April 14, 2018 at 3:22 a.m.

IU Health Jay earns donor award

Business roundup

An Indiana eye donor bank awarded IU Health Jay Hospital this month for its commitment to the bank’s donor program. 

VisionFirst, located in Indianapolis, gave its 2017 Vision Award to the hospital for its leadership and participation in the eye donation program. The hospital’s donor program gives all patients the opportunity to become donors, the organization said. 

 In 2017, eight people received corneas donated from IU Health Jay Hospital patients. Sixteen people have received cornea transplants from Jay Hospital patients in the last five years. 

VisionFirst is the largest eye bank in Indiana and provides 2,000 corneas for transplant each year. 



Receives grant 

A nonprofit organization that distributes donated meat to low-income Indiana residents received a grant to help with processing the meat recently. 

Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (Greensburg), donated $7,500 to Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry’s “Meat” the Need program. The program accepts donated large game and livestock from hunters and farmers throughout Indiana. Participating meat processors package the meat for distribution to local food banks and hunger-relief agencies. 

The program has distributed more than 991,000 pounds of meat to Indiana food banks since 2011. The Honda donation will pay for processing 5,500 pounds. 

Local processing centers where meat can be donated at no cost include Fisher Packing Co. in Portland, Adair Processing in Pennville and Wright Brothers Buckstop in Redkey.



Merger complete

First Financial Bancorp has completed its merger with MainSource Financial Group, the company announced April 2. 

The two corporations will operate as First Financial with a total asset size of approximately $14 billion, according to a company press release. 

MainSource banking centers will continue to operate under the name “MainSource” until the operating systems are converted, slated for May 25 to 28. All accounts and client relationships will then convert to First Financial Bank. 

First Financial has a branch in Fort Recovery. MainSource has several locations in Portland. 



New pipe yard 

Ferguson Enterprises’ new pipe yard operation has opened in Celina, Ohio. 

The company fabricates, cuts and prepares pipes. The new yard is up and running now, and will be fully operational by the end of May, according to a story in The (Celina) Daily Standard. 

The $13.16 million expansion included a 160,000-square-foot building, six acres of outdoor storage and 36 new full-time jobs. It will supply pipes to 110 Ferguson branches.



Acquiring 

Motherson Sumi announced its plans to acquire Reydel Automotive Group for $201 million.

Motherson Sumi, parent company of MSSL Wiring Services LLC in Portland, will complete the transaction over the next four to six months, according to an article from Mint, an Indian business newspaper. 

Reydel is based in France and manufactures interior parts for automobiles. It has 20 manufacturing facilities in 16 countries and had an operating profit of $68 million in 2017.  




Growth study 

A study sponsored by Indiana Michigan Power has shown an opportunity for growth in food and beverage industries in East Central Indiana. 

The study was conducted by Austin Consulting. According to a press release, I&M sponsored the study to support economic growth and increase quality of life in its coverage areas. 

The study showed the greatest opportunities for baking and snack food; dairy, meat and poultry; and beverage industries. Employment in the food and beverage industries in I&M’s coverage area, which also includes northern Indiana and southwest Michigan, grew by 24 percent from 2006 to 2016, three times the national average. 

The company’s economic and business developers will partner with interested communities to help identify missed opportunities and growth potentials in these industries. 



Tyson OK’d

A Tyson Foods Inc. chicken processing plant that was rejected by a small town in Kansas is being welcomed by Humboldt, Tennessee.

The Tennessean reported in March that Humboldt has given the green light to the plant, which will create 1,500 jobs. Last year Tonganoxie, Kansas, refused to welcome the same operation.

“Area farmers welcome the chance to expand their crop base while residents emphasize the need for full-time job opportunities. Despite the opposition the company received in Kansas, Tennessee officials praise Tyson as the long-needed catalyst that could ignite the county’s economy,” The Tennessean reported.

“You can’t overstate what that is going to do for our local economy,” Gibson County Mayor Tom Witherspoon told The Tennessean.



Deal opposed

A proposed merger between two healthcare giants could trigger "a fundamental restructuring of the U.S. healthcare system" that would hurt both patients and competition, a Washington-based think tank said in March in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The American Antitrust Institute urged regulators to block a proposed merger between Aetna and pharmacy giant CVS.

Concerns about the merger had already been raised by Consumers Union and the American Medical Association.

"Close scrutiny is needed to determine if the ramifications of this massive merger will threaten the benefits of competition, including increased access and choice, lower prices and higher quality care for patients," AMA President David O. Barbe, M.D., told news outlets covering the healthcare field.



Big settlement

Family Dollar Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $45 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit brought by several female store managers alleging a pattern and practice of pay discrimination dating back to 2002, according to Reuters. 

The case involves a nationwide class of 37,000 women. In a 2008 court filing, the women alleged that the discount retail giant paid them less than men for the same job in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act. 

A federal trial court judge signed off on the settlement at a fairness hearing this month.

As part of the settlement Family Dollar also agreed to perform a “systematic review” of its process for setting starting salaries for store managers.

 
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