Participants sought for Asian trade mission

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter

Idaho businesses are invited to join Gov. Butch Otter's spring trade mission to South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam this spring.

The trade delegation will visit Seoul, Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City from April 19 to 27. Locations were chosen from a survey of Idaho companies' top export destinations, according to a press release from the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Taiwan is Idaho’s third largest trade partner, and Korea is a top-five export destination for Idaho companies. Vietnam is an emerging market for Idaho companies, with strong potential for a variety of Idaho’s key exports.

This will be Otter’s second visit to Vietnam since 2008. The goal of trade mission is to open international markets to Idaho businesses by helping them gain high-level access to private sector business leaders and government decision makers. Ideally, the result is expanded sales, distribution network growth, new strategic alliances and stronger customer relationships.

Participating companies will receive pre-qualified appointments, market briefings in each country,logistical arrangements for the trip, and business networking receptions in Seoul and Taipei.
Space is limited and will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration deadline is Feb. 1, 2013. More detailed information is available at http://www.commerce.idaho.gov.

Idaho Falls, South Fork Archers announce plans for public archery range

Erroll Flynn with bow and arrow in 'Robin Hood'

The Idaho Falls Division of Parks and Recreation is partnering with the non-profit South Fork Archers Club to develop the first public archery range in the city of Idaho Falls, open to archers, bow hunters, youth groups and others interested in perfecting their target skills.

The range will be on approximately 30 acres of city-owned property on the eastern edge of Sandy Downs. Plans call for a static range where archers can shoot into large targets secured onto freestanding target sheds. In addition, a second trail range, about half-a-mile long, will be built with 14 static targets set up at ranges up to 80 yards.

The club hopes to build an indoor range in the future.

“Public archery ranges are popular with hunters and recreational shooting sports enthusiasts,” said Greg A. Weitzel, Idaho Falls' Parks and Recreation director. “We’re looking forward to working with the South Fork Archers, and thanks to their cooperative effort, we’ll be able to build the range at a minimal cost”.

Funds to develop the site will be raised through grants, membership dues and individual donations. The South Fork Archers Club was established in 1982 and has more than 100 members. Club members have volunteered to manage and maintain the range for the city through a lease agreement.

I.F. company DocuTech looking to hire people, preferably homegrown talent

DocuTech CEO Ty Jenkins

DocuTech, an Idaho Falls company that develops software and applications for mortgage banking institutions, might be a great example of a local employer that seems to fly under the radar a lot of the time.

Founded in 1991, the company now employs 70 people and is likely to have 125 by the end of 2013. "We have 15 open positions for customer service reps," said CEO Ty Jenkins. "We're looking for IT people, computer programmers, people with XML skills. These are not $9-an-hour jobs."

A native of Idaho Falls himself, Jenkins prefers to hire locally. "We hope we can get homegrown because they stay," he said.

But little of its business is local, because it is geared toward big lenders. The company does business in all 50 states, with such clients as PNC Bank, Stearns Lending and Pinnacle Mortgage. "Our smallest customer does 300 to 500 mortgage loans a month," Jenkins said.

One of the company's biggest challenges is finding people who can address cyber-security issues. "We can't go down; we're a critical app," he said. "If we go down, PNC bank can't do any mortgage loans. All of that data sits on our servers."

In the 22 years it has been in existence, DocuTech has always been profitable, even in the dark days of 2007-2008 when Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers went out of business and credit froze up worldwide. "We saw a six- to eight-month dip, but it's just been expanding since then."

Eyeing the future, Jenkins went to the People's Republic of China in May with a group of Idaho business people led by Commerce Director Jeff Sayer. "That's a long-term play for us," he said. "The older generation there is very credit averse, but the next generation, boy, they're just gearing up. I've been there four times and will continue to go back," he said.

Here is a link to the company's Web page: http://www.docutechcorp.com/

Wall Street Journal blog highlights INL's cyber-security role

In case anyone is interested, here's a link to a post on the Wall Street Journal's blog about the Idaho National Laboratory and its place in cyber-security research.

http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/11/14/top-u-s-cyber-defenders-work-in-idaho-falls/

Melaleuca CEO to speak at Dec. 18 Idaho Falls Chamber luncheon

Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot

Melaleuca President and CEO Frank VanderSloot will be the guest speaker Tuesday at the Greater Idaho Fall Chamber of Commerce's weekly forum luncheon, to talk about the company's investment in eastern Idaho and its future plans.

At a press conference Dec. 11, Melaleuca announced it will be building a new 371,000-square-foot home office on the land it owns on 65th South, near I-15's Exit 113. The company is centralizing many of its Idaho operations, and the new home office will be three times larger than its current space. They expect the new office to be ready by spring of 2014.

The company is already awarding construction work to local contractors, with Bateman-Hall as the general contractor on the projects. VanderSloot on Tuesday plans to detail how the company's growth is causing the need for more administrative, manufacturing and distribution space

Melaleuca began in Idaho Falls in the mid-1980s. The company conducts its sales of vitamins, nutritional supplements, cosmetics and household products through people who sign on as "marketing executives," building networks of their own and getting paid for the people they bring in. Those networks are now worldwide, and in 2011 the company passed the $1 billion sales mark.

A Melaleuca news release said VanderSloot will also announce future plans for additional expansion.

The Chamber Forum luncheon is at noon at the Hotel on the Falls. Cost is $11. For more information, visit this link: http://www.idahofallschamber.com/.

Idaho ranks 31st in survey of entrepreneur-friendly states

Considering everything one hears about the Gem State's favorable climate for entrepreneurial endeavor, one would expect Idaho to have done better than 31st in a survey of states released this week by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

The Washington-based organization on Thursday released its report, titled “U.S. Business Policy Index 2012: Ranking the States on Policy Measures and Costs Impacting Small Business and Entrepreneurship.”

Idaho came in between West Virginia and Montana in the ranking, which lists the states from most favorable to least favorable. The rankings, which are derived after considering each state’s tax, regulatory and government spending measures, put South Dakota at the top. California was judged to be the least favorable.

Here’s the top 10:
1. South Dakota
2. Nevada
3. Texas
4. Wyoming
5. Florida
6. Washington
7. Alabama
8. Utah
9. Colorado
10. Arizona

The report, which can viewed here, http://www.sbecouncil.org/resources/publications/business-policy-index-2012/, lists the positives and negatives for each state.

For Idaho, the positives were:

• Low property taxes.
• Low consumption-based taxes.
• Low wireless taxes.
• Second lowest electricity costs.
• Very low crime rate.
• Right to work state.
• Lowest level of government spending.
• Lowest level of government debt.
• Low level of government workers.
• No death tax.

The negatives included:

• High personal income, capital gains, and dividend and interest taxes.
• High corporate income and capital gains taxes.
• High unemployment taxes.
• High workers’ compensation costs.

Idaho Tactical Games hosting end of the world raffle

Zombie apocalypses notwithstanding, Mike DeFord of Idaho Tactical Games in Idaho Falls is looking to the Mayan New Year as another opportunity for giving back to the community.

“Everyone is talking about the world ending or not ending in a few days, we are taking everyone’s fear and making fun of it” said DeFord, who runs the area’s only indoor airsoft and paintball field and pro shop, at 546 W. 21st Street.

Assuming the world has survived, on Dec 22 will be holding raffles all day for differentt guns and gear. Proceeds as well as half the profits from the day will be used to purchase Christmas gifts and candy for local needy families.

The crew from Idaho Tactical Games plans to head out on Christmas Eve and deliver those gifts in a Secret Santa sort of way.

Raffle tickets are $5 each; prizes being given away will range in value from $50 to $200. Raffle tickets will be on sale from today until 4 p.m. Dec. 22, when the drawing takes place. Entrants do not have to be present to win.

For further information visit www.idahotacticalgames.com, or visit them at their location, right off Rollandet.