The Columbus Bar Association has formed the Professional Partners Project, a new program designed to help small minority businesses overcome legal and financial barriers. The project creates “action teams” of volunteer professionals from the legal, lending and accounting fields to provide one-on-one, free advice to participating businesses. Four Central Ohio businesses selected to participate are Always Caring Service Inc., a provider of home health and durable medical supply services; Jackson’s Chesapeake Food Bar, a restaurant specializing in freshly prepared home-style soul food; My Mamma’s Sweet Potato Pie Co., which prepares and sells — wholesale and retail — a variety of flavored sweet potato pies; and Application Link Inc., a software development and consulting firm. For more information, contact the Columbus Bar Association at 221-5711, ext. 7143.
Columbus-based Liebert Corp. will locate a manufacturing facility in the former Cabletron building in Ironton, Ohio, with help from the Ohio Department of Development. The estimated $4 million project is expected to create 200 full-time jobs within the first three years of operation. The Department of Development has granted Liebert a $3 million loan and a $500,000 grant for machinery and equipment. The company also has received incentives for the project through the Job Creation Tax Credit and the Ohio Industrial Training Program.
RMD Advertising has received an Award of Merit from the 1999 Summit Creative Awards competition. The national competition recognizes outstanding creative work in audio, video and print. More than 1,000 advertising agencies around the country submitted 3,006 entries. Of those, 19 received the Judges Award of Merit.
Resource International Inc. has spun off of its Information Technology Division as a sister company. ProjectGrid.com Inc.’s president is Mark Majidzadeh. The company’s main product, ProjectGrid.com, is a Web site that promotes collaboration by allowing all members of a project team to remain informed on project status by providing real-time communication to architects, owners, engineers and subcontractors.
RWS Building Co. has been selected to construct a 50,000-square-foot facility for Ohio Health-Southwest Center. RWS will provide construction services for demolition of the old Harts store and construction of the new facility in Grove City. Construction is to be completed in May 2001.
Central Ohio advertising agency Conrad, Phillips & Vutech has taken on the Ohio Learning Network as a new client. The network, an online consortium of Ohio’s colleges and universities, will help Ohioans use technology to enhance education and training. Conrad, Phillips & Vutech will engage in branding sessions for Ohio Learning Network, then rework the network’s logo and corporate identity to give it a more targeted profile.
Sophisticated Systems Inc. has acquired the Columbus location of NewMedia Inc., an e-business strategy, consulting and systems development firm.
Fiber Network Solutions Inc. has restructured its sales organization and will centralize the group at its Columbus headquarters. The company will offer to relocate sales employees from established offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh. The move is expected to add about 50 new jobs in sales and sales support personnel by early 2001.
Columbus-based Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. has opened its first international manufacturing plant, in San Salvador, El Salvador. The plant was built in partnership with Intusa, a 35-year-old PVC pipe manufacturer located in El Salvador. The manufacturing plant, which began producing pipe in February, will primarily serve Central America and southern Mexico.
Columbus television station WSYX has been honored for outstanding programming in the 2000 Muscular Dystrophy Association Broadcast Journalism Awards. WSYX received a “Best of Category” award in the Telethon Memorial Feature category for its entry titled “Andrew Teeter Memorial.” The station also earned a silver award in the Telethon Live Interview category for “Gene Therapy.”
Dominion Homes has formed its own mortgage company, Dominion Homes Financial Services Ltd. The new mortgage company will use state-of-the-art technology and an automated underwriting technology program that will connect to the Dominion Homes models.
Houston-based Pentacon Inc., distributor of small parts and fasteners to many of the Fortune 50 aerospace and industrial original equipment manufacturers, has made agreements to partner with ECOoutlook.com to build, manage and maintain the Pentacon Advanced Inventory System. ECOutlook.com, headquartered in Houston, has operations in Columbus.
