Industry Briefs - 7-1-24

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.

ADVISORY

• Axom Partners, a San Francisco-based independent mergers and acquisitions and strategic advisory firm serving the technology sector, has added Ty Boswell as a senior vice president. He is expected to bolster the company’s client coverage and M&A transaction execution. Boswell has nearly 10 years of mergers and acquisitions and operating experience. Most recently, he was with Snowflake Inc., a leading cloud data warehouse company, where he spent five years working on finance and strategic initiatives, including Snowflake’s IPO and acquisitions. Previously, he spent four years in investment banking, most recently at Centerview Partners. A native of Salem, Boswell earned a degree in finance from the University of Utah.

AGRICULTURE

• Applications are being accepted until 5 p.m. Aug. 16 for the LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund. A total of $1 million in new funding is available for agricultural conservation easements in Utah. The fund uses appropriations from the Legislature to promote agricultural sustainability and conservation, and provide essential resources for landowners seeking to preserve their agricultural lands through conservation easements that permanently restrict non-agricultural development. Details are at https://ag.utah.gov/leray-mcallister-working-farm-and-ranch-fund/.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Three Utah locations are on a list of “Top Choices for Off-The-Grid Living,” compiled by BusinessElectric.com. It surveyed 3,000 people to rank the top 150 locations. The Utah locations are No. 18 Wayne County, No. 45 San Juan County and No. 62 Box Elder County. The top overall location is Wasco County, Oregon. Details are at https://www.businesselectric.com/study-reveals-the-most-coveted-locations-to-live-off-grid/.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 52 on a list of the “Dirtiest Cities in the United States,” compiled by Lawn Starter. It compared over 300 of the biggest U.S. cities, looking at air pollution, water quality, waste management, and resident dissatisfaction levels. Salt Lake City is the highest-ranked, or dirtiest, Utah city on the list. The lowest-ranked, or cleanest, is Ogden, at No. 271. The dirtiest city on the list is San Bernardino, California. The cleanest city on the list is Lynchburg, Virginia. Details are at http://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/dirtiest-cities-in-united-states/.
• Three Utah routes are ranked on a list of “Most Sought-After Family Road Trips in 2024,” compiled by Gunther Mitsubishi. It polled 3,000 families to discover the most coveted road/day trips to do this summer. St. George to Zion National Park is No. 16, Salt Lake City to Arches National Park is No. 33, and Provo to Brice Canyon National Park is No. 75. The top-ranked route overall is Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Details are at https://www.gunthermitsubishi.com/top-family-roadtrip-routes-in-america.htm.

INVESTMENTS

• Hona, a Lehi-based company focused on client engagement software for law firms, has raised $9.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Costanoa Ventures and with participation from Ludlow Ventures, Soma Capital and Y Combinator. Hona said the funds will enable it to further enhance platform capabilities and expand its customer base. Since its launch in 2021, Hona has helped more than 500 law firms and their 300,000 clients across the country track their cases.
• Ovation, a Mapleton-based company offering a guest experience platform for multi-unit restaurants, has closed on a Series A funding round, bringing total funding to $9 million. The round was led by TIA Ventures, with participation from Summit Capital, Peak Ventures, OneValley, Tenzing Capital, Rocky Woods Investments, Next Chapter Ventures and prior angels. New investors include Jim Mizes, Jason Syversen, Tammy K. Billings, Erle Dardick, Christopher Sebes, AMARC Holdings and Carin Stutz. York IE will continue to serve on the board. Ovation said the investment will enable it to continue developing tools for multi-unit operators.

LAW

• Holland & Hart LLP has added Brooke Mason and Benjamin Passey as associates at the firm’s Salt Lake City office. Mason advises corporations and high-net-worth individuals on a range of complex tax matters aimed at reducing their potential tax liability. Passey is a litigator who assists clients across a range of industries in all phases of business and commercial litigation.

MINING

• Energy Fuels Inc., a Colorado-based company producing uranium, rare earth elements and vanadium, including commercial production of “on spec” separated rare earths at the White Mesa Mill in Utah, has named Debra Bennethumas director of critical minerals and strategic supply chain. Bennethum is a chemical engineer who previously served as the EV critical minerals manager in the Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Division of General Motors and previously as the program purchasing manager for GM’s Battery Electric Vehicles and Crossovers division.

OUTDOOR RECREATION

• Sundance Mountain Resort has broken ground for the Inn at Sundance Resort, projected to open in 2025-26. The two-building, 63-room inn at the resort’s base village will be the flagship project of the resort’s “Act II” era, which will include fine-tuning of resort operations, expanding snow making capabilities, terrain development for beginner and intermediate skiers, and more. Also planned are upgrades to the Cottages at Sundance; the opening this year of Mountain Camp Day Lodge; the addition of six new-build, ski-in/ski-out townhomes; and a new lift and terrain expansion of its back mountain.
• The Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation is accepting applications through 5 p.m. July 31 for its Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Grant summer cycle. The OHVR grant is available to cities, counties, federal agencies and OHV nonprofit organizations incorporated in Utah. It provides assistance to sustain, enhance and improve motorized recreation in the state. Available fund categories are Trail Work, $1,500-$350,000 per application; Access Protection and Education, $1,500-$350,000; Search and Rescue, $1,500-$150,000; Snowmobile, $1,500-$150,000; and OHV Tourism, $1,000-$50,000. Applications may be completed at https://utdnror.my.site.com/portal.

PARTNERSHIPS

• The Utah Hockey Club has announced a multi-year partnership with the Black Desert Resort. Over the next year, both brands will curate sports and entertainment experiences for visitors and locals. Throughout the duration of the agreement, both organizations will implement co-branding initiatives through logos, trademarks and utilization of facilities. In addition, Black Desert Resort will continue the Delta Center’s Black Desert Club.

RECOGNITIONS

• Several people were honored recently with Ski Utah’s inaugural Yeti Awards, recognizing outstanding efforts of Utah’s ski resort employees during the 2023-24 season. They are Back of House – Food & Beverage Professional of the Year, Jeffrey Sanich, Brighton Resort; Front of House – Food & Beverage Professional of the Year, Steffan Eklund, Solitude Mountain Resort; Groomer of the Year, Steve Wakefield, Sundance Mountain Resort; Guest Services Professional of the Year, Alexis Croce, Snowbird Resort; Instructor of the Year, Greg Solberg, Eagle Point Resort; Lift Mechanic of the Year, Skyler Bair, Nordic Valley Ski Resort; Lift Operations Professional of the Year, Dan “Cowboy” Lind, Brian Head Resort; Parking Attendant of the Year, Quinn Case, Alta Ski Area; Patroller of the Year, Mikey Ericson, Snowbasin Resort; Snowmaker of the Year, Jake Schoenfeld, Park City Mountain; Terrain Park Groomer of the Year, Michael Dennett, Brighton Resort; Chairperson’s Award, Pascal Begin, Nordic Valley Ski Resort; President’s Award, Tom Kelly; and Member of the Year, Jeffrey Gelder Lewis, Gelder Generational Wealth.
• Several Utah golf courses are included on “best of” lists recently announced by Golfweek. A Utah course on the list of “Best Courses You Can Play in the U.S.” is No. 32 Black Desert Resort, Ivins. Utah courses on the list of “Top 200 Modern Courses in the U.S.” are No. 81 Black Desert Resort, Ivins; and No. 154 (tied) Sand Hollow (Championship), Hurricane. On a list of “Best Private Clubs” is No. 5 Entrada at Snow Canyon, St. George. The Utah list of “Best Public-Access Golf Courses in Each State” includes (in order) Black Desert Resort, Ivins; Sand Hollow (Championship), Hurricane; Hideout, Monticello; Soldier Hollow (Gold), Midway; Copper Rock, Hurricane; Soldier Hollow (Silver), Midway; Sunbrook (Pointe/Woodbridge), St. George; Thanksgiving Point, Lehi; Green Spring, Washington; and Coral Canyon, Washington, and The Ledges of St. George, both tied for 10th. The Utah list of “Top Private Golf Courses in Every State” includes (in order) Victory Ranch, Kamas; Glenwild, Park City; Promontory (Painted Valley), Park City; The Country Club, Salt Lake City; and Entrada at Snow Canyon, St. George.
• Inc. has named 543 honorees of its Best Workplaces 2024 list, including six Utah companies: JobNimbus, Lender Toolkit, Packsize International, Searchbloom, Tech9 and Weave. Most are in software. Packsize is in manufacturing, while Searchbloom is in advertising and marketing. Inc. partnered with Quantum Workplace, an employee engagement software company, to produce the list. The selection process factors in a benefits inventory of every company that applies, as well as an employee engagement survey that included topics such as management effectiveness, perks, fostering employee growth and overall company culture. The organization’s benefits were also audited to determine overall score and ranking.

RETAIL

• Smith’s Food & Drug recently had the groundbreaking for a new grocery store at 13893 S. Redwood Road, Bluffdale. The 103,000-square-foot store will offer grocery store items and services, including sushi and Starbucks Coffee café and other items. It also will have a floral department, household goods, drive-through pharmacy, online grocery pickup and on-site Smith’s Fuel Center. The $30 million Smith’s store will be built by R&O Construction within a Woodbury development. When completed in 2025, the new store will be the 57th Smith’s in Utah.

TECHNOLOGY

• Weave, a Lehi-based company offering an experience platform for small- and medium-sized healthcare practices, has appointed Greg Leos as general manager of payments. He will lead the evolution and optimization of Weave’s payments product. Leos has over two decades of experience in revenue leadership in fintech and cybersecurity, most recently serving as chief revenue officer at VikingCloud. His fintech background includes a senior executive role with Fiserv, where he led several sales divisions, including the business banking segment for the company’s joint venture with Bank of America.
• Pluralsight, a Salt Lake City-based technology workforce development company, has appointed Chris Herbertas chief content officer. In this role, Herbert will lead all aspects of Pluralsight’s content strategy and drive the creation of engaging and impactful learning experiences for all customers. Herbert has more than 17 years of experience in digital media, technology and content across media and technology companies. Before joining Pluralsight, Herbert held multiple leadership positions at CNN, including as the general manager of CNN Digital. He also spent several years at the Weather Co., including as senior vice president of growth products and emerging platforms and as chief operating officer of product and technology. Herbert also served as head of special projects in Bloomberg’s Media Group.
• Resonant Technology Group, a Park City-based company focused on agricultural solutions, has announced a new distribution agreement with Wilbur-Ellis, a company focused on marketing and distribution of plant protection and nutritional products. Under the terms of the agreement, Wilbur-Ellis will distribute Resonant’s products, continue to distribute its vineyard solutions, and include a broader range of the company’s offerings. Wilbur-Ellis Agriculture, with annual sales revenue of $2.5 billion, has over 150 retail locations throughout the U.S.

TRANSPORTATION

• Central Wasatch Commission, an inter-governmental entity that seeks to engage the public, build consensus and coordinate action in the Central Wasatch Mountains, has released the Central Wasatch Transit Map for the Central Wasatch region. With the map, the commission aims to consolidate in one place the available transit options within the CWC’s study area that are available to the public, the CWC’s website. The map is expected to help facilitate trip planning for Utah residents and visitors by providing the overall picture of what transit is available. The map also illustrates where there are gaps in transit service, highlighting where there is need for further transit investment. The map uses transit route data from Utah Transit Authority, High Valley Transit and Park City Transit, all of which are members of the commission. Details are at cwc.utah.gov/transportation/.