Corporate Report

CHARLOTTE-LEE-COLLIER
Construction firm hires project manager
Fort Myers-based Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. hired Rick Mercer as a project manager, a statement says.

Mercer has more than 25 years' experience in the construction industry in roles as a construction engineer, land development director and operations manager, among others. He most recently served as director of construction for all 171 of Florida's state parks, from Pensacola to Key West.

Owen-Ames-Kimball provides general contracting, design-and-build and construction management services. The firm ranked sixth on the Business Observer's Top 50 Contractors list with 2015 revenues of $151.5 million.

College names director of corporate sponsorships
The Florida SouthWestern State College Foundation named Kevin Anderson its new director of corporate sponsorships.

Anderson will focus on establishing and maintaining relationships with regional corporations to benefit the college and its 22,000 students, a statement says. “Kevin will serve as the liaison between the foundation and major corporations looking to invest in athletics, the arts or academic programs for our students, says Dr. Lou Traina, vice president of institutional advancement at the college.

Anderson previously spent 10 years as director of employer relations at Hodges University, where he worked with 102 corporate partners. He also served as Southwest Florida area manager for American Building Maintenance in Fort Myers.

SARASOTA-MANATEE
Health platform grows customer base by 83%
In the last few months, Sarasota-based Voalte has signed contracts with 125 hospitals, including Tampa General, to deploy Voalte Platform, a digital tool for care team communication.
This increases the Voalte customer base to 275, a statement says, up 83% in fiscal 2016.

“The health care industry's trend toward consolidation and value-based care is prompting the move to a communication platform that can scale across the care continuum,” says Voalte founder and CEO Trey Lauderdale in the statement. “Voalte has demonstrated success in replacing legacy phones, pagers and voice badges with smartphones inside and outside the hospital. The result is an enterprise-wide platform that connects clinicians seamlessly, no matter where they are.”

Voalte was founded in Sarasota in 2008. The privately held company offers its products and solutions to more than 132,000 caregivers in the United States.

Hedge funds increase investment
Four hedge funds increased their investment in PGT Inc., a Venice-based manufacturer and supplier of impact-resistant residential windows and doors.

All together, the hedge funds purchased an additional 302,831 shares of PGT's stock during the fourth quarter. These are the hedge funds that boosted their position in the company:
Emerald Advisers Inc. PA purchased an additional 111,340 shares. It now owns 774,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,817,000.

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its position by 149,669 shares. It now owns 772,639 shares valued at $8.8 million.

Corbyn Investment Management Inc. MD bought an additional 40,209 shares. It now owns 134,816 shares valued at $1,536,000.

California State Teachers Retirement System purchased 1,613 shares during the period. It now owns 88,519 shares valued at $1,008,000.

PGT Inc. (symbol: PGTI; recent price: $10.46) had $93 million in revenues in the fourth quarter.

TAMPA BAY
Kahwa Coffee to open 10th location
As part of its celebration of its 10-year anniversary, Kahwa Coffee Roasting Co. has announced plans to open its 10th cafe.

The new cafe, at 2919 W. Bay Drive, Belleair Bluffs, will be Kahwa's first Pinellas County location outside of St. Petersburg, a statement says. It is expected to open in late April.

Kahwa Coffee has four cafes in St. Petersburg, four in Tampa and one in Sarasota. It also has a mobile storefront called the Kahwagon. In addition to its retail locations, Kahwa is distributed in nearly 500 restaurants and five-star hotels nationwide.

Insurance company expands to Georgia
Heritage Property and Casualty Co., a subsidiary of Clearwater-based Heritage Insurance Holdings, has been approved by the Georgia Office of Insurance Regulation to write property and casualty policies in the state.

Georgia is the sixth state Heritage P&C has been approved to write insurance in, a statement says. The firm also writes policies in Florida and North Carolina and has been approved in South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. Zephyr Insurance Co., another subsidiary of Heritage, writes policies in Hawaii.

Heritage Insurance Holdings writes more than $590 million of personal and commercial residential premiums.