One year after entering Austria, Melaleuca has expanded into Poland. Starting April 1, the Idaho Falls-based company began signing up customers there.
“We are eager to share our superior, natural health products with the citizens of Poland,” said Pieter Kiepe, Melaleuca’s European general manager said in a press release. “Opening Poland enables us to expand our Melaleuca family, offer wellness products to more customers. Melaleuca recognizes Poland’s potential for growth because consumers are increasingly interested in effective wellness products that are economically friendly and safe in the home.”
Poland has one of the largest populations in Eastern Europe and a robust economy. Kiepe said that Melaleuca’s marketing executives (i.e. salespeople) in Europe, some of whom are Polish by descent, have been clamoring to see the market opened and were excited when Melaleuca shared its plans earlier this year, talking with their personal connections right away.
With this announcement, Melaleuca now operates in 19 countries worldwide, six of them in Europe. While the majority of its business comes from its U.S. and Canadian operations, sales from overseas accounted for 45 percent of the company’s 2014 revenues, which topped $1 billion.
Melaleuca does business in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Poland, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.
Got a question or tip? Contact us at bizmojoidaho@gmail.com.
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Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Grade school teacher seeks help for robotics class
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| Price on Amazon.com is $350. |
It is from Seth Callister, who teaches a fifth grade class at Templeview Elementary School. Besides knowing Seth as a fellow guitar player, I had the pleasure of substitute teaching his class last week. A nicer bunch of kids I have not encountered.
Templeview is not what I would call one of the more affluent schools in Idaho Falls School District 91. From what I'm able to seek, a lot of the families are of limited means
Here is what Seth put up on Facebook Monday night:
Friends, I REALLY need your help. We're trying to have a robotics club at our school. Last year another school let me take a Lego kit to make robots for a competition as a pilot program for our school. That kit is no longer available for our use. I got four partial VEX Robotics Kits from another school but it's nowhere near enough! Today we started. We had over 30 students come! Their enthusiasm is extremely high. Does anyone out there have Lego Robotic Kits or VEX Robotic Kits that we could use for two months, or, even better, have kits you no longer use and would be willing to donate? Or if you would like to donate so we can purchase some that would help. One VEX kit costs $325 on eBay. I've heard before that the Lego kits are about the same price. The Lego kits are simpler, while the VEX kits require higher level of thinking. HELP!
This seems a little modest to be a candidate for gofundme.com or anything like it. If you want to help, the phone number at Templeview is 525-7660.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Economic development agencies merge to form REDI
The merger was announced at Golden Valley Natural Foods in Shelley. “(REDI) is a vital partnership that allows us to offer prospective and existing companies the best locations, business and talent options to meet their needs,” said Bank of Idaho CEO Park Price, a member of REDI’s executive board.
Both organizations have been on the scene for years. Grow Idaho Falls started in the 1990s as Initiative 2000, then became the Eastern Idaho Economic Development Council. The name change to Grow Idaho Falls happened around 2003.
According to a news release, merger talks began in September 2013. “(There) was a compelling reason to change our strategy and combine forces for the benefit of business expansion, retention and job growth,” Price said. “Together, we represent the second largest workforce in the state of Idaho. … REDI builds on what we’re already doing and takes it to the next level with a unified voice and focus on putting business needs first.”
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| Darlene Gerry |
Darlene Gerry has been named to serve as REDI’s interim executive director as a search committee looks for someone to fill the position. Gerry retired in 2014 from her job as Idaho State University’s executive director of research innovation. Her partners on the REDI executive search committee are Scott Hinschberger, Sylvia Medina, Roger Plothow and Mark Baker.
“REDI is about more than Bingham and Bonneville counties,” Gerry said. “It’s about the region in the broadest sense. When we work collaboratively to attract companies looking to relocate and to help our existing industries grow, we all win.”
On a separate but related note, the city of Idaho Falls is advertising for its own economic development coordinator. The job description reads: “This position assists in the recruitment, retention, expansion, and promotion of business to further economic and business developments in the city; participates in administrative and operational activities associated with economic business development; researches and formulates long-range goals for the city; develops policies and procedures, position papers and negotiates with administrative and/or elected officials regarding incentives for various types of projects that will further benefit the community’s economic development efforts. Interfaces and coordinates with the development community, local businesses and various city divisions, and staff.”
Salary range is advertised at $59,612 to $83,616 annually. Applications are being taken through 5 p.m. Thursday.
St. Vincent de Paul opens new Holmes Avenue store
St. Vincent de Paul has relocated to 805 South Holmes Avenue, the building that was the longtime home of Bill's Bike Shop.
The thrift store hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The social services office, which opens Wednesday, is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an hour off for lunch at noon.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic Church organization dedicated to assisting those in need and seeking charity and justice.
The Grille opens for business today
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Ammon's newest eatery, The Grille, is officially open for breakfast and lunch. The official address is 929 S. 25 East, but if might be more instructive to say it is next door to World Gym. It is owned and operated by Pam and Doug Ferguson, a mother-son team. They are open daily from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here's a picture of the Rodondo Omlette, one of the many entrees on the menu. Find out more at The Grille.
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Friday, April 3, 2015
How bad are Idaho's bridges? Survey points to deficiencies
The next time you drive over a bridge in Bonneville County, you might want to cross your fingers.
An analysis of the recently-released 2014 U.S. Department of Transportation National Bridge Inventory database shows there are more than 61,000 structurally deficient bridges in need of significant repair all across America. Idaho is home to 406 of them.
The analysis, conducted by American Road & Transportation Builders Association Chief Economist Dr. Alison Premo Black, shows cars, trucks and school buses cross Idaho's 406 structurally compromised bridges 533,126 times every day.
Not surprisingly, the most heavily traveled bridges tend to be on the Interstate Highway System, which carries the bulk of truck traffic and passenger vehicles.
In Idaho Falls, the northbound and southbound lanes of I-15 at Broadway and John’s Hole, all built in 1962, have been classified as functionally obsolete. Another heavily traveled bridge past its prime is the U.S. 20 overpass at Lewisville Highway. But the most heavily traveled is SM 7406 on 17th Street between South Boulevard and Calkins Avenue, over the Butte Arm Canal.
The bridge problem could get a whole lot worse soon, Black said. The federal Highway Trust Fund, the source of 52 percent of highway and bridge capital investments made annually by state governments, has suffered five revenue shortfalls between 2008 and 2014. Over that period, it has been bailed out with nearly $65 billion in revenues from the General Fund just to preserve existing investment levels. Without action from Congress, the latest extension expires on May 31. Nearly a dozen states so far have canceled or delayed road and bridge projects because of the continued uncertainty over the trust fund situation. ARTBA expects that number to increase as the deadline nears.
"State and local governments are doing the best they can to address these significant challenges, given limited resources," Black said. Bridge investments have been growing in recent years, but it has come at the expense of highway and pavement spending, which has dropped over 20 percent in the last five years.
"Without additional investment from all levels of government, our infrastructure spending will be a zero-sum game," she said, noting that there is a current backlog of over $115 billion in bridge work and $755 billion in highway projects. “Many of the most heavily traveled bridges are nearly 50 years old. Elected officials can't just sprinkle fairy dust on America's bridge problem and wish it away," Black said. "It will take committed investment by legislators at all levels of government."
Bridge decks and support structures are regularly inspected by the state transportation departments for deterioration and are rated on a scale of zero to nine—nine being "excellent" condition. A bridge is classified as structurally deficient and in need of repair if its overall rating is four or below.
While these bridges may not be imminently unsafe, ARTBA believes that signs should be posted so the public understands they have structural deficiencies that need repair.
The ARTBA analysis of the bridge data supplied by the states to the Transportation Department also found:
• Idaho ranks 35th place nationally in the number of structurally deficient bridges— 406.
• Idaho ranks 24th place in the percentage of its bridges that are classified as structurally deficient — 9 percent.
State specific bridge information from the analysis—including rankings and location lists of the 250 most heavily travelled structurally deficient bridges in the nation and top five most heavily travelled in each state—is available at www.artba.org/bridges.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Advertising Federation lists Gem Award winners
Category: Poster Campaign
Winner: Artcore Visual Studio
Client: The Rex and Tiffany Redden Foundation
Category: Logo or Trademark Design
Winner: Soapbox Agency
Client: BYU-I Food Science Dept
Category: Animation or Special Effects – Video Film or Digital
Winner: Soapbox Agency
Client: BYU-I Food Science Dept
Category: TV Campaign, Local, Budget Larger Than $20,000
Winner: East Idaho Credit Union
Entry Title: Brand Launch
Winner: East Idaho Credit Union
Entry Title: Get Ready
Category: TV Campaign, $5K-$20K
Winner: IE Productions
Client: Bank of Commerce
Entry Title: Our Bank of a Lifetime
Category: Complete Campaign Regional/National
Winner: IE Productions
Client: Eastern Idaho State Fair
Category: Radio Single 60
Winner: IE Productions
Client: Eastern Idaho State Fair
Category: Billboard Campaign
Winner: IE Productions
Client: Eastern Idaho State Fair
Entry Title: Feed Your Need For Fun
Category: Single, 3-D Direct Marketing
Winner: IE Productions
Client: Eastern Idaho State Fair
Category: Social Media
Winner: Idaho State University
Entry Title: Ultimate Bengal
Category: Photography
Winner: Idaho State University
Entry Title: Class of 2014 photos
Category: Advertising for Arts & Sciences/Poster
Winner: MCS Advertising
Client: Idaho Falls Arts Council
Category: Magazine, Fraction Page
Winner: MCS Advertising
Category: Sales Kit/Packaging
Winner: Printcraft Press
Category: Radio Single 60
Winner: Riverbend Communications
Client: Scare Tower & Straw Maze
To see the complete list of winners, please visit http://ifadfed.wordpress.com/
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