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

                • Vendor applications are being accepted for the 2018 “Back to Our Roots” Farmers Market, running July 28-Oct. 27 at Centennial Park, 5405 W. 3100 S., West Valley City. Details are available by contacting John Brubaker at john.brubaker@wvc-ut.gov or (801) 509-1964.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

                • The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) has named Brad Strong as its 2018 chairman. Strong is the co-dealer principal of Strong Volkswagen, Audi Salt Lake City and Porsche Salt Lake City. He was recognized at AIADA’s 48th annual meeting and luncheon in Las Vegas. Strong is a third-generation dealer. With his brother, Blake, he runs a stable of dealerships that have been in operation since the 1940s. He has served on AIADA’s board of directors since 2009.

 

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

                • Cedar City is ranked No. 52, Salt Lake City is No. 124 and St. George is No. 141 in a list of U.S. cities based on how long $1 million lasts in retirement, compiled by SmartAsset. The company calculated the average cost of living for retirees in the largest U.S. cities. McAllen, Texas, topped the rankings, at 42.29 years.

 

EDUCATION/TRAINING

                • The Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Institute, in partnership with Business Performance Group Inc., will offer a Sales Academy this spring, with classes beginning in May. The academy will offer six modules, including building a foundation for success, building rapport, capturing a prospect’s attention, building a sales arsenal, developing a powerful presentation, and asking for the business. The cost is $600 for chamber members. The institute, in partnership with Firetoss, also will offer a Marketing & Advertising Academy, with classes starting in May. The academy will cover SEO, pay-per-click advertising, Google ad words, programmatic display advertising, and how to maximize web traffic. The four-week course costs $500 for chamber members. Details are available by contacting Erica Bohl at erica@sandychamber.com or (801) 727-4502.

                • Western Governor’s University’s College of Information Technology has added a bachelor’s of science in computer science (BSCS) degree program. It is offered online and is competency-based. Students can begin their program as early as June 1. The program will teach students to design, develop, and optimize systems, preparing them for opportunities in careers such as computer systems analyst, programmer, AI specialist, software engineer, UX designer, and network architect.

 

EXPANSIONS

                • Sportsman’s Warehouse, Midvale- has announced it will have new retail stores in Milpitas, California, and Coon Rapids, Minnesota. The Milpitas store will be the company’s 11th in California. Both store are expected to open this summer. The company will have 92 stores in 23 states.

                • USANA Health Sciences, Salt Lake City, has announced it will expand into four European markets: Romania, Germany, Italy and Spain. The company will have 24 markets worldwide.

 

GOVERNMENT

                • Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and the Salt Lake City Council are seeking resident feedback on a sales tax and bond proposal. They are currently exploring the possibility of activating a 0.5-percent sales tax option provided to the city in 2015. The ongoing funding could be used to help fund growth-related priority areas of street repair, affordable housing, transit service, and neighborhood safety and security. The proposed sales-tax increase is estimated to generate between $32 million and $34 million annually and would exempt food (groceries) and large purchases like automobiles. The potential bond is estimated to be $87 million and would replace two bonds approved by voters 20 years ago. A council public hearing on the matter will be April 17 at 7 p.m. at the Salt Lake City and County Building, third floor. Details about “Funding Our Future” is at www.fundingourfutureslc.com/get-involved.

                • Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski has proclaimed the month of April as “Craft Beer Month” to recognize the city’s local brewers and their contribution to Utah’s economy. The city has 15 craft breweries, up from three microbreweries two decades ago. The craft beer industry contributes $450 million to the Utah economy each year and is closely tied to tourism, the mayor’s office said.

 

HEALTHCARE

                • ProLung Inc. has appointed Mark V. Anderson as chief financial officer. Most recently, he was a partner with Eide Bailly LLP and previously a partner with Hansen, Barnett and Maxwell which was acquired by Eide Bailly LLP. His experience also includes quality control director and engagement partner for various public and private companies in healthcare and other industries. He holds both bachelor of science and a master of professional accountancy degrees from Weber State University. ProLung, based in Salt Lake City, is focused on predictive analytics technology and non-invasive tests for the risk stratification of indeterminate pulmonary nodules.

                • Sound Sleep Medical, a dental practice specializing in treating sleep apnea with oral appliances, has opened offices at 1075 N. Washington Blvd., Ogden, and 3216 N. University Ave., Provo. It maintains an office in Sandy that opened in January. Consultants/office managers are Aubrey Angus in the Sandy office, Mindy Sowers in Provo, and Misty Pond in Ogden.

                • The board of directors of HealthEquity Inc., a Draper-based health savings accounting non-bank custodian, has elected Debra McCowan to the board and its Compensation Committee. McCowan is a human resources professional with more than 25 years of global management experience. She currently is the executive vice president and chief human resource officer of Equinix Inc. She previously was the co-founder and partner at Accelerance Inc., served as vice president of worldwide human resources for Avago Technologies U.S. Inc., and vice president of human resources for Hitachi Data Systems.

                • Xevant, a Salt Lake City-based managed-care client optimization company, has hired Chris Cowley as director of software development. Cowley has more than 20 years of managed-care data experience. His education includes a B.S. degree in business administration from Utah State University.

                • CHG Healthcare, a Salt Lake City-based healthcare staffing company, has named Rob Millard its new chief financial officer. Millard has experience in banking and financial services, serving most recently as CFO at Earnest Inc. in San Francisco. Before Earnest, Millard spent 12 years at Arthur Andersen in New York and 14 years at GE Capital Bank in Salt Lake City. Millard succeeds Sean Dailey, who announced his retirement earlier this year after two decades with the company.

 

INVESTMENTS

                • Canopy, a Lehi-based cloud-based practice management platform for tax and accounting professionals, has announced the closing of a $30 million funding round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, Pelion Ventures, University Growth Fund and EPIC Ventures.

                • Neighbor, Salt Lake City, has received $2.5 million in seed funding from Peak Ventures and Pelion Ventures. Founded in 2017, Neighbor is a peer-to-peer self-storage company.

                • Wasatch Advisors Inc., Salt Lake City, has announced the planned departure of founder and chairman Sam Stewart, who will leave to join Seven Canyons Advisors LLC, a company established by members of his family. Son Josh Stewart also will leave Wasatch to join the new family-owned firm. Sam Stewart founded Wasatch Advisors in 1975 and has served as a portfolio manager and the firm’s chairman since that time. Through 2009, he also served as the firm’s CEO. Josh Stewart joined Wasatch full time in 2006. Wasatch Funds also announced that it has approved a plan to merge the two Wasatch funds currently managed by Sam and Josh Stewart — Wasatch Strategic Income Fund and the Wasatch World Innovators Fund — into two new funds with similar objectives and strategies managed by the two at their new firm. The merger is expected to occur in the third quarter. Sam and Josh Stewart will remain employees of Wasatch Advisors and will manage the funds until the merger is completed.

 

MANUFACTURING

                • Petersen Inc., a manufacturing company based in Ogden, has appointed Bryan Crowell as chief operating officer and promoted Frank Shaw to vice president-program office and Dean Vernon to vice president-operations. Crowell joined the company with more than 25 years of operational management and engineering experience. He also is a Shingo Award-winning author of the book Own the Gap: How to Build a Daily Kaizen Culture. Shaw has been with Petersen for more than 30 years. Vernon has 12 combined years with the company.

 

OUTDOOR PRODUCTS/RECREATION/SPORTS

                • Utah’s ski resorts have announced their closing dates for the 2017-18 season, depending on weather. Alta’s closing will be April 15, but the resort will reopen April 20-22, April 27-29 and May 4-6. Other closing dates are Brian Head, April 15; Brighton, April 22; Powder Mountain, April 15; Snowbasin, April 15; and Solitude, April 15. Beaver Mountain, Deer Valley, Eagle Point, Nordic Valley, Park City and Sundance have already closed. Closing dates for Cherry Peak and Snowbird have yet to be determined.

                • Ski Utah has promoted Hailey Klotz to content director. She is charged with managing, producing and disseminating content on SkiUtah.com and Ski Utah’s social media channels. After graduating with a marketing degree from the University of Utah in 2013, she began her career at Ski Utah as a public relations intern and later became marketing manager.

                • Vista Outdoor Inc., Farmington, has named Miguel “Mick” Lopez as the company’s senior vice president and chief financial officer. Lopez has over 30 years of experience in finance, operations and strategy, with a background that includes corporate finance, treasury, financial planning and analysis, tax, investor relations, strategic planning and risk management. Most recently, he served as the CFO of Veritas Technologies from 2016-2017. He also was CFO for Harris Corp. and Aricent Group/KKR Private Equity. He also held roles at Cisco Systems, Tyco International, IBM and KPMG.

 

REAL ESTATE

                • Buchanan Street Partners, a California-based real estate investment management firm, has acquired a 160-unit multifamily property in Cottonwood Heights from RK Properties for $31.75 million. Buchanan Street plans to upgrade the unit interiors, improve building exteriors and common areas, and have a rebranding campaign to reposition the project in the market. James Wadsworth, managing director at Berkadia, represented both Buchanan Street and RK Properties in the transaction. The acquisition follows Buchanan’s 2017 acquisition of another Salt Lake City area property, a 298-unit apartment project.

                • CBRE Inc. has appointed Lloyd E. Allen as managing director of its Salt Lake City office, overseeing all business lines for the CBRE operation in Utah. Allen has spent most of his professional experience in law, where he has served as general and corporate counsel, worked in private practice and taught law as an adjunct professor. In 2006, he transitioned to commercial real estate where he has worked in various capacities, including most recent as sales director and principal broker of CBRE’s Salt Lake City operations. Allen’s education includes a bachelor of science in accounting from the University of Utah.

                • PREP Property Group Inc., Park City, has hired Numa Jerome as vice president of leasing. Jerome has 25 years of experience ein the retail real estate industry. Prior to joining PREP, Jerome was senior vice president of East Coast leasing at Combined Properties. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1986-1992 and he began his real estate career in 1993 as a senior financial analyst and later as a leasing representative with Combined. He subsequently held senior positions at Federal Realty Investment Trust and Edens & Avant. Jerome returned to Combined Properties in 2008.

                • Richmond American Homes of Utah Inc. has opened South Hills, a neighborhood at 15000 S. Academy Parkway, Herriman. It features two-story homes, which include three to six bedrooms and approximately 2,000 to 2,510 square feet.

 

RECOGNITIONS

                • United Way of Salt Lake has announced its United for Change Changemaker award honorees for 2018. United Way will honor Gail Miller, owner and chair of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies; the Promise Partnership Regional Council’s co-chair, Kirk Aubry, and founding co-chairs Martin Bates and Mark Bouchard; Debbie Koji, principal of South Kearns Elementary School; and Zions Bancorporation and Zions Bank. The Changemaker awards are presented to businesses, civic leaders and organizations that work with others to create measurable change in the community. Recipients will be honored April 10 at the third annual United for Change breakfast. Details are at unitedforchange.uw.org.

                • The Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce has announced three people who will receive 2018 Titan Awards later this year: Ann Romney, best-selling author and global ambassador for the Ann Romney Center for Neurological Diseases; Sterling Nielsen, president and chief executive officer of Mountain America Credit Union; and Jay Francis, executive vice president of corporate affairs and Miller Family Philanthropy for the Larry H. Miller Group.

                • Two student teams from Grand Valley State University in Michigan took first- and second-place prizes in the first Outdoor Weber competition, hosted by Weber State University’s Hall Global Entrepreneurship Center. The winning team received $30,000 toward funding their outdoor product idea. The winning product is the Orindi mask by Jordan Vanderham and Jared Seifert. It is designed to enable easier breathing in cold weather by warming the air for the user. The second-place product, Locker Lifestyle by Katarina Samardzija, provides users with a place to keep small valuables when being active. Locker Lifestyle products are designed to be worn on the head or wrist. She received $7,500. The third-place, $5,000 prize was won by a team from Utah State University. Their product, LIMID, provides consumers with water-activated beacon lights for life jackets. The honorable-mention prize went to Zach Skoheim of Grand Valley State University for the Trail Tracker, which helps prevent off-road vehicles from colliding. More than 80 contestants nationwide submitted a 90-second video pitch of an outdoor-product idea.

                • West Valley City is among 30 finalists for the 2018 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The nominator’s service is the Air Force Reserve. The finalists represent large and small employers, as well as government organizations. The Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) received 2,350 nominations for employers in all 50 states, Guam-CNMI, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. A board will select and announce 15 recipients of the award by mid-June.

 

RESTAURANTS

                • Dave & Buster’s will open a location in May at The Gateway in Salt Lake City, with more than 250 people expected to work there. The 45,000-square-foot location will be the company’s 113th. It will feature chef-crafted food, cocktails, hundreds of arcade games and a sports bar filled with dozens of HDTVs.

 

RETAIL

                • Station Park, Farmington, has announced that Best Buy has signed a lease to open a store there this fall. The 36,000-square-foot store will offer major appliances, audio and home theater technology, and other products and services. It will be the company’s ninth store in the Salt Lake City area. Station Park also said Nike Factory Store will open April 26. Three stores — Sports Clips, Jersey Mike’s Subs and Sleep Number — will open this summer at Station Park West, the third phase of the property.

                • Med One Group, a Sandy-based medical equipment leasing, rental and sales company, has appointed Andy D’Ascenzo to its board of directors. D’Ascenzo is currently serving as the global vice president of sales at Qualcomm Life. His career also has included serving in executive sales positions at Alaris Medical Systems, Cardinal Health, CareFusion Corp. and Becton Dickinson.

 

TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES

                • Pluralsight, a Farmington-based technology learning platform, has announced it has submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The initial public offering is expected to commence after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.

 

TRANSPORTATION

                • William K. England, who led the growth of transportation company C.R. England Trucking Co. along with his brother Eugene, died March 28. William England was born in 1923 and with his brother built the company from one truck in 1946 to now more than 5,000. William England also served on the boards of both the Utah Trucking Association and the American Trucking Association.