Briefcase – May 2015

CLOSINGS

Crankenstein, a coffee house, beer bar and bike shop, closed April 25 at 215 N. College Ave. in Fort Collins. Scrumpy’s cider house next door will expand into the space.

CONTRACTS

Gaiam Inc. (Nasdaq: GAIA), a Louisville-based company that produces and markets lifestyle media and fitness accessories, will market an exclusive line of women’s yoga apparel through Kohl’s Department Stores Inc. (NYSE: KSS), based in Menominee Falls, Wis.

Fort Collins-based Advanced Energy Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: AEIS) has been awarded 325 megawatts of solar projects by San Diego-based Swinerton Renewable Energy. The installation and commissioning of the projects is expected to begin this year and continue into 2016.. Swinerton Renewable Energy is a division of San Francisco-based Swinerton Builders, which also has an office in Denver.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s “Unconventional Resource Best Practices” team signed a contract to integrate a cloud-based decision engine technology from Broomfield-based PetroDE into its workflow. Privately held PetroDE, which joined Fort Collins-based science and technology incubator Innosphere as a client company in 2015, agreed to the five-year pact with Anadarko to provide the company with cloud-based oil and natural-gas analytics. Anadarko (NYSE: APC), based in Woodlands, Texas, is one of the top two oil and natural-gas companies operating in Weld County.

Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Space Systems division signed a new deal with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), extending the pair’s collaboration on the development of SNC’s Dream Chaser spacecraft. The deal was signed at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gogo Business Aviation LLC in Broomfield was hired by NetJets Inc. to provide in-flight entertainment and wireless smartphone connectivity systems in 650 of its business aircraft. Terms of the deal, the largest single contract in Gogo Business Aviation’s history, were not disclosed. Gogo Business Aviation is a subsidiary of Gogo Inc. (Nasdaq: GOGO), based in Itasca, Ill., and NetJets is a Berkshire Hathaway company. NetJets offers fractional ownership and rental of private business jets.

Dale’s Pale Ale, which Longmont-based Oskar Blues Brewery markets as the first craft beer in a can, will sponsor driver Regan Smith and his No. 7 Chevrolet in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Drive for the Cure 300, a NASCAR Xfinity Series race Oct. 9 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track, in Concord, N.C., is a two-hour car ride – assuming one sticks to the speed limit – from Oskar Blues’ brewery in Brevard, N.C. In addition, according to JR Motorsports general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Dale’s Pale Ale will be presenting sponsor of Smith’s JR Motorsports Upfront podcast on Dirty Mo Radio.

Santa Rosa, Calif.-based American AgCredit, the nation’s seventh largest agricultural credit association, will continue as a preferred lender with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency for the next five years. The association’s subsidiaries, Federal Land Credit Association and Production Credit Association, have been certified to continue as FSA preferred lenders. Its local office is at 4505 W. 29th St. in Greeley.

E&B Automotive in Loveland signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer and now offers moving trucks, trailers, support rental items, in-store pick-up for boxes and after-hours drop-off.

DEADLINES

May 31 is the deadline for entries in a video contest by Longmont Power & Communications. The first-place winner will receive $250 worth of NextLight’s gigabit residential service. Second place will receive $100 worth and third place $50 worth. Family-friendly entries of three minutes or less may be live-action or animated and should be submitted in one of two categories: “What does the speed of NextLight mean for me?” and “What does the speed of NextLight mean for Longmont?” Entries may be displayed on the city’s YouTube channel and at www.longmontcolorado.gov/nextlight. Winners will be announced June 5 at the opening of the Longmont Downtown Summer Concert Series, sponsored in part by Longmont Power & Communications. Submissions may be made by email to lpc@longmontcolorado.gov or through the NextLight Facebook page. There is no entry fee.

Nominations for grand marshal of the 2015 Old Fashioned Corn Roast Festival will be accepted until 5 p.m. June 5 by the Loveland Chamber of Commerce. Nominees must be long-standing community members who have made a significant impact on Loveland, and self-nominations are not accepted. In addition to leading the Corn Roast parade, the grand marshal will play a role in a variety of activities throughout the festival, such as the event kick-off and corn-shucking and corn-eating contests. Nominations must include a completed nomination form, found at Loveland.org/TheCornRoastFestival/ or at the chamber, 5400 Stone Creek Circle, and at least two letters of support. More information at info@loveland.org or 970-667-6311.

EARNINGS

Surna Inc., a Boulder-based manufacturer of equipment and systems that control the environment for commercial indoor cannabis cultivation, reported a loss of $3.3 million for its fiscal year that ended Dec. 31. Surna (OTCQB: SRNA) said it generated revenue of $2.5 million for the period. The company began operations in April 2014, shortening its year-end results to a nine-month period. During the fiscal year, Surna acquired Boulder-based Hydro Innovations, which made cooling systems for indoor gardens. For the year that ended Dec. 31, Surna had revenue of $1.8 million, and combined with Hydro Innovations had revenue of $2.5 million. Net loss attributed to Surna was $2.9 million, and combined with Hydro the loss was $3.3 million. Surna finished the year with $1.4 million in liquid assets (cash, accounts receivable, inventory and prepaid assets) and accounts payable in cash totaled $725,231, of which $303,672 is payable to shareholders. During the year, Surna raised $2.96 million through the issuance of convertible debt.

Fort Collins-based Woodward Inc. (Nasdaq: WWD) reported flat fiscal second-quarter earnings of $43.9 million compared with $44.8 million the same period a year earlier. Woodward, which makes energy and aerospace controls systems, reported net sales totaling $493.2 million during the second quarter ended March 31 versus $482.5 million during the same period a year earlier. Foreign currency exchange rates trimmed net sales by $15 million during the second quarter.

Oil field services firm Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) posted a loss of $643 million during the first quarter amid what CEO Dave Lesar called an “unprecedented decline in drilling activity” in North America. The company blamed the weak quarter on the downturn in the oil market, which led to $823 million in charges including asset write-offs, inventory write-downs and severance costs. Halliburton earned $622 million during the same period a year earlier. Halliburton also recorded a $199 million loss due to Venezuelan currency devaluation and $35 million in costs from the company’s acquisition of Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI). Total revenue fell to $7.1 billion during the first quarter from $7.3 billion during the same quarter last year. The 4-percent drop in revenue came as the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas declined 19 percent worldwide. The U.S. rig count declined 21 percent during the first quarter, according to Halliburton.

KUDOS

Thomas Endres, director of the University of Northern Colorado’s School of Communication, received the Rocky Mountain Communication Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the association’s annual conference April 12 in Loveland.

Pat Stryker, the Fort Collins philanthropist who founded the Bohemian Foundation and Bohemian Cos., received the Rotary Club of Fort Collins’ Service Above Self award.

The Longmont Area Economic Council oresented five Cornerstone Awards to businesses in the city, recognizing their contributions to the economic health of the community over the past year. The 2015 winners were SK hynix Memory Solutions, RMC Pharmaceutical Solutions, BW Systems, Boulder Organic Foods and Crackpots.

Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital in Johnstown was ranked in the top 10 percent of inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the United States for the ninth consecutive year. The ranking was provided by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation, a not-for-profit corporation that was developed with support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, a component of the U.S Department of Education.

Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) honored Spradley Barr Ford of Greeley as well as Leprino Foods and King Soopers for their “outstanding” efforts to save energy. The utility recognized a dozen commercial, industrial and small business customers statewide for participating in Xcel’s energy efficiency programs last year.

The Group, Inc. Real Estate ranked 107st on REALTrends’ Top 500 Largest Brokers ranked by closed sales volume in the United States for 2014 with $1,436,717,158 in closed sales last year.  The firm, with offices in Fort Collins and Loveland, closed 4,940 transaction sides. The Group ranked sixth among the 23 Colorado companies named in the report and is the only firm from Northern Colorado noted.

Boulder-based Droplet Measurement Technologies was honored as small-business exporter of the year by the Export-Import Bank of the United States on April 23 in Washington.

Northern Colorado beer distributor High Country Beverage received the MillerCoors President’s Award at an annual MillerCoors distributor convention March 11-12 in Charlotte, N.C.

Connecting Point of Greeley landed on the annual MSPmentor 501 Global Edition for the fifth straight year. The company is ranked 275th on this list identifying the world’s top 501 managed-service providers, based on a range of metrics taken from MSPmentor’s global online survey, conducted at the end of 2014.

Broomfield-based Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) subsidiary Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder has been chosen as a supplier of the year for avionics performance three years in a row by The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA). Ball was one of 14 companies and one university to receive the award for performance in 2014. It was chosen from a group of more than 13,000 active suppliers in 15 categories in nearly 47 countries.

Walt Marx, president and chief executive of Northern Colorado Credit Union in Greeley was elected secretary of the Mountain West Credit Union Association for the 2015-16 board of directors term. The election was held at the MWCUA’s annual meeting and convention held in late March in Phoenix.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Bryan Construction Inc., a Colorado Springs-based construction management and general contracting firm, announced that Fort Collins-based Drahota Construction will become part of an operating group of Bryan Construction, doing business as Drahota – A Bryan Construction Company out of Fort Collins. Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed.

Boulder-based Special Aerospace Services LLC acquired Englewood-based C&C Manufacturing in Englewood, a move that should lead to hiring soon in both locations. Heather Bulk, co-founder and CEO of Boulder-based SAS, said her company’s goal is to double C&C’s current staff of seven within the next 12 months. The acquisition will also mean the addition of a couple of more employees in Boulder to aid in the growth. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

California Eastern Laboratories acquired engineering services company Eagle Mountain Technology, with plans to expand the local operation, which employs fewer than 10 people at 1015 Ionosphere St. in Longmont. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a CEL spokesman said Eagle Mountain will become part of CEL and take on CEL’s branding. CEL makes a variety of hardware and wireless solutions for the Internet of Things industry, while EMT provides embedded software, hardware engineering and mobile app design.

University of Colorado Health plans to acquire a majority stake in Adeptus Health’s (NYSE: ADPT) freestanding emergency rooms throughout Northern Colorado, Colorado Springs and the Denver metro area. Adeptus Health owns and operates First Choice Emergency Room, the nation’s oldest and largest network of freestanding emergency room facilities. All 12 Colorado locations, and two more under construction, are included in the partnership and will be renamed UCHealth ER. Texas-based Adeptus is the company behind a planned 52-bed general hospital in Broomfield that could be completed by spring 2016. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MOVES

Switchable magnet manufacturer Magswitch Technology Inc. moved its headquarters from 8774 Yates Drive in Westminster, where it leased about 4,000 square feet, to a 22,000-square-foot building at 1355 Horizon Ave. in Lafayette, and relocated the operations of a warehouse in Fort Collins to the new facility as well.

OPENINGS

SnapLogic, a cloud-software company based in San Mateo, Calif., opened an office at 929 Pearl St., Suite 200, in Boulder and is hiring sales representatives to staff it. The office will serve as inside-sales headquarters for the company. SnapLogic connects data and applications in the cloud and on-premises through what it calls an “elastic-integration platform.”

Loveland-based C3 Real Estate Solutions LLC formed C3 Property Management LLC.

Jesse Laner and John Simmons, owners of C3 Real Estate, partnered with Richard F. Payne Sr., a certified property manager. Payne will act as employing broker and general manager. Services  include leasing, advertising, accounting, monthly statements and end-of-year 1099s, bookkeeping, maintenance/repairs, property inspections and collection of rents. Maintenance work will be contracted out and all savings will be passed on directly to the owners.

Studio Be Salon, with Fort Collins locations at 15 Old Town Square, Suite 131, and 2720 Council Tree Ave., Suite 180, will open a Boulder location at 3060 Pearl Parkway, Suite 112, in mid-May. Visit Studio Be Salon’s Website.

PRODUCT UPDATE

Longmont-based Circle Graphics Inc., a producer of large-format digital graphics, received two patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office protecting new methods that improve the traditional process of stretching and stapling canvas art to a wooden frame. The new technology replaces wood frames using a manufacturing process that produces a rigid structure that provides a solid base on which to mount images printed on canvas.

NINOX, a Boulder-based designer menswear label, launched “Boulder Icons,” a series of profiles featuring inspiring, influential and entrepreneurial men wearing the NINOX Weston Hoodie. Boulder Icons highlights local entrepreneurs in the apparel, food and beverage and tech industries, and will be expanding to profile men from Denver and other parts of Colorado. Nod Norkus, owner of Nod and Rose Storehouse, and Allen Lim, founder of Skratch Labs, are the first Boulder Icons to be profiled; more are coming soon and will be featured at www.ninox.cc/pages/boulder-icons.

Longmont-based Dot Hill Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: HILL), a supplier of enterprise-class storage systems, unveiled its RealStream software, which it says triples data ingest throughput while handling more than 5,000 parallel data streams for heavy-duty Internet traffic workloads. It also announced availability of its AssuredSAN 6000 Series arrays optimized for key vertical markets including telecommunications infrastructure, network management, video surveillance, service providers, high-performance computing and other Internet of Things applications.

Boulder-based Smart Balance is transitioning its flagship line of buttery spreads to higher-quality dairy-free recipes with a renewed focus on product performance.

Boulder-based Goddess Garden Organics introduced new brand packaging for its sunscreen products in mid-March.

Fort Collins-based New Belgium Brewing signed contracts with 12 distributors in Pennsylvania and is slated to open that market on Aug. 31.

Boulder-based Earth Balance, makers of a variety of plant-based, vegan products such as buttery spreads, nut butters and snacks, announced that it plans by the end of 2015 to source 100 percent of its palm oil from independently verified responsible producers. Earth Balance is owned by Boulder Brands (NasdaqGM: BDBD).

SERVICES

The University of Colorado Boulder launched an Entrepreneurs In Residence program to be piloted this fall by the school’s Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship. The program will bring up to four “seasoned or emerging” entrepreneurs from around the country and the world to the CU campus for one-year appointments that the university is hoping could be renewable for up to three years if the program goes well. The EIRs would spend up to 20 hours per week working on campus to offer mentorship to students and faculty as it relates to starting and growing their own companies. The EIRs would receive a $25,000 annual stipend.

Fort Collins-based Restoration Builders LLC launched waterproofmydeck.com as an informational portal that features resources on subjects such as property value benefits from deck waterproofing, deck restoration and deck railing installation.

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