Industry Briefs are provided as a free service to our readers. Company news information may be sent to brice@slenterprise.com. The submission deadline is one week before publication.
AGRICULTURE
• Salt Lake City is accepting applications until March 1 from farmers to grow fruits and vegetables on over 1.5 acres of city-owned land adjacent to the Sorenson Unity Center, 1333 S. 800 W. Under the conditions of the request for proposal, the farmer selected for the five-year term will be required to use sustainable methods, sell as much of their produce to Salt Lake City markets, stores and restaurants, and also have a farm stand that accepts food stamp EBT. Sustainable methods include the use of drip irrigation as well as prohibition on the use of toxic chemicals, chemical pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizer. The city’s goal is to have a farm in operation by this growing season, and to expand the program when appropriate land is identified. Details are at https://bids.sciquest.com/apps/Router/PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=StateOfUtah.
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
• Atom Tickets, a mobile movie ticketing platform, has announced a partnership with Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theatres that will expand its availability in Utah and Nevada. Atom Tickets is available as a free app in the Apple App Store and Google Play and online at atomtickets.com. The Megaplex integration involves 17 locations with nearly 200 auditoriums. Atom Tickets is now enabled on 15,000 screens across the U.S.
BANKING
• Bank of Utah, Ogden, has appointed Ethan Headlee as a mortgage loan originator for the bank’s Orem branch. Headlee will be responsible for matching bank customers with mortgage loan products and taking them through the loan application process. He previously worked as a senior loan officer for Ener Bank in Provo. Headlee has an associate of science degree from Salt Lake Community College and is pursuing a degree in business management at Brigham Young University.
• Bank of American Fork has announced management changes involving two Salt Lake County branches. Susan Sorenson is branch manager of the bank’s Murray branch. She has 35 years of banking experience, including 25 years of lending and six years as a manager. She has more than 16 years of service with Bank of American Fork in addition to spending time at other financial institutions, including M&T Bank, JP Morgan Chase and First Security Bank. Sam Taylor has been named branch manager for the Riverton branch. He previously was branch manager and commercial loan officer at the Murray branch. Taylor has 15 years of lending experience, and prior to joining Bank of American Fork, he worked at Volvo Commercial Credit. He received a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Brigham Young University.
• Larry Thorne has retired after 44 years with America First Credit Union, Riverdale. He started as a typist in the lending department and moved into a variety of departments, from teller to office manager, followed by roles in senior management. Thorne served as vice president of finance and operations, vice president of credit administration, among others. Most recently, he was vice president of north central branches from 2007-2017.
DIRECT SALES
• USANA Health Sciences, Salt Lake City, has promoted three people to senior management positions. David Mulham, former executive vice president of the Americas, Pacific and Europe, has been named chief field development officer. Brent Neidig, former vice president of China strategic development, has been named executive vice president of China. Josh Foukas, former vice president of legal, has been named executive vice president of legal. In his new role, Mulham will manage field development for all markets except mainland China. He began his career with USANA in 2009. Neidig has led the organization’s ethics and education team before transitioning into his most recent role as vice president of China strategic development,where he managed USANA’s Babycare subsidiary. As executive vice president, Brent will continue to oversee Babycare as well as the expansion of USANA’s presence in China. Foukas has held significant responsibility in the finance department at USANA, where he has overseen the organization’s public company reporting, investor relations and business developments. As executive vice president of legal, he will help set strategy for all major projects, as well as overseeing corporate legal functions, government relations and investor relations worldwide.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Utah Medical Products Inc., Salt Lake City, has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 36.5 cents per share of common stock. The dividend is payable April 4 to shareholders of record March 17, 2017. It is a 2 percent increase over the dividend declared in the same quarter of the prior year.
• The board of directors of SkyWest Inc., St. George, has declared a quarterly dividend of 8 cents per share. The dividend will be paid April 6 to shareholders of record March 31. The board also has authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of SkyWest common stock over the next three years. The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased will be determined by SkyWest management in its discretion.
• Huntsman Corp., with main offices in Salt Lake City and Texas, announced that its board of directors has declared a cash dividend of 12.5 cents per share on its common stock. The dividend is payable March 31 to stockholders of record March 15.
ENERGY/NATURAL RESOURCES
• Zyto, Lindon, has changed its name to Kailo Energy Inc. The company said the change was in response to the divestiture of the Zyto health and wellness business and its new focus on the solar and renewable energy markets. The company’s stock ticker symbol has changed from ZYTO to KAEN.
FINANCE
• Onset Financial, South Jordan, has hired Wally Joyner as a vice president of strategic development. Joyner has served on the company’s board of directors since 2009. Joyner was a first baseman for four major league teams during a 16-year career. Most recently, he was the hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers.
GOVERNMENT
• Salt Lake County recently received notice that national ratings firm Fitch Ratings has assigned new, higher financial ratings to Salt Lake County bonds, including its transportation tax revenue bonds and its excise tax bonds. In addition to its existing AAA rating on its general obligation bonds, the two categories have been upgraded from AA+ to AAA.
GRANTS
• World Trade Center Utah is accepting applications for the Utah Export Acceleration Grant (EAG), which provides small to medium-sized companies resources to help advance their international business plans. Grant funds are eligible to be used for services and activities that will help companies engage in increased exports and expand their international reach. Service and activities that are eligible include, but are not limited to, education, services and travel. Companies may apply for funds up to $10,000. Applications will be accepted throughout the year and funds awarded on a rolling basis. Recipients of funds will be eligible to participate in a pitch competition at the end of the year to vie for additional funding. Details are at the grant webpage at www.wtcutah.com.
HEALTHCARE
• Intermountain Healthcare has promoted Dr. Mark Briesacher as senior vice president for Intermountain Medical Group and Medical Staff. Briesacher most recently served as senior vice president of clinical integration on the Management Committee of Intermountain Healthcare, to which he was promoted in 2016. In earlier roles, he was chief resident for the Department of Pediatrics at Primary Children’s Hospital and practiced general pediatrics for 15 years for the Medical Group, where he served in several leadership positions, including senior administrative medical director from 2010-2013. He served on the Intermountain Board of Trustees from 2005-08 and is currently a member of the SelectHealth Board of Trustees and the Intermountain Medical Group Board. Briesacher succeeds Dr. Linda C. Leckman, who retired as vice president of Intermountain Healthcare and chief executive officer of the Intermountain Medical Group.
• Ameritech College of Healthcare, Draper, has been endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corp. (AHNCC) for its registered nurse (RN) to bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) program. It is one of only 13 bachelor’s programs nationwide, and the only program in Utah, to receive the endorsement. AHNCC endorses nursing programs that have curriculum grounded in holistic nursing philosophy, theory and concepts consistent with the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) Scope and Standards of Holistic Nursing Practice. In addition to the program endorsement, Dr. Julie Aiken, CEO of Ameritech, and Dr. Kathy Holloway, RN-BSN faculty member at Ameritech, are now certified as advanced holistic nurses.
INVESTMENT
• Chatbooks, Provo, has secured an $11.5 million Series B investment led by Aries Capital Partners, Salt Lake City. Previous investors Signal Peak Ventures, Salt Lake City, and BYU Cougar Capital also participated in the round. The company, which has raised over $20 million, is a subscription-based service that automatically turns digital photos into photo books. It said it plans to use the Series B funding to expand sales and marketing efforts and create new products. The new funds also will go towards expanding into new international markets.
• Summit Global Investments, Salt Lake City, has hired Gautam Baid as senior analyst and Aash Shah as senior portfolio manager. They have an average of more than 14 years’ experience in banking, investments and portfolio management. Baid recently worked as a senior analyst for Deutsche Bank and before that for Citigroup, spending time in their respective London, Hong Kong and Mumbai offices. Before joining SGI, Shah was a senior portfolio manager for KeyBank. Prior to that, he spent 20 years as an investment analyst and then vice president and portfolio manager for Federated Investors and Federated Kaufmann.
• Sorenson Capital, Salt Lake City, has promoted Peter Sturgeon to managing director. He will lead the company’s investment efforts in Arizona. He will continue to serve on the board of directors of several of the companies in which Sorenson Capital has invested. Sturgeon joined Sorenson Capital in 2006 as an associate, working on investments in oil and gas, technology, consumer goods and aerospace before leaving to pursue his MBA at Stanford University in 2008. Prior to joining Sorenson Capital, Sturgeon was an associate at Boston Consulting Group. Sturgeon returned to Sorenson Capital in 2010.
MANUFACTURING
• Biomerics, a Salt Lake City-based contract manufacturer for the medical device industry, has created a Biomerics Advanced Laser division, to be located in Minnesota. The division will specialize in laser welding, cutting, ablating and marking metal and plastic materials within the precision medical device market. It also will offer a portfolio of secondary processes — such as cleaning, passivation, heat setting and electropolishing — that will allow it to provide beginning-to-end solutions to the precision medical device market. Biomerics Advanced Laser’s product offerings will include precision tubes, stents, valve bodies, specialty surgical device components, implantables and catheter systems. The division will be led by Mark Dustrude.
PHILANTHROPY
• Mountain America Credit Union, West Jordan, has announced that its employees donated a total of $37,465 during its 2016 charity drive benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The money was raised through candy sales, employee “dress down” days, lunch fundraisers and more. Mountain America employees participated in the Great Strides walk, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest fundraising event, and also teamed up to help prepare meals at Ronald McDonald House chapters in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.
• The Security Service Charitable Foundation has donated $3,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Weber and Davis Counties. More than 150 people will be helped this year with home repairs, remodeling and new home construction. The organization helps families in Weber and Davis counties through a variety of programs, some of which rely on others donating building materials and items such as old kitchen cabinets. The $3,000 donation will allow Habitat for Humanity to purchase a large box truck to be used for picking up those donated items.
REAL ESTATE
• Westcore Properties, based in San Diego, has acquired an 87,122-square-foot industrial property in Salt Lake City from Los Angeles-based BH Properties for approximately $7.15 million. The acquisition marks Westcore’s entry into the Salt Lake City marketplace. Located at 4745 Amelia Earhart Drive, the one-story industrial building with cold storage is 100 percent occupied by Criminelli Fine Meats and GE Healthcare. Bryce Blanchard of Newmark Grubb ACRES represented the buyer and seller in this transaction.
• CBRE has promoted Russ Harris and JR Moore, retail specialists in the Salt Lake City office, to first vice presidents. They have a combined experience of more than 30 years in commercial real estate. Throughout his career, Harris has worked with top local and national developers, assisting in their expansion both within and outside of Utah. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Utah Valley University. More has been influential in the ground-up development and leasing of new neighborhood and regional shopping centers and has experience with the disposition and investment sale of retail properties. He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Utah.
• Coldwell Banker Commercial Advisors (CBC Advisors) has hired Chris Kirk as managing director, joining the firm’s newly expanded downtown Salt Lake City office at 111 Main. Kirk has more than 20 years’ experience in the commercial real estate business. He previously was executive director of Cushman & Wakefield/Commerce and is the incoming president of the Utah Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR).
RECOGNITIONS
• MountainWest Capital Network (MWCN) has recognized Jeremy Andrus as its 2017 Utah Entrepreneur of the Year. Andrus is chief executive officer of Traeger Grills. Each year, MWCN recognizes a Utah entrepreneur who has accomplished outstanding achievement in building an industry-leading Utah-based company, inspires others to participate in the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship in Utah, and gives back to the community. Andrus joined Traeger Grills in January 2014 and acquired the business alongside private equity fund Trilantic Capital Partners. Under Andrus’ guidance, the company has become the No. 1 selling pellet grill in the U.S., grown by over 30 percent since January 2014 and relocated its global headquarters from Portland, Oregon, to Salt Lake City. Arior to Traeger, Andrus was an entrepreneur-in-residence at investment firm Solamere Capital and worked eight years at Skullcandy, most recently as president and CEO.
• Joseph A. Walkowski is the sole Utah recipient of the 2017 Client Choice Award. Walkowski is director and shareholder with the intellectual property law firm TraskBritt PC, Salt Lake City. The Client Choice awards recognize law firm partners around the world “that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service.” The awards survey only senior corporate counsel only. This year’s winners were chosen from a pool of more than 2,000 individual client assessments. Walkowski’s practice focuses on acquisition and exploitation of intellectual property rights, and his background includes substantial experience in U.S. and international patent prosecution as well as intellectual property opinions, licensing, litigation and due diligence.
• ChamberWest honored several businesspeople and organizations at its annual awards gala Feb. 3. They are Verex Imaging, Business of the Year; Great Harvest Bread Co., Small Business of the Year; Linda Milne, Millcreek Community Council Association, Volunteer of the Year; Spencer Ferguson, Wasatch I.T., Chairperson of the Year; and InterContinental Hotels Group, Best Place to Work.
• Three Davis County companies were honored as a “Top Business in 2016” by Zions Bank radio segment “Speaking on Business.” Integrated Learning Strategies, Kaysville, focuses on helping children acquire strong educational skills required to advance through school. More than 1,000 Utah students have been through the program. Intermountain Wind and Solar, Woods Cross, employs more than 100 people, and is a successful residential and commercial solar contractor. Wingfoot Corp., North Salt Lake, is a janitorial service provider, cleaning corporate offices and buildings across the Wasatch Front. The company is celebrating 38 years in business and employs 250 people.
• The Utah Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services recently presented awards to Matthew Rich of Jacobsen Construction as the 2016 Marketer of the Year and Rachelle West of Siemens Industry Inc. as the 2016 Rising Star.
• Pluralsight, Farmington, has been included in Fast Company’s annual list of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Education. The company ranked No. 7 on the list “for recognizing that on-the-job learning needs to be on-demand.” Pluralsight is an enterprise technology learning platform that delivers a unified, end-to-end learning experience for businesses across the globe.
• TCN Inc., a St. George-based provider of cloud-based call center technology, has received a 2016 Unified Communications Excellence Award from TMC’s Internet Telephony magazine for its cloud-based automated patient engagement platform, VocalRx. Built on TCN’s flagship contact center technology, Platform 3.0, VocalRX provides healthcare practitioners and hospital collectors with various automated notification tools to communicate with their patients efficiently and cost-effectively while increasing revenue. The 2016 Unified Communications Excellence Award recognizes companies who have created remarkable unified communications hardware, software and services that are leading the way in the communications and technology industry.
RURAL UTAH
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its February meeting, endorsed four projects for Rural Fast Track grants. CES Electrical, in Nephi, Juab County, was endorsed for a grant of $50,000 in order to purchase a new Grout-A-Matic/Placer, a project expected to result in the creation of one new full-time position. The total project cost is $125,210. Gordon’s Custom Building, in Ephraim, Sanpete County, was endorsed for a $50,000 grant in order to purchase a new CNC router. The $400,000 project is expected to result in the creation of three new full-time positions. A grant of $13,000 was endorsed for Doyle’s Diesel & Sons Inc., of Nephi, in order to buy and equip a new over-the-road service truck for roadside repairs. The $26,000 project is expected to result in the creation of one new full-time position. HS Customs LLC, of North Logan in Cache County, was endorsed for a $13,000 grant to buy specialized metal fabrication equipment for steel fabrication for its custom auto shop. The $26,000 project is expected to result in the creation of one new full-time position.
SERVICES
• Ancestry, Lehi, has appointed Eric Heath as chief privacy officer. Heath has experience in legal, privacy and compliance leadership and has spent over a decade working for both consumer and B2B Internet companies. Prior to joining Ancestry, Heath was chief privacy officer at Zenefits, led the privacy policy and data governance team at Yahoo, and served as LinkedIn’s global privacy lead.
• MyHeritage, with a main office in Lehi, has appointed Dr. Yaniv Erlich as chief science officer. Derlich will lead scientific development and strategy for MyHeritage DNA, the company's newly established DNA service for family history and ethnicity. Erlich’s experience includes serving as assistant professor of computer science and computational biology at Columbia University and as a core member at the New York Genome Center. He is also the former principal investigator and a Whitehead Fellow at MIT’s Whitehead Institute, founder of DNA.LAND and the principal investigator of the Erlich DNA lab.
• Vertical Access LLC, with an office in Salt Lake City, has hired Erin Bullard as director of marketing and business development. Bullard has 10 years of experience in the A/E/C industry and is responsible for supporting the strategic nationwide positioning in the fields of architecture, engineering and historic preservation for Vertical Access, as well as the firm’s affiliated companies, Alta Access LLC and TPAS LLC.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Instructure, Cottonwood Heights, has promoted Mitch Macfarlane to chief operating officer, a newly created role at the company. Macfarlane previously was senior vice president of product and customer experience. He will be responsible for engineering and marketing in addition to the responsibilities of overseeing product and customer experience.
• ATL Technology, Springville, has appointed David Smith as global vice president of sales and marketing. Smith has an extensive background in sales and operations, with stints in the OEM division at McFadden Sales Inc., Aydin Displays, Cables to Go and Silex Technology Inc. He had been with Silex for the past 15 years and had global responsibilities for the international business and was the president of the U.S. subsidiary.
TRANSPORTATION
• Nikola Motor Co., Salt Lake City, has hired Jonathan Spira as chief financial officer. Spira has been building and managing companies in the technology and consumer industry for more than 20 years. Most recently, he served as chief financial officer at Untangle Inc. He also served as CFO at Blinkx plc, Kapow Technologies, Packethop, Atrenta, ePeople and Autonomy Corp. He also held senior finance and planning positions at Walt Disney Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Nestlé Food Co., and worked as a consultant in Peat Marwick’s merger-and-acquisition practice.