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Former Belgacom executive hired as Syniverse vice president
Tampa-based Syniverse has appointed Patrick George as its senior vice president for global solutions.
George joins Syniverse from Belgacom International Carrier Services (BICS), where he most recently held the position of senior vice president of marketing and product management. George brings more than 15 years of experience serving mobile operators and key members in the communications field.
“Patrick's depth of knowledge serving mobile operators makes him a valuable addition to our team as we work to advance industry solutions for messaging interoperability and network evolution via IPX to 4G, LTE and beyond,” Jeff Gordon, chief operating officer of Syniverse, says in a press release.
In his new role, George will focus on leading strategic programs designed to drive business with an emphasis on Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India and Asia. Based in Luxembourg, he will lead the coordination of several key initiatives across the Syniverse's messaging and network lines of business, including product adaptation, regional customization, roaming solutions and interoperability, all in support of operators' messaging and 4G rollout strategies.
Syniverse provides communications technology to mobile operators, cable and Internet providers, and businesses.
US Natural Gas Corp. buys oil-well compressor
St. Petersburg-based US Natural Gas Corp. has acquired a Knox Western compressor for the company's West Virginia natural gas development project compressor station. The new compressor was refurbished in late 2010, and it should allow the company to deliver up to 1.2 million cubic feet of natural gas on a daily basis.
The compressor will replace the currently operational compressor set on the company's Wayne County, W. Va., natural gas development project. The new compressor was refurbished in late 2010. The compressor is scheduled to be installed this month.
“The addition of the new compressor will allow us to place wells into production with the confidence that our system can handle the increased gas volume on a daily basis,” says Wayne Anderson, president of US Natural Gas Corp. “Management will continue to identify potential acquisition targets, who concentrate on the production of natural gas so long as the commodity is priced below $5. If we see a sustained move above the $5 level, our focus will slowly shift to that of exploration on our leasehold base.”
US Natural Gas Corp WV, a wholly owned subsidiary, is also in discussions with a local natural gas producer to acquire its operations. If completed, the purchased would add 5,000 acres of mineral rights leases and 42 operational natural gas wells, of which 21 are currently in production. The natural gas producer currently sells its production to a local utility company. Management expects to make a financial decision this quarter.
SinoFresh HealthCare signs three marketing agreements
SinoFresh HealthCare Inc. of Venice has signed contracts with three high-volume sales agencies. These sales brokerage groups are expected to significantly boost SinoFresh HealthCare's sales and distribution network along the eastern corridor of the United States. The agreements will make SinoFresh's Antiseptic Homeopathic Nasal and Sinus Care Spray available to a market of more than 150 million people.
The companies include: Upstate Sales Alliance Inc., Beech Haven Sales and Marketing and M.L. Ballsmith Sales LLC.
Upstate Sales Alliance Inc. will provides sales coverage to the New York Metropolitan area and New England and, through that company's partnership with Elbe Distributors, to the entire East Coast. M.L. Ballsmith Sales LLC will sell the product in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania. Beech Haven Sales and Marketing will focus on the Southeast, covering all of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
SinoFresh HealthCare Inc. has also reserved the right to grant each of the agencies additional sales territories as the company implements its national rollout plan.
SinoFresh HealthCare manufactures and distributes nasal, oral and topical antiseptic germ-killing products, including the SinoFresh Antiseptic Homeopathic Nasal spray.
CCS Medical interim CEO made permanent, president
CCS Medical has appointed Dirk Allison as its president and CEO. Allison has been the interim CEO since November.
Allison brings more than 24 years of experience with healthcare companies across multiple segments, including hospice, acute care, behavioral services, dialysis and pharmacy management.
CCS Medical is a national provider of medical supplies.
Roper Industries issuing first quarter dividend
The board of directors of Sarasota-based Roper Industries Inc. approved an 11 cent per share dividend. The dividend is payable April 22 to shareholders of record on April 8.
Roper Industries provides engineered products and solutions for several niche markets, including water, energy, radio frequency and research/medical applications.
Plasma-Therm LLC buying Swedish firm
Plasma-Therm LLC, a manufacturer with $50 million in annual revenues, acquired a majority stake in Advanced Vacuum, a Swedish firm that makes similar products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Based in St. Petersburg, Plasma-Therm builds machines that produce semiconductor chips. Consumer electronics firms like Philips, Samsung and Toshiba use those chips in many of their products.
Advanced Vacuum provides vacuum and thin-film equipment that is used in many of the same applications with which Plasma-Therm products are involved. In addition to expanding each firm's service offerings, the partnership will create an expanded sales and service network.
In July, Plasma-Therm CEO Abdul Lateef spoke glowingly about his company's future prospects in a Business Review feature story. “Right now we're seeing growth in every market we serve,” Lateef told the Review.
Hodges technology school named after Naples businessman
Hodges University, a private college in Naples, has announced plans to rename its School of Technology to the John W. Fisher III School of Technology. The announcement comes after Fisher made a donation to the university, one of the largest in the school's history.
Fisher graduated from Hodges University in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in business management and was honored as the university's alumnus of the year in 1999. He is the son of John W. Fisher Jr., chairman emeritus and former president of the packaging manufacturer Ball Corp. and the Ball Foundation, the namesake of several institutions, including Ball State University.
A resident of Naples, Fisher is semi-retired from the hotel and restaurant supply industry and currently is a rental property owner and manager.
Fisher is also a member of the Hodges University Foundation Board of Directors. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he also serves as a member of the American Military Veterans Education Fund Cabinet.
Savtira distributing audio files for Audiobooks.com
Tampa-based Savtira Corp. has reached a distribution agreement with Audiobooks.com. The deal will allow Audiobooks.com to distribute its inventory of audiobooks via Savtira's Digital Catalog to eStores.
“Savtira's digital catalog of games, software, music, movies and more continues to expand,” Timothy Roberts, CEO of Savtira Corp., says in a press release. “We are simply delighted to round out the catalog with a large selection of audiobooks for our eStore clients and consumers.” Savtira provides an e-commerce platform that online and bricks-and-mortar brands can use to market, merchandise and sell digital and physical goods in a single shopping cart.
Fiserv general manager named PSCU Financial's CEO
Michael Kelly has been named president and CEO of PSCU Financial Services, the country's largest credit union service organization. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, PSCU serves more than 1,500 financial institutions, representing 16 million individual accounts.
Prior to joining PSCU, Kelly served as general manager of payments network for Fiserv Inc., a Wisconsin company with $4.1 billion in 2010 revenues. In his former position, Kelly helped guide payment strategies for Fiserv's financial institution clients, and targeted new markets for Fiserv's expansion.
PSCU offers its member institutions credit, debit/ATM and prepaid card services, online bill payment solutions, and four customer contact centers that are open 24 hours a day.
General Dynamics Ordnance awarded contract
The U.S. Army Contracting Command at Rock Island, Ill., has awarded St. Petersburg-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems a $46 million contract. The agreement calls for General Dynamics to manufacture and deliver 120mm M865 TPCSDS-T and M1002 TPMP-T tank cartridges for target practice.
The M865 Target Practice, Cone-Stabilized, Discarding Sabot-Tracer cartridge is used in the M256 cannon of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps Abrams main battle tanks. The M865 practice cartridge is designed to simulate the performance characteristics of live ammunition for practice firings on short-range training areas.
The M1002 Target Practice Multi-Purpose Tracer cartridge, which is also fired from the Abrams tank, is used in place of the M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose Tracer tactical cartridge.
“The M865 and M1002 provide realistic, cost-effective training without the use of high-explosive ammunition,” Dr. Dean Bartles, vice president and general manager of large-caliber, says in a press release.
Work on the contract will be performed in Middletown, Iowa. The contract is scheduled for completion in late October.
Valpak local coupons added to augmented realty app
Largo-based Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, a Cox Target Media company, is partnering with augmented reality company software company Metaio Inc.
Valpak coupons will now be available on the Junaio smartphone geo-location application.
The Junaio app, which is free to both the Apple IOS and Android-based smartphones, will allow users to see Valpak coupon deals in real time with a smartphone camera view of the user's surroundings based on the smartphone's GPS. Merchants have agreed to honor Valpak coupons displayed on the smartphones.
Valpak's coupons will be offered on a “Local Coupons by Valpak” channel that users can add to the application.
“Providing Valpak content on the Junaio platform extends the reach our advertisers achieve when they purchase Valpak advertising,” Nancy Cook, vice president of new media business development for Valpak/Cox Target Media, says in a press release. “Our content distribution strategy is to be everywhere consumers look for savings. Now consumers can find discounts on their favorite nearby businesses as they are walking by them or discover new favorites in the neighborhood.”
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