October 19, 2019 at 5:39 a.m.
Ardagh entangled in old patent lawsuit
Business roundup
A legal battle over a patent lawsuit dating back several years continues to be a headache for Ardagh Group, parent company of glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester.
The Irish Times reported this week that the company is attempting recover $64.5 million it was forced to pay out as a result of the suit, which dates back to the period when the Dunkirk plant was owned by French company Saint-Gobain.
“A Delaware jury ordered in April 2017 that Ardagh pay $50.3 million to a company, Green Mountain, which claimed the group’s U.S. glass unit infringed a patent over technology to turn mixed-color glass into recycled glass of a single color,” The Irish Times reported.
Ardagh maintains that any amount of settlement should come from Saint-Gobain, while Saint-Gobain says it’s not involved in the litigation.
Ardagh acquired Saint-Gobain’s Verallia North America, including the Dunkirk plant, for $1.5 billion in 2014.
The two companies are in arbitration over the dispute, The Irish Times said.
No thanks
Tyson Foods Inc., parent of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland, will stop in February buying U.S. hogs raised with a growth drug banned by China, Reuters reported this week.
China is facing a huge pork shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease, and that has Tyson and its competitors jockeying for that business. China is the world’s biggest consumer of pork.
“The halt in the use of the drug, ractopamine, reflects a change in strategy for Tyson, company watchers say. The company previously sought to profit by filling holes in U.S. supplies that were left when industry rivals like Smithfield Foods and JBS USA sent American pork to China,” Reuters said.
The change puts Tyson in a better position to start shipping large amounts of pork to China. African swine fever has decimated China’s domestic hog herd.
“Chinese authorities blocked the use of ractopamine in livestock in 2002 over health concerns. The European Union also prohibits the drug, although the United States and other countries say it can be safely used to add lean muscle to pigs,” said Reuters.
Quarterly report
First Financial Bancorp, parent of First Financial Bank, announced financial results for the third quarter 2019.
For the three months ending Sept. 30, the company reported net income of $50.9 million, or 51 cents per diluted common share. These results compare to net income of $52.7 million, or 53 cents per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2019 and $50.7 million, or 51 cents per diluted common share, for the third quarter of 2018. Income before taxes was negatively impacted by $5.2 million of severance and merger-related items and $700,000 of branch consolidation costs, which combined to reduce earnings per diluted common share by 5 cents after income taxes.
For the nine months ending September 30, 2019, First Financial had earnings per diluted common share of $1.51 compared to $1.36 for the same period in 2018.
Leader lost
Pat Botts, president and chief operating officer of Muncie-based MutualBank, has died.
Botts had been with MutualBank since 1986 and was an active civic leader in Delaware County.
IOSHA fines
An Ohio company has been fined $21,000 in connection with the death of a worker at a Bluffton ethanol plant, the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette reported this week.
The Indiana OSHA fine was levied against Diversified Industrial Services LLC of Leesburg, Ohio.
An outside contractor working for Diversified at the Valero Renewable Fuels plant died June 19 after becoming trapped in a piece of equipment while performing maintenance work.
A state inspection found three violations it deemed serious.
Dropped
Tyson Foods Inc. is dropping its Yappah! brand just over one year after it made its debut.
The product was a crisp snack in aluminum cans and came in four varieties.
None of them seemed to catch on.
“The team decided that the product did not offer the viability that would enable continued investment,” the company’s website said.
Tyson is the parent of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland.
The Irish Times reported this week that the company is attempting recover $64.5 million it was forced to pay out as a result of the suit, which dates back to the period when the Dunkirk plant was owned by French company Saint-Gobain.
“A Delaware jury ordered in April 2017 that Ardagh pay $50.3 million to a company, Green Mountain, which claimed the group’s U.S. glass unit infringed a patent over technology to turn mixed-color glass into recycled glass of a single color,” The Irish Times reported.
Ardagh maintains that any amount of settlement should come from Saint-Gobain, while Saint-Gobain says it’s not involved in the litigation.
Ardagh acquired Saint-Gobain’s Verallia North America, including the Dunkirk plant, for $1.5 billion in 2014.
The two companies are in arbitration over the dispute, The Irish Times said.
No thanks
Tyson Foods Inc., parent of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland, will stop in February buying U.S. hogs raised with a growth drug banned by China, Reuters reported this week.
China is facing a huge pork shortage due to an outbreak of a fatal pig disease, and that has Tyson and its competitors jockeying for that business. China is the world’s biggest consumer of pork.
“The halt in the use of the drug, ractopamine, reflects a change in strategy for Tyson, company watchers say. The company previously sought to profit by filling holes in U.S. supplies that were left when industry rivals like Smithfield Foods and JBS USA sent American pork to China,” Reuters said.
The change puts Tyson in a better position to start shipping large amounts of pork to China. African swine fever has decimated China’s domestic hog herd.
“Chinese authorities blocked the use of ractopamine in livestock in 2002 over health concerns. The European Union also prohibits the drug, although the United States and other countries say it can be safely used to add lean muscle to pigs,” said Reuters.
Quarterly report
First Financial Bancorp, parent of First Financial Bank, announced financial results for the third quarter 2019.
For the three months ending Sept. 30, the company reported net income of $50.9 million, or 51 cents per diluted common share. These results compare to net income of $52.7 million, or 53 cents per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2019 and $50.7 million, or 51 cents per diluted common share, for the third quarter of 2018. Income before taxes was negatively impacted by $5.2 million of severance and merger-related items and $700,000 of branch consolidation costs, which combined to reduce earnings per diluted common share by 5 cents after income taxes.
For the nine months ending September 30, 2019, First Financial had earnings per diluted common share of $1.51 compared to $1.36 for the same period in 2018.
Leader lost
Pat Botts, president and chief operating officer of Muncie-based MutualBank, has died.
Botts had been with MutualBank since 1986 and was an active civic leader in Delaware County.
IOSHA fines
An Ohio company has been fined $21,000 in connection with the death of a worker at a Bluffton ethanol plant, the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette reported this week.
The Indiana OSHA fine was levied against Diversified Industrial Services LLC of Leesburg, Ohio.
An outside contractor working for Diversified at the Valero Renewable Fuels plant died June 19 after becoming trapped in a piece of equipment while performing maintenance work.
A state inspection found three violations it deemed serious.
Dropped
Tyson Foods Inc. is dropping its Yappah! brand just over one year after it made its debut.
The product was a crisp snack in aluminum cans and came in four varieties.
None of them seemed to catch on.
“The team decided that the product did not offer the viability that would enable continued investment,” the company’s website said.
Tyson is the parent of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland.
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