Business news in brief

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It is clearly for Latvia a choice of being a part of the core, the economic and political core, of Europe.”

Olli Rehn, European Union economic and monetary affairs commissioner Article, 1D

UALR gets grant to test glasses for blind

The National Science Foundation is giving $150,000 to students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Magnolia-based company to test the feasibility of a device to assist the blind and visually impaired, the university said Monday.

The money will allow the company, Fauxsee, to work with students and faculty to continue to develop the device for six months, according to a news release.

The device involves a pair of glasses that transmit ultrasound, which is reflected back to the glasses. The glasses then vibrate to let the wearer know something is near them, said Dr. William Jacobson, chairman of the counseling, adult and rehabilitation education department at the university.

The glasses are designed to reduce the occurrence of head and upper-body injury.

Ozark plant to get $10 million overhaul

Little Rock’s Heartland Renaissance Fund, an affiliate of The Arkansas Capital Corp., said Tuesday it will spend $10 million on overhauling a high-tech manufacturing plant for longtime Ozark employer SGL Group.

Wiesbaden, Germany-based SGL has manufacturing sites all over the world. In Ozark, it makes high-power graphite electrodes for the production of steel in electric arc furnaces. Graphite electrodes are used to recycle scrap steel.

Heartland is a private, nonprofit corporation established more than a decade ago to facilitate the federal New Markets Tax Credits Program. The overall cost to overhaul the Ozark plant is $26 million, with completion expected in two years. The 90 or so employees at the plant are said to earn higher-than-average wages.

A spokesman for SGL said Tuesday the improvements to the plant will yield cleaner technology, reduce energy consumption by about 20 percent and give the company more of a competitive edge. No new hires are expected, she said.

In addition to the Ozark plant, SGL operates the Hitco Carbon Composites plant in Arkadelphia, which makes high-performance insulation components for aircraft.

UCA team competes in Microsoft Cup

A team of University of Central Arkansas students presented its entry at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup in Russia on Tuesday.

Team Bears Unlimited created the Bear Claw System, a smartphone game paired to a glove with sensors that helps users perform occupational and physical-therapy exercises.

The UCA team is competing against 35 other finalists in the World Citizenship Competition. This year, the finals are being held in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In an email, Sinan Kockara, a mentor and computer science professor, said he felt the presentation went smoothly.

Kockara said he and Tansel Halic, a mentor and computer science professor, will receive an award for being the competition’s top mentors.

A second presentation today will involve a hands-on demonstration of the device. Competition winners will be announced Thursday.

UA adds 2 seminars on poultry disease

Two more seminars to help owners of small poultry flocks learn how to prevent the spread of disease have been set by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service.

Entitled Biosecurity for Backyard Flocks, the sessions are being held after a bird tested positive for avian influenza in Scott County on June 16.

The latest sessions, for flock owners in Crawford, Franklin, Johnson and Pope counties, will be held Monday in Ozark beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Franklin County Extension office at 300B Airport Road and in Clarksville on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Johnson County Fairgrounds.

Growers who see any unusual signs in their flock or have questions concerning avian influenza can contact their local county agent, the Cooperative Extension Service poultry veterinarian at (479) 957-4245, or the Arkansas veterinarian’s office at (501) 907-2400.

NanoMech’s TuffTek tough-coat honored

NanoMech Inc., a private company based in Fayetteville, is a winner of an R&D Magazine award for a top technology of the year.

The company won a materials science award for its TuffTek coating, which extends the life of cutting equipment used in manufacturing by 300 percent to 1,000 percent, said Jim Phillips, chairman and chief executive of the company.

Phillips said the product decreases the cost of machining the metal found in products from engine blocks to office furniture. He said that’s becoming more important as carbide, a key material used in cutting tools, becomes more expensive.

TuffTek was conceived at the University of Arkansas and is made in Springdale.

Kroger buys Harris Teeter for $2.4 billion

NEW YORK - Kroger, the country’s largest traditional supermarket operator, said Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. for about $2.44 billion in cash, increasing its presence in southeastern and mid-Atlantic markets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cincinnati-based Kroger will pay $49.38 for each of the supermarket chain’s shares. The price represents a 2 percent increase over the company’s Monday closing stock price.

The deal has been approved by both companies’ boards, but remains subject to Harris Teeter shareholder approval. Harris Teeter announced in February that it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.

Harris Teeter operates 212 stores in eight southeastern and mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., along with a pair of distribution centers and a dairy facility in North Carolina. Its fiscal 2012 revenue totaled about $4.5 billion.

In comparison, Kroger operates 2,419 stores in 31 states. In addition to its flagship brand of supermarkets, it also owns Ralphs, Fry’s, Food 4 Less and other brands. The acquisition adds another three states to its store footprint.

Business, Pages 24 on 07/10/2013