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The Enquirer

King’s Toyota in Deerfield Township was awarded the President’s Award for 2011 by Toyota.

The dealership was one of only 12 nationwide to receive the award, which recognizes operational superiority, sales and outstanding customer satisfaction.

The dealership was also awarded membership to the Toyota’s President’s Cabinet. In order to receive membership, Kings Toyota had to first receive recognition as a Toyota Board of Governor’s award winner, reserved for the top 60 sales volume Toyota dealerships in the entire country.

They then had to qualify as a President’s award winner, offered to only those Toyota dealerships that demonstrate superior sales performance with exceptional customer service.

Ranked among the top 60 Toyota dealers nationwide, only the top 12 would be fortunate enough to consider themselves part of Toyota’s President’s Cabinet.

In addition to the President’s Award and President’s Cabinet, the Mason, Ohio dealership has also been recognized as the Number One (1) 2011 Toyota sales and Scion volume dealer in the Region (Ohio, Ky., Michigan, Tennessee, West Virginia and Ind.) in sales for both new and Certified pre-owned Toyotas, recipient of the 2011 Parts Excellence Award, the 2011 Service Excellence Award, the 2011 Sales Excellence Award, the 2011 Customer Relations Excellence Award and the 2011 Toyota Financial Services Circle of Excellence Award.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, deerfield township, king's toyota, president's award, sales, toyota, toyota board of governor's award, toyota president's cabinet

The Enquirer

FORTE, a Mason-based design-build firm in the distribution sector of the supply chain, was recently named to the 2012 Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 for helping a national fashion retailer increase productivity and efficiency, improve accuracy and better utilize space by automating the manual processes in its distribution center to accommodate extremely rapid growth.

Each year, Supply & Demand Chain Executive (SDCE) magazine evaluates and selects “100 Great Supply Chain Projects” for inclusion. In 2012, the magazine focused its selection criteria on supply chain transformation projects having a significant impact on a company going through the implementations.

Based on planned store openings of this fast-growing fashion retailer and same-store sales growth projections through 2019, FORTE recommended the automation and expansion of the distribution center to eventually accommodate up to 1,300 stores.

FORTE implemented a state-of-the-art, put-to-light system, which is controlled by FORTE’s Smart Warehouse Suite™ warehouse control system (WCS) software. The Smart Warehouse Suite’s Automation Director® receives the store requirements from the warehouse management system (WMS) and dynamically routes the cases to the appropriate put lanes. Additionally, Automation Director re-routes residual products from cases that aren’t fully depleted in one lane into other put lanes. Automation Director also includes a unique algorithm that automatically assigns excess units to the highest volume stores.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, chain executive 100, forte, great supply chain, magazine, mason, sdce, supply & demand

Mason-based AssureRx Health announced this week the launch of a personalized medicine test for children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

GeneSightRx ADHD helps doctors tailor treatment for ADHD with a simple cheek swab by analyzing variations in three genes that influence how a person might metabolize certain medications used to treat ADHD.

ADHD is among the most common childhood disorders, affecting between 3 and 5 percent of preschool and school-age children, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.  The disorder, which can often continue into adulthood, is characterized by an inability to stay focused and hyperactive and impulsive behaviors.

“ADHD is a neurobehavioral disorder affecting millions of children and adults. With the introduction of GeneSightRx ADHD, clinicians now have an objective, evidence-based tool for individualizing ADHD medications,” said James S. Burns, president and CEO of AssureRx Health.

“Our goal is to build a portfolio of innovative pharmacogenomic and other treatment decision support products to help physicians individualize the treatment of patients with neuropsychiatric and other disorders.”

In January, the 5-year-old biotech startup released the first of four new products expected this year. GeneSightRx 1.8 tests for up to 32 psychotropic medications to treat a range of psychiatric disorders.

The privately-held company completed its move earlier this year into 10,000-square-feet of space in the Mason Community Center from smaller leased space in the Columbia Commons business park off Interstate 71.

The fast-growing company expects to employ 100 people within the next year, said Burns.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: assurerx health, business, cheek swab, genesightrx, genesightrx adhd, health, james burns, mason, psychiatric

The Enquirer

Procter & Gamble has stepped up the timetable for its job-cutting program.

P&G employees in Cincinnati and the rest of the United States received an e-mail message Tuesday inviting them to participate in the voluntary buyout program.

The message marked the start of the second part of P&G’s job-cutting plan. The first phase should be finished by the end of June and will result in 1,600 departures worldwide.

The next phase has been accelerated, and should be completed in the United States by the end of October, spokesman Paul Fox said.

The previous deadline was mid-2013.

The new deadline “will expedite and accelerate the savings we will achieve as a result of all this,” Fox said.

It will also allow eligible employees to plan earlier and better, he said.

Tuesday’s letter was sent only to non-manufacturing employees in the United States. P&G wants to cut 5,700 jobs worldwide from its non-manufacturing operations, including marketing, product design, logistics and research.

P&G would not say how the cuts will affect employment in Cincinnati, its headquarters city, where it employs about 12,000, or in the United States, where P&G employs 129,000 worldwide.  Its Mason Business Center employs about 2,400.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, cincinnati, cuts, jobs, manufacturing, mason business center, P & G, paul fox, procter & gamble

Five Mason real estate professionals have been recognized by RE/MAX as top performers in the company’s Southern Ohio region.

Real estate agent Lynn Murphy-Dickerscheid placed sixth in the individual performer division, with 66 transactions, totaling $7.2 million in sales for 2011.

The Jason Bowman team placed fourth as top team with $11.7 million in sales for 2011.  The team, led by Jason Bowman, includes Martina Schneider, Sheri Mapes and Miranda Fey.

The Mason RE/MAX Elite office also placed first in the Southern Ohio region in the company’s Showcase Awards among teams with 10-300 agents.

“RE/MAX Elite’s performance is a result of the best in customer service combined with exceptional expertise in the local real estate market,” said Schieldknecht, owner of RE/MAX Elite. “Jim Hood and our team of Realtors have clearly proven their value to home buyers and home sellers throughout the Cincinnati area.”

The agents were honored at a recent awards ceremony at Great American Ballpark.  The Mason RE/MAX office is at 5720 Gateway Blvd.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, jason bowman, lynn murphy-dickerscheid, martina schneider, miranda fey, re/max, real estate agent, realtor, sales, sheri mapes

Jeff Wallner reports:

Deerfield Township-based FirstLight HomeCare projects it can double its elder-care business this year by filling a growing need.

The company, founded in 2009 by Jeff Bevis, is carving out its place in a massive and growing market driven by the aging baby boomer population. In 2010, approximately 12 million people were receiving care from 33,000 providers, according to the National Association of Home Care and Hospice. Annual expenditures for home health care exceed $70 billion.

FirstLight now has 41 franchisees in 20 states, including a new location that opened this month in Crestview Hills. The company employs eight at its Deerfield Township headquarters and plans to add 35 franchisees by year’s end.

FirstLight helps seniors with meal preparation, house cleaning, shopping and errands and other concierge-type services. It also provides care to new mothers, people recovering from surgery and those suffering from dementia.

Services, which range from several hours per week to full-time live-in care, cost $19.30 per hour.

Bevis, who spent 25 years managing franchise operations for Thrifty Car Rental, Comfort Keepers and Express Personnel Services, got his first part-time job as a teen-ager in a nursing home and has helped care for aging family members over the years.

“This industry blends all of these experiences and interests to really serve a growing need all across the country,” he says.

Franchisees invest between $69,030 and $94,265 in working capital, and pay a franchise fee of $30,900. It takes approximately three to five months between the time a franchisee is approved and the time the new business opens.

Franchisees hire caregivers who undergo full background checks. No services are outsourced.

Bevis has made recruiting, training and evaluating caregivers one of FirstLight’s core competencies. The company uses customized software programs and online tools to ensure caregivers have everything they need to serve those clients.

FirstLight also provides sales tools and marketing materials to franchisees, and via a third-party company makes regular client satisfaction calls and distributes the feedback over the web.

Online tools also help franchisees manage training, staffing and scheduling. The software helps them place caregivers with clients, and a web portal helps clients and their families communicate directly with caregivers.

Bevis said FirstLight already is receiving inquiries from large companies and insurance firms interested in receiving care for their clients and employees.

“I’m feeling very bullish about the business, the industry, and our approach to service,” Bevis said. “We have something new and different to offer.”

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: business, deerfield township, firstlight homecare, jeff bevis

Account Control Technology, Inc., a nationwide firm providing debt management and collection solutions, celebrated the grand opening Friday of a Mason facility expected to bring 200 new jobs by the end of the year.

The California-based company says its been “aggressively recruiting” since January and has already hired 110 full-time employees.  Another 90 full-time employees are expected to be added by the end of the year.

“ACT is investing and offering job opportunities at a time when many companies are scaling back. We proudly support our communities by keeping every aspect of our business local,” said CEO Nabil Kabbani.

ACT spent more than $900,000 renovating the 30,000-square-foot office building at 5300 Kings Island Drive.  The new location will allow the company expand its nationwide presence, say officials.

The company chose to locate in Warren County due to its “business-friendly climate” and pool of qualified talent.  Its new location can accommodate up to 300 employees, the company said in a release.

This is ACT’s fourth and largest location in the U.S.  The company, which started in 1990, has more than 400 employees at its other locations in California and Texas.  The company has been recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the nation’s 5,000 fastest growing private companies.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: account control technology, business, call center, debt collection, hiring, jobs, mason, nabil kabbani, open, ribbon-cutting ceremony

David Holthaus reports:

Although Procter & Gamble beat Wall Street’s profit expectations in the last quarter, it lowered its goals for this quarter and its stock was down in trading Friday.

Before the markets opened, P&G reported profits of $2.4 billion for the quarter, down 16 percent from the same quarter last year. That translates to earnings per share of 94 cents, beating the Street’s forecast of 93 cents.

But management scaled back the profit forecast for the fiscal year, driving P&G shares down more than 3 percent after the stock market’s opening bell. Shares were trading around $64.75, a drop of more than $2 a share.

The company blamed several factors for the slow growth: sluggish sales in the United States, stiff price competition and increases in the cost of raw materials and fuel.

But Wall Street investment analysts, in a morning conference call with top management, were clearly impatient with several recent quarters of lower profits and slow growth.

“There’s so many excuses,” said Wendy Nicholson, who follows P&G for New York-based Citigroup. “How do we know this isn’t going to be a replay of 2000?” when shares dove by about 50 percent after the company repeatedly missed profit goals by wide margins.

“It is my fault,” said chairman and CEO Bob McDonald. “I am the CEO of the company. Every manager in the company would say the same thing.”

“How long do you expect investors to wait?” asked Ali Dibadj, who covers P&G for New York-based Sanford Bernstein and Co.

McDonald said restoring substantial profit and share growth is not a short-term fix.

“We are working to improve this company over the long term,” he said. “We will deliver. We will get the right leaders in place to deliver it. We will do it.”

Its key plans include cutting $10 billion in costs, including 5,700 employees, by mid-2016 and stepping up the introduction of new products.

For the January-March quarter, sales were $20.2 billion, up 2 percent from a year ago. Sales growth was driven partly by price increases across all its businesses, the company said. The sales figure fell short of Wall Street’s forecast of $20.3 billion.

Organic sales, a key internal sales measure that takes out the effect of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency shifts, grew 3 percent, in line with the company’s forecasts.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: bob mcdonald, business, P&G, procter & gamble, profits

The Enquirer

The Remke bigg’s store in Mason is closing, the result of underperforming sales and profits, the retailer announced Tuesday.

Final closing date will be in late May or early June. The other 13 Remke bigg’s stores in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will continue doing business as usual.

“The decision to close our Mason location was a difficult one, and we recognize that it has a tremendous impact on both our associates and customers,” Remke bigg’s president Matthew Remke said. The store employs 66.

Starting today, customers with prescriptions at the Mason store should go to the Mason Target at 9841 Waterstone Blvd. The phone number there is (513) 677-3879.

This announcement was made this morning during an associate meeting at the Mason store. Current store associates will have the opportunity to meet with the human resources team to explore available positions in other Remke bigg’s Ohio and Kentucky store locations.

Those who are not able to make the transition to another store will receive outplacement support, and eligible associates will receive severance benefits.

For more information, go to www.remkes.com or www.facebook.com/remkemarkets.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: bigg's, business, close, mason, matthew remke, remke bigg's, remke's

Patty Hannika, owner of SugarPlums Cupcakery, makes a signature sugarplum cake filled with berries. File photo

Cupcake fans, rejoice.

SugarPlums Cupcakery recently completed construction on a full baking kitchen at its Mason satellite location at 6209 Snider Road and expanded its business hours.  The new hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday.

They’ve also recently added a freezer that holds all 23 gelato and sorbetto flavors from Madisano’s and added a new offering: CupPies, miniature fruit and cream pies in cupcake holders.

Bakery owner Patty Hannika told The Enquirer’s Polly Campbell that they’re really rocking and selling a lot of cupcakes.

SugarPlums is remodeling its original space in Milford into a party room.  The bakery also offers cakes, wedding cakes, event cakes and cater corporate events.

For more information, call 513-248-2253 or go to www.cakesbysugarplums.com.

Posted in: Business, News |

Tags: Tags: bakery, business, cakes, cupcakes, cuppies, expanded, gelato, mason, patty hannika, sorbetto, sugarplums cupcakery