Fisher family wins top state honors

The Fisher family of Portland has been named Indiana Processor of the Year by the Indiana Meat Packers and Processors Association at the group’s annual convention in West Lafayette.
Fisher Packing Company, based in Portland and with a meat market in Muncie, won a total of 15 awards in the association’s annual Hoosier Cured Meat Show competition.
The longtime local meat processing company received grand champion awards for its old fashioned bone-in smoked ham, its bologna, its smoked sausage, its Braunschweiger, its boneless smoked turkey breast and its non-traditional bacon (Italian bacon).
The company’s jalapeno and cheese summer sausage was awarded grand champion in the wild game class and its barbeque beef brisket received the grand champion award at the Friday Night Cook-Off.
Fishers’ summer sausage, cooked barbeque ribs and hot dogs received reserve grand champion awards. Fishers’ bacon received a champion award, and beef snack sticks received reserve champion.
The third-generation family business received a Best of Show award for its old fashioned bone-in smoked ham.
Attending the conference to accept the honors were John and Janice Fisher and their sons, Brad, Daniel, Greg and Michael Fisher.
Judging for the cured meat competition was provided by professional meat scientists and national award-winning meat processors from other areas of the country.

Geneva awards
Jay County Hospital was named Industry of the Year this week by the Geneva Chamber of Commerce.
Bixler Insurance Agency was named Business of the Year, and former clerk-treasurer Bill Warren was named Citizen of the Year.
Chamber president Stan Mosser was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nearing deal?
Ardagh Group is on the verge of growing again.
The Irish Independent reported this week that the Luxembourg-based glass and metal packaging company is close to finalizing a deal to acquire Saint Gobain’s European glass container business.
Ardagh acquired Saint Gobain’s Verallia North America, including its high-volume glass bottle plant in Dunkirk, in 2013. It is also the parent of the former Anchor Hocking glass container plant in Winchester which has recently undergone a major renovation and reinvestment.
Now it appears that Ardagh is ready to make a $3.2 billion acquisition, the European Verallia unit of Saint Gobain.
Saint Gobain, primarily a manufacturer of building materials including sheet glass, had tried for several years to shed its glass container business and focus on its core mission.
Controlled by Dublin financier Paul Coulson, Ardagh operates 89 facilities in 21 countries, employing almost 19,000.

To be honored
Dr. Mark Haggenjos will be honored in June with the Doc Hollywood Award from the Indiana Rural Health Association at the organization’s annual conference awards luncheon at French Lick.
The Doc Hollywood Award recognizes individuals who care professional for people in rural or other underserved communities.
Haggenjos came to Jay County in 1990, originally as part of the Office of Family Medicine (later known as Preferred Family Physicians). He launched his own practice, Family Practice of Jay County, in 2001.

More expansion
Fresh on the heels of announcing an expansion of FCC (Indiana) in Portland, the company has announced that it will expand its Adams County operations as well.
Company officials told Berne City Council that FCC (Adams) will build a 140,000 square foot industrial facility at a cost of about $11.9 million, add $116.7 million in new equipment and add about 73 jobs over the next two years.
The expansion at the Berne plant will bring employment there to more than 400. This is the fourth FCC expansion at Berne since the plant opened.

Merger opposed
Comcast’s proposed takeover of Time Warner Cable has run into more roadblocks. This time it’s California utility regulators who are weighing objections.
The merger must also be approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Justice Department. If approved, Comcast would be the cable TV and high-speed Internet provider
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 for nearly 2 million homes in Southern California but would have to shed much of its Midwest business in order to avoid anti-trust concerns.

Raper dies
Tom Raper, who was the most prominent name in east central Indiana’s RV business, died this week in Florida.
Raper started his RV business in Richmond in 1964 and built it into a Midwestern landmark.

Conference call
First Merchants Corporation will report its first quarter results during a conference call and webcast on April 23. To participate, call (877) 507-0578 at 2:30 p.m. or after.

Worker honored
Thelma Chandler, director of clinic services at Centerstone, has been named Indiana Social Worker of the Year in Region 5 by the Indiana Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
Jay, Blackford, Randolph, and Delaware counties are among those in Region 5.

Attends seminar
Dr. Steven DeGroff, Berne, recently attended an advanced educational seminar in Cincinnati on new diagnostic research and technology in glaucoma.

Jobs leaving
About 65 manufacturing jobs will be leaving Huntington for Mexico as a result of a decision by Sensata Technologies. Sensata acquired Wabash Technologies in 2014 and announced this week that the work would be moved to Mexico.