West Chester Development

Ashland doubles size of West Chester Valvoline facility

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:41:20 EST

Expansion follows recent moves to boost sales globally

Business Courier by Jon Newberry, Staff Reporter

Date: Friday, May 18, 2012, 6:00am EDT

Ashland Inc.’s Valvoline business unit more than doubled the size of its West Chester distribution center as it consolidated warehouse operations elsewhere.

Valvoline relocated and expanded by nearly 200,000 square feet in March within Duke Realty’s World Park at Union Centre. It now occupies an entire 321,000-square-foot warehouse on Meridian Way. The company has operated in the industrial park since the 1990s.

The Valvoline facility was one of six U.S. distribution centers it operated as of the end of its fiscal year in September. The site employs 23; Ashland doesn’t plan to add jobs.

The expansion includes office and warehouse space, said Gary Rhodes, spokesman for Covington-based Ashland. The operations that moved into the new space came from third-party warehouses, he said.

The expansion in West Chester follows two recent developments elsewhere that should help boost Valvoline sales in an uncertain global economy. In March, a Valvoline Instant Oil Change franchisee bought 72 EZ Lube outlets in Southern California and is rebranding them as Valvoline stores. Boston-based Henley Enterprises was already Valvoline’s largest franchisee. As of last September, Valvoline Instant Oil Change had 260 company-owned outlets and 604 franchised locations.

In April, Valvoline signed a five-year deal with TNK-BP, a large Russian oil company. Terms weren’t disclosed. Valvoline officials said the deal gives it access to 15,000 retail stores in Russia.

Valvoline sales rose by 12 percent to nearly $2 billion in the fiscal year that ended in September 2011. But profits and profit margins declined, reflecting lower volumes and higher raw material costs. For the six months ended in March, Valvoline sales were up 7 percent to $995 million, while operating profit fell 21 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2011.

Ashland was represented in the West Chester deal by Bill Poffenberger, executive vice president and co-manager of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Cincinnati office.

“We had several properties to look at, but it’s not as weak up there as some people think,” Poffenberger said. “We were pleased with the economics of the deal.”

tags: Ashland Valvoline West Chester Ohio

CEO: Atricure riding high on FDA approval

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:15:41 EST

Business Courier by James Ritchie, Staff Reporter

Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 3:00pm EDT

AtriCure (Nasdaq: ATRC) is thriving on the first-mover advantage it has with its FDA-approved atrial fibrillation device, said CEO David Drachman.

First-quarter revenue was up 17 percent sequentially following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s fourth-quarter nod, he noted Tuesday at AtriCure’s annual shareholders’ meeting. Revenue was at $17.5 million, with a net loss of $1.6 million.

“This has been a very long process, and it’s a major milestone, a major growth driver,” Drachman said of the approval.

At the meeting, held at the company’s West Chester headquarters, AtriCure shareholders reelected eight board members. Serving one year terms will be Drachman, Mark Collar, Dr. Donald Harrison, Michael Hooven, Richard Johnston, Dr. Elizabeth Krell, Mark Lanning and Karen Robards.

Shareholders also ratified appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm.

AtriCure in December received FDA approval to market its Synergy Ablation System for treating atrial fibrillation, in which the heart’s two small upper chambers flutter instead of beating. At present it’s the only company with such approval.

Previously, the AtriCure system had FDA approval only for cardiac tissue removal or ablation, not for treatment of any particular disease.

The 200-employee AtriCure received European Union approval to market the system for atrial fibrillation in 2006.

Atrial fibrillation, which affects 2 million people in the United States, can lead to problems such as congestive heart failure and stroke.

tags: Atricure West Chester Ohio

Record revenues reported for local medical device manufacturer

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:09:20 EST

Staff Report 11:24 AM Thursday, May 3, 2012

WEST CHESTER TWP. — AtriCure Inc., a maker of medical devices used in heart surgery, reported that it saw record revenues for the first quarter of 2012, a new high of $17.5 million, reflecting 11.8 percent growth compared to the first quarter of 2011.

Revenue from U.S. product sales was a record $13.2 million, reflecting growth of 8.8 percent, including $1.8 million in sales of the AtriClip system.

International revenue was a record $4.3 million, an increase of $0.8 million or 21.9 percent when compared to $3.5 million for the first quarter of 2011. International revenue growth was driven primarily by our direct markets in Europe and an increase in sales in Asia.

David J. Drachman, AtriCure’s president and CEO, said company officials are pleased with Atricure’s performance in the first quarter and anticipate growth accelerating during the second

“We are increasingly confident that U.S. procedure volumes are stabilizing which we anticipate will continue through the remainder of 2012,” Drachman said. “We anticipate growth accelerating during the second half of 2012.

“We believe AtriCure is positioned to capitalize on our wide range of premium products, recent AF approval, education and marketing activities, momentum in international markets, and continued investment in regulatory approvals and clinical science.”

The company also reported a wider net loss, from $1.3 million in 2011 to $1.6 million in 2012.

tags: AtriCure West Chester Ohio

IceTech America, Inc. Is Expanding to a New Location in West Chester

Wed, 02 May 2012 09:21:13 EST

West Chester, OH, May 02, 2012 --(PR.com)

IceTech America, Inc., a world leader in manufacturing high performance Dry Ice Blasting and Dry Ice Production equipment is expanding to a new location in West Chester, OH. The response to growing demand for their blasting machines along with state of the art dry ice production equipment has prompted the move.

“Since expanding to the United States, we have seen growth every year,” says Dennis Hjort, President/CEO of IceTech America, Inc. “With our growing presence in North America we have outgrown our current facility. This new facility at 5217 Muhlhauser Road, West Chester, OH will allow us the room we need to hire additional employees, expand our service department and continue to add value for our customers."

IceTech America, Inc. first opened their doors in April of 2006. With the expansion, IceTech America, Inc. will be more than doubling their campus. "We have our customers to thank for our continued growth," says Hjort. "We invest a lot of time and resources to build close working relationships with each of our customers, and we are seeing a lot of referrals and repeat business as a result."

With the new location IceTech America, Inc. will now host a state of the art training and conference center unmatched by any in the industry. “When our customers walk in the door, they will be very impressed,” says Mr. Hjort. “The new location will offer an expanded service center along with room to meet our growing demand for more customized and automated solutions.” Automated systems have increased in demand over the last couple of years, and with the new facility IceTech is now capable to offer detailed engineered automated solutions for Dry Ice Blasting to their customers.

IceTech America, Inc. will also continue to stock every part for their blasting machines, and now will carry a complete line of parts needed for their pelletizers to continue to meet their guaranteed shipment of parts within 24 hours.

Dry Ice Blasting is rapidly growing as a first choice cleaning method in all industries, from automotive to historical restoration. Dry Ice Blasting offers a non abrasive, non toxic, environmentally friendly cleaning method with zero secondary cleanup involved and no moisture. Dry Ice as a blasting media is approved by the USDA, EPA and FDA. IceTech offers the only line of blasting equipment that is approved and listed by UL.

IceTech America, Inc. has recently launched all new state of the art Dry Ice production equipment that is revolutionizing the industry from older technology to the 21st century. IceTech offers the fastest line of Dry Ice Production equipment in the industry.

IceTech was first founded in 1998 in Denmark. Since inception, IceTech has continued to change the industry wile engineering the most versatile line of Dry Ice Blasting equipment and high performance Dry Ice Production equipment. IceTech has supplied equipment to over 180 countries around the world both directly and with their network of over 30 distributors. For more information, please visit www.icetechworld.com.

Contact: Mr. Kevin Gildea
Tel. 513-942-4144
Email: kg@icetechworld.com

tags: IceTech America West Chester Ohio

Regional Development Guide: More Butler County companies setting up shop in China

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:43:43 EST

Business Courier by Cindi Andrews, Courier Contributor

Date: Friday, April 20, 2012, 6:00am EDT

The distance between China and West Chester is shrinking all the time.

For years, companies in West Chester and elsewhere in Southwest Ohio have bought inexpensively manufactured products in China for import to the United States. But increasingly they are both setting up their own manufacturing operations in China and selling their products there.

In addition, West Chester leaders are now looking to attract Chinese companies to set up operations here.

Long-Stanton Manufacturing, a metal stamping and sheet-metal fabrication company, was one of the first West Chester companies to set up its own operation in China.

“In the early 2000s all my customers were going to China and that was a big, big problem,” said Daniel Cunningham, president and CEO of the 150-year-old family business. “I felt as a businessman that I had to take it upon myself to set up operations in China to serve our customers who were going there.”

Long-Stanton’s customers were selling their own finished products in China for use in the machines that were going into the many new factories being built there.

So Cunningham tasked his son, Marvin Cunningham, with starting a plant there. Long-Stanton got a business license to operate there in February 2005, six months after beginning the process.

“There really wasn’t a book,” Marvin Cunningham said. Now the paperwork has been streamlined, he said, so that it’s a 30- to 45-day process.

He moved to China in 2005, committing to stay five years to get the business up and running.

Dan Cunningham also entered into a rubber-making business with a classmate from Harvard who was a native of China. It was important to him that they connected on a personal level as well as a business level.

“He’s my age, we both have wives who are far smarter than we are, we both have two great kids,” he said. “Trust is very important when you don’t see each other every day.”

Having a partnership with a Chinese businessman helped the Cunninghams understand and navigate the complexities of a very different culture, government and business world.

‘You have to be flexible and change quickly’

Factory space was plentiful and Long-Stanton decided to lease its building rather than buying it. That has made it easier to adapt to changing needs, Marvin Cunningham said.

“The biggest thing is you have to be flexible and change quickly,” he said. “Initially we thought our business profile would be basically like it is in the States.”

However, he soon found that doing high-speed production such as metal stamping didn’t make as much financial sense in China because the labor cost amounted to pennies per piece regardless. Instead, Long-Stanton’s Chinese factory has focused on work that requires many steps or components to complete, producing mostly finished products instead of the components that make up the majority of its work in West Chester.

Also, the company started its operation in Changzhou but in 2011 moved to a more convenient location in the Zhonglou District.

Another lesson learned: New jobs must be explained very specifically to Chinese workers. “Once they’ve done it in general they’re very good at repeating and repeating it,” Marvin Cunningham said.

Some companies have had issues with the quality of parts made in China. However, that hasn’t been a problem for Long-Stanton since it runs its own plant instead of contracting the work. Many of its Chinese employees have been with Long-Stanton for seven years.

“We knew early on that quality would be a key differentiator,” Dan Cunningham said. “Marvin has had no rejection of products (by a customer) in seven years.”

Today, Long-Stanton Asia makes up about 15 percent of the company’s total business.

Long-Stanton has paved the way for other local companies through its trial and error. The Cunninghams have shared the benefit of their experiences with Southwest Ohio businesses by participating in seminars on working in China with law firm Frost Brown Todd Frost Brown Todd Latest from The Business Journals Follow this companyand accounting firm Clark Schaefer Hackett.

Creating base for other Asian markets

Fairfield-based Tedia is a more recent entrant into the world of Chinese-based manufacturing. The chemical company had been selling its high-purity solvents to pharmaceutical companies in China since 1998, President Hoon Choi said. When Tedia also began buying raw materials there, it made sense to set up processing in China rather than shipping them back to Fairfield for processing.

Tedia began its processing operation there about two years ago, creating a joint venture with a Chinese business. Making its products in China positions the company for growth, Choi said, because the Chinese market for high-purity solvents is growing at about 10 percent a year, versus 2 percent to 3 percent in the United States. It also provides a base for Tedia to increase its sales in other Asian markets.

West Chester Township Trustee Lee Wong is supportive of local companies’ success in China. However, he thinks it’s time that Chinese companies begin setting up operations here.

“Our economy is tied more than ever to a global market,” he said. “We already are appealing to other companies around the world like IKEA IKEA Latest from The Business Journals Follow this company.”

In January, he joined the board of the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which has sent delegations to China and has two board members based in Beijing. Now the group is trying to arrange for a Chinese delegation to visit Greater Cincinnati – something Wong is hopeful will happen this year.

“If you want something you have to go get it,” he said. “I want to bring Chinese investment over here. We need it. We need jobs.”

tags: West Chester Butler County Ohio doing business in China