Corporate Report: Jan. 24

Heritage Insurance adds chief actuary, director of risk management
St. Petersburg-based Heritage Insurance has hired Timothy Paddock as its new chief actuary and Shannon Cloonen as the new director of risk management. The company says the additions were needed as it prepares for more growth in 2014.

Paddock began his career with Hanover Insurance. He then moved to management and officer positions at ING-North America and later served as vice president and chief actuary with Western Reserve Group. In 2009 he joined HomeWise Insurance, and most recently was chief actuary with Bankers Insurance Group.

“Very few Florida insurers have in-house actuarial expertise,” Bruce Lucas, the company's chairman and chief information officer, says in a press release. “Tim's experience in the Florida and Southeast insurance markets is a huge asset to our team. We're excited to tap into the wealth of knowledge he brings as we head into what will be an exciting 2014.”

Cloonen will concentrate on reinsurance planning, catastrophe modeling, analytics, and enterprise risk management. She has more than 11 years of experience working in property and casualty insurance with Tower Hill Insurance Group, Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Company, HomeWise Insurance Co., and United Property & Casualty Insurance Co.

Five by Five Media CEO joins Tecton Corp. board
Guy Zajonc has joined the board of directors of Clearwater-based Tecton Corp. He is currently president and CEO of Five by Five Media Inc. Prior to that Zajonc served as senior manager and general counsel to Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. from 2003 to 2006. At Odyssey, he helped manage marine operations, build the research department and find and hire researchers. Zajonc also has participated in a number of deep and shallow water shipwreck recovery projects since 1995.

“Guy's contacts and experience in our industry will prove a valuable resource for our management and operational teams to rely upon, and on behalf of the shareholders,” CEO Micah Eldred says in a press release.

In other Tecton news, the majority of the shareholders approved changing the company's name from “Tecton Corp.” to “Endurance Explorations Group Inc.” The name change is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 24.

WellCare's 'Ohana Health Plan chosen for Hawaii's QUEST program
The Hawaii Department of Human Services, Med-Quest Division has chosen WellCare Health Plans Inc.'s 'Ohana Health Plan ('Ohana) to be part of state's new Quest Integration program.

The Quest Integration program combines several state health insurance programs into one statewide initiative that provides managed-care services to all 300,000 of Hawaii's Medicaid recipients.

As of Sept. 30, 'Ohana served roughly 38,000 members in various Hawaii Medicaid programs.

The 'Ohana award is conditional upon the completion of a definitive contract, which should become effective by Jan. 31.

“ 'Ohana is pleased to continue our strong, long-standing partnership with the state of Hawaii to provide quality, cost-effective health care solutions to people across our state,” Wendy Morriarty, state president of 'Ohana Health Plan Inc., says in a press release. “We look forward to being part of this integrated effort and continuing to help the state's residents lead better, healthier lives.”

In addition to serving Medicaid members, as of Sept. 30, 'Ohana provide services to 8,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 1,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members across Hawaii.

IMD Cos. CEO resigning, R-Quest president hired
The board of directors of Tampa-based IMD Cos. Inc. has appointed Larry Robertson, president of R-Quest Hydroponics Inc., as its CEO. The company recently announced it had purchased 51% interest in R-Quest Hydroponics Inc., a developer of the environmental master controller for marijuana hydroponic gardens, in a partnership with Anything Technologies Media Inc.

Bruce Collett, the former IMD Cos. CEO, has agreed to resign as a director but will remain as a consultant for the company to help manage the medical diagnostic side of the business.

“I am pleased to be CEO of such a dynamic company as IMD Companies Inc., and feel that I can help lead the company to greater value for its shareholders,” Robertson says in a press release. “The medical and recreational marijuana market has nothing but upside with the new laws that have been passed and the companies that sell supplies to them like us will greatly benefit.”

Modern Enterprise Solutions adds Buffalo, N.Y., office
Modern Enterprise Solutions of Tampa has opened a new U.S. office and plans to grow internationally to meet demand for networking and telecommunications hardware. The company recently added a Buffalo, N.Y., office, which is in addition to its offices in Tampa; Chicago; Reno, Nev.; and Rochester, N.Y. Modern Enterprise Solutions says the new office was necessary to expand its Northeast presence.

Taser awarded injunction, damages against Karbon Arms for patent infringement
Taser International has won a patent infringement civil lawsuit against Tampa-based Karbon Arms LLC. The United States District Court for the District of Delaware entered a final judgment against the firm saying it infringed three of Taser's electrical weapon patents. The court awarded Taser $2.39 million in damages and a permanent injunction against Karbon Arms' MPID and MPID-C.

“This final judgment brings to a close more than six years of various patent litigations between Taser and Karbon Arms and Karbon Arms' predecessor company Stinger Systems Inc.,” Doug Klint, Taser's president and general counsel, says in a press release. “The Court's order requires Karbon Arms to provide Taser a list of customers who purchased a Karbon Arms MPID or MPID-C within three business days of Jan.10 and Taser will be sending notice of the permanent injunction to all such Karbon Arms customers.”

Redi-2-DrinQ quadrupling facility, plans to add 25 jobs
Sarasota-based Redi-2-DrinQ is moving into larger manufacturing space in Sarasota. The new facilities and manufacturing equipment is expected to cost $7 million.

The company, a division of Sarasota-based PPi Technologies Group, is moving into a 100,000-square-foot facility at 1712 Northgate Blvd., Sarasota, near its previous facilities at 1610 and 1611 Northgate Blvd.

Redi-2-DrinQ provides both stand-up pouches and beverages, including its own brand, ShotPak, and distributes them in 12 states.

The company says that its business growth has led it to increase its building space. Redi-2-DrinQ has been in 25,000 square feet, but is quadrupling its size in the new facility. When it is fully operational, the new facility will be able to produce 1 billion pouches annually.

The company is set to receive performance-based incentives of $3,000 per job created for 25 new employees over the next three years. The maximum tax refund is $75,000, of which 80% will be paid by the state and 20% by the county. The Board of County Commissioners also approved an earlier application for an property tax exemption of 57% for 10 years. The Sarasota County EDC helped guide the company through the tax-incentive process.