Corporate Report: July 6

By Business Observer Staff
| 8:29 a.m. July 6, 2012
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Strategies

Michigan recycler RJ Torching inks MagneGas fuel agreement
Tampa's MagneGas Corp. reached an agreement to supply RJ Torching Inc. recycling facilities in Flint, Mich., with MagneGas fuel for metal cutting.

MagneGas Corp. also plans to install a 150kW unit onsite to produce MagneGas and supply RJ Torching and the surrounding area with the metal-cutting gas.

“The ability to cut metal quickly, cleanly and in an environmentally friendly way is crucial to the success of our business,” Jason Roughton, president of RJ Torching, says in a press release. “After extensive testing, we determined MagneGas exceeded our expectations with its superior metal cutting properties, reduced secondary smoke while also increasing our savings on operating costs.”

Using MagneGas also worked well with the Michigan recycler's plans to market its SPARCS (Smoke Particulate Air Reduction Cyclone Systems), a metal-cutting exhaust gas collection system.

MagneGas is a natural gas alternative and metal-working fuel that can be made from certain industrial, municipal, agricultural and military liquid wastes.

Bauer Foundation CEO wins Ernst & Young Florida award
Charles Puccini, president and CEO of Odessa's Bauer Foundation Corp., received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 Award in the real estate and construction category in Florida. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

An independent panel of judges selected Puccini.

“This award reflects our company's continuing commitment to innovation and sustainable practices as part of our inherent business philosophy,” Puccini says in a press release. “Our company uses advanced Bauer technologies specializing in drilled piling for heavy construction projects to dam remediation cutoff walls, as well as innovative research for geothermal basement construction.”

Founded in 2004, Bauer Foundation Corp. provides foundation solutions and services for construction projects. It is the U.S. subsidiary of the worldwide operating Bauer Group based in Schrobenhausen, Germany.

As a Florida award recipient, Puccini is now eligible for consideration for the National Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 Award. Award recipients in several national categories, as well as the National Entrepreneur of the Year Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala Nov. 17 in Palm Springs, Calif.

U.S. patent office awards six patents to xG Technology
Sarasota's xG Technology Inc. has been granted six new patents in the past three months. The patents cover a wide range of wireless communications technology innovations including improvements in the area of spectrum sharing, media access control, mobile voice over IP signaling and interference detection/mitigation.

As of June 11, xG Technology held 33 U.S. patents and had another 29 patents pending. The company holds 143 foreign patents.

Roper Industries board issuing 14-cent dividend
The board of directors of Roper Industries Inc. approved a dividend of 13.75 cents per share payable on July 27 to stockholders of record on July 13.

The Sarasota-based company saw its revenue dip in the first quarter, ended March 31, to $711.07 million down from $739.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Its net income was down as well for the quarter to $108.31 million, a decline from $121.68 for the quarter ended Dec 31.

Sarasota Memorial System opens Heart Valve Center
Bolstered by its collaboration with New York's Columbia University Medical Center, the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has opened a new Heart Valve Center and introduced Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement treatment. The health system opened the center in a suite in the Heart & Vascular Services building at the corner of Waldemere Street and Tamiami Trail on the Sarasota Memorial Hospital main campus.

The center has started with four doctors and a nurse practitioner.

The Heart Valve Center's new minimally invasive procedure, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement surgery, is a catheter-based treatment for people with severe aortic valve disease who are not eligible for surgery, including older heart patients. The procedure has been shown to dramatically improve a patient's quality of life.

“Basically, TAVR allows us to replace the valve through a small opening near the groin, rather than open heart surgery,” David Patterson, executive director of Sarasota Memorial's Heart & Vascular Services, says in a press release.

Tampa's HealthPlanOne opens new call center
Tampa-based insurance brokerage HealthPlanOne recently opened a new call center and brokerage office in Tampa to accommodate the increased growth of its online health care business. HealthPlanOne is offering both online and offline support to help customers research and select from more than 40 national and most regional carriers with Medicare Advantage, supplement, individual, family and small group insurance plans.