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Michigan medical device company to open Austin office
A Michigan medical devices company will create 30 jobs in Austin with the opening of a marketing and product development office later this year.
Pioneer Surgical Technology announced last month plans to expand into Austin. The company will lease 11,000 square feet of office space in Northwest Austin for an office to open in the second quarter, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce said.
The company is based in Marquette, in Michigan’s Northern Peninsula, and develops spine, orthopedic and biologics products. Its manufacturing facility is in Marquette, but it has sales offices in other cities.
Last month, CEO Jeff Millin said the company chose Austin because of its central location to customers and potential customers.
“Having a strategic base of operations here in addition to our Marquette, Mich., headquarters allows us to take advantage of Austin’s proximity and talent, while still maintaining a strong connection to our successful heritage. This is a crucial component of Pioneer’s future growth plans”
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Dell reports stronger revenue in Q4
Dell Inc. reported a healthy increase in revenue for the fourth quarter, which was the company’s first period that included operations from its Perot Systems acquisition.
Dell reported a profit of $334 million, or 17 cents a share on revenue of $14.9 billion for the quarter ended Jan.29. That compared with a profit of $351 million, or 18 cents a share, on revenue of $13.4 billion for the fourth quarter a year ago.
For all of fiscal 2010, Dell reported a profit of $2.05 billion, or $1.05 a share, on revenue of $52.9 billion. That compared with a profit of $2.85 billion, or $1.44 a share, on revenue of $61.1 billion the previous year.
Dell completed its $3.9 billion acquisition of Perot Systems Corp., a major provider of computer services, last November.
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Valence to provide batteries for hybrid yachts
Austin-based Valence Technology Inc. said it signed an agreement to provide rechargeable batteries to the world’s largest sailing yacht maker.
Beneteau Group will use Valence batteries in all of its hybrid electric boats that use a hybrid drive system.
Beneteau estimates that the agreement will produce $9 million in revenue for Valence in the first years. Over the five years of the agreement, the total could be $45 million.
In the past 12 months, Valence’s total revenues have been about $17.4 million
“Beneteau is setting a new blue-water standard for cleaner sailing yachts,” said Valence CEO Robert Kanode.
The hybrid boats emit little or no emissions, reduce fuel use and require less maintenance than traditional diesel marine systems.
Valence shares were up 18.5 percent, to 97 cents, on the news
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Heart Hospital price was $83.6 million
MedCath Corp. and the doctors who co-own the Heart Hospital of Austin sold the facility for $83.6 million, according to a securities filing Wednesday morning.
Late Tuesday, St. David’s HealthCare agreed to buy the 58-bed hospital at 38th Street and North Lamar Boulevard, but the price was not disclosed at the time.
MedCath, based in Charlotte, N.C., owned 71 percent of the cardiac specialty hospital and the doctors who founded it 11 years ago owned the rest.
Pending approval by regulators, St. David’s will take over the hospital by the end of June, the securities filing said.
MedCath said it will get $26 million from the sale, after various payments and accounting provisions. They include repayment $35.3 million in secured debt owed by the Heart Hospital.
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Dell’s investment firm seeking to raise a $500 million fund
Michael Dell’s private investment firm, MSD Capital, is raising a $500 million public fund to invest in distressed European companies.
MSD Capital, which has some $10 billion in assets under management for Michael Dell and his family, plans to open the new distressed asset fund. This is the first time that MSD Capital has opened up an investment fund for outside capital.
A spokesman for MSD Capital declined comment.
According to the Financial Times, the MSD European Opportunity Fund is one of several funds being raised to pursue distressed companies.
MSD Capital’s existing fund has been investing in European distressed and undervalued securities since 2006 with a gross internal rate of return of about 20 percent.
Michael Dell and others tied to MSD Capital are expected to invest at least $225 million in the fund.
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LatinWorks gets new national account
Austin advertising agency LatinWorks has been named the Hispanic agency of record for national department store chain Marshalls.
The agency will be charged with developing the discount retailer’s Hispanic advertising strategy. Austin’s biggest ad agency, GSD&M Idea City, is already handling general market work for Marshalls.
“LatinWorks showed an insightful understanding of our Hispanic business needs,” said Emily Trent, Marshalls’ vice president of marketing, in a release.
LatinWorks CEO Manny Flores said in a release that Marshalls is “uniquely positioned” to make gains in the current economic environment.
“It’s with great pride that we join them in accelerating their growth within the rapidly expanding Hispanic market,” Flores said.
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Sales tax report is mixed for Central Texas cities
February was a mixed bag for Central Texas cities in terms of sales tax revenue.
Kyle had a 25 percent increase compared to February 2009, thanks to new retail openings, and San Marcos was up 3.7 percent — the first increase in seven months, Mayor Susan Narvaiz said.
But several other area cities continued to see drops in a key source of revenue, based on sales tax allocations they received this month from the Texas Comptrollers Office for sales that occurred in December.
Austin’s allocation was up 11.4 percent, but city officials said the figure included two adjustments, including one for several unnamed business that had been remitting their sales taxes to the wrong city instead of Austin and an audit correction that reduced the February 2008 figure by $486,000.
Without those adjustments, Austin’s sales tax revenues were down 2.4 percent for the month.
Among other large Texas cities, Fort Worth and San Antonio were down 0.2 percent, Dallas was down 4.2 percent and Houston was down 12.4 percent.
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Incentive proposal for LegalZoom advances
Los Angeles-based LegalZoom.com Inc. on Thursday got a step closer to creating a regional headquarters in Austin, as the City Council was briefed on an incentives package for the company.
Under the proposal, the city would pay LegalZoom $20,000 a year for 10 years, tied to meeting job creation targets that start at 50 jobs this year and rise to 600 after five years. The Texas Enterprise Fund would kick in $1 million if the city incentives win City Council approval.
Kevin Johns, director of the city’s Economic Growth and Redevelopment Service department, said the city gave the company a score of 75 out of a possible 100 points on a matrix that includes considerations such as whether the company is in a targeted industry and whether it could help attract other companies to Austin.
Three people, including representatives from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Austin Asian American Chamber of Commerce, spoke in favor of the incentives. No one spoke in opposition.
Austinites can submit comments on the proposal through 5 p.m. Sunday.
On Feb. 18, the City of Austin will hold a public hearing and vote on the package.
In documents filed with the city, LegalZoom said it expected to fill 90 percent of its jobs locally, except for top executives and some managers and supervisors. The median annual wage for the first 50 jobs would be $31,000.
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Dell to buy California software company
Dell Inc., has agreed to acquire a California systems management software company in a bid to bolster its product offerings to small-to-mid-sized business and government customers.
Dell will buy Kace Networks Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., for an undisclosed price. The company, which employs about 125 workers, creates software to help mid-sized customers manage computer assets, deploy software, provide security and manage a service desk.
The software is designed for small to mid-sized businesses as well as government, education and health institutions. Its primary software product family is called Kbox and it supports systems that run Windows, Macintosh and Linux software.
“We talk directly to thousands of these customers and they tell us they need systems management tools geared for their environment,” said Steve Felice, president of Dell’s business segment tied to consumers and small-to-mid-sized businesses. “The Kbox family of appliances is highly capable, quick to deploy, simple to use and provides a rapid return on investment, exactly the sort of best-value solutions we’ve delivering to customers.”
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Dillard’s at the Domain to open March 11
Dillard’s plans to open its new store at the Domain on March 11.
The store, on Braker Lane east of MoPac Boulevard, is part of an expansion of the North Austin retail/residential/office project owned by Simon Property Group.
The 600,000 square-foot expansion also includes a Dick’s Sporting Goods, a Gold Class Cinema, apartments and office space.
The 208,000 square-foot department store will be Dillard’s fifth in the region. The others are at Barton Creek Square, Lakeline Mall, Highland Mall and the Hill Country Galleria.
Hanger Orthopedics Group also is moving into the Domain, establishing its headquarters in offices that are part of the expansion.
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EZCorp names president in CEO succession plan
Austin-based EZCorp promoted Paul Rothamel to president and said he has been chosen to succeed CEO Joseph Rotunda, when he retires within the next year.
Rothamel, 45, also was named to the board of the directors, which operates pawnshops and payday lending centers in the United States, Canada and Mexico and has an interest in a British pawn chain.
Rothamel will continue as chief operating officer. He will add strategic development, marketing, human resources and other functions as president.
He joined the company last September from Pamida, a chain of general merchandise and pharmacy stores.
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Newflower Farmers Market opens in Bee Cave
Natural foods grocer Newflower Farmers Market opened its second Austin-area store on Tuesday, with grand opening events scheduled for today.
Based in Boulder, Colo., Newflower is a self-proclaimed “value-oriented” chain similar in concept to Spouts Farmers Market. And like Sprouts, Newflower is a newcomer to the area; its first store opened a year ago in South Austin.
Newflower CEO Mike Gilliland said the chain will open seven to nine new stores this year in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. Overall, the Bee Cave store is the 29th in the chain.
While there aren’t any immediate plans for any more stores in the Austin area, Gilliland said it’s a possibility.
“We don’t have anything announced, but we’re always looking,” he said.
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Dell makes bid for storage technology
Dell Inc. has confirmed that it has submitted a bid to buy the intellectual property assets of Israeli storage technology company called Exanet Ltd. that is going through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.
Exanet spent about $70 million in investor funds over 10 years developing technology for systems that support clustered network attached data storage. The storage system enables the fast distribution of data across a cluster of computer devices.
Dell did not publicly disclose its bid offer, but it is believed to be about $12 million.
Dell operates a subsidiary, called EqualLogic Inc., that develops one kind of storage network system. It also has a reseller agreement with various storage vendors including EMC Corp.
“This is another step that Dell is taking to build its enterprise product portfolio,” said analyst Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies Associates. “Dell built an enterprise business with commodity client computers and in the last four to five years it has been building a broader enterprises product portfolio. You need servers and storage and networking equipment and services and some software. I see this as another brick in the edifice.”
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Toyota to recall about 437,000 Priuses worldwide
TOKYO — Toyota says it is recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to fix brake problems — the latest in a string of embarrassing safety lapses at the world’s largest automaker.
In the U.S., Toyota will recall 133,000 Prius cars and 14,500 Lexus HS250h vehicles.
The Prius repairs will start in Japan on Wednesday. U.S. owners will start receiving letters about the recall next week.
“I don’t see Toyota as an infallible company that never makes mistakes,” President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference Tuesday in Tokyo. “We will face up to the facts and correct the problem, putting customers’ safety and convenience first.”
With the Prius announcement, the number of vehicles recalled globally by Toyota Motor Corp. has ballooned to 8.5 million, including for floor mats which can trap gas pedals and faulty gas pedals that are slow to return to the idle position. The 2010 Prius wasn’t part of the earlier recalls.
There have been about 200 complaints in Japan and the U.S. about a delay when the brakes in the Prius were pressed in cold conditions and on some bumpy roads. The delay doesn’t indicate a brake failure. The company says the problem can be fixed in 40 minutes with new software that oversees the controls of the antilock brakes.
“Let me assure everyone that we will redouble our commitment to quality as the lifeline of our company,” Toyoda said.
Toyota officials went to Japan’s Transport Ministry earlier Tuesday to formally notify officials the company is recalling the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid — the world’s top-selling hybrid car. The automaker is also recalling two other hybrid models in Japan, the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the U.S. and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan.
The 223,000 cars being recalled in Japan include nearly 200,000 Priuses sold from April last year through Monday, according to papers the automaker filed with the ministry. The Prius is Japan’s top-selling car.
Nearly 53,000 Priuses are also being recalled in Europe. Toyota is suspending production of the Sai and Lexus HS250h in Japan until the updated software for those models is ready.
If drivers experience a delayed reaction when depressing the brakes in any of these models, they should keep pressing, according to Toyota and the transport ministry. Toyoda, the president, has been criticized for being largely invisible during the two weeks after the company announced Jan. 21 the gas pedal recall in the U.S., Europe and China.
He said he planned to go to the U.S. soon to talk with American workers and dealers to bring the ranks together.
U.S. safety officials have launched an investigation into problems with the brakes.
The problem is suspected in four crashes resulting in two minor injuries, according to data gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating the matter. Toyota says it’s cooperating with NHTSA’s investigation. Problems with hybrid braking systems haven’t been limited to Toyota.
Ford Motor Co. said last week it plans to fix 17,600 Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion gas-electric hybrids because of a software problem that can give drivers the impression that the brakes have failed. The automaker says the problem occurs in transition between two braking systems and at no time are drivers without brakes.
The Toyota executive overseeing quality Shinichi Sasaki said the delay that Prius drivers can feel when braking lasts for a fraction of a second as the antilock brakes kick in.
The problem happens only on snowy or bumpy surfaces, and the complaints did not become more numerous until recently when the weather got colder, Sasaki said.
But Toyoda acknowledged the company could have done better in picking up on the complaints, managing the crisis and sending a message to car owners on a fix. In the U.S., Toyota will add five more centers in addition to the current three that investigate customer complaints, Sasaki said.
“When compared to the size of Japan, America is so much bigger and so our network for gathering information was not enough,” he said.
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Newflower store in Bee Cave to open next week
The Newflower Farmers Market location in Bee Cave is set to open Feb. 10 with a grand opening celebration.
The store, located at 12700 Shops Parkway in The Shops at the Galleria, will be the second Newflower location in the Austin area — the natural foods chain opened its first store in South Austin last year. Overall, the Bee Cave store is the 29th in the chain.
According to the company, opening festivities will kick off at 6:30 a.m. with food samplings, giveaways and specials.
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Silicon Labs shows earnings growth, is hiring
Austin-based Silicon Laboratories Inc. reported record revenue from several product categories in its fourth quarter earnings report released Wednesday morning.
The chip-maker reported a profit of $40.3 million, or 84 cents a share, on revenue of $127.2 million for the quarter ended Jan. 2. That compared with a profit of $6.3 million, or 14 cents a share, on revenue of $99.3 million for the same quarter a year ago.
The company said its results were driven by record revenue for audio, video, microcontrollers, timing, wireless and power-related products.
The company finished the year with 730 employees worldwide, about two-thirds of whom work in Austin.
Sayiner said the company is actively looking for more technical talent, adding that its head count may top 800 in the current year.
“We have a lot of job reqs (requisitions) out,” he said.
For the year, the company reported a profit of $73.1 million, or $1.57 a share, on revenue of $441.0 million, compared with a profit of $32.9 million, or 67 cents a share, on revenue of $415.6 million from a year ago.
The quarterly results included a favorable impact of 40 cents per share from a tax-reserve procedure the company had agreed to with the Internal Revenue Service covering 2005 through 2009. The agreement allowed for reversal of previous tax reserves made by the company.
“We executed well in 2009, making progress on the critical projects and design wins needed to position the business to out-perform again in 2010 and beyond,” said CEO Necip Sayiner, who added that the company expects to deliver profitable growth in all three of its major product areas in 2010.
The company ended the year with cash and short-term securities totaling $435 million, up 30 percent from a year ago.
Silicon Labs guided to expected revenue in the range of $120 million to $125 million in the current quarter.
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LatinWorks named ‘Multicutural Agency of the Year’
Austin advertising agency LatinWorks has landed another award.
Advertising Age magazine named the firm its “Multicultural Agency of the Year,” pointing to some of LatinWorks’ high-profile commercials and the company’s growth during a down economy.
“One of the agency’s hallmarks is work that is highly creative and effective in the Hispanic market, but eschews stereotypes and transcends ethnicity,” according to the trade magazine.
LatinWorks’ revenue increased by 13 percent last year and its staff grew to 106 people — a 15 percent increase.
The company made waves in the industry last year with its “Llama” commercial for Starburst candy.
The commercial, which shows a man and a llama staring at each other while both chew the candy, was originally created for the Hispanic market.
But it went viral and was one of the most-liked TV ads of 2009, according to Nielson IAG Ratings.
The commercial also won a Silver Lion award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
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Black Sand acquires patents
Black Sand Technologies said it has acquired a patent portfolio related to power amplifier chips from Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Black Sand is developing advanced digitally controlled power amplifiers for high-performance cell phones data cards and small computers.
Several members of Black Sand’s engineering team formerly worked for Silicon Labs.
“The acquired IP represents important technology for Black Sand, significantly advancing our position as the leader in this field,” said CEO John Diehl.
The patents include claims and methods related to designing power amplifier chips that can be manufactured through a common chip-making process called CMOS.
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Renderings of Northcross Mall Wal-Mart released
Officials with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. today released renderings of the company’s long-delayed store at Northcross Center.
The store will be approximately 99,000 square feet and is expected to open in the fall, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kellie Duhr.
It has been more than three years since Wal-Mart set off a citywide controversy over big-box retailing with plans to build a two-story superstore at the struggling North Austin mall.
At 99,000 square feet and a single story, it is less than half the size of the store Wal-Mart proposed in 2006.
The scaled-back store is finally underway after years of controversy over the project. Some neighborhood residents launched protests and lawsuits when the company and Lincoln Property Co., the Dallas-based owner of Northcross, announced plans to build a store at Northcross.
The mall, at Burnet Road and West Anderson Lane, had been losing tenants for years. But some neighbors objected to the idea of a giant Walmart there, saying it would create traffic problems and threaten small retailers.
Lawsuits by the Allandale association and a group called Responsible Growth for Northcross against the city, and Lincoln in the case of RG4N, failed to stop the project.
While work continued in other parts of the mall, Wal-Mart held off on starting work while the lawsuits continued and worked on a revised design for months.
Last week, Wal-Mart representatives attended an Allandale Neighborhood Association meeting to answer questions and show the latest renderings of the store.
Given all the controversy surrounding the store, turnout was light — only about 15 people, said Donna Beth McCormick, president of the association.
“I was kind of expecting a little bit more fireworks and there wasn’t any,” she said.
The new Wal-Mart will not be open 24 hours a day, McCormick said. That was a big point of contention with neighborhood residents, who felt that an always-open store would lead to increased crime.
Instead, she said, Wal-Mart representatives said the store would close at midnight or 1 a.m. and reopen around 5 a.m.
The other concern, McCormick said, is the increased traffic that a new Wal-Mart could bring.
“There are still people in the neighborhood who are very, very upset about Wal-Mart coming in,” she said.
But “they’re here,” McCormick added. “They’ve downsized from what they were going to be. We’ll just have to see how it works out.”
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City posts LegalZoom incentives proposal
The City of Austin has posted for public review its incentives proposal for LegalZoom, a California online legal services company that is considering creating a regional headquarters in Austin.
The city is proposing to pay LegalZoom $20,000 a year for 10 years, tied to meeting job creation targets that start at 50 jobs this year and rise to 600 after five years.
The Texas Enterprise Fund would kick in $1 million if the city incentives win City Council approval.
To see the city proposal and supporting documents, go to http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/news/cnews.cfm?nwsid=1835
The council will hold a briefing next month, followed by a public hearing and vote.
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California tech company proposing to create 600 jobs in Austin
LegalZoom, a Los Angeles online legal services company, is proposing to create a regional headquarters in Austin and create 600 jobs over the next five years, according to documents posted on the city Web site.
The city of Austin is proposing an economic incentives agreement that would pay the company $20,000 a year for 10 years, tied to job creation targets. The Texas Enterprise Fund, a state incentives fund, would provide another $1 million.
LegalZoom’s move is contingent on approval of the incentives. Company executives couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. But in information provided to the city, the company said it expected to fill the majority of the jobs locally.
LegalZoom would start with 50 jobs this year, rising to 150 in 2011, 200 in 2012, 250 in 2013 and 600 in 2014, according to the city documents.
The city posted the proposal and other information Thursday, following a City Council vote to approve a $500,000, 10-year incentives agreement with Hanger Orthopedics Group, which is moving its headquarters from Maryland to Austin later this year.
The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has been pressing city leaders to be more flexible on incentives, at a time when competition for jobs is intense. Chamber leaders say still another West Coast tech company also is considering expanding in Austin but also is looking at Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
That unnamed company also is looking for incentives.
Under the city’s incentives policy, documents on incentives agreements are made public ahead of public briefing and hearing and a council vote.
The council would hear a briefing on LegalZoom on Feb. 11 and hold a public hearing and vote a week later, according to the documents.
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What??!?!! A company moved to Austin without hundreds of thousands of dollars in incentives from the city council? Imagine that? who’d have thought any company would want to come here?
... read the full comment by Mike Oxlong | Comment on Michigan medical device company to open Austin office Read Michigan medical device company to open Austin office
To thanks.
Stimulus money denied? Ask your senators that voted against the bill and your Seceding Governor who said he didn’t want it.
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See Jeff Bruce, Director of Product Development of Valence Technologies, Inc. speak tonight at a panel discussion hosted by the Austin Clean Energy Group
Energy Storage and Battery Technology AT&T Center 5:00 - 8:00 pm Registration begins at
... read the full comment by Austin Clean Energy Group | Comment on Valence to provide batteries for hybrid yachts Read Valence to provide batteries for hybrid yachts
““Beneteau is setting a new blue-water standard for cleaner sailing yachts,” said Valence CEO Robert Kanode.”
Wouldn’t making sails be even cleaner?
... read the full comment by Mike Oxlong | Comment on Valence to provide batteries for hybrid yachts Read Valence to provide batteries for hybrid yachts
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