Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com.
ACCREDITATION
• ImageFirst, a Pennsylvania-based health care linen service provider, has announced that its Salt Lake City facility has received accreditation from the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council The 55,000-square-foot Salt Lake City facility serves four major health systems and more than 35 specialty outpatient customers across Utah and southwest Wyoming. It has over 100 associates. ImageFirst owns and operates 58 HLAC-accredited plants and branches.
CERTIFICATIONS
• Qualtrics, an experience management company with headquarters in Provo and Seattle, has achieved ISO IEC 42001:2023 certification, the world’s first international standard for the responsible design, development and deployment of AI systems. The company said achieving ISO 42001 certification is a critical third-party validation that proves Qualtrics has in place the frameworks and governance to maintain the highest standards of security, privacy and ethical practices in AI across the Qualtrics Experience Management Platform for all industries. Alongside ISO 42001, Qualtrics recently achieved the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High authorization for AI capabilities within the Qualtrics Experience Management Platform. FedRAMP High is the U.S. government’s highest security standard for cloud products and services, and positions Qualtrics among a select group of companies authorized to deliver AI capabilities at the U.S. government’s most rigorous security standard.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Lehi, at No. 91 nationally, is the top-ranked Utah location on a list of “Leading Cities for Quality of Life,” compiled by LawnStarter. It examined 50 metrics covering health, safety, education, affordability and environmental factors for America’s 500 largest cities. The lowest-ranked Utah city is No. 450 West Valley City. Salt Lake City is ranked No. 279. The top-ranked location overall is Newton, Massachusetts. The No. 500 city is Flint, Michigan. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-quality-of-life/.
• Three Utah locations are on a list of “top locally owned gas stations” in the U.S., compiled by American River Wellness and based on a survey of drivers. They are Hollow Mountain Gas Station in Hanksville, ranked No. 39 nationally; No. 108 Dee’s Super Service in Laketown; and No. 116 Shivwits Convenience Store in Shivwits. The top-ranked location nationally is Rumpy’s Bakery & Deli in Gainesville, Texas. Details are at https://americanriverwellnessrecovery.com/best-local-gas-stations/.
• Two Utah locations are on a list of places “most desperate for their own pro football teams,” compiled by LiveSportsonTV.com and based on a survey of football fans. They are Salt Lake City, No. 92 nationally, and No. 93 Provo. The top-ranked city overall is Honolulu. Details are at https://www.livesportsontv.com/news/top-93-cities-most-desperate-for-a-pro-football-team-2025-survey.
• Three Utah locations are on a list of “the most beautiful cemeteries” in the U.S., compiled by insurance agency Choice Mutual and based on a survey. They are Ogden City Cemetery, at No. 87 nationally; No. 95 Mount Olivet Cemetery, Salt Lake City; and No. 103 Fort Douglas Cemetery, Salt Lake City. The top location overall is Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York. Details are at https://choicemutual.com/blog/most-beautiful-hidden-cemeteries/.
• Three Utah roads are on a list of “best gravel drives” in the U.S., compiled by Potamkin Hyundai and based on a survey of drivers. They are Cathedral Valley Road, Capitol Reef National Park, ranked No. 21 nationally; No. 29 Skyline Drive, Manti-La Sal National Forest; and No. 37 Burr Trail (gravel section) near Boulder. The top-ranked road overall is Gila National Forest Backroads near Silver City, New Mexico. Details are at https://www.potamkinhyundai.com/gravel-glory.htm.
• A total of 218,625 Utahns are living in constant loneliness, according to a study by A Mission for Michael using county health rankings and its own survey insights. Twenty-five percent of Utahns said they feel lonely, with 8 percent saying they are “always lonely.” The top five Utah counties for chronic loneliness are San Juan, 9.3 percent; Tooele, 9 percent; Carbon, 8.5 percent; Grand, 8.5 percent; and Piute: 8.5 percent. The smallest proportion of residents who describe themselves as always lonely are in Summit, 6.8 percent; Morgan, 7.5 percent; Juab, 7.5 percent; Iron, 7.5 percent; and Weber, 7.8 percent. The highest percentage among states is in Mississippi, at 71 percent. The lowest is in Connecticut, at 8 percent. Details are at https://amfmtreatment.com/blog/chronic-loneliness-in-america/.
EVENTS
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity has announced that Academy Award–winning actor, filmmaker and producer Kevin Costner will appear at the One Utah Summit, taking place Oct. 6-8 at Southern Utah University in Cedar City. Costner will take the stage Oct. 7 for a conversation with Utah First Lady Abby Cox, exploring storytelling, legacy and the spirit of the American West. Details about the summit are at https://oneutahsummit.utah.gov/.
INVESTMENTS
• Vector, a Utah-based modern-warfare capability provider, has closed its Series A funding round, culminating in $61 million raised in just over a year since its founding. It was from a syndicate led by Pelion Venture Partners, Harpoon Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Run Ventures, Dauntless Ventures, GSB Backers, Alumni Ventures, Kickstart Fund, Shield Capital, R7, Cambria Group and Stony LonesomeGroup.
• Flax Health, a Lehi-based company with an AI-powered platform for skilled nursing facilities, has raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding. The round was co-led by Sorenson Capital and Pear VC, with participation from health care executives and skilled nursing operators.
• Tower Arch Capital, a Salt Lake City-based middle market private equity firm, has announced that it has partnered with the Van Boom family and recapitalized Tennessee-based Documotion Research Inc., the manufacturer of StickyPOS, a linerless label and point-of-sale solution for the restaurant, hospitality and retail industries. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Transaction financing was provided by UMB Bank and KeyBank. Tower Arch Capital was advised by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Grant Thornton, Alvarez and Marsal, and Lockton. Documotion was advised by Reynolds Advisory Partners and Morgan, Lewis & Blockius LLP.
PARTNERSHIPS
• Health Catalyst Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of data and analytics technology and services to health care organizations, has announced a new partnership with CyncHealth Nebraska, the statewide health information exchange. The partnership aims to empower CyncHealth’s Nebraska operations to provide more accurate, timely and secure continuity of care documents, which are essential summaries of patient health information used to support clinical decision-making and care coordination across health systems. Health Catalyst’s Ninja Universe technology will allow CyncHealth Nebraska to transform how CCDs are parsed and shared, improving the efficiency and consistency of data flow throughout the exchange.
• Altesa BioSciences, an Atlanta-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to preventing and treating rhinovirus infections, has announced a partnership with bioMérieux, a French company with its North American headquarters in Salt Lake City. The partnership will involve the use of the BioFire Spotfire respiratory solution as its core point-of-care diagnostics platform at U.S. sites for Altesa’s upcoming Phase 2B clinical trial.
• Elute Inc., a Salt Lake City-based company focused on drug-eluting device technology for controlled and extended drug release, has announced a strategic partnership with Spartan Medical Inc., a Maryland-based medical solutions company serving the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, civilian hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers nationwide. The partnership aims to expand access of Elute’s BonVie bone graft substitute to physicians and patients at VA and DoD medical facilities worldwide. Elute’s lead product, EP Granules with Tobramycin, is similar to BonVie but is pre-loaded with tobramycin, which is released over eight weeks in a locally targeted region while allowing growth of new bone.
REAL ESTATE
• A team from Northmarq has arranged a $38 million refinance of Bowers Residences, a 236-unit mid-rise apartment community at 55 W. Utopia Ave., Salt Lake City. The team consists of John Bradshaw, Nate Barnson, Bracken Ostler and Adam Bradshaw. Northmarq arranged the permanent-fixed financing on behalf of the borrower, SSLC Multifamily-Parking LLC, through a relationship with New York Life. Built in 2023, Bowers Residences offer studio-, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts and several amenities. Northmarq has a loan servicing portfolio of more than $78 billion and a three-year transaction volume of $69.5 billion.
RECOGNITIONS
• Several Utah-based companies are on a list of “America’s Greatest Workplaces,” compiled by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group. The list recognizes companies that “demonstrate how prioritizing workplace satisfaction can prove advantageous both for their employees and themselves.” The analysis included an assessment of publicly accessible data, over 400,000 employee interviews and over 4.9 million company reviews about insights and experiences on corporate culture, working conditions and other aspects of their current employer and other companies they know. Utah companies with a rating of five stars are Lucid Software, USAA, Intermountain Health and Energy Solutions. Those with four and a half stars are Associated Food Stores, MTC, Lifetime Products, HealthEquity, FJ Management, Sorenson and Health Catalyst. Those with four stars are SkyWest, Amare Global, Big-D Cos. and Conservice.
• The Utah Manufacturers Association honored several companies with safety awards during its recent UMA Manufacturing Conference in Midvale. Awards of Excellence were presented to Bonnell Aluminum (Clearfield plant), Hydro, JD Machine Corp., Precision Machining & Fabrication, Mechanical Service & Systems Inc. (MSS), Innovations in Nutrition & Wellness (INW), Kaddas Enterprises Inc., Nu Skin, Torus and American Alloy Steel. The Most Improved Award was presented to Kaddas Enterprises. Superior Safety Awards were presented to Nu Skin, Bonnell Aluminum (Clearfield plant), Hydro and Torus. Safety Leader Award recipients are Cameron Ruppe, Sunroc; Dan Rees, Cottonwood Millwork & Cabinets; and Lupko Koetje, Nu Skin Enterprises.
• Health Catalyst Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of data and analytics technology and services to health care organizations, has announced the winners of the 2025 Catalyst Awards, an annual program recognizing health care organizations at the forefront of data-driven transformation. In all, 28 leading hospitals and health systems were named finalists. Award recipients are Care Quality Excellence winner Lifepoint Health, based in Brentwood, Tennessee; Financial Transformation winner Temple University Health System, Philadelphia; Quality Performance and Measures Excellence winner Revere Medical, with a network spanning Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Texas; Organizational Transformation winner Integris Health, Oklahoma; and Population Health Impact winner Innovative Healthcare Collaborative of Indiana.
RESTAURANTS
• QDOBA, a San Diego-based Mexican fast-casual brand, has announced a new franchise development agreement bringing 50 new restaurants to key markets nationwide, including Salt Lake City and St. George. It is part of the fast-casual concept’s plans to double its footprint to 1,500 units by 2032. Barry Dubin of B Wild Investments LLC has signed on to develop the 50 new restaurants in Alaska, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico. Initially, Dubin plans to focus on locations in Salt Lake City, St. George, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and areas surrounding Colorado Springs. B Wild also has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire one of QDOBA’s largest franchisees, with a closing anticipated during the fourth quarter. Dubin’s experience includes being co-founder of KBP Brands, which has grown to over 1,000 restaurant units, and executive chairman of the largest Tide Laundromat franchisee in the U.S. QDOBA currently has over 800 locations in 45 states, Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and South Korea.
SPORTS
• Ground tickets and VIP opportunities are available for the Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort in Ivins. The FedExCup Fall event takes place Oct. 23-26. New this year, fans can now purchase four-day ticket packages that grant access from Thursday through Sunday, beginning at a discounted rate of $280. Single-day grounds tickets are available starting at $75 for Thursday and Friday, and $85 for Saturday and Sunday. Special pricing is available for youth and military attendees. Ticket prices will increase Oct. 8. Fans seeking an upgraded experience can purchase daily VIP tickets to the Greater Zion Club, with prices starting at $350 for Thursday and Friday, and $400 for Saturday and Sunday. Other VIP experiences and weekly hospitality opportunities also are available. Details are at www.bankofutahchampionship.com.