Industry Briefs 1-8-24

Industry Briefs are provided as a free service to our readers. Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com. The submission deadline is one week before publication.

ASSOCIATIONS

• Kimberly McKinley has been elected vice chair of the Fiber Broadband Association 2024 board of directors. The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts and deployment specialists. McKinley is deputy director and chief marketing officer at UTOPIA Fiber. Based in Murray, the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency is a community-owned fiber optic network. McKinley joined UTOPIA Fiber in 2010. Before that, she worked in the hospitality marketing industry on the East Coast.
• Bill Nehmer has been elected to serve on the board of directors of the National Trailer Dealers Association. Nehmer is president of Great Dane of Utah. The association was formed in 1990 by a small group of independent semi-trailer dealers who established the organization to provide member programs and services, education about issues pertaining to the industry, and federal excise tax information. The association represents nearly 1,000 companies that sell, manufacture, lease and repair semi-trailers and trailer parts and accessories throughout North America. Affiliated industry service providers also belong to the association.

COMMUNICATIONS

• Sorenson, a Salt Lake City-based language services provider, has announced that Olelo by Sorenson has rebranded to CaptionCall Mobile. The app provides real-time captions during phone conversations. The app will continue to be accessible on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
• Connext Networks LLC, an Ogden-based fiber infrastructure provider serving business and retail Internet customers, has completed a $70 million credit facility, including a $50 million accordion, arranged by Woodforest National Bank. Connext will use the funds to accelerate deployment of its fiber optic network across Utah and for high-quality customer service. This transaction represents Connext’s inaugural credit facility and supplements previous equity investments made by the management team as well as Harlan Capital Partners LLC. Bank Street Group LLC served as financial advisor and placement agent to Connext in connection with the transaction. Connext was also represented by the law firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP.

CONTESTS

• Nominations are being accepted through Jan. 22 for the 2023-24 Manufacturing Safety Awards, a program of the Utah Manufacturers Association. Individuals or companies can be nominated online. Winners will be announced at the MFG Safety Awards Expo+Conference on Feb. 22. The awards are in the categories of Safety Leader of the Year, Award of Excellence and Superior Safety Award. Details are at https://manufacturingutah.com/mfg-safety-awards/.
• BioUtah and the Technology Licensing Office at the University of Utah are accepting applications until Feb. 2 for the pitch track of the 2024 Wilson Sonsini Entrepreneur & Investor Life Sciences Summit, taking place March 14 in Salt Lake City. Nine companies will be selected from among the applicants and will compete for prizes including a $10,000 cash award for the winner and a $5,000 cash prize for the runner-up. Details are at https://bioutah.typeform.com/to/WCVBs0h1.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Summit County leads Utah counties on a list of places that have experienced the most wealth generation over the past 10 years, compiled by SmartAsset. The study measured the increase in median income, investment income and home value growth in each county to find the places where wealth has increased the most. Following Summit County are, in order, Wasatch, Morgan, Tooele, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Juab, Weber and Rich counties.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 118 on a list of overall rankings in 2023 by LawnStarter and the brands at Home Gnome. It produced 70 rankings of U.S. cities during the year. The top-ranked city is New York City. The bottom-ranked city is Denton, Texas. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/year-in-review-top-cities-rankings/.

ENERGY

• Energy Fuels Inc., a Colorado-based company with the nation’s only convention uranium mill in the U.S., the White Mesa Mill near Blanding, has begun uranium production at three of its permitted and developed uranium mines in Arizona and Utah. In addition, the company is preparing two additional mines in Colorado and Wyoming for expected production within one year and advancing permitting on several other large-scale U.S. mine projects. Ore mined from the three mines in 2024 will be stockpiled at the White Mesa Mill for processing in 2025, subject to market conditions, contract requirements and/or the mill schedule. The company said its decision to ramp-up uranium production was driven by several favorable market and policy factors, including strengthening spot and long-term uranium prices, increased buying interest from U.S. nuclear utilities, U.S. and global government policies supporting nuclear energy to address global climate change, and the need to reduce U.S. reliance on Russian and Russian-controlled uranium and nuclear fuel.

ENVIRONMENT

• Repurpose Recycling, based in Salt Lake City, has rebranded to Tidey. “The work done at Tidey is much bigger than just recycling and the new name highlights the focus on preventing ocean plastic and creating an economic rising tide to help people out of poverty,” the company said. Tidey is dedicated to eradicating ocean plastic pollution and driving positive societal change in Guatemala. The company also announced a few new Utah partners: Very Healthy Water, Grand Trunk, Taft Clothing, Thread and Powder Baby Shampoo.

EVENTS

• SMBash, a search conference and networking event designed to unite small-business buyers, operators and investors, will take place April 18-20 at Le Meridien Salt Lake City Downtown. The event is hosted by Sam Rosati, owner of Pursuant Capital; Kevin S. Henderson, partner at SMB Law Group and owner of Nine20 Capital; Chandler Reed, CEO of Get Green NOI; and David Brackett, chief of staff at SMB Law Group. The event will feature information about strategies and processes of searching for, evaluating and acquiring small businesses; the complexities of raising capital; and the practicalities of running a successful small enterprise. Details are at smbash.com.
• Arieli Capital LLC, together with Frontier RNG Agro-climate Innovation Hub, in collaboration with Utah Tech University and Haifa Group, have opened registration for the START AgriTech Program, taking place April 15-18 on the Utah Tech Campus in St George. The program is dedicated to fostering the growth, commercialization, and international expansion of startups in relevant fields. Designed for startups in their seed to Series A phase, the program targets innovation in sectors such as desert tech, water tech, regenerative agriculture, smart farming, plant health and nutrition. The event will provide startups with business and networking opportunities with international investors and global corporations and a final pitch event where they’ll be invited to present to partners, future clients and allies. Details are at https://www.frontierng.com/scaleup.

EXPANSIONS

• Athletic Republic, a Park City-based destination for individualized, sport-specific training, has announced it will bring trainers and facilities to additional territories in 2024. It ended the year with new locations in Rockwall, Texas, and Reno, Nevada. It is set on expanding in Texas, Oregon, Florida, Utah, Nevada and Georgia.

GOVERNMENT

• The Utah Department of Workforce Services has appointed Heather Thomas as director of the Office of Child Care. Thomas succeeds Rebecca Banner, who was recently appointed deputy director for the Department of Workforce Services. Thomas will oversee and administer programs dedicated to supporting working families through employment-supported child care programs. The office serves more than 13,000 children each month with child care assistance. Thomas joined the office in 2018 and has worked as a program specialist, program manager and, most recently, assistant division director. Her career started as a teacher in pre-K and kindergarten. Her education includes a Master of Education from the University of Utah.
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity has announced the addition of lending partners to the Utah Small Business Credit Initiative program. The USBCI program added MoFi and the Suazo Business Center as economic development organizations. First Community Bank of Utah, a subsidiary of Glacier Bank, also signed contracts to become participating lenders. USBCI facilitates access to capital for unbanked and underbanked businesses statewide. The federal State Small Business Credit Initiative, USBCI in Utah, aims to help the state’s very small businesses, defined as businesses with fewer than 10 employees. The federal program assists socially and economically disadvantaged individuals businesses, including those in rural areas and women-owned enterprises. Since November 2022, when the U.S. Treasury contracted with the state of Utah to commit $69 million for the state’s SSBCI program, seven lending partners joined the program.
• Salt Lake City has been awarded $953,600 from the U.S. Department of Transportation through “Safe Streets and Roads for All” to pilot an interactive safety education program in schools. The TravelWell Schools program will be delivered to K-12 classrooms in Salt Lake City. Students will learn about safe streets and Vision Zero through technology, with digital mapping to identify real-time travel behaviors, problems and solutions. It allows them to measure the effects of their individual and families’ transportation choices and empowers students’ decisions on how they move about the community. The city will partner with the Salt Lake City School District and the nonprofit Children’s Media Workshop to target education and outreach to underserved populations. Findings from the pilot will be used to inform an action plan, currently being developed in partnership with the Wasatch Front Regional Council. Feedback from the program will also be used to inform school safety planning and the Vision Zero program. In all, communities in Utah received more than $2.3 million in funding from Safe Streets and Roads for All.
• Salt Lake City will receive a $954,687 Recycling Education and Outreach grant to implement improvements to the city’s residential recycling outreach program, following a competitive process administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The funding will be administered by the Salt Lake City Sustainability Department’s Waste and Recycling Division, which directs residential recycling collection for more than 42,000 residential homes and 650 small businesses. In 2022, the city’s residential waste and recycling program collected more than 70,000 tons of materials and diverted 37 percent of waste from landfills through recycling and composting. The division plans to use the funding to extend and expand its education and outreach activities with a focus on the Westside, while creating programs that benefit the entire city. The grant will foster direct partnerships between the Sustainability Department and community-based organizations, schools and the city’s Youth & Family Division to offer Recycling Ambassador programs focused on the unique stakeholders each organization serves. Funding will also be used to add new part-time education specialists to the Waste & Recycling team, partner with the Utah Recycling Alliance, organize dedicated neighborhood collection events, and improve educational materials. Project rollout is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2024.

INVESTMENTS

• Investment firm Advantage Capital has announced a $1.75 million investment in baked goods manufacturer Farmstead Manufacturing, based in Leeds. Farmstead supplies croissants, doughnuts, danishes and pastries to cafes, hotels and wholesalers across Utah, while also providing catering services. The company will use the financing to support the land purchase and build-out of a commercial bakery from 1,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet to expand its operations and distribution through wholesale, e-commerce and catering. With the facility expansion, Farmstead plans to hire 25-30 employees and offer competitive starting wages with comprehensive health, dental and vision benefits. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2024. Advantage Capital partnered with World Trade Center Utah and the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce to source and facilitate the transaction. The investment was made in connection with the Utah Rural Jobs Act, a program signed into law in 2018 and renewed in 2022 that supports businesses in rural Utah with needed capital to create full-time, high-wage jobs by providing flexible and affordable capital.

NONPROFITS

• Snap Finance Foundation, based in Salt Lake City, has, for the second consecutive year, awarded grants totaling more than $150,000 as part of its Community Grant program. These grants went to 16 nonprofit organizations for their work in the U.S., U.K., and Costa Rica , which are three countries with Snap Finance offices. Grants were awarded to nonprofits that focus on at least one of Snap’s giving pillars: food security and basic needs, education and job training, and financial access and community development. Partnering with nonprofit grantmaker Community Foundation of Utah allowed Snap to double its impact this year to support even more organizations in their efforts to empower underserved individuals and communities.

OUTDOOR RECREATION

• Snowbasin Resort in Huntsville has opened a new lift, DeMoisy Express. It debuted alongside a brand-new patio located at the base of the Strawberry side of the resort. DeMoisy Express is the resort’s third lift enhancement in four years. It will double the uphill capacity for the Strawberry side of the mountain, with the ability to transport 2,400 riders every hour with a 10-minute ride time. The new patio is home to three new dining outlets, more than 180 seats and multiple fire pits. Other recent Snowbasin upgrades for the 2023-24 season are the addition of 124 parking spaces and new ground-level bathrooms in the base area.

PHILANTHROPY

• Parker Migliorini International (PMI Foods), based in Salt Lake City, recently partnered with City of Refuge to help feed victims of human trafficking and women and children in need. PMI Foods donated 11,283 pounds of pork ribs that City of Refuge used to feed members of Atlanta’s Westside community during the holiday season. The donation fed victims of human trafficking, homeless people and many families served by the City of Refuge in Atlanta.
• “USANA Kids Eat” recently packed a total of 4,328 holiday bags, meaning 173,120 meals were delivered to 46 schools from Ogden to Payson. Each bag contained 40 meals and were packed by USANA employees and executives as well as community and corporate volunteers and delivered to sponsored schools around the state. Established in 2019, the USANA Foundation acquired KidsEat!Utah to form USANAKids Eat, which provides backpacks filled with food for at-risk youth to schools and organizations along the Wasatch Front.
• Weed Man of Salt Lake City, a lawn care company, recently donated 7,442 pounds of food, part of nearly 20,000 in Weed Man donations across North America that were donated to local food banks.

POLITICS

• The Utah Republican Party has appointed Brantley Eason as executive director and MaryKate Metler as operations and marketing manager. Eason has more than a decade of experience in Utah politics, including as Summit County GOP chair and media specialist for the Wasatch County Republican Party. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and later completed his master’s degree in international affairs and global enterprise from the University of Utah. Metler recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Utah Valley University, where she majored in political science.

REAL ESTATE

• The Piper Sandler Special District Group recently secured $36 million in tax-exempt bonds to be used for public infrastructure at the Jordanelle Ridge master-planned community in Heber City. Jordanelle Ridge is one of the first master planned communities in the area to utilize the Public Infrastructure District tool that was implemented in the state with the Public Infrastructure District Act of 2019. Jordanelle Ridge is being developed by Crosslake Partners and Raintree Investment Corporation and will include roughly 5,500 homes, a Tiger Woods-designed golf course and other public amenities. The $36 million in proceeds will be used to pay for public improvements within Jordanelle Ridge Public Infrastructure District No. 2, the initial phase of the project which is anticipated to include 1,371 residential units consisting of 680 single-family detached homes, 491 single-family attached homes, and 200 for-sale condominiums. At full build-out, the community is expected to encompass 8,288 acres consisting of approximately 5,500 residential units, neighborhood commercial development, and roughly 5,130 acres of parks and open space. Confirmed homebuilders in the community include Lennar, Pulte Homes, Toll Brothers and Pure Haven.

RECOGNITIONS

• New data released by the National Kidney Registry has named Intermountain Health’s Transplant Services as the top Kidney for Life program in the United States for successfully matching kidney donors to patients in need of a life-saving kidney transplant. NKR Kidney for Life is a national program that recognizes transplant centers for transplanting well-matched kidneys, using advanced high-resolution typing to allow for optimal matching of donors and recipients in the National Kidney Registry pool. Intermountain Health’s kidney transplant program was the nation’s top program based on the percentage of living donor transplants with well-matched kidneys in the program from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023. This year, Intermountain Health is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its kidney transplant program, which began in 1983 at Intermountain LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. The program then moved to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in 2007. Since 1983, the kidney transplant program has had 1,200 living donors and performed more than 3,000 kidney transplants.