April 1, 2016 at 7:42 p.m.
Bluffton Motor Works acquired
Business Roundup
A Brazilian company has acquired Bluffton Motor Works LLC, it was announced this week.
WEG A.A., based in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil, said it plans no major changes in the company’s operations.
Bluffton Motor Works employs more than 400 in a 400,000-square-foot building in Bluffton.
It was originally the Engineer Motor Products Division of Franklin Electric, but was spun off and purchased by Capital Works LLC in December 2006 for about $16 million.
In addition to its Bluffton site, the company employs about 100 in its Toledo Gearmotor plant in Sylvania, Ohio, and RAE DC Products in McHenry, Illinois.
The company produces variable speed electric motors with less than one full horsepower. They are used in such items as coffee grinders, ventilation systems, and swimming pools.
WEG officials said plans include keeping the company’s current management team.
WEG has manufacturing sites in 11 countries and employs 31,000. Its net revenues in 2015 were about $2.67 billion..
“This acquisition is strategic to expand and to provide greater flexibility to WEG’s capabilities in the world’s largest market for fractional electric motors,” said Luis Alberto Tiefensee, managing director of motors for WEG, in a prepared statement.
“It also brings major product line expansion which complements our current product portfolio for North America.”
Hourly workers at the plant are represented by Local 84802 of IUE-CWA and are headed into contract talks soon.
Sharing duties
Portland native Mary Meeker will be sharing additional management duties at Kleiner Perkins, a 45-year-old investment firm where Meeker is a partner.
John Doerr, who has led the firm, announced this week that he would step back from daily management responsibilities and become its first chairman. Doerr is 64 and joined Kleiner Perkins in 1980.
The New York Times reported Friday that Meeker and a few other partners would step in to handle some of Doerr’s former role.
Meeker, a Jay County High School graduate with a degree from DePauw University, earned an international reputation as a leading expert on the Internet while she was a Wall Street analyst for Morgan Stanley.
OSHA class
Ivy Tech Corporate College will be offering a 10-hour OSHA general industry class at John Jay Center for Learning in Portland.
The class runs from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, and Friday, May 6.
The cost is $250.
For more information, contact Carolyn Carducci at John Jay by calling (260) 729-5525, extension 223.
On the cover
Rural Portland resident Britt Schmiesing, who has been designing handbags, wallets, and coin purses for several years, now has another distinction.
Her cover deisgn will be featured on the summer issue of Creative Knitting magazine.
Her business — Sneezerville — primarily sells her work online. It has also been available at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
Schmiesing taught for several years for Mississinawa Valley Schools.
Conservation goal
Tyson Foods Inc., parent company of Portland’s Tyson Mexican Original, this week announced a water conservation goal as part of its latest Sustainability Report.
“We’re setting a 12 percent water reduction goal by the end of 2020 for our direct operations and will talk with our supply chain, such as the independent farmers who grow animals for our company, about additional efforts they can make to conserve water,” said Dr. Christine Daugherty, vice president of sustainable food production, in a prepared statement. “Water conservation has been an important area of focus for Tyson Foods for many years.”
The majority of the water the company uses in its direct operations is treated and returned to the environment, the company said.
Merchants organizing
A new merchants’ committee is taking shape at the Jay County Chamber of Commerce. Its next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the conference room of the Community Resource Center, 118 S. Meridian St., Portland.
Stepping down
Jacob Schpok, state director of the Indiana Small Business Development Center and executive director of the Indiana Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has submitted his resignation effective April 8.
“It is time for me to take some of my own advice and get involved in an entrepreneurial venture,” Schpok said in a letter announcing his resignation.
Garden program
Plant, Hoe and Hope Garden Club will present the program at the Jay County Chamber of Commerce’s next networking breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13, at the West Jay Community Center, Dunkirk.
Asian growth
McDonald’s has plans to open more than 1,500 new restaurants in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea within the next five years.
The company, which has more than 36,000 locations in more than 100 countries worldwide, announced the expansion plan this week.
McDonald’s already has more than 2,800 restaurants in those three Asian markets.
Promoted
Marty Bryan has been promoted to senior vice president, operations finance and accounting for prepared foods, commercial sales and innovation for Tyson Foods Inc., parent company of Tyson Mexican Original, Portland.
The promotion was announced Wednesday. Bryan, a graduate of University of Arkansas with a degree in accounting, has been with Tyson for nearly 30 years.
Dealership sold
Gaddis Hyundai of Muncie has been sold to Dellen Northwest of Greenfield, it was announced Thursday.
Dellen acquired Bill McCoy Ford-Lincoln of Muncie in 2015.
The transition to Dellen Hyundai took effect Friday.
Not so fast
The acquisition of Milwaukee’s Journal Media Group by Gannett Co., parent company The Star Press in Muncie, The Indianapolis Star, the Richmond Palladium-Item, and the Lafayette Journal and Courier, has been delayed while the Justice Department reviews anti-trust issues.
Gannett had hoped to close the transaction on Thursday. It operates in more than 100 markets internationally and publishes USA Today.
Abatement renewed
Berne City Council has renewed tax abatements for Key Fasteners Corp. The plant employs 100, about half of whom live in Adams County.
Key Fasteners is a manufacturer of specialty fasteners such as nuts, bolts, pins, rivets, and oil-related engine parts for the automotive industry. An ISO-registered company, it began manufacturing in 1989.
Customers include Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Ford, and Nissan.
Store revamped
Marsh Supermarkets Inc. this week unveiled the first of 30 store remodelings planned for Indiana.
The Kinser Pike store, built in 2001, was the first to be remodeled in this new effort.
“This remodel gives Hoosiers a look at what lies ahead for 29 other Marsh stores: an enhanced shopping experience with the best in fresh and local products available in any supermarket,” Marsh chief executive officer Tom O’Boyle said in a prepared statement.
Marsh operates 72 supermarkets in Indiana and Ohio and employs nearly 9,000.
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