Company Notebook

Tighe & Bond Honored for Advancing Women in Engineering Field

WESTFIELD — The Connecticut chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS CT) honored Tighe & Bond as Employer of the Year during its recent annual awards dinner on April 14 at St. Clement’s Castle in Portland, Conn. The recognition applauded the firm’s support of WTS, and for providing ongoing opportunities to advance women in their engineering and transportation careers. “It’s an honor for our firm to receive this award, and we are thrilled that WTS CT selected us,” said David Pinsky, president and CEO of Tighe & Bond, who accepted the award on the firm’s behalf. “Our firm takes recruiting, retaining, and advancing women in engineering seriously. More than 30% of Tighe & Bond’s 270-plus employees are female, and approximately 14% of these women hold key management and/or leadership positions at our firm. Last year, more than 30% of Tighe & Bond’s new hires were female, and this year the number is even higher.” For more than 18 years, WTS CT has been dedicated to advancing women in transportation. It provides a forum for transportation professionals to meet and interact, sharing experiences and expertise. Member benefits include professional development, career support, mentorship, and student outreach.

Country Bank Sponsors Financial Literary Fair at WPI

WARE — Recently, Country Bank sponsored its first Financial Literacy Fair for college students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester. This program was a partnership with WPI’s Student Aid and Financial Literacy Department. The event featured the Next Step, a financial-literacy exercise where college students are asked to step into their very near future by visiting 10 financially informative booths to make real-world decisions. “Students learn about many of the next steps that they will encounter after they graduate from college,” said Jodie Gerulaitis, the bank’s financial education officer. “They learn that the decisions they make today will affect their finances in the future, such as the unexpected expenses of owning a vehicle, saving for retirement, renting an apartment, or owning a home, and how location can be a deciding factor in their finances.” The booths the students visit include credit, housing, student loans, insurance, budgeting, fraud prevention, transportation, savings and investing, career development, and employment benefits. The goal is for students to have a better understanding of their future fiscal responsibilities. They learn about balancing a budget and making educated choices about their finances. They also learn how one financial choice can greatly impact another.

Chamberlain Group Named 2016 Exporter of the Year

BOSTON — The Small Business Administration (SBA) has named the Great Barrington-based Chamberlain Group the 2016 Exporter of the Year for Massachusetts and New England. “Lisa and Eric Chamberlain are saving lives with the products they create in the medical-simulation industry,” said Robert Nelson, SBA Massachusetts district director. “They are connecting with new customers all over the globe and establishing an international distribution network throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Mexico.” Founded in 1999, the Chamberlain Group designs and builds mimetic organs for surgical and interventional training. Working in close collaboration with medical-device companies and teaching hospitals, the company creates models that address training needs for clinicians, sales, marketing, device research, and development. In 2000, Lisa Chamberlain became a client of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC), and her business plan for the Chamberlain Group won first prize in the UMass Five College Business Plan Competition. In 2003, the company was recognized with the Governor’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award for spurring job creation and economic development.
Today, after 17 years in business, the company has grown to 21 employees, and it exports more than 500 products directly from its Great Barrington office to more than 50 countries worldwide. “We’re honored and delighted to be recipients of this year’s Exporter of the Year awards in the Commonwealth and the New England region,” Chamberlain said. “Eric and I have been well guided by the advice and encouragement we have received from the MSBDC and the Mass Export Center. It’s made the process of growing our business and our international reach viable, knowing we have subject experts to consult with who have our best interests at heart.” The company was nominated by Ann Pieroway, regional director of the Massachusetts Export Center.

44 Business Capital Becomes Division of Berkshire Bank

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Bank completed its asset purchase transaction with 44 Business Capital, LLC of Blue Bell, Pa., and Parke Bank of Sewell, N.J., under which Berkshire Bank has acquired the business model of 44 Business Capital and certain other assets of Parke Bank’s Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loan program operations. 44 Business Capital is now operating as a direct small-business lending division of Berkshire Bank, reporting up through the bank’s already-established small-business line, and originating SBA loans for Berkshire Bank. 44 Business Capital has consistently been one of the top SBA originators and a market-leading provider and facilitator of SBA-guaranteed loans to small businesses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C. 44 Business Capital’s entire team, along with its leadership — Greg Poehlmann, Phil Rapone, Jeff Sherry, and Joe Dreyer — have joined Berkshire Bank. “We’re pleased to welcome the employees and customers of 44 Business Capital,” said Berkshire Bank CEO Michael Daly. “This combination increases the client offerings for both companies, diversifies our loan portfolio, and provides a valuable future growth channel.” Added Poehlmann, senior vice president of Business Banking for Berkshire Bank and former president of 44 Business Capital, LLC, “as a division of Berkshire Bank, 44 Business Capital will continue to leverage our staff’s experience to build out an exceptional SBA lending platform that will serve the SBA’s mission on a larger scale. We are extremely excited to become part of Berkshire Bank, and look forward to establishing ourselves collectively as a major player in the SBA-lending market.”

Circle K Convenience Store Opens in Holyoke

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce President Kathleen Anderson, and Circle K franchisee Yasser (Sunny) Hussain gathered on May 5 for the grand opening of the new Circle K convenience store at 337 Appleton St. in Holyoke. Hussain, the site’s owner, took a vacant and abandoned building in the downtown area and completely renovated the space into a new, state-of-the-art Circle K convenience store. The store is open 24 hours a day and carries everything from morning coffee to late-night snacks, as well as a wide selection of cold drinks, fresh roller grill items, and staples like milk and eggs.

Comcast Spotlight Leases Space at Agawam Crossing

AGAWAM — Comcast Spotlight has signed a lease for a new, 3,157-square-foot space in Agawam Crossing, located at 200 Silver St. in Agawam. This is the final space at Agawam Crossing, a class A professional office building. Comcast Spotlight recently moved into its new home alongside Baystate Rehabilitation, Life Laboratories, and Associates in Women’s Health, among others. Comcast Spotlight is an advertising sales company that provides video solutions to local, regional, and national businesses through television and digital advertising. It provides local market coverage across multiple platforms (cable TV, satellite, telco, online, VOD) and can target customers geographically, demographically, and by message to reach specific audience segments. Development Associates of Agawam was the leasing agent and project manager for the construction of Comcast Spotlight’s new offices. The tenant was represented by Bob Peterson, managing broker at REAL Partners, LLC, and Daniel Moore of NAI Plotkin of Springfield.

Friendly’s Sells Retail Ice-cream, Manufacturing Division

WILBRAHAM — Friendly’s Ice Cream announced it has sold its retail ice-cream and manufacturing business to Texas-based Dean Foods Co. for $155 million in cash. “We are thrilled at the prospects the Friendly’s Ice Cream acquisition brings to Dean Foods,” said Dean CEO Gregg Tanner. “Coupled with the momentum of Dean Foods’ current regional brands, the Friendly’s brand will be a catalyst in our strategy to grow our existing ice-cream business and branded portfolio. Friendly’s is an ideal complement to our other heritage brands across the country and fills a manufacturing and retail ice-cream void in our nationwide footprint.” Dean Foods is the largest processor and direct-to-store distributor of fresh fluid milk and other dairy and dairy-case products in the U.S., the company said. Friendly’s Ice Cream had $166 million in net sales of ice cream to supermarkets in 2015. After the transaction closes late in the second quarter of 2016, Dean Foods plans to continue producing ice cream at the current Friendly’s plant in Wilbraham, which employs about 200 people. “Friendly’s ice cream strongly resonates with consumers throughout the Northeast,” Tanner added. “Very similar to the traditions shared by consumers who grew up enjoying our existing regional milk and ice-cream brands, such as Mayfield or Dean’s, we believe the Friendly’s Ice Cream brand represents and promotes what Dean Foods has built itself around and is a great fit in our branded portfolio. Dean Foods is rooted in the traditional goodness of dairy, making Friendly’s more than just a good business and financial opportunity.” Added Friendly’s President and CEO John Maguire, “today marks a new chapter for Friendly’s retail and manufacturing ice-cream business. Dean Foods Company has recognized the growth momentum that Friendly’s retail ice cream has experienced over the last five years, and I am thrilled that Dean Foods will be the ongoing steward of the retail ice-cream business, led by the current experienced retail and creamery teams.” Friendly’s Restaurants, which boasts 260 locations in the U.S., will continue to be owned and operated by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners Inc. and will license use of the Friendly’s trademark to Dean’s under a license agreement entered into as part of the transaction.

Keller Williams Pitches in at Springfield Boys & Girls Club

SPRINGFIELD — On Thursday, May 12, Keller Williams Realty associates around the globe donated hundreds of thousands of hours to their local communities during RED Day. Introduced in 2009, RED Day, which stands for renew, energize, and donate, is Keller Williams Realty’s annual day of service. Each year on the second Thursday of May, associates spend the day away from their businesses serving worthy organizations and causes in their communities. As part of the RED Day effort, Keller Williams Realty – Pioneer Valley chose to spend the day with the Springfield Boys & Girls Club at 481 Carew St. to paint the inside and outside of the facility, paint parking-lot lines, and landscape. The Springfield Boys & Girls Club provides, in a safe environment, programs that inspire, educate, guide, enable, and support all young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, respectful citizens and leaders. “RED Day is built on the belief that people can and should come together to achieve extraordinary things to help others,” said Mike Dombrowski, associate partner of Keller Williams Realty – Pioneer Valley. “It just happens to be a one-day expression of the constant state of the Keller Williams culture. We see a need, and we take action to help the Springfield community.” Since the first RED Day in 2009, Keller Williams associates have given almost a half-million hours of community service through activities ranging from food and blood drives to cleaning up trash in public parks; from revamping gardens at nursing homes to rebuilding homes and schools for community members in need. For more information about RED Day, visit www.kw.com/kw/redday.

Country Bank Supports Palmer Celebrations

PALMER — Representatives from Country Bank presented the Palmer 300th Anniversary Committee and the Celebrate Palmer Committee with donations totaling $5,000. “We are so pleased to be a major sponsor of both of these meaningful events,” said Shelley Regin, senior vice president, Marketing at Country Bank. “We look forward to celebrating with the town of Palmer, and we commend both committees for their tireless effort to make them a success.” For more information on these events, visit palmer300th.org or townofpalmer.com. For more information about Country Bank, call (800) 322-8233 or visit countrybank.com.