CTS joins state project

Gov. Joe Kernan announced Thursday that CTS Corporation in Berne is one of the five Indiana businesses signing on to the state’s new workforce development initiative.

Indiana@Work, provided through the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, has set aside $62,758 to provide 880 people with WorkKeys skills assessments and to profile 25 occupations within growing companies. The program which began in January, will aid in developing workforce skills while expanding the state’s existing job matching and worker assessment programs.

“The Indiana@Work initiative has limitless potential and will really reshape our state’s economic development efforts. It not only helps individuals become more competitive by assessing and then strengthening their skill sets, it also makes businesses more productive,” said Kernan in a press release.

JAY PETROLEUM HONORED

Shell Oil Products US has honored Jay Petroleum in Shell’s Mid-Continent Region with the Pecten and Pearl Award.

Jay Petroleum, which is based in Portland, won the award in San Antonio, Texas in March for demonstrating excellence in philanthropy, volunteer work and community service achievements while representing the Shell brand.

For more than 11 years, Jay Petroleum has sponsored a local annual golf charity tournament, which benefits Youth for Christ. It has also raised $20,00 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Shamrock program annually and $10,000 for the American Red Cross since the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.

Jay Petroleum, also known as Pak-A-Sak, owns and operates 38 retail convenience stores throughout northern and central Indiana and west central Ohio. It employees more than 400 people.

CHAMP JOINS MBNA

Champ Monuments of Redkey has been chosen to be a member of the Monument Builders of North America.

The MBNA is a 900-member organization which represents the leading retail, wholesale, manufacturing and supply firms of the Monument/Memorialization industry. As a member, Champ Monuments must subscribe to The Code of Good Practice and will be monitored by MBNA.

Champ Monuments is an authorized retailer for the Edwin F. Nickol Monument Company, Inc. of Versailles, Ohio.

BOX USA PURCHASED

International Paper Co. has agreed to acquire packaging producer Box USA Holdings Inc. in an effort to expand, The Wall Street Journal reported recently.

Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed, but an International Paper spokeswoman said the purchase will be made in cash.

The Stamford, Conn. company said it will combine Box USA with its current 48 domestic industrial-packaging facilities and its consumer-packaging and distribution businesses.

Box USA, which is based in Northbrook, Ill. has an industrial-packaging converting facility in Portland.

JOB CUTS PLANNED

Old National Bancorp announced last week that it would cut nearly 300 jobs, in hopes of becoming more efficient, The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette reported recently.

The job cut makes up about 10 percent of the company’s 3,200-employee workforce.

Old National officials said the exact number of job cuts will be known some time at the end of May.

“We firmly believe that this effort will make Old National a much stronger company and that employment opportunities overall will be enhanced by working for a more successful, more efficient company,” said president Mike Hinton in a statement April 22.

TYSON RULING

An Iowa federal district judge overturned an Alabama jury’s $1.28 billion verdict against Tyson Foods Inc. last week, ruling that the beef packer’s supply contracts with cattle ranchers are legal.

Tyson Foods chief executive John Tyson called the ruling “a victory for U.S. cattle producers and our company. It protects the freedom of producers to market cattle the way they want,” Tyson told The Wall Street Journal this week.

The case focused on Tyson’s IBP meatpacking unit’s use of marketing agreements to secure a supply of beef cattle. Plaintiffs in the case argued that the agreements violated the federal Packers and Stockyards Act by depressing the cash market price for fed cattle.

Tyson is the world’s largest meat-processing company, producing chicken, pork and beef.

COKE PROFIT JUMP

A nearly quadruple jump in first-quarter profit has been reported by Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the increase in North America came mostly from higher product prices.

LUNCHEON MEETING

There will be a luncheon meeting of the executive committee of the East Central Indiana Workforce Investment Board on Thursday, May 6, from noon to 2 p.m. in Conference Room A on the lower level at the WorkOne Center, 201 E. Charles St., Muncie.

Inform Stephanie Goodman of attendance plans and sandwich and drink preference by calling (765) 741-5863 or (800) 483-2742, ext. 100 by noon on Monday, May 3.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

The East Central Indiana Human Resource Association will be hearing “The Good News and the Bad News About Hiring Persons with Disabilities,” presented by Richard Harris, director of Ball State University’s Disability Program on May 12.

This membership meeting will be held at the Delaware Country Club, 510 S. Country Club Road in Muncie. Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m. with lunch served at noon and the program from 12:20 to 1:30 p.m.

The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 was a mixed event for the employment prospects of persons with disabilities. Harris will talk openly and candidly about the “unintended consequences” of Title I of the ADA, which deals with employment. He also will share some tips relative to comfortable interactions, “people-first” language and potential models for in-service presentations.

ECIHRA encourages all persons engaged in human resources and management, as well as anyone interested in this topic, to attend this meeting.

Reservations are due by noon on Monday, May 10, and can be made by calling (765) 288-1928, ext. 206 or via e-mail at [email protected].[[In-content Ad]]