Portland Coke team honored

The Portland Plant of Coca-Cola Refreshment was named the top profit team for 2012 Friday.
The Portland team, which is self-directed and self-sufficient out-performed every other Coca-Cola Refreshment plant in North America in terms of profit and was ranked in the top 10 of CCR’s 80 plants in all categories.
Portland’s plant posted significant gains in 2012 in terms of productivity, efficiency, and energy yields.
Richard Johnson, Indianapolis plant manager, credited the local team and former Portland plant manager Ron Stockton, now a regional engineer for Coca-Cola Refreshment, with transforming the plant into one of the most efficient beverage manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Permits
The Jay Building and Planning Department handed out 14 permits totaling about $740,000 in construction in February.
Leading the way were James Snell and Courtney Paro, who received a permit for a $450,000 new home at 5955 S. Boundary Pike, Portland.
Also receiving permits were Wil Do Mar Partnership, 2137 W. 550 North, Bryant, grain bin, $35,000; Dale and Gregg Minnich, 200 block of N. 200 East, Portland, storage building, $5,000; E&L Pursifull Farms LLC, 772 S. 1000 West, Redkey, grain bin, $50,000; Jerry Stephens, 7372 W. 800 South, Redkey, pole building, $30,000; Samuel Schwartz, 4131 E. 500 North, Portland, machine shop, $30,000; Robert Lee, 400 block of W. 200 North, Portland, barn addition; Pro Resources Staffing, 1303 N. Meridian St., Portland, business occupancy; Cute as a Button Salon & Spa, 210 N. Meridian St., Portland, business signage, $400; Ernest Girod, 6391 N. 350 East, Bryant, new home, $38,000; Eric Pursifull, 7772 S. 1000 West, Redkey, residential addition, $38,000; Troy Barton, 3859 S. 1000 West, Dunkirk, attached garage, $11,000; Gary Daniels, Water Street, Pennville, pole building, $20,000; and David Guggenbiller, 2297 S. U.S. 27, Portland, garage, $25,000.

Hospice hires
Sydney Arnold of Portland has been hired as a hospice aide by the Portland office of State of the Heart Hospice.
Arnold has previously worked with Alzheimer’s patients and has worked in nursing homes an in rehab to home agencies. She has experience working with patients facing end-of-life illnesses.

Purchasing plant
AMP Trucks Inc, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has entered into an agreement to acquire the vacant Workhorse Custom Chassis plant in Union City.
According to a press release, AMP will purchase the facility, along with the Workhorse brand, logo, intellectual property and patents.
Union City Mayor Bryan Conklin told the Winchester News-Gazette he expects about 75 people to possibly be hired in the fall and about 200 to be hired next year.

Luncheon meeting
The Alliance for Strategic Growth Inc. Youth Council will hold a luncheon meeting Friday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The meeting will be held at the Henry County WorkOne Office, 3011 S. 14th St., New Castle. For
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more information contact Stephanie Goodman at [email protected] or (765) 282-6400.

Bluffton plant expanding
Metaldyne M&A Bluffton LLC, an auto parts supplier, recently received a 10-year tax abatement that could create up to 35 new jobs.
The abatement will allow the company to expand its machinery and assembly as well as install new machinery. The company is espected to spend $14.3 million on the upgrade.
The project will create 20 new jobs according to paperwork filed with the Bluffton City Council and Metaldyne hopes to create an additional 15 jobs after machinery is up and running.
Metaldyne will use the equipment to manufacture car parts for Ford and GM in France and the United States.

Walgreen revenue down
Walgreen’s recently stated that revenue from stores open at least a year fell 0.6 percent in February.
Part of the culprit appears to be generic drug sales cutting into the drug store chain’s revenue.
Revenue from the pharmacy came in flat even though prescriptions have increased by 6.5 percent. And revenue from the rest of the store fell 1.4 percent in February.[[In-content Ad]]