Corporate Report

Pegasus TransTech buying TripPak, ACS Advertising from Xerox
Tampa-based Pegasus TransTech has acquired TripPak Services and ACS Advertising from Xerox.

TripPak provides a number of transportation services including document capture, submission and workflow management, as well as safety and compliance products. Pegasus TransTech says ACS Advertising is the leading driver-recruitment advertising agency in the transportation market.

Pegasus TransTech expects the combined company to be the market leader in electronic revenue management services for the trucking industry. Currently, the three companies serve more than 3,000 truck fleets and third-party logistics customers in total.

“We will now be able to pool our resources and accelerate the pace of new product development,” Frank Adelman, president and CEO of Pegasus TransTech. “Together, we will enable truck fleets and drivers to capture revenue more quickly, gain greater visibility into revenue management processes and comply with regulatory requirements more efficiently.”

Founded in 1998, Pegasus TransTech offers products that streamline document capture and transmission, billing, collections, payroll, and other revenue-cycle processes for the transportation and logistics industry. The company serves more than 900 travel centers in North America, 42 of the top-50 truckload carriers, 17 of the top-30 freight brokers and more than 350,000 drivers.

Heritage Insurance debuts commercial residential offers
Clearwater's Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. is launching a new insurance program for commercial residential properties in Florida. Heritage's wholly owned subsidiary, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co., will write the line. It will offer a wide range of commercial products, including coverage for condominium associations, homeowners associations, continuing-care retirement communities and apartment complexes.

“In talking with our agent partners, we found there is a very limited [insurance] market for these properties,” Randy Jones, Heritage Insurance's commercial president, says in a press release. “Because of their size and overall complexity, many of these properties may not qualify under the typical eligibility guidelines established by other companies. We heard their concerns and responded enthusiastically to help fill a void in this market segment.”

Jones, and Arlene Luis, executive vice president, will lead the new commercial division. The two have more than 30 years of combined experience in the Florida market and worked at American Capital Assurance prior to joining Heritage.

Pilgrim Software changes name as part of larger rebranding
Tampa's Pilgrim Software Inc. has formally changed its name to Pilgrim Quality Solutions. As part of the name change, the company has adopted a new tagline, logo and launched a redesigned website (pilgrimquality.com).

“Over the last year, it became very apparent that we needed to expand on the legacy we had already built and refresh our brand to reflect who Pilgrim is today,” Thierry Durand, Pilgrim's president and chief executive officer, says in a press release. “We're no longer only a software developer. We're a developer and global provider of quality solutions — software solutions, cloud solutions and consulting services — all of which address today's demanding quality and compliance requirements.”

VizCO-US moves to Bradenton, kicks off new SimGar gardening system
VizCO-US has relocated to Bradenton, in conjunction with the launch of the firm's container gardening system, SimGar: the Simple Garden.

In January, VizCO purchased the facility at 3500 Ninth St. W., Bradenton for its new office headquarters and SimGar retail store and product showroom. The new headquarters offers more than 25,000 square feet of space, substantially larger than the building VizCO previously leased.

In the near future, the showroom space will also function as a hub for information gathering, gardening clinics, a produce market and more. The more than 6-acre headquarters parcel gives the company space to set up dozens of SimGars to grow a multitude of vegetables, fruits and herbs.

VizCO received help from Manatee County and the Rapid Response Permitting Program for the relocation.

Originally an HVAC products manufacturer, VizCO continues to design, develop and manufacture products for the plumbing and gardening industries.

Dais Analytic's dehumidifier technology meets Department of Energy project goal
Tampa-based Dais Analytic Corp. says it achieved the technical goals of its second Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy project on time and under budget.

Dais used its Aqualyte nanomaterials to construct and demonstrate a dehumidifying unit that removes moisture from the air without significantly changing the temperature of the air being processed. The Aqualyte material moves water molecules but prevents air molecules from passing through. The material is already being used as part of Dais' new NanoAir line of heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration products.

The new products are expected to reduce the amount of energy used for HVAC equipment, which is responsible for nearly a quarter of the energy consumed in the U.S.

“Controlling the humidity in a room without necessarily reducing the temperature will allow us to eliminate the cold, clammy conditions so often associated with air conditioning today, making users more comfortable and systems up to 50% more energy efficient than they are today,” Brian Johnson, chief technology officer of Dais, says in a press release.

Creative-focused staffing firm plans first office on Florida's west coast
National creative staffing agency Creative Circle plans to open its first office along Florida's west coast. The 13-year-old company will be adding a Tampa location to its list of North American locations.

“Our aim is to not only foster creative careers in the area, but also to help ensure the Tampa-St. Petersburg region continues to evolve as a creative hub,” Brenda Holley, regional vice president at Creative Circle, says in a press release.

Creative Circle plans to offer vetted staff to work in a number of creative industries such as art, social media and coding.

Hotel Indigo Sarasota hires Ruby, former Marriott sales director
The Hotel Indigo Sarasota has named Shauna Ruby as director of sales for the 95-room downtown Sarasota hotel.

Ruby will oversee the maintenance and development of new and existing business and leisure accounts and the sales of all hotel facilities.

With more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, Ruby most recently served as director of sales with the Marriott Corp., where she was repeatedly for recognized for achievements such as securing the highest percentage of revenue per available room in the company. Ruby was also nominated for guest service excellence in conjunction with Visit Sarasota County's National Tourism Week.

Ruby began her hospitality career in York, Pa. She later managed various travel agencies in Philadelphia before relocating to Sarasota and working as the group sales manager for The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort on Longboat Key.

She also sits on the board of the Sarasota County Sports Commission.

“We know that her drive and enthusiasm will help us to continue to be hospitality leaders in our community,” says Leslie Power, general manager of the hotel, in a press release.

Progressive Employer Management opens five new branches
Progressive Employer Management Co., one of the country's largest professional employer organizations, has expanded its sales branch operations to five new locations. The Sarasota-based firm has opened new locations in Tampa, Dallas, Orlando, Pensacola and West Palm Beach.

Boar's Head Brand launches hummus product line
Sarasota-based Boar's Head Brand has introduced a new product category, Boar's Head hummus. The new line of gluten-free and all-natural hummus is being launched nationwide starting this month.
Boar's Head is debuting the hummus line with four varieties: traditional, roasted red pepper, roasted pine nut and roasted chipotle pepper.

CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing hires marketing director
Fort Myers-based CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing has named Patrice Cunningham as the agency's new marketing director. She has more than 23 years of sales, marketing, operations and management experience in the Southwest Florida area. Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Cunningham graduated from Hofstra University in New York with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Marketing.

Founded in 2007, CONRIC PR & Marketing | Publishing provides creative writing and graphic design for marketing, public relations, digital, advertising and publishing.

Moffitt Cancer Center helping Rosetta Genomics with cancer detection
Rosetta Genomics Ltd., a developer and provider of molecular diagnostics and therapeutics, has entered into an agreement with Moffitt Cancer Center to work with the Tampa cancer hospital to advance the development and commercialization of Rosetta's thyroid abnormal-tissue (neoplasia) test.

Under the agreement, Rosetta will work with Dr. Marino Leon, an associate member of the Department of Anatomic Pathology at Moffitt.

An estimated 4% to 7% of the general population develops nodules in the thyroid that can be felt on examination, but fewer than 10% of those are cancerous. A fine-needle aspiration (FNA), a non-surgical procedure used to obtain tissue for analysis by a pathologist, is the standard technique for detecting cancer, but up to 30% of samples yield indeterminate results. Even so, nearly a half-million FNA are performed each year in the U.S., and another 740,000 are performed annually in Europe.

Many patients with indeterminate thyroid FNA results are sent to surgery as a precaution, despite the fact that the majority of these cases are benign.

“Results from our initial studies demonstrated that microRNA expression levels can differentiate malignant nodules from benign nodules and also demonstrated our ability to extract and profile microRNAs from thyroid FNAs in various sample types and in a way consistent with common clinical practices,” Kenneth Berlin, president and CEO of Rosetta Genomics, says in a press release. “This agreement with Moffitt will help us further advance the development of this important assay and should allow us to achieve our goal of launching this important assay prior to the end of 2015.”

AXI International releases new fuel transfer pumps
Fort Myers-based manufacturer AXI International has launched a new line of automated duplex diesel transfer pump sets. Duplex pumps allow users to transfer fuel from large fuel-storage tanks to the day or service tanks generators use.

AXI International's new compact pumps are designed for mission-critical operations, such as data center, emergency-management facilities, water treatment plants, hospitals and correctional facilities.

The system's electronic controls are programmed to operate the pumps on an alternating basis to reduce wear and have a built-in web server for remote monitoring.