Ardagh closing Houston facility

Ardagh Glass Packaging announced last week that it will be closing its Houston facility and halting production at its Seattle wine glass production facility.

The Houston closure will result in 220 jobs lost while almost 250 are expected to be laid off in connection with the Seattle shutdown. The company indicated that a continued consumer shift to cans for beer had an impact on the decision.

“After reviewing current beer market conditions,” we have announced the closure of our Houston, Texas glass production facility, effective July 2024,” said Gina Behrman, Ardagh vice president of marketing, communications and new production development in a statement to Packaging Dive. “The affected customer base will be supplied from Ardagh’s remaining glass manufacturing facilities across the U.S.

The company operates glass manufacturing facilities in Dunkirk and Winchester.

New to practice

Nurse practitioner Veronica Rupel has joined Lutheran Health Physicians in Bluffton.

Rupel previously worked as a registered nurse at Bluffton Regional Medical Center for 25 years. She earned her master’s degree in nursing from Indiana Wesleyan University.

For additional information, visit lutheranhealthphysicians.com.

New flavors

Scooter’s Coffee is adding a variety of new flavor options to its menu.

The coffee shop will offer OREO blenders and cake bits for its coffee drinks, strawberry lime and pineapple mint for its Quenchers and the new Caramelicious Creme cold brew.

For details, visit scooterscoffee.com.

Shifting to mail

The Star Press (Muncie) announced recently that it will be shifting completely to mail delivery beginning July 15.

"All of our readers can access our digital platforms, where they can get the latest news about their communities," editor Virginia Black said in a story for the Star Press. "But we know some of our subscribers prefer the printed newspaper, which doesn't always arrive at your homes on time. Transitioning to postal delivery will ensure consistent delivery."

Papers will be delivered same-day with the exception of Sunday’s edition, which will be delivered Saturday.

Applications open

Indiana Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for the Indiana Best Places to Work in Manufacturing 2024 awards.

Manufacturers can register for the program at bestplacestoworkmanufacturingin.com. For more information, email [email protected] or call (281) 602-5004.

The deadline is July 26.

Papers purchased

Paxton Media Group last week announced its purchase of three Indiana newspapers.

Media merger firm Dirks, Van Essen & April announced in a press release that Paxton will take ownership of the Banner Graphic (Greencastle), the Times (Brazil) and the Greene County Daily World on Monday. Its purchase also includes the State-Gazette (Dyersburg, Tennessee).

Paxton is purchasing the publications from Rust Communications.

“We believe in local newspapers, and in their value to a community, and we are committed to continue the excellent tradition the State-Gazette, Banner Graphic, Brazil Times and Greene County Daily World has,” said president and CEO Jamie Paxton in a press release.

Prior to the purchase, Paxton already owned 14 daily newspapers in Indiana, including The Courier-Times (New Castle), The Chronicle-Tribune (Marion), the Huntington Herald Press and the Connersville News-Examiner.

Open call underway

Walmart’s annual Open Call event is underway.

The event allows small business owners and entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their products to be sold by Walmart or Sam’s club. Those selected through Open call will receive mentoring from Walmart leaders. They will also have a one-on-one pitch meeting with Walmart or Sam’s Club merchants.

Applications are available at rangeme.com/walmartopencall2024. The deadline is Monday, July 15.

Schools split

The split between Indiana University and Purdue University in Indianapolis became official Monday.

The former IUPUI is now two separate universities and campuses. Indiana University Indianapolis is now a standalone campus for the IU system while Purdue University in Indianapolis is considered an extension of the main campus in West Lafayette. The universities had announced plans for the split almost two years ago.

“The time is ripe for us to go in slightly different ways,” inaugural IU Indianapolis chancellor Latha Ramchand told the Indianapolis Business Journal last week. “All of which is geared towards helping support this region, support our city, our state, as we move forward in terms of economic growth, development and prosperity.”

“Today is about making sure that the future tech-driven prosperity will be here in Indianapolis and central Indiana with economic growth and brain gain,” said Purdue president Mung Chiang during an event Thursday in Indianapolis.

IUPUI was founded in 1969.

Events secured

Indiana Sports Corp. has secured a deal to bring three of WWE’s largest events to the Hoosier state.

The entities announced last week that WWE’s Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and WrestleMania will all be held in Indiana in the coming years.

The only of the events that is currently on the schedule is the 2025 Royal Rumble, which will be held Feb. 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The venue will play host two two-day WrestleMania and SummerSlam events in future years.

“For over four decades, our city’s sports strategy has brought in millions of visitors and priceless hours of international brand-building media coverage," said Patrick Talty, president of Indiana Sports Corp., in a press release. "This partnership with WWE continues to push that strategy forward in new and exciting ways."

The agreement also includes plans for WWE TV shows Raw, Smackdown and NXT, and other live events, at arenas in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Evansville.

Chair named

Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb has been named as the founding chair of the new Department of Computer Science at the Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering in Indianapolis.

Abdel-Mottaleb has been involved in research with 3D facial recognition, biometric recognition, visual tracking and medical image processing. He previously served as chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Miami’s College of Engineering.

“With more than 9,000 technology firms generating an economic contribution exceeding $53 billion, Indiana is rapidly emerging as a hub of technological innovation in the Midwest, and we are thrilled to welcome a technological innovator of Abdel-Mottaleb’s stature to campus at this pivotal time,” IU Indianapolis chancellor Latha Ramchand said in a press release. “He will bring the vision and leadership to create a strong computer science program in Indianapolis that will foster a robust talent pipeline for these industries and set up our students for career success.”

He will step into his new role for the fall semester.