January 31, 2015 at 5:05 a.m.
Milestone honored for extension
Business Roundup
The extension of Lafayette Street in Portland has won a 2014 Quality in Construction Award for Milestone Contractors LP from the National Asphalt Pavement Association.
Milestone is based in Richmond and has offices in Portland.
The award was presented this week at the association’s 60th annual meeting in Marco Island, Florida.
Milestone also won the same award for its work on Indiana 32 in Union City.
On the Portland project the company was commended for holding biweekly meetings with city officials and local businesses and changing the project phasing to accommodate the needs of nearby apartment complexes. The project also used reclaimed asphalt in its mixes.
For the Union City project, the company used green paving techniques.
Milestone is part of The Heritage Group. U.S. Aggregates, which has a quarry west of Portland, is also part of The Heritage Group, a diverse set of companies involved in everything from highway construction to environmental services, energy sales, chemical refining, and construction materials.
Named a VP
Rex Journay has been promoted to vice president of First Bank of Berne. He had been working as an agriculltural loan officer at the bank’s Portland branch.
A graduate of Purdue University with a degree in agronomy, he is also a graduate of the Wisconsin/Madison Graduate School of Banking.
Journay is a member of the board of directors of The Portland Foundation and the board of Jay County Development Corporation. He serves on the Jay County Chamber of Commerce education committee.
A member of Peace Lutheran Church in Berne, he resides in Bearcreek Township with his wife, Carolyn.
Still shopping?
Ardagh Group, which acquired Verallia North America in 2013, has been linked again to the potential acquisition of Verallia’s European operations, The Irish Independent reported this week. Saint-Gobain, the French building materials group that owns Verallia, is hoping to sell off the European glass manufacturer.
“Ardagh is edging towards a 2 billion Euro (initial public offering of stock) later this year, with a deal for Verallia seen as transformative,” The Irish Independent said.
Ardagh Group North America has glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester. The Dunkirk plant had been part of Verallia North America, while the Winchester plant had been part of Anchor Glass, another Ardagh acquisition.
Plant closing
OMCO Machining Concepts, long a part of the Winchester industrial scene, will close its doors by April 30.
Owned by Ross International of Washington, Pennsylvania, the company machined parts for glass molds over more than 60 years. At its peak, OMCO employed more than 150.
POET project
POET, parent company of POET Biorefining Portland, is partnering with Project Gaia to replace wood-burning stoves in Haiti with ethanol-fueled cook stoves.
Wood-burning stoves have led to a variety of health problems, shortening average lifespan by nearly 7 years because of indoor air pollution. In addition, Haiti now has less than 2 percent of its original forest cover.
The partnership also involves Dometic, which is supplying the stoves, and Novogaz, which is organizing distribution.
Eventually the stoves will be made in Haiti.
The first 6,200 gallons of ethanol have cleared customs. POET founder and executive chairman of the board Jeff Broin donated about 12,000 gallons of ethanol to get the project started.
Networking
Dunkirk Mayor Dan Watson will deliver his State of the City address at the next Jay County Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast set for Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 a.m. at West Jay Community Center in Dunkirk.
The cost of the breakfast is $5. Reservations should be made by noon on Feb. 6. To make a reservation, email [email protected].
Low, low rate
Mercer County’s unemployment rate was so low in December that some economists would classify it as full employment.
Mercer’s rate — 2.6 percent — was dramatically lower than Ohio’s state average of 4.8 percent.
The low rate is nothing new. Mercer county has had the lowest unemployment rate in Ohio for more than three consecutive years, according to The Daily Standard of Celina.
EP investment
EP Graphics of Berne received approval of tax abatement on a new printing press which the company says will nearly triple production.
The $5 million press will be installed over a period of about six months. It will be able to print 24-page publications at a speed of about 70,000 per hour.
Leader retiring
Suzanne Huffman, longtime executive director of the Wells County Chamber of Commerce, has announced her plans to retire.
She has held the post for 18 years. No successor has yet been named.
Fruechte promoted
Elizabeth Fruechte has been promoted to assistant vice president at First Bank of Berne. A mortgage specialist prior to her promotion, she is a graduate of South Adams High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.
New director
Anita Miller has been named executive director of Swiss Heritage Village in Berne.
She succeeds Debby Neuenschwander who left the position at the end of 2014.
Milestone is based in Richmond and has offices in Portland.
The award was presented this week at the association’s 60th annual meeting in Marco Island, Florida.
Milestone also won the same award for its work on Indiana 32 in Union City.
On the Portland project the company was commended for holding biweekly meetings with city officials and local businesses and changing the project phasing to accommodate the needs of nearby apartment complexes. The project also used reclaimed asphalt in its mixes.
For the Union City project, the company used green paving techniques.
Milestone is part of The Heritage Group. U.S. Aggregates, which has a quarry west of Portland, is also part of The Heritage Group, a diverse set of companies involved in everything from highway construction to environmental services, energy sales, chemical refining, and construction materials.
Named a VP
Rex Journay has been promoted to vice president of First Bank of Berne. He had been working as an agriculltural loan officer at the bank’s Portland branch.
A graduate of Purdue University with a degree in agronomy, he is also a graduate of the Wisconsin/Madison Graduate School of Banking.
Journay is a member of the board of directors of The Portland Foundation and the board of Jay County Development Corporation. He serves on the Jay County Chamber of Commerce education committee.
A member of Peace Lutheran Church in Berne, he resides in Bearcreek Township with his wife, Carolyn.
Still shopping?
Ardagh Group, which acquired Verallia North America in 2013, has been linked again to the potential acquisition of Verallia’s European operations, The Irish Independent reported this week. Saint-Gobain, the French building materials group that owns Verallia, is hoping to sell off the European glass manufacturer.
“Ardagh is edging towards a 2 billion Euro (initial public offering of stock) later this year, with a deal for Verallia seen as transformative,” The Irish Independent said.
Ardagh Group North America has glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester. The Dunkirk plant had been part of Verallia North America, while the Winchester plant had been part of Anchor Glass, another Ardagh acquisition.
Plant closing
OMCO Machining Concepts, long a part of the Winchester industrial scene, will close its doors by April 30.
Owned by Ross International of Washington, Pennsylvania, the company machined parts for glass molds over more than 60 years. At its peak, OMCO employed more than 150.
POET project
POET, parent company of POET Biorefining Portland, is partnering with Project Gaia to replace wood-burning stoves in Haiti with ethanol-fueled cook stoves.
Wood-burning stoves have led to a variety of health problems, shortening average lifespan by nearly 7 years because of indoor air pollution. In addition, Haiti now has less than 2 percent of its original forest cover.
The partnership also involves Dometic, which is supplying the stoves, and Novogaz, which is organizing distribution.
Eventually the stoves will be made in Haiti.
The first 6,200 gallons of ethanol have cleared customs. POET founder and executive chairman of the board Jeff Broin donated about 12,000 gallons of ethanol to get the project started.
Networking
Dunkirk Mayor Dan Watson will deliver his State of the City address at the next Jay County Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast set for Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 a.m. at West Jay Community Center in Dunkirk.
The cost of the breakfast is $5. Reservations should be made by noon on Feb. 6. To make a reservation, email [email protected].
Low, low rate
Mercer County’s unemployment rate was so low in December that some economists would classify it as full employment.
Mercer’s rate — 2.6 percent — was dramatically lower than Ohio’s state average of 4.8 percent.
The low rate is nothing new. Mercer county has had the lowest unemployment rate in Ohio for more than three consecutive years, according to The Daily Standard of Celina.
EP investment
EP Graphics of Berne received approval of tax abatement on a new printing press which the company says will nearly triple production.
The $5 million press will be installed over a period of about six months. It will be able to print 24-page publications at a speed of about 70,000 per hour.
Leader retiring
Suzanne Huffman, longtime executive director of the Wells County Chamber of Commerce, has announced her plans to retire.
She has held the post for 18 years. No successor has yet been named.
Fruechte promoted
Elizabeth Fruechte has been promoted to assistant vice president at First Bank of Berne. A mortgage specialist prior to her promotion, she is a graduate of South Adams High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.
New director
Anita Miller has been named executive director of Swiss Heritage Village in Berne.
She succeeds Debby Neuenschwander who left the position at the end of 2014.
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