Briefcase, April 29, 2016

CONTRACTS

For the first time in its decade-old program, New Belgium Brewing Co. is having its special-edition cruiser bicycles produced in the United States, The bikes, which the Fort Collins-based brewery distributes to workers on their first anniversary with the company, raffles or auctions off for charity events and offers as contest prizes, will be made by Detroit Bikes, a bicycling manufacturer and North America’s largest bike producer. Detroit Bikes will produce about 2,500 three-speed cruiser bikes for New Belgium during this first year. About 1,000 have been released so far, with about 40 going out a day. The partnership has created new jobs in Detroit, prompting the bicycle manufacturer to double its workforce from 20 to 40 employees at its 50,000-square-foot factory on the Michigan city’s west side.

Boulder-based Elevations Credit Union is now an employee banking services partner for the city of Boulder. Through this new partnership, the city will offer access to Elevations’ financial services as an employee benefit.

Boulder-based Kickfurther, an inventory and invoice financing marketplace that connects companies and buyers seeking qualified short-term deal financing, is partnering with NSR Invest, a peer-to-peer investment management platform. The Kickfurther engineering team is utilizing NSR Invest’s open architecture to provide its clients the ability to analyze and choose company offers using NSR’s analytics, trading and reporting tools.

EARNINGS

Slower growth in China and the impacts of low oil and gas prices led to a second-quarter earnings decline of roughly $3 million for Fort Collins-based manufacturer Woodward Inc. (Nasdaq: WWD). For the period ending March 31, Woodward’s net income came in at $40.8 million, or 65 cents per diluted share,  compared with $43.9 million, or 66 cents per diluted share for the same period a year earlier. Sales declined 3 percent to $479 million, with gains in the company’s aerospace segment offset by an 11 percent slide for Woodward’s industrial segment. Woodward’s aerospace segment, meanwhile, saw sales grow 3 percent to $291 million and earnings increase by 11 percent thanks primarily to strength in commercial aftermarket and defense sales.

KUDOS

Fort Collins Utilities was showcased as a leader in energy-efficiency programs in a report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Based on data sources and suggestions from industry experts, ACEEE highlighted 14 utilities, seeking a diversity of types, sizes and locations.

Loveland-based High Country Beverage, a locally owned and operated beer distributor, was awarded the Bill Coors Quality Award for the Central Region on March 23 at the MillerCoors National Convention in New Orleans. The Coors award is presented to one distributor in each of five regions across the country as well as to one national distributor. In order to receive this honor, distributors must excel in MillerCoors exacting quality measures.

Boulder-based Sir Richard’s was forecast to be one of the U.S.’ top five condom producers over the next five years by London-based global technology research and advisory company Technavio.  Sir Richard’s ranked fourth among vendors identified based on parameters such as brand visibility, popularity of the brand, use, market presence, continued innovations, distribution channels and promotion activities.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Lexington, Ky.-based Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK), the printer manufacturer that employs 200 people at its development and manufacturing facility in Boulder, agreed to be acquired by a Chinese consortium led by Apex Technology for $3.6 billion in an all-cash transaction. The deal will be financed through a combination of equity contributions by the consortium and debt. It is expected to be completed in the second half of this year. Workers in Boulder make toner and photoconductor drums for use in laser-printer cartridges. They also perform tests, and design and develop new technology at 6555 Monarch Road, west of IBM’s campus at Colorado highways 119 and 52.

Sovrn Holdings Inc., an online advertising and publisher platform business based in Boulder, completed the acquisition of London-based OnScroll. Terms of the deal between the privately held companies were not disclosed. Sovrn acquires OnScroll’s in-view ad technology, an experienced team and a customer-base in the United Kingdom.

Corrections Corp.  of America (NYSE: CXW), one of the largest prison operators in the country, announced on Monday that it has acquired Boulder-based Correctional Management Inc. for $35 million. CMI operates seven facilities in Colorado, including the Boulder Community Treatment Center, 1770 21st St., and the Longmont Community Treatment Center, 236 Main St. As part of the deal, CCA acquired the real estate for six of the seven facilities run by CMI. Boulder County property records show the Longmont facility sold for roughly $2 million, while the Boulder facility is owned by the county. CCA is a real estate investment trust that owns correctional, detention and residential re-entry facilities in 20 states.

Two home health-care organizations in Colorado have merged in an effort to achieve greater efficiencies and compete with larger health-care systems. Rehabilitation & Visiting Nurse Association, based in Greeley, has merged with Denver-based Colorado Visiting Nurse Association, The new organization will use the name Colorado VNA beginning May 1.

NAME CHANGES

Local ad-tech startup Visibl — cofounded last year by former Crispin Porter + Bogusky exec Alex Bogusky — announced a $1.5 million funding round and a rebranding of the company to Brandzooka. Digital marketing agency IMM led the investment, along with Galvanize Ventures, eonCapital Ventures, Mahalo Capital and RSVP Ventures.

OPENINGS

A Boulder entrepreneur and a local natural-foods veteran are combining their business prowess to create a popup outdoor culinary market in the Denver Tech Center. Kathey Pear and Jonathan Kates, both of Boulder, have founded Foodies Outdoor Markets. Their first location, Foodies Belleview Station, will be at 4901 S. Newport St. — near the junction of Interstate 25 and Belleview Avenue in Denver — with plans to open June 5.

Boulder-based Proto’s Pizzeria Napoletana will become the first restaurant in Gunbarrel Center, the new apartment community located at 5340 Gunbarrel Center Court in Gunbarrel, when it opens a 1,800-square-foot eatery at Gunbarrel Center this summer.

Another locally owned business has joined the crowded Old Town Fort Collins restaurant and pub scene. Poudre Keg, owned and operated by husband and wife Jim Kimball and Kathy Throckmorton, opened in a leased 2,770-square-foot space at 253 Linden St., the former home of Old Town Distilling Co.

Bank of America officially opened its first branch in Boulder on April 11, the third of what the banking giant hopes to be 17 to 20 branches in Colorado as it establishes a consumer banking presence in the state over the next several years. The new Boulder branch is at 1965 28th St., in front of Hazel’s Beverage World on the site where a former Wendy’s restaurant was demolished. The new building is about 3,000 square feet.

Swingle Lawn, Tree and Landscape Care, a nearly 70-year-old Denver-based business, opened a new regional headquarters in a 16,000-square-foot building at 4104 Sable Ave. in Firestone. Thomas Tolkacz, Swingle’s owner and chief executive, purchased the building for $1.1 million in June 2015 through the entity Sable Boulevard Property LLC from Hemmer Ventures LLC, according to Weld County public records. Swingle had been servicing parts of the region from leased space in Lakewood but has moved that operation to Firestone. The Firestone building is Swingle’s third permanent branch; it also has a main office in Denver and a Northern Colorado office at 1805 E. Lincoln Ave., Unit A, in Fort Collins.

World of Beer will open a 3,800-square-foot tavern with a 700-square-foot outdoor patio this spring at 921 Pearl St. in Boulder, featuring more than 500 bottles and 50 daily rotating taps. World of Beer-Boulder will house a stainless steel infusion tower that allows the tavern to infuse beer with herbs, coffee, fruit, etc., to create new spins on brews. 

French cafe and bakery La Madeline Country French Cafe and Concept 32, a kitchen and bath design studio, became the 30th and 31st retailers to commit to the Village at the Peaks shopping center in Longmont. have committed to the mall.

PRODUCT UPDATE

Eleven trails in the Flatirons above Boulder as well as seven in Rocky Mountain National Park and two in the town of Estes Park have been captured with Google’s Street View Trekker — the same technology used since 2007 by cameras atop Google cars that provide 360-degree views along streets and highways worldwide, except mounted instead atop a wearable backpack introduced by Google in 2012. The 40-pound Trekker is worn by an operator and walked along trails or pedestrian walkways. All the while, the camera’s 15 lenses — about two feet above the walker’s shoulders — automatically gather images in all directions, one every 2.5 seconds, powered by a battery that can last about 68 hours on a full charge. The stored images are then stitched together at a Google facility in Mountain View, Calif., to create the 360-degree views.

Balanced Blends — two of whose founders helped guide Louisville-based tech company LineRate Systems to a $125 million exit in 2013 — launched its line of pet foods aimed at providing cats and dogs with their “ancestral” raw diets. Boulder-based Balanced Blends, which raised a $500,000 seed round of funding last summer, is using a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the initial introduction of its products to market. Backers will get discounts on the first shipments of the food sold.

Boulder-based Lawbooth, an online marketplace for legal advice, is giving its unique scheduling technology to attorneys for free. Lawbooth is offering an exclusive beta program of its platform to the first 100 attorneys that request participation on lawbooth.com/widgets.

Longmont-based Oskar Blues Brewery and New Orleans-based NOLA Brewing teamed up to

create a limited-release collaboration, The Wolf and The Lamb, in honor of the New Orleans Jazz Fest. The creation involved a daylong brewing session with the NOLA and Oskar Blues teams at the brewery in Longmont. The crews teamed up to double up the Double Pilsner style, cranking out a 7 percent super-pale lager with Pilsner malt and Czech Agnes and Styrian Wolf hops. The brew will be available for a limited time in Colorado and Louisiana markets.

SERVICES

Kaiser Permanente launched Kaiser Permanente Research Bank, a resource designed to help the organization understand how people’s health is affected by their genes, behaviors and the environment. Kaiser Permanente members — in Washington D.C. and eight states, including 675,000 members in Colorado — who are 18 and older can participate in the research bank. The bank allows researchers to use DNA and other health information voluntarily provided by members to study how genetic and environmental factors affect health, and look for new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent certain diseases.

Boulder County Public Health, Boulder Valley School District and the city of Boulder Parks and Recreation partnered to support a Weigh and Win kiosk, providing free, personalized health coaching and cash rewards for weight loss to local community members. The weigh-in stations are located at the East Boulder Community Center, 5660 Sioux Drive, and the North Boulder Recreation Center, 3170 Broadway St.

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