES TO DO BUSINESS UNDER ASSUMED NAME Luke and Andrew Tilton, DBA Fruit of Life Foods (food concessions), 3327 Fall Valley Drive, Columbus Dwight Fertig, DBA Another Taxi (transportation), 2233 Fiesbeck Drive, Columbus Joginder and Gagandeep Singh, DBA Deepraman Inc. (Grant Line Marathon), 3309 Grant Line Road, New Albany Richard L. Scott, DBA Rick’s Lawn Care and Junk Removal, 2945 Race Court, Columbus

Emily J. McCurdy, DBA Women’s Golf Association of HLCC, 10311 W. Pond Drive, Columbus Brian Stillabower, DBA Dean Sports (sales), 2223 Crump Lane, Columbus Ronald M. and Lisa K. Gilbert, DBA Circle G Properties (rental property management), 11400 E. Road 100S, Columbus Larry Anthony and Elizabeth Eaton, DBA Columbus Flag Football League, 1603 Lafayette Ave., Columbus William C. Smith II, DBA SRT Transmission (auto repair), 2020 Seventh St., Columbus

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OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 21

Eye on the pie

Morton Marcus

Political season opens with a bang The season of hunting for voters is fully open.

In these weeks before the 2014 election, while a few candidates discuss serious and important matters, like low voter participation in elections, most seeking office will fluff their plumage over their supposed contributions to Indiana’s economic well-being.

The prime evidence the happy partisans will put forward is Indiana’s high ranking in the latest data release from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): Indiana ranked eighth in the nation in percent growth of the state’s real gross domestic product (GDP) for the last quarter of 2013.

Remember, these are preliminary data for a new series of numbers BEA just cranked out. They are subject to revision and updating.

Perhaps it would be better to widen our horizon and consider the full year of 2013. Then Indiana’s rate of progress in the output of goods

and services falls to 19th among the 50 states.

This is still a respectable position, but without that single digit wow factor so appealing to the chestthumpers of the statehouse.

For a longer time, one too long to be relevant for those who live by the two-year election cycles of the Indiana General Assembly, Indiana’s economic performance is like a yo-yo or a roller coaster. Our ups and our downs are more spectacular than those of the nation as a whole.

When the nation was in recession (from the end of 2007 to mid-2009), Indiana’s GDP fell twice as fast as did that of the U.S. (-9.8 percent for the Hoosier state compared to -4.3 percent for the nation). In the recovery, (mid-2009 to the end of 2013), Indiana advanced by 15 percent and the entire country by 10 percent.

So how did we do over the entire business cycle (the recession plus the recovery)? Those results are not pleasing to our state political

leadership. We won’t hear too much about our 3.7 percent rise compared to the nation’s overall 5.3 percent gain.

Likewise, we won’t hear that our state’s share of the nation’s economic output fell from 1.92 percent to 1.89 percent over the course of this latest business cycle. After all, we’ll be told, if anyone does bring that up, the difference is too small to bother about. Nonetheless, it does equal $87 million. As a good friend used to say, “That ain’t chopped liver.”

Yes, fellow Hoosiers, we may expect to hear about all the good news and very little of that same news in perspective as we move through the election season that lies before us. All that good news should cheer up those 191,000 Hoosiers who are out looking for work.

Morton Marcus is an economist, writer and speaker who may be reached at mortonjmarcus@yahoo.com.

Business Indicators for Bartholomew County

Apr 2014

May 2014

Jun 2014

Jul 2014

Labor Force % Chg from Year Ago

42,091 41,969 42,629 42,663 3.86% 2.28% 1.96% 2.19%

Employed % Chg from Year Ago

40,439 40,172 40,664 40,857 5.96% 4.25% 3.76% 4.07%

Unemployed % Chg from Year Ago

1,652 1,797 1,965 1,806 -30.06% -28.0% -24.94% -27.41%

Unemployment Rate 3.9 4.3 4.6 4.2 Chg from Year Ago -1.9 -1.8 -1.7 -1.8 — Center for Business and Economic Research, Ball State University 22 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

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And just one of the ways we’re here to help you keep your business running.

Find the right fit for your next job at www.columbusindianajobs.com.

OCTOBER 2014 The Business Connection 23

Washington St. 24 The Business Connection OCTOBER 2014

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US

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