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DIRECT SALES
• Young Living Essential Oils LLC, a Lehi-based essential oils product company, has appointed Mark R. Bartlett as executive vice president of science and development. Bartlett has nearly 30 years of experience in the nutrition supplement industry. Prior to joining Young Living, Bartlett served as vice president of global research and development for Pharmanex.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 4 on a list of least lucrative cities for Airbnb, compiled by HomeAdvisor. It compared the average daily mortgage cost to the average daily Airbnb profit from a one-night stay in June of this year. The profit margin in Salt Lake City was $62.15. the highest was $313.77 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The lowest was minus $65.64 in San Jose, California. Details are at https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/days-it-takes-rental-property-to-cover-mortgage/.
• Twenty-eight percent of surveyed Utahns are purchasing items now, even those they do not necessarily need, in order to avoid expected future inflation, according to CouponBirds. The highest percentage is in Arizona, at 57 percent. The lowest is in in Alabama, at 6 percent.
• Salt Lake City is No. 3 on a list of “2022’s Best Cities for Country Music Fans,” compiled by LawnStarter. It compared over 180 of the biggest cities based on eight key factors, such as the number of country music concerts, access to performance venues, and the affordability of concert tickets. It also gauged local interest in the genre based on Google search data, the number of country music stations, and the existence of country music museums. On breakout lists, Salt Lake City was behind only Charleston, South Carolina, for the most country music concert venues per 100,000 residents and tied for No. 3 for the most country music radio stations. The top-ranked city overall is Nashville. The No. 182 city is Brownsville, Texas. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-country-music-fans/.
• Thirty-three percent of surveyed Utahns believe productivity-monitoring tools use by their employers should be banned, according to a survey by CouponBirds. It noted that more employers have resorted to monitoring workers’ digital productivity using software that can measure metrics like keystrokes, keyboard pauses and overall active time. The national average wanting a ban is 32 percent. The highest percentage is in New Hampshire, at 80 percent. The lowest is in New Mexico, at 10 percent. Details are at https://www.couponbirds.com/research-center/data/remote-productivity-monitor-efficiency-promotion-vs-rights-violation.
ENERGY
• Deseret Power, a regional generation and transmission cooperative, has broken ground on a 15-megawatt solar project adjacent to the company’s Bonanza Power Plant that will provide low-cost electricity to rural cooperative customers throughout Utah and the West. The project will be able to power the equivalent of 10,000 homes when the sun is shining. It will complement Deseret Power’s existing supply of electricity. Deseret Power serves five rural electric cooperatives and other customers in five Western states. It owns 223 miles of transmission lines and 530 megawatts of generation, including the Bonanza Power Plant.
FOOD
• Chip Cookies, a Provo-based cookie delivery company, has announced it has sold out all available territories in Utah. It currently has eight corporate locations in Utah and will begin to open those franchise locations starting this year. The company was started in 2016.
HEALTHCARE
• SelectHealth, Salt Lake City, has named Nathan Foco as chief marketing officer. Foco will oversee marketing, branding and creative, corporate social responsibility, customer experience, communications, marketing intelligence, customer research, and public relations. Foco most recently was vice president of marketing and customer experience at Priority Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also has held leadership positions at Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan.
INSURANCE
• AmyntaGroup, a New York-based insurance services provider, has acquired the extended warranty operations of IFit Health & Fitness Inc., Logan, operated through its wholly owned subsidiary, Universal Technical Services. Terms were not disclosed. IFit is an at-home fitness equipment company whose equipment brands include NordicTrack, ProForm, Weider and FreeMotion. UTS is the exclusive distributor and administrator of branded extended warranty and maintenance plans for all IFit fitness equipment brands in the U.S. and international markets. As part of the transaction, Amynta has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with IFit to deliver a full-service platform of extended warranty protection and maintenance plans for all IFit fitness equipment. UTS is based in Logan and will operate under the continued leadership of Nick Palmer, vice president of UTS, and Greg Lindsay, director of UTS. Truist Securities Inc. served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to IFit.
INVESTMENTS
• Aqua-Yield, a Sandy-based company offering nanoliquid for agricultural production, has closed its $23 million Series A investment round. It was led by the Larry H. Miller Co., with participation from Penny Newman Grain Co. and San Leonardo. The company said it will use the funding to accelerate the global adoption of its nanoliquid solutions.
• Momentus, a Park City-based nutrition and supplement brand, has closed a $6.5 million Series A funding round led by DSM Venturing and including former NFL teammate Luke Kuechly, as well as Tour de France winner and Olympic champion Geraint Thomas; Ironman champion, Olympian and World Tour cyclist Cam Wurf; and Olympian and Boston Marathon winner Des Linden. The company said the funds will be used to help support the launch of new products and technology developments that will begin to roll out later this year, largely empowered by a strategic partnership with the DSM-backed personalized nutrition company and brand incubator Hologram Sciences. Momentous last year merged with Amp Human to bring both brands under the Momentous brand identity.
MEDIA/MARKETING
• Gibbs M. Smith Inc., a Layton-based publishing and distributing company, has announced that its employees have purchased the second half of their company. The deal was completed between Catherine Smith, co-founder and 50-percent share owner, and the company’s employees via a third-party trustee. Co-founders Gibbs and Catherine Smith started the company in 1969. They sold half of the organization to employees in October 2015. Gibbs passed away in 2017. The company is organized as a Benefit Corporation (B Corp).
MILESTONES
• Ken Garff Automotive, based in Salt Lake City, is celebrating its 90th anniversary. The company was started by Ken Garff in 1932. The company has 65 dealerships in eight states and has more than 5,000 employees.
PARTNERSHIPS
• LoanPro, a Salt Lake City-based loan servicing software company, has announced a partnership with Anovaa, a next-generation consumer loan origination platform. LoanPro combines its lending platform, which seeks to simplify the loan servicing process, with Anovaa’s expertise in loan origination, to help lenders, no matter the size.
• Assure, a Salt Lake City-based company offering a platform for special purpose vehicles, and Satschel, a San Francisco-based compliance company, have announced a bilateral partnership designed to revolutionize the financial infrastructure of private markets. Assure SPV customers will be the first to leverage Satschel’s automated Compliance Fabric, enabling them to onboard investors with less friction, more automation and higher accuracy.
PHILANTHROPY
• Sinclair Oil, Salt Lake City, has announced an initiative supporting the children and spouses of fallen or disabled veterans and first responders through “Folds of Honor,” a nonprofit organization devoted to providing educational scholarships to these family members. A portion of fuel purchased at participating Sinclair stations through Oct. 16 will be donated to Folds of Honor through the aptly named Fueling Folds of Honor initiative. The company is currently on track to raise more than $700,000 over five weeks, with the support of Sinclair-branded retail partners and Sinclair Oil customers.
• Smith’s Food & Drug and the Salt Lake Education Foundation are providing over 4,000 meals for young people in need. The donation from Smith’s Food & Drug Stores supports the company’s “Zero Hunger|Zero Waste” plan that aims to end hunger in communities and eliminate waste across the company by 2025.
• Cyrusher recently donated two electric mountain bicycles to the Logan Police Department. Founded in 2014, Cyrusher started as a small company in China selling bicycle parts online and has grown into a global company selling electric bicycles. It opened a hub in Logan to increase its U.S. sales base. Jeff Flammer recently opened the new physical store and distribution center.
REAL ESTATE
• Fieldstone Homes, a Salt Lake City-based homebuilder, and joint venture partner IHP Capital Partners recently held a grand opening for Silver Creek Utah, a community of 40 modern, three-story townhomes across seven buildings in Park City. The townhomes are within the Silver Creek Village master plan and are within the Sage Meadows of the Eastern Snyderville Basin.
• Construction has begun on the first set of units for a 350-unit resort condotel, Water’s Edge in Bear Lake. It will be completed by BCC Construction. The developer is Chris Shurian. The project will include an indoor water park with a pool and a lazy river, an amphitheater, coffee shop, food court, shopping, a spa and an arcade. Construction is expected to be complete in April 2024.
RECOGNITIONS
• The Davis Chamber of Commerce has announced that Tage Flint, recently retired general manager of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, will be honored with its Legacy Award. The Legacy Award is the highest honor the executive board of the chamber can bestow and recognizes individuals or institutions that have demonstrated a significant positive impact on Davis County, sustained over years. Flint has worked in the water supply industry for over 35 years. He continues to advise on employee-management interaction, governmental affairs, and routinely interacts with congressional delegations in Washington, D.C. He also remains active in his community and industry by serving on boards and committees. Flint is currently the general manager of Crescent F LLC and UNP LLC, managing natural resource holdings and providing public policy advisement. Flint will be honored during the Davis Chamber of Commerce Business Awards Banquet, set for Sept. 29, 6-9 p.m., at the Davis Conference Center in Layton. Winners of the chamber’s 2022 Business Awards also will be announced at the event. Finalists for Business of the Year are Reading Horizons, Stubbs Dental and Staker Parsons Materials and Construction. Finalists for Small Business of the Year are Championship Martial Arts, City Journals and Social Buzzerfly. Finalists for Employer of the Year are First Community Bank, Goldenwest Credit Union and SeaQuest-Utah. Finalists for the Innovation Award are Legacy Roofing, RETEGO Labs and Wasatch Waste Management.
• The University of Utah is ranked No. 5 for undergrad entrepreneurship (No. 2 among public schools) for 2023 by U.S. News & World Report and Brigham Young University is among the 38 ranked undergrad programs. The entrepreneurship program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business is provided in partnership between the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy and the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. In related rankings issued earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report ranked the MBA program at the Eccles School No. 11 for entrepreneurship overall (No. 5 among public schools) for 2023, and BYU was among 48 ranked schools. The rankings are based on the judgments of deans and senior faculty members at peer institutions.
• Nightmare on 13th, Salt Lake City, is ranked No. 4 on a list of five haunted attractions achieving legendary status, a list compiled by America Haunts. It noted that the U.S. has more than 1,200 haunted attractions. It described Nightmare on 13th as having “an extraordinarily realistic and haunting scare” with 13 nightmare themes. America Hunts is a national association of premier haunted attractions dedicated to excellence in “fear-based, sensory entertainment.”
• Health Catalyst Inc., a Salt Lake City-based company offering data and analytics technology and services to healthcare organizations, has announced the winners of its fourth annual Catalyst Awards. The awards recognize healthcare organizations that have demonstrated exemplary efforts to transform healthcare. Recipients are University of Kansas Health System, the Flywheel Award; Integris Health, Innovative Analytics/AI Catalyst Award; WakeMed Health and Hospitals, Quality and Cost Catalyst Award; Indiana University Health, Patient Engagement Catalyst Award; and UnityPoint Health, Population Health Catalyst Award.
• MX Technologies Inc., a Lehi-based company focused on open finance, has announced the first-ever Open Finance Partner of the Year and finalists for its 2022 MX Innovator Awards. The annual awards honor financial institutions and fintechs using financial data to deliver innovative digital and mobile money experiences to consumers. The Open Finance Partner of the Year honors an organization that has displayed a strong commitment to leading the charge for open standards and secure access to financial information. The recipient is USAA Federal Savings Bank. Finalists for the 2022 MX Innovator Award for connectivity are America First Credit Union, Everyware and Investii. The Data category finalists are Cambridge Savings Bank, Freedom Financial Network and Mercantile Bank. The Experience category finalists are Experian, First Hawaii Bank and Voya. Finalists for MX Valued Partner are Apiture, Boss Insights, NCR, Q2 and Qolo.
RESTAURANTS
• Mountain Mike’s Pizza has opened a location at 1293 N. Canyon Creek Parkway in the Canyon Creek shopping center in Spanish Fork. It is the brand’s third Utah location. The second restaurant in a multi-unit franchise deal that will see five more Mountain Mike’s in Utah, the 2,800-square-foot restaurant is owned and operated by RVTC Enterprises LLC, a franchise group owned by Utah residents and area dairy farmers Robert Viveiros and Tony Cabral. Mountain Mike’s has 260 locations.
• Laziz Kitchen, specializing in Lebanese cuisine, has opened a location at 152 E. 200 S., Salt Lake City. It is the company’s third location. The co-owners are Blake and Jennifer Hannon and John and Catherine Netto.
RETAIL
• Thread, a Provo-based company offering accessories such as wallets, bags and lanyards, has formed an advisory board with John Wilson, co-founder and president of Stance; Alan Ek, founder and CEO of Madson Sunglasses; and Davis Smith, founder of Cotopaxi, serving as advisors.
SPORTS
• Soccer team Real Salt Lake has announced a naming rights deal, with the team’s Sandy venue to be known as America First Field. Financial terms were not disclosed. America First Credit Union, which has been affiliated with Real Salt Lake since 2005, will have an expanded relationship with the soccer club, including digital and traditional branding at America First Field, activations during RSL games, affiliations with the MLS Next Pro Real Monarchs in Herriman and other sporting events.
TECHNOLOGY
• Entrata, a Lehi-based company offering an operating system for the multifamily industry, has appointed Stephanie Fuhrman as senior vice president of corporate development. Fuhrman is a property tech investor and advisor. Prior to joining Entrata, she led several facets of asset and corporate operations for Catalyst Housing Group. Before that, she served as the managing director of global innovation for Greystar. She has held leadership roles within the industry crossing areas of the investment, consumer and building lifecycle.
• Pattern, a Lehi-based e-commerce acceleration platform company, has hired Rob Hahn as chief operating officer. Hahn as more than a decade of experience in operations, robotics and automated warehousing. Hahn previously was an executive at Amazon and chief operating officer at Whitebox.
• Nacha, based in Virginia, has named MX Technologies Inc., a Lehi-based company focused on open finance, as a Nacha “preferred partner program for risk management and fraud prevention.” It recognizes MX for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network. Nacha governs the ACH Network, a payment system that drives safe, smart, and fast direct deposits and direct payments with the capability to reach all U.S. bank and credit union accounts.
• Novva Data Centers, a West Jordan-based data center company, has announced plans to open a data center in North Las Vegas, Nevada, in late 2023. Construction on the 275,000-square-foot, 100-megawatt, $400 million data center began in October 2021. The data center, which will be located on a 20-acre campus, is Novva’s third location, joining existing facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and West Jordan.