Corporate Report

Corporate Report

by Sean Roth | Associate Editor

Global Imaging buys CopyCo Office Solutions

Tampa-based Global Imaging Systems Inc. acquired Indianapolis-based CopyCo Office Solutions Inc. CopyCo, which has annual revenues of about $13 million, becomes Global's 20th core dealership. The acquisition will allow Global Imaging Systems to sell and service Canon and Gestetner copiers and facsimile machines throughout the greater Indianapolis area and extend its reach to eastern Illinois and Terre Haute, Indiana.

Carrabba's Italian Grill takes Consumers' Choice top spot

Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners Inc.'s Carrabba's Italian Grill restaurant chain won a first place Platinum Award in the best Italian restaurant category in Restaurants & Institutions magazine's 26th annual Consumer Choice awards. The annual magazine awards select restaurants through a national survey of more than 3,100 people. Participants were asked to rate about 120 chain restaurants on eight customer satisfaction points: food quality, menu variety, value, service, atmosphere, cleanliness, reputation and convenience. Winners were named in 13 menu categories.

There are presently 217 Carrabba's Italian Grill restaurants throughout the country.

HSN, home improvement icon partner to create Bob Vila Tools

St. Petersburg-based HSN has inked a deal with nationally syndicated home-improvement TV personality Bob Vila to create a branded line of tools that will start exclusively on the electronic retailer. The new line of Bob Vila Tools is scheduled to premiere Oct. 6-7 on HSN TV and www.hsn.com, with Vila introducing new products on the network throughout the year. Vila will deliver his a line of infomercial shows on the network guiding viewers through a variety of household projects. Vila touts the new hand tools as being especially user friendly for the average homeowner.

The line will initially include the core tools ranging from $16.90 for a utility knife that can replace its blade with replaceable blades, to $79.90 for a 300-piece drill accessory center.

Project-based "how to" kits featuring instructional DVDs and corresponding tools will also be introduced to give consumers everything they need to complete a specific project. Project kits with video tutorials will range from hanging blinds to larger tasks like installing chair rails.

Roskamp Institute starts 18-month Alzheimer's study

The Roskamp Institute of Sarasota launched a major clinical study to test a new drug application for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The announcement, timed to coincide with World Alzheimer's Day Sept. 21, marks the first time that a Florida-based research institute has conducted human clinical studies resulting from its own original Alzheimer's research.

The 18-month study, which will be conducted in partnership with the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience in Dublin, Ireland, will help determine if the high blood-pressure drug Nilvadipine could be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In pre-clinical studies on mice, Nilvadipine was found to decrease the levels in the brain of a protein called amyloid that is believed to cause the onset of Alzheimer's. The drug was also found to increase the flow of blood to the brain, which is believed to be beneficial in the treatment of the disease.

While the clinical study itself will be conducted in Ireland, there are several supporting studies, which will be conducted in the Tampa Bay area. To assist with its research, the Roskamp Institute is looking for volunteers who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Participants will be asked to give a small amount of blood on three occasions over a four-week period. Though no drug will be administered during this research, this investigation will provide critical data to supplement the human clinical study being conducted in Ireland.

Sarasota EDC awards Hall of Fame companies

The Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota Co. held its 2006 Hall of Fame awards luncheon, honoring excellent companies in the county based on corporate citizenship and community involvement, corporate responsibility, and growth, achievements and market expansion. The winners (and runners-up) were: Company of the Year: Winner - Tervis Tumbler Co. (North Venice); Manufacturer of the Year: Winner - Busy Bee Cabinets (North Port), Runner-up - Sunset Mold & Protogype Inc.; Service Co. of the Year: Winner - FCCI Insurance Group (Lakewood Ranch), Runner-up – WilsonMiller Inc. (Naples) ; Technology Co. of the Year: Winner – LexJet (Sarasota), Runner-up – GravityFree.

DNAPrint Genomics patents genetic feature process

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Sarasota-based DNAPrint Genomics a patent for "Methods for the Identification of Genetic Features for Complex Genetics Classifiers." The patent focuses on the company's methods for identifying links between gene sequences and the physical or medical traits they relate to or produce. The process is key to the company's business plan because of its application in creating new drugs.

Etc...

• Michael Lavington has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Bradenton-based management solution company Gevity. Lavington has also been a Board Director of Mecca Leisure Group, a U.K. public company. In the late 1980's, Lavington was the divisional managing director of Mecca Leisure's Overseas Division, which included the Hard Rock Cafe Group.

• Marshall Williams, vice president of customer services and quality control for the Bradenton-based home-builder Bruce Williams Homes, was recently awarded the 2006 Outstanding Customer Service Professional award from Joe Turner Customer Service Consulting, a consulting firm to the home building industry.

"Bruce Williams Homes developed and implemented one of the most effective Customer Service programs in the new home industry in the U.S.," said Joe Turner, president. "Their program has big company scope and effectiveness, and Marshall Williams played a major role in developing the program. His work with homeowners to establish realistic guidelines and expectations are creative, highly successful and particularly effective."

• Doug Booth, Realtor of Bosshardt Realty in Ellenton, recently was elected president of the Manasota Exchange Club, a new business referral group chartered by the National Exchange Club. 

• Sarasota-based Global Signal Inc.'s board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.525 per share for the quarter ending Sept. 30. The $0.525 per share dividend is payable Oct. 19 to holders of record of Global Signal's common stock on Oct. 5. Global Signal owns, leases or manages about 11,000 towers and other wireless communications sites.

• Investors' Security Trust Company, a Fort Myers-based firm that provides estate, trust and investment management services, announced that John Noland has been appointed to the company's board of directors. Noland is chair of the commercial litigation practice area at Henderson Franklin.

• Carla Rayman, who founded Cloud Nine Realty in 2003 in Sarasota to cater to the international market, has been named vice president of Business and Economic Development for Sarasota Sister Cities Association. In this role she will help area companies and businesses interested in pursuing economic and business opportunities with locations that have established connections with Sarasota as a Sister City.

Sarasota has long-term relationships with Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Dunfermline, Scotland; Perpignan, France; Tel Mond, Israel; Treviso, Italy, and Vladimir, Russia. Currently under exploration is a candidate Sister City of the Siming District of Xiamen, China.

• Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability law attorney Rafael Gonzalez, of Lithia, was recently awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award. The award was presented to Gonzalez as a result of his work with students at Brandon Academy, a private school in Brandon, in celebration of Law Day over the last five years.

• Wolf Professional Risk, Inc., a Tampa-based wholesale brokerage firm, announced it has started offering professional liability services. The firm will initially focus on products that provide coverage for attorneys, miscellaneous medical facilities, and insurance agents with plans to roll out additional products over time.

Wolf Professional Risk, Inc. was founded by Boyd Wolf and David Gough, both of whom have extensive prior experience in professional liability coverage.

• The marketing and advertising agency, Moonlight Marketing Group LLC, has moved to 800 8th Ave. W. in downtown Palmetto.

• The Sarasota-based Hispanic-focused marketing agency Nuevo Advertising Group has been hired by Owen Motor, Inc. of Sarasota. Nuevo Advertising will develop and manage all aspects of the used car dealer's Spanish-language advertising program.

• Fred Barry has been promoted to chief operating officer of Fort Myers-based J.L. Wallace Inc. Barry was hired by J.L. Wallace, Inc. in November 2004 as a senior project manager. Prior to joining the firm, he was a senior project manager for a Wisconsin commercial construction company for 15 years.

• James DeMass, a senior designer at Sarasota-based CyberWize, was recognized by the online image Web site, LiquidLibrary.com, as part of its "2006 Annual Design Competition." DeMass received special recognition for innovative design in creating a promotional booklet for the CyberWize product, Tunguska Blast. DeMass graduated from the Ringling School of Art & Design in 1999 with a degree in graphic and interactive communication.