Interstate Lane: June 2015

By The Lane Report staff

Business news from Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia

INDIANA

StemWood, a New Albany, Ind.-based veneer and lumber mill that has been in operation since 1905, has announced that it will be ending its operations within the next seven to eight months. Company officials said the move of American furniture manufacturing to Asia and a prolonged recession in new housing combined with plummeting market prices and continuously rising operating costs have made it difficult to sustain a profitable business.

Poly-Wood Inc. is investing more than $23 million to construct and equip a new 230,000-s.f. manufacturing and warehousing facility in Syracuse, Ind., that will create up to 250 new jobs by 2018. Poly-wood, which produces outdoor furniture from recycled plastics, was founded 25 years ago and currently has 258 employees.

Winnebago is expanding its operations in Middlebury, Ind., and purchasing nearly $250,000 in equipment over the next few years to meeting growing demand for the company’s line of towable recreational vehicles. The project will create up to 150 new jobs by 2019, bringing the total number of Winnebago Towables employees in Indiana to 280. Winnebago acquired SunnyBrook Manufacturing in Middlebury in 2010, marking the company’s re-entry into producing towable RVs for the first time since 1983.

OHIO

CVS will acquire omnicare in transaction valued at $12.7 billion

CVS Health Corp. has announced that it will acquire Cincinnati-based Omnicare in a deal valued at $12.7 billion.

Omnicare, a Fortune 500 company that is a leading provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities, has approximately 13,000 employees in 160 locations across 47 states. The company employs more than 300 at its headquarters in downtown Cincinnati.

Rhode Island-based CVS operates 7,800 retail drugstores, along with nearly 1,000 walk-in medical clinics, and is a leading pharmacy benefits company with more than 70 million plan members.

CVS said the acquisition of Omnicare will “significantly expand” its ability to dispense prescriptions in assisted living and long-term care facilities that serve the senior patient population. Given the aging U.S. population, long-term care is a rapidly growing segment of the healthcare system. More people are expected to use assisted living facilities and independent living communities in the coming decades, creating a substantial growth opportunity for those companies serving the healthcare needs of seniors. Omnicare’s complementary specialty pharmacy platform and clinical expertise will also augment CVS Health’s current capabilities.

The boards of directors of both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the year. As of late May, neither company had indicated what the acquisition would mean for Omnicare’s headquarter operations and staff in Cincinnati.

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T. Marzetti Co., a subsidiary of Columbus, Ohio-based food manufacturer Lancaster Colony Corp., has acquired flatbread manufacturer Flatout Holdings Inc. for $92 million. Flatout’s products include oval-shaped flatbread wraps, the Foldit line of artisan flatbreads and the recently introduced Artisan Thin pizza crust.

Cincinnati-based Macy’s Inc. is launching the first four pilot stores of its new off-price business this fall in metro New York City. Macy’s Backstage stores will average about 30,000 s.f. and will offer clearance goods from its regular stores, as well as special buys from well-known fashion brands at 20 to 80 percent off original prices.

Cincinnati-based Frisch’s Restaurants Inc. has been sold for $175 million in cash to NRD Partners, an Atlanta-based private equity fund. Frisch’s, founded in 1939, currently operates approximately 100 locations with 6,000 employees in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

TENNESSEE

Community health Center expansion adds 1,500 new positions

Community Health Systems is investing $66 million to expand its current operations in Tennessee by constructing a new shared services center in Nashville. The project will create 1,500 new jobs over the next five years.

CHS is one of the nation’s leading operators of general acute-care hospitals and one of Tennessee’s largest employers. The organization’s affiliates own, operate or lease 199 hospitals in 29 states with approximately 30,000 licensed beds. In Tennessee, the company has 16,000 employees working at its corporate headquarters in Franklin and 19 affiliated hospitals across the state.

The new 240,000-s.f., six-story shared services center will handle business and administrative functions that support the company’s affiliated hospitals.

Automotive supplier Magneti Marelli is adding 80,000-s.f. of manufacturing space and 450 new jobs at its automotive lighting plant in Pulaski, Tenn. The facility will supply head lamps to FCA, Mercedes, GM, Volkswagen and Honda. Magneti Marelli currently employs more than 950 people in Tennessee.

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Jackson Kayak is investing $6.5 million to expand its operations in Sparta, Tenn., where it is opening a new manufacturing facility in a former Philips Lighting building. The company has reached manufacturing capacity at its existing 100,000-s.f. facility, where it produces whitewater, recreational, fishing and hunting kayaks and high-performance coolers. The expansion will create 250 new jobs.

Minnesota-based Cirrus Aircraft is building a new “customer experience center” at the McGhee Tyson Airport in Blount County that will create 170 jobs in the Knoxville area. The company’s new “Vision Center” will become the flagship location for all Cirrus Aircraft pilot, owner and customer activities, including sales, delivery, training, maintenance and support for all Cirrus airplanes. Company officials said McGhee Tyson Airport was chosen as the best location for the installed Cirrus owner base in North America due to its airport and area amenities, favorable weather and a welcoming community for Cirrus Aircraft employees and their families.