Sprayroq, a national industry leader in spray-applied resin technology for structural rehabilitation and corrosion protection of water, wastewater, and other industrial infrastructure assets, has announced the hire of a new senior-level executive. Jeremy Alexander has been named the new President of Sprayroq’s operations.
Jeremy has an outstanding reputation for leadership development, process management, and strategic vision, and is uniquely qualified to provide hands-on support and the guidance necessary to not only maintain but build upon Sprayroq’s momentum.
“We are extremely excited to introduce Jeremy to Sprayroq’s leadership team,” said Mark Corr, President and CEO of parent company, Signet LLC. “We are confident that Jeremy’s strong business development focus will uncover new opportunities and accelerate the growth of Sprayroq’s ongoing evolution.”
Previous to taking on his new role at Sprayroq, Jeremy was the Director of Marketing at Line-X, LLC, a global leader in Polyurea, Polyurethane, UV, and Intumescent protective coatings development. In this role, Jeremy successfully lead the planning and execution of all marketing efforts across LINE-X retail, LINE-X Industrial Coatings, LINE-X National/Fleet services, and international sales channels.
The addition of Mr. Alexander comes on the heels of the firm’s recent brand transformation in which they unveiled an entirely new visual identity, coupled with the launch of a new website and relocation of the firm’s corporate headquarters.
“It is truly an honor to be entrusted as President of Sprayroq,” said Alexander. “I am thrilled to join a company that is so uniquely positioned to competitively stand out in the market and I look forward to making meaningful progress with the outstanding team at Sprayroq and our network of Certified Partners.”
MetroHealth on Thursday opened its family dental clinic in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, capping off a years-long transformation of a site where residents once fought to block the construction of a McDonald’s.
Signet Real Estate Group served as the Developer and Owner’s Representative in the delivery of this project.
The Ohio City Family Dentistry, located at the corner of Lorain Avenue and Fulton Road, will serve both adult and pediatric patients. It offers everything from routine check-ups and cleanings to root canals, bridges, partial dentures, and crowns. It also has on-site dental imaging, such as X-rays.
MetroHealth previously offered dental services at its main campus. The health system closed its main campus dental clinic last week after more than 60 years and is relocating all of its dental services to the Ohio City location.
The Ohio City clinic has the advantage of having more of a neighborhood feel, MetroHealth President and CEO Dr. Akram Bourtos said. It doesn’t require patients to travel to the main campus for a routine check-up or cleaning, and it’s accessible by bus on the RTA’s Lorain Avenue (22) and Fulton Road (79/79A) routes.
“The idea about this building is very simple,” Boutros said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday afternoon. “We need to go where our patients are, and we need to be in a much more accessible environment to them.”
The new clinic is also a boon to MetroHealth’s dental employees, who will have the opportunity to work with some of the latest technology available, said Dr. Gregory Heintschel, the chair of the health system’s department of dental medicine.
Lasers will replace traditional dental drills for many procedures, including drilling a cavity. The clinic is also outfitted with a dental microscope, which will help staff who are performing root canals or cosmetic procedures, Heintschel said.
The clinic also has 3D printers that will be used to make custom dental appliances, crowns, and restorations on the same day of a patient’s appointment. That will eliminate the need for any follow-up appointments.
Each dental chair is also supplied with nitrous oxide. The mild sedative, which is commonly referred to as “laughing gas,” is a safe method for managing a patient’s pain and anxiety, according to the American Dental Association. It should help a patient relax and lessen discomfort when they come to the dental clinic, Heintschel said.
The next generation of dentists will also benefit from the new clinic. MetroHealth’s General Practice Dentistry Residency program is also moving there from the main campus. In addition, two pediatric residents will be working at the clinic as part of a partnership with Case Western Reserve University’s School of Dental Medicine.
Heintschel also feels the dental clinic will benefit the Ohio City neighborhood and its residents. The clinic brings dental services to a neighborhood that did not previously have easy access to them, he said.
“It’s a way to give back to this community – typically an underprivileged community – which really has not had a lot of great places to go, historically, for their care,” Heintschel said. “Now they’ve got a truly exceptional place, with exceptional people to care for them.”
Those residents were heavily invested in the fate of the property where the dental clinic now sits. It used to be home to a Hollywood Video, but it sat dormant for more than a decade after that store closed. Investors subsequently bought the property and intended to turn it into a McDonald’s.
The proposal led to fierce opposition from the neighborhood. The opposition led to a court battle, and the McDonald’s deal quietly expired. MetroHealth then bought the property for about $1.17 million in 2016.
Cleveland City Council member Kerry McCormack, whose Ward 3 includes the neighborhood, said during Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting that Ohio City residents’ activism helped make the dental clinic a reality.
“This would not have happened were it not for the years and years of advocacy by our neighborhood residents,” McCormack said.
You’ll find more than a total body workout at the Lake Nona Performance Club (LNPC). Unlike any other fitness center, LNPC takes a balanced approach to whole person health with a unique combination of high-tech equipment, wide range of programming for performers of all ages and abilities, and expert guidance.
The state-of-the-art facility offers a fresh, fierce, and family-friendly environment designed to support both your physical and mental fitness.
Whether you’re a beginner or more advanced, if you like to work out solo or in a group, in the water or high above ground – LNPC offers something for every type of performer.
Here are six exceptional features you’ll only find at LNPC:
01. Kids in Motion and Child Watch programs
Just off the main lobby is the Child Watch activity area supervised by CPR-certified staff. It’s divided into separate spaces for kids by age groups ranging from 2 months to 12 years old.
Children 6-12 can also participate in Kids in Motion program which provides both physical and cognitive engagement activities through fitness, science, arts and crafts, games, and special projects. Kids in Motion also offers scheduled and supervised classes that let participants explore other amenities within LNPC like the ROX Climbing Gym and more.
Teens 13-15 can use LNPC facilities with parental supervision while teens 16 and up are free to use the Club on their own.
LNPC will offer more than 100 different classes each week!
There are a ton of options to choose from for every fit, age, and agility. You’ll find Zumba (dance cardio), Barre (a combo of ballet, Pilates and yoga), Body Combat (non-contact martial arts), Body Pump (strength training), Cycle & Flow (spinning class), Boot Camp, mat Pilates, Aqua Fit (think water aerobics, but cooler), Tai Chi, Qi Gong, REVOLUTION Cycling (HIIT cycling), and CXWORX (building core strength).
All classes listed above are included with LNPC membership.
Bonus: LNPC also offers recreational and team sports leagues including basketball, volleyball, pickleball, and badminton.
With more than one pool to play in, the Aquatics Center offers a variety of ways to make a splash. Play with the kids in the zero-entry family pool, join an Aqua Fitness class in the therapy pool, and make every stroke count in the lap pool. The Aquatics Center will also offer water safety classes and swim lessons for all.
The ROX Climbing Gym walls will work every major muscle group in your body. It’s one of the largest and most sophisticated climbing gyms in the country, and one of the first to feature Walltech by Eldorado Climbing Systems.
Walltech is a wood-based climbing system with a durable glass bead texture, perfect for climbers of all ages and skill level. ROX also offers bouldering, top-rope climbing, and rappelling.
Golfers from beginner to pro will love the InClubGolf premier indoor golf studio. The facility’s high-tech equipment will make you feel like you’re on the green with simulation bays and a putting lab with adjustable slope and radar stroke analysis.
06. Train or run for miles in the Sports and Performance Center
Whether you’re on or off season, this indoor track and turf field offers a place to improve your skills and enhance your individual or team performance. Run drills, run laps, or sprint your heart out inside where it’s air conditioned! Or, opt in to LNPC’s custom sports performance training programs that provide individualized training based on personal goals and sport-specific demands.
Each year, the Greater Akron Chamber grants Grit Awards to celebrate local businesses that are advancing the Greater Akron region by driving innovation in their business and industry, adjusting to significant change and helping others succeed and live better lives.
There may be no better example of “grit” than surviving and thriving during a global pandemic such as COVID-19, and our 2021 award winners have embodied the word “grit” in significant ways.
As a result, the Greater Akron Chamber is pleased to announce the following as our 2021 Grit Award recipients: Akron Bearing Co., Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron Municipal Court, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Akron Zoo, Always Dreaming Enterprise, LLC, AxessPointe Community Health Center, Inc., Castle Noel, Cilantro Thai & Sushi Restaurant, Clarktel/Tele-Communications, Inc., ClearSonic Mfg. Inc., Downtown Akron Partnership, Eat Speak Love, LLC, Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, Hair Geek Studios, Harmony House, IBH Addiction Recovery, Kicks n’ Cuts, NoHi Pop-up, a project by North Akron Community Development Corporation, Psych360, Rubber City Reuse, SACS Consulting/S&U Business Strategies, Signet, LLC, Sirna & Sons Produce, The House of the Lord and Yoga Squared.
We will be highlighting each of these businesses, their story and how they embody “grit” via a short video appearing on our social media channels, beginning May 3 and continuing for twenty business days thereafter. Tune in to Facebook or Instagram daily to learn more about each business. We hope everyone will go to our sites, watch these videos and experience how others are adjusting, growing, moving forward and helping others and experience a part of what makes the Northeast Ohio so special, its people, businesses and resiliency.
A new facility headed to the Lake Nona Performance Club can help improve your golf game.
The center, which will open in August, has partnered with InClubGolf, an indoor high-tech golf training company, to debut a location at the Lake Nona club. InClubGolf will offer “independent memberships for customized golf training with full access to automated, state-of-the-art technology coupled with the personalized guidance of a highly qualified PGA Professional,” and will be open for golfers of all skills and ages, said a release.
This would be the golf company’s second location in the world, with its first at the Newtown Athletic Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
“To be viable, we had to go beyond the structural design,” said Hervey Lavoie, president of InClubGolf, in a prepared statement. “As an avid golfer myself, I knew that too often indoor golf programs end up being seasonal and unsustainable because they only offer a hitting bay and by-the-hour access to a PGA Pro. With LNPC, we have created a successful, year-round independent membership option that eliminates hourly limitations and gives members full access to the newest indoor golf technology. We are committed to a personalized master training plan with shorter, more frequent lessons interspersed with informed practice and professionally supervised play both indoors and on the course.”
Here’s more on what to expect at the facility, according to the release:
State-of-the-art TrackMan 4 launch monitors with dual radar technology in two full simulation bays
Boditrak pressure mat and high-tech swing rotation analysis
Arccos on-course game analysis and 150-square-foot putting lab with adjustable slope and radar stroke analysis
Smart Start Golf, a learning program unique to InClubGolf, designed for juniors and beginners to learn golf etiquette, pace-of-play, rules, course management and the many game traditions
Certified fitness coaching with custom referrals to performance center personal trainers
On-course play opportunities with other members and play with the pro to reinforce in-studio learning and practice sessions
Individuals interested in using the InClubGolf facility do not need to be members of the Lake Nona Performance Club.
The Lake Nona Performance Club, being co-developed by Lake Nona master planner Tavistock Development Co. LLC and Signet Real Estate, is a 130,000-square-foot facility at the Lake Nona Town Center in the fast-growing southeast Orlando community.
The center will create 100 full-time and part-time jobs by the end of its third year in operation. The facility is a joint venture between Lake Nona and Integrated Wellness Partners, a health and wellness services provider and subsidiary of Akron, Ohio-based private investment firm Signet LLC.
Lake Nona already is home to sports organizations such as the U.S. Tennis Association’s USTA National Campus and the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute athletic training center. The community’s 650-acre Medical City hub also has gained national attention for its hospitals, incubators and academic institutions.
Lake Nona’s destination sports, performance, and fitness center, the Lake Nona Performance Club (LNPC), has partnered with Chopra Global, a leading whole health company founded by Dr. Deepak Chopra, to create the Chopra Mind-Body Zone and Spa. This first-of-its-kind partnership brings Chopra Global’s signature movement and spa programs to a leading fitness facility and marks the company’s first brick-and-mortar partnership. Currently under construction in the Lake Nona Town Center, LNPC is scheduled to open this summer.
“Chopra Global and Lake Nona have a long and rich partnership guided by our common mission of promoting health and wellbeing,” said Chopra Global Vice President of Partnerships Jaime Rabin. “We’re incredibly excited to expand that partnership with the new Chopra Mind-Body Zone and Spa specializing in the life-changing benefits of whole health and practicing the connectivity of mind, body, and spirit. The programs at LNPC will serve as a model for us moving forward as we look to continue the expansion of our physical brand presence.”
A dedicated 5,500-square-foot space devoted to providing premium experiences focused on enhancing overall wellbeing, the Chopra Mind-Body Zone will offer a variety of yoga and meditation classes plus specialty options like aerial yoga, barre, and Reformer Pilates. Unique mind-body assessments based in Ayurveda, one of the world’s oldest holistic healing systems, will also be available.
In addition to the Chopra Mind-Body Zone, Chopra Global will oversee a dedicated spa designed to complement LNPC’s focus on whole health. The spa will specialize in both Chopra Global’s signature Ayurvedic and traditional massages. Chopra Ayurvedic massages focus on the unique mind-body constitution of the individual resulting in a customized experience for each guest. Access to the spa will be available to both LNPC members and the public.
For more than two decades, Chopra Global has been at the forefront of personal health and wellness empowerment for millions of people worldwide to expand collective wellbeing. Anchored by the life’s practice and research of renowned best-selling author, Dr. Deepak Chopra, one of the leading pioneers in the fields of integrative medicine, consciousness, and meditation. Chopra Global’s signature programs have been proven to improve overall wellbeing through a focus on physical, mental, and spiritual health.
“We’re so thrilled to align with Chopra Global, a true, global leader in the health and wellbeing space, to create custom programming and learning opportunities for the Lake Nona community and greater Orlando region,” said LNPC Executive Director Jay Groves. “Designed by Chopra Global with support from LNPC’s expert staff, the mind-body programming coupled with a restorative spa will create a one-stop destination where our members can focus on whole-person health and wellbeing.”
The Chopra Global operations at LNPC will be led by an expert team with oversight from Dr. Chopra himself. Dr. Chopra recently announced plans to become a Lake Nona resident, so he can expand his relationship with the community and be personally involved with the Chopra Mind-Body Zone and Spa.
“I feel that Lake Nona is going to be the leader in the world that will create a movement for what I’ve longed for all my life: a critical mass of people who will engage in personal and total transformation for a more peaceful, just, and a more healthy and enjoyable world. But to get there, we have to take care of ourselves first,” Dr. Deepak Chopra said during a recent meditation event with Lake Nona.
LNPC will redefine the sports, performance, fitness center experience for the Central Florida region featuring leading edge workout equipment, state-of-art classes, and interactive programs driven by the latest performance technology. The facility will be one of the most comprehensive and thoughtfully curated in the nation providing a tailored approach to whole-person health for members of all ages and skill levels. Memberships are open to the entire region and are available now.
Beyond the best-in-class facilities and robust programming, LNPC will be a go-to health and wellbeing resource for the surrounding community by offering inclusive programs and recreational leagues that are open to both members and non-members with options for individuals and families. LNPC will also host community education classes led by the professional staff that will be open to the public.
The Lake Nona Performance Club is a joint venture partnership between Lake Nona and Integrated Wellness Partners (IWP), a subsidiary of Signet, LLC.
For more information about corporate, individual, and family membership options and to schedule a virtual sneak peek of the facility, visit www.lakenonaperformanceclub.com.
Assets including construction photos and renderings of the Chopra Mind-Body Zone and LNPC available here.
ABOUT CHOPRA GLOBAL Chopra Global is a leading whole health company that is empowering personal transformation for millions of people globally to expand our collective well-being. Anchored by the life’s practice and research of Dr. Deepak Chopra, a pioneer in integrative medicine, Chopra Global’s signature programs have been proven to improve overall well-being through a focus on physical, mental and spiritual health. Chopra Global has been at the forefront of health and wellness for more than two decades with a portfolio that includes an editorial archive of more than 2000 health articles, expansive self-care practices and meditations, a comprehensive mobile app, masterclasses, teacher certifications, immersive live events and personalized retreats. By providing tools, guidance and community, Chopra aims to advance a culture of well-being and make a healthy, peaceful and joyful life accessible to all. For more information, interact with the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ABOUT LAKE NONA PERFORMANCE CLUB
Scheduled to open in summer 2021, the Lake Nona Performance Club (LNPC) will redefine the fitness center experience for the Central Florida region featuring leading edge workout equipment, state-of-art classes, and interactive programs driven by the latest performance technology. The 130,000-square-foot facility is currently under construction in the Lake Nona Town Center and will be one of the most comprehensive and thoughtfully curated in the nation. LNPC will provide a tailored approach to whole-person health for members of all ages and skill levels. For more information and membership details, visit www.lakenonaperformanceclub.com.
ABOUT LAKE NONA
Located in Orlando, Fla., Lake Nona is one of the fastest-growing master-planned communities in America developed by Tavistock Development Company. Known for thoughtfully designed neighborhoods, top-rated education facilities, business and research clusters, retail and entertainment centers, and diverse workspaces, Lake Nona encompasses the best Central Florida has to offer. Lake Nona sets the foundation for a collaborative relationship between the people who live, work, and visit there by prioritizing forward-thinking technology, strategic partnerships, education, and wellbeing. For more information, visit www.lakenona.com.
Signet Capital and Signet Real Estate Group showcased their creativity in approaching unique real estate projects, as true partners with the University of Kentucky (UK), to deliver a world-class, multi-use facility, branded as The Cornerstone.
Revitalizing one of the main corridors into the University of Kentucky’s campus, the facility bridges the University and the Lexington community. Spanning 308,269 square feet with a total construction cost of approximately $35,000,000, The Cornerstone includes an innovation lab, E-Sports Gaming Lounge & Theater, locally focused food hall, and parking garage.
The Public-Private Partnership model allowed UK to transfer the associated risks of delivering a project of this nature – including financing, construction, and project delivery – to Signet while maintaining approval control from a design, budget, timeline and use perspective. UK will be the eventual owner of the project and Signet will inject equity in the retail portion, serving as the long-term manager. Transferring this risk and associated workload for this scale of project allowed the University to maintain the allocation of its resources to what is ultimately the driving success of the University – excellence in teaching, research, healthcare, cultural enrichment, and economic development.
“Signet’s financial expertise and inhouse broker-dealer, with a municipal finance background, added considerable value in identifying the financing structure and team for the project,” said David Fumi, Managing Director of Signet Capital. “The financing process took a remarkable effort by all parties involved. Having a well-established relationship with both Frost Brown Todd (Underwriter’s Counsel) and KeyBanc Capital Markets (COPs Underwriter) provided confidence in the team’s ability to secure funding. The University was a great partner, bringing significant expertise, flexibility and professionalism as complex challenges were navigated.”
After exploring several financing solutions and associated pricing to support this project, UK and Signet landed on a Certificates of Participation (“COPs”) structure. This innovative approach was the first time a public education system in Kentucky utilized this structure, and it aligned well with the goals of the University. The tax-exempt component of the COPs structure substantially lowered the overall cost of capital for the University, allowing UK to receive the benefits of transferring a large portion of risk and workload to Signet, while maintaining a low cost of capital similar to if the University issued bonds directly. “The project was a true win-win by utilizing the strengths and expertise of both the private and public sectors,” said Fumi.
One of the nuances that required expert navigation was the challenge of how to bifurcate the project so the retail component would allow for Signet to both inject equity and secure financing for the completion and management of the retail space. The final partnership structure between Signet and UK for the retail was a pivotal component to support the social infrastructure of the University and the success of this project. Including retail in this key corridor between downtown and the gateway of the University made sense to promote the highest and best use of land with the future in mind.
The mixed-use structure includes retail, innovation, esports, and parking components to create a distinctive center for activity, creativity, and connectivity between the community and the University:
The Cornerstone Exchange retail space will feature exclusively locally owned restaurants in a modernized food hall, community-centered dining hub.
The innovation zone includes flexible, collaborative space to propel solution-driven thinking and design and create new pathways for entrepreneurial fields.
The Cornerstone Garage will add 900 new parking spaces for use by both the University and community.
The newly named UK Federal Credit Union E-Sports Lounge and Theater will include 100 retractable theater-style seats, and an esports gamers lounge with more than 50 PC-based gaming units and multiple console-play areas.
Beyond the University of Kentucky as lessee, Signet Real Estate Group as the Lessor and developer, and Signet Capital as the financial advisor to the developer, additional partners include Frost Brown Todd as Special Counsel / Underwriter’s Counsel, Dinsmore & Shohl as University Counsel / Disclosure Counsel, Commonwealth Economics as Financial Advisor to University, and KeyBanc Capital Markets as COPs Underwriter. The construction team was led by F.A. Wilhelm Construction, Sherman Carter Barnhart as Architect, and Tim Haahs & Associates as Parking Consultant.
“It was an outstanding team collaboration to structure and secure the financing for The Cornerstone,” said Fumi. “We are honored to have led the financing effort, which presents a long-lasting benefit to such a prestigious University, its faculty, students, and local community.”
About Signet Capital Signet Capital, a Signet LLC company, is a boutique investment banking and structured finance services firm with extensive experience in working with companies that have debt financing or refinancing needs. Signet Capital is able to effectively assist companies in arranging and securing financing through its strong relationships with a large number of financial institutions and other traditional and non-traditional lenders. Signet works closely with its clients to secure the most favorable borrowing terms and has been successful in working on over $5 billion of debt financings. Learn more at http://www.signet-capital.com.
About Signet Real Estate Group Signet Real Estate Group, a Signet LLC company, is a full-service development and project management firm in the areas of higher education, health care, research, public-private partnerships, and strategic infrastructure. The company transforms complex development challenges into collaborative opportunities through a creative, flexible, and customized approach. Since the firm’s inception, Signet and its family of companies have successfully managed and currently have in progress more than $5 billion in real-estate development and construction throughout the U.S. Learn more at http://www.signetre.com.
Signet LLC, Akron’s leading private equity investment firm, has announced the hiring of Michael Mandela as President of Signet Real Estate Group’s Property Management Division.
Mandela brings extensive expertise in property management, financial services, brokerage, development, and project management.
Mandela will provide strategic and operational oversight for all Signet property management activities, including the development and implementation of corporate strategy, management of business operations, strategic partnership management, sales and marketing, staffing, and capital planning.
“We are extremely pleased to add Michael to Signet Real Estate Group’s leadership team,” said Mark Corr, President and CEO of parent company, Signet LLC. “Michael is going to bring fresh ideas and a strong business development focus to the Property Management Division. We look forward to fostering enhanced collaboration between Michael’s team and the Real Estate Development team, which we are confident will uncover new opportunities and accelerate growth for our entire Real Estate Platform.”
Previously, Mandela served as Sr. Director of Development & Leasing for The Coral Company where he provided executive leadership and oversight to all operational and financial aspects of a diverse, investment grade mixed-use portfolio. Additionally, Mandela oversaw a wide range of development, new construction and renovation projects within both the residential and commercial sectors.
Mandela achieved a stellar track record throughout his tenure, creating valued partnerships with various institutions, municipalities, lenders, developers, general contractors and private equity firms. Mandela is also a licensed real estate broker in the State of Ohio with experience in all facets of transactional real estate including valuation, acquisitions, dispositions, financing, title, leasing and sales.
“It is truly an honor to be entrusted as President of Signet’s Property Management Division,” said Mandela. “Providing best-in-class service to our institutional, commercial and municipal partnerships will remain at the forefront of what we do.”
Mandela succeeds Alan Gribble, who was Signet Real Estate Group’s first Property Management Division hire and President for more than 18 years. Gribble has continued to serve Signet in a consultative capacity, allowing for a smooth transition for Mandela.
“We owe a great debt of gratitude to Alan for his service to the organization, and for positioning the enterprise for continued growth and success,” said Corr.
Mandela shares in Signet leadership’s vision for robust future growth for the full-service real estate firm. “We have a deep development pipeline, an extremely diligent and strategic corporate leadership team, and a vast array of skilled corporate resources already in place. It is a remarkable opportunity,” said Mandela.
This hire represents the latest step in Signet’s strategic vision to build a centralized, high-impact corporate model, supporting a more collaborative team-based culture for the diversified leadership teams and platforms in the Signet organization.
About Signet Real Estate Group Signet Real Estate Group transforms complex development challenges into collaborative opportunities through a creative, flexible, and customized approach. Our team brings 25 years of experience in successful development and facility management solutions in the areas of healthcare, higher education, research, public-private partnerships and strategic infrastructure. Since our firm’s inception, Signet and its family of companies have successfully managed and currently have in progress more than $5 billion in real-estate development and construction throughout the U.S. Learn more at signetre.com.
About Signet LLC Signet brings an innovative, unconventional approach to private investment that embodies creativity and forward thinking to achieve long-term success. With leadership and expertise in the areas of project structuring, capital formation, operational investment and management, Signet tailors strategy and resources to meet each unique opportunity. Boundless in ideas and tactics, Signet has spent 25 years crafting collaborative partnerships that advance initiatives in real estate, diversified manufacturing, health and wellness, emerging technologies, investment banking and finance. Learn more at signetllc.com.
Signet LLC, an Akron-based private investment firm with a busy real estate operation, has named Mark Corr as president and CEO.
Corr stepped in last summer as acting CEO after the unexpected death of longtime CEO and partner Ken Krismanth, according to a news release. Corr previously had served as Signet’s president and chief operating officer.
After taking on the role, Corr began a transition initiative in which Signet — which has a significant real estate development presence and whose holdings range from polymer companies to book-binders, not to mention its capital investment fund — created an executive leadership team to oversee strategic management of its portfolio, the release said.
During the transition, Signet also added Holly Colson, director of human resources; Jason Schoch, Real Estate Group controller; and Kevin Belt and Spencer Hyatt, Real Estate Group senior vice presidents and co-managing directors, the company said.
“Our corporate infrastructure is in the final stages of transitioning from a decentralized, ‘managing partner-guided model’ to a centralized and collaborative team-based approach under Mark, who is extremely well-deserving of his promotion to CEO,” said Anthony Manna, Signet chairman and founder, in a statement. “This approach requires that our various leadership teams operate with the highest level of transparency and communication, redundancy and depth in all key managerial responsibilities, while being held accountable to achieve performance metrics and operational standards of excellence. Mark has the intangible leadership qualities and the effective management style to ensure this strategic vision is effective, and I have no doubt it will be.”
In addition to the new management approach, the release stated, Signet has organized its portfolio and investments into three platforms: the Chemical Specialties Group; Integrated Wellness Partners; and Signet Real Estate Group.
“Though Signet will always be opportunistic, we will be much more strategic and proactive in our engagements, grouping our investments around a three-pronged platform approach,” Corr said in the release.
He said the Chemical Specialties Group, in particular, is “poised to experience rapid organic growth while exploring strategic partnerships, add-on acquisitions and opportunities for innovation and new product investment and development.”
On the real estate and operational side, Signet’s projects include the NEOMED Education and Wellness Center in Rootstown, the MetroHealth Brecksville Health & Surgery Center, the Center for Integrated Wellness in Bloomington, Ill., and Infinity Hall, an entrepreneurial-based academic residential community at the University of Florida.
The company in 2017 went through a streamlining of its brand, dropping “Enterprises” from its name, and organization in an effort to better define the company and what it does.
Signet LLC appoints Mark Corr as CEO
AKRON, OHIO (PRWEB) JUNE 01, 2020
Signet LLC, the national private investment firm with corporate offices based in Akron, Ohio, today announced the naming of Mark Corr as President and CEO after an 11-month transition in both executive leadership and structure for the firm. The elevation of Corr provides the organization with stability and continuity moving forward, cementing the management structure for Signet under Corr’s strategic leadership and vision.
After the unexpected passing of Signet’s longtime CEO and partner Ken Krismanth in July of 2019, Corr (formerly President and COO), stepped in as acting CEO, taking on Krismanth’s responsibilities as lead overseer over the entire Signet portfolio. As acting CEO, Corr began a transitionary initiative to enhance the corporate office’s impact and reach over their portfolio companies and real estate projects in the areas of strategic management, accounting, human resources, and marketing. Corr created an Executive Leadership Team to collaboratively oversee the strategic management of the portfolio which includes himself, Ralph Sciulli (CFO), Joel Maas (Director of Marketing), and the newly added Holly Colson (Director Of HR).
During the transition period, the team added several key executive roles to the organization, including HR Director (Colson) and Real Estate Group Controller (Jason Schoch). Corr also elevated two Real Estate Group executives, Kevin Belt and Spencer Hyatt, to take over the real estate development operation as Senior VP’s and Co-Managing Directors. The executive team also has plans in the coming weeks to announce the selection of a new President of Signet Real Estate Group’s Property Management Division.
Signet’s Chairman and Founder, Anthony (Tony) Manna, sees the transition to Corr’s leadership as a very momentous step in the history of the firm, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
“The Signet organization today yields an outlook of stability and optimism,” says Manna. “Our corporate infrastructure is in the final stages of transitioning from a decentralized, ‘Managing Partner-guided model’ to a centralized and collaborative team-based approach under Mark, who is extremely well-deserving of his promotion to CEO. This approach requires that our various leadership teams operate with the highest level of transparency and communication, redundancy and depth in all key managerial responsibilities, while being held accountable to achieve performance metrics and operational standards of excellence. Mark has the intangible leadership qualities and the effective management style to ensure this strategic vision is effective, and I have no doubt it will be.”
Corr is excited for the opportunity to lead Signet and is pleased with the corporate transition, which has already seen a positive impact on its portfolio companies and real estate projects.
“Our efforts to centralize and streamline Signet’s corporate impact has been very effective, and has improved our efficiency and responsiveness, while expanding the array of highly-skilled resources dedicated to supporting each operation and opportunity,” says Corr. “Our success throughout this transition period is only a testament to the past 25 years of leadership at Signet, which has yielded immense growth for us. I humbly look forward to serving the Signet family and continuing the outstanding legacy of leadership while bringing my own vision and structure to the organization.”
As a first step as permanent CEO, Corr is formally announcing a new strategic vision for Signet, organizing its portfolio and proactive investment into three principal platforms: (1) the Chemical Specialties Group; (2) Integrated Wellness Partners; and (3) Signet Real Estate Group.
“Though Signet will always be opportunistic, we will be much more strategic and proactive in our engagements, grouping our investments around a three-pronged platform approach,” says Corr.
“The Chemical Specialties Group, consisting of five manufacturing/service companies, is poised to experience rapid organic growth while exploring strategic partnerships, add-on acquisitions and opportunities for innovation and new product investment and development.”
“With the commencement of our world-class health and wellness facility project in Lake Nona, Florida, combined with the industry-decimating impact of the COVID-19 virus, Integrated Wellness Partners has the potential to become a national story of resilience and courage while contributing toward the nation’s renewed focus on wellness solutions and healthier lifestyles.”
“Signet Real Estate Group welcomes a new era of leadership across the Development and Property Management disciplines. These leadership teams possess the skills, drive and selfless attitudes necessary to unify the entire platform and raise our already high standards of excellence and market perception.”
“While keeping the current healthcare crisis and its economic impact in focus, I believe Signet is prepared again to seek strategic and selective expansion opportunities toward extraordinary growth and value creation in the coming years,” says Corr.
About Signet LLC Signet brings an innovative, unconventional approach to private investment that embodies creativity and forward thinking to achieve long-term success. With leadership and expertise in the areas of project structuring, capital formation, operational investment and management, Signet tailors strategy and resources to meet each unique opportunity. Boundless in ideas and tactics, Signet has spent 25 years crafting collaborative partnerships that advance initiatives in real estate, diversified manufacturing, health and wellness, emerging technologies, investment banking and finance. Learn more at signetllc.com.
About Signet’s Chemical Specialties Group Signet’s Chemical Specialties Group consists of Creative Polymer Solutions (parent to Accufoam and Accushield brands), Sprayroq, Sprayroq of China, and Bluegrass Chemical. Everything we do reflects our precision chemistry, high-accuracy manufacturing, training and dependable service. All so you can have a partner you can confidently rely on. Visit our company websites at creativepolymer.com, accufoam.com, goaccushield.com, sprayroq.com, and bluegrasschemical.com.
About Integrated Wellness Partners Integrated Wellness Partners offers comprehensive, turnkey development, finance, and health and wellness management solutions to health systems, universities, and municipalities across the country. We have proven experience and the resources to help our clients bring wellness to their communities. Our principals provide highly specialized knowledge and expertise in distinct disciplines including health and wellness operations, real estate development, and financial solutions. Learn more at iwp-llc.com.
About Signet Real Estate Group Signet Real Estate Group transforms complex development challenges into collaborative opportunities through a creative, flexible, and customized approach. Our team brings 25 years of experience in successful development and facility management solutions in the areas of healthcare, higher education, research, public-private partnerships and strategic infrastructure. Since our firm’s inception, Signet and its family of companies have successfully managed and currently have in progress more than $5 billion in real-estate development and construction throughout the U.S. Learn more at signetre.com.
Read the original article on Printing Impressions here.
When printing companies acquire and merge with other printing companies, the transactions can be complex, but they’re usually straightforward. Most of what they consist of can be expressed in concrete business terms that satisfy lawyers, lenders, and accountants.
The exception is the factor most crucial to the success of the deal: an intangible element that can’t be measured, but must be mastered if the acquisition is to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
This is the fit of company cultures, and in the three stories of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) shared here, the buyers were unanimous in identifying it as the linchpin of the entire exercise. A selling owner said the same thing and an entrepreneur buying into the industry from outside also paid close attention to the human element in taking over management of the business she acquired.
“Culture, culture, culture,” emphasizes John Falconetti, chairman and CEO of Drummond, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based printing, mail, and fulfillment services provider that has completed acquisitions of eight companies in various places since 2010. For him, “shared core values” are paramount, and he insists on knowing they’re present in the sellers he deals with. “I, personally, weigh the character of the seller to a very great degree,” he says.
After a deal closes, advises Thomas Quartier, president and CFO of The QMC Group in Liverpool, N.Y., the most urgent and often the most difficult task is “changing the culture as soon as possible” if the seller’s and the buyer’s cultures need to be reconciled. Otherwise, he warns, “you set the tone for multiple cultures.”
Coequal with Finance
“It’s as big a job as putting the finance stack together,” agrees John Helline, CEO of BindTech in Nashville, Tenn. He points out that buyers, especially those executing their first acquisitions, need to focus on “the difficulty of folding in the cultures as much as anything else.”
Having learned how to do that, and much more, from repeated experience with M&As, the leaders of the three companies endorse growth by acquisition as the right strategy for printing businesses looking to expand in the industry as it stands now.
Quartier points out that organic growth — the kind generated internally by gaining new accounts or expanding sales to current customers — has been hard to come by for printing businesses in his region of central New York State.
In 2011, what was then Quartier Printing took a different path by acquiring a larger business, Cayuga Press of Cortland, in a reverse tuck-in (a transaction in which the seller absorbs the buyer’s operation into its own, instead of the other way around). With the acquisition of Midstate Printing in 2015, the structure of The QMC Group was complete.
Growth by acquisition for BindTech, a multi-state network of postpress service firms, has come about through “market dynamics as much as our own strategy.” In the postpress segment until now, Helline explains, “there’s been little to no consolidation, and it’s been needed.” A trend in that direction among smaller, independently owned firms has created M&A opportunities for BindTech, the most recent being its purchase of Roswell Bookbinding in Phoenix.
Growth from buying other companies has proven to be a winning formula for Drummond because “we are very disciplined and intentional about our acquisition strategy,” Falconetti says. He notes that “many uniquely structured transactions” have broadened the company’s footprint from its founding location in Jacksonville to additional facilities in Atlanta and Detroit. Some of the deals were tuck-ins, and others were sales as going concerns; each was, in Falconetti’s words, “purposeful and strategic.”
From Commodity to Value-Add
All growth is good, but in no strategically sound M&A transaction is growth for its own sake the sole objective. Anthony Manna, chairman of SIGNET LLC, the private equity investment firm that owns BindTech, looks at buying a company in the graphic arts industry as an opportunity to “take a commodity business and turn it into a true value-add” that offers a more comprehensive set of services to its customers.
This can be done in two ways, according to Manna, who founded SIGNET in 1995 and directed its first purchase of a bindery in 2001. One is to acquire the company as a “platform” and surround it with the assets of subsequently acquired companies that can augment and expand what it does. The other is to help the acquired business develop a capability it doesn’t already have: creating, in effect, “a start-up product within a company.”
Manna has an analogy for the criteria he applies to selecting companies that SIGNET can transform by either of these methods: “the track, the horse, and the jockey.” The track stands for the general business climate of the sector the company is in. The horse is the company itself, and the jockey embodies the individual and the management team in charge — the people whose attitudes and cultural compatibility are key to making the acquisition work.
“My big thing has always been the jockey,” Manna observes.
Quartier agrees that much depends on attitude, which he defines as “the willingness of both parties to make a deal and be reasonable, with no encumbrances that are hard to get over.” He counsels buyers to avoid wasting time, effort, and money by determining, at an early stage, that “both parties are really interested” in moving forward.
Vital as they are, attitude and culture aren’t the only reasons why graphics firms seek to merge with other graphics firms.
Falconetti says that potential acquisitions for Drummond “must create value for our existing clients” in ways that help them optimize its business processes. Helline notes that because personnel with good shop-floor skills in postpress are becoming increasingly hard to hire, “acquitalent” — buying another company primarily for its skilled workers — has become part of the growth strategy for BindTech.
‘The Last Thing I Need’
Acquirers are sensitive to red lights as well … traits that aren’t conducive to M&A dealmaking. Among the things BindTech doesn’t want to see happen as the result of an acquisition, according to Helline, are overlapping manufacturing commitments at inopportune times.
He explains that because the cyclical nature of BindTech’s production is well-defined, “the last thing I need is more business in the high periods.” Nor is he interested in adding capacity in saddle-stitching, folding, and perfect binding, which BindTech regards as commodity processes in comparison to the mechanical, hardcover, and edition binding services in which it specializes.
When it comes to negative indicators, Falconetti is blunt. “The slightest hint of dishonesty, or lack of character or candor,” he declares, “is an immediate deal-breaker.” He holds in the same low esteem those who offer what he calls “socially acceptable excuses for lack of performance.” For example, blaming slumping sales on general industry conditions instead of finding and fixing the true cause. Drummond will flee from any hint of “an optional culture of accountability” in the companies it evaluates for acquisition, Falconetti says.
The due diligence phase of an M&A transaction, commencing after the acquirer presents the seller with a letter of intent to purchase, is where all of the facts and nuances surrounding the deal come to light.
Most important to establish in this process, notes Quartier, “is who are the customers, and who controls those customers — who actually controls the sale.” He also urges full transparency with lenders, noting that “if you have a bank that understands what’s going to happen when the companies merge, everything comes together very nicely.”
Look at the seller’s account concentration, the ratio of commoditized to non-commoditized sales, and “the depth of the management team, or the lack thereof,” advises Helline. He also mentions that while BindTech traditionally reviewed five years’ worth of financials from its acquisition targets, it now tends to focus on data from the trailing 12 months because the economics of the industry can change so rapidly.
“Understanding what the seller personally wants out of the transaction” is an essential takeaway of due diligence, Falconetti says. So are recognizing “what the key stakeholders see as their company’s values” and assessing what they have done to create “stability and growth possibilities for their client base.”
Now for the Hard Part
Assuming that all of these questions have been answered in due diligence, the deal can proceed to closing — but not to the final end of the effort it demands. Next comes what Helline views as “the toughest activity:” combining operations, aligning workforces, and harmonizing everyone’s ways of getting things done. He says this might mean deploying an integration team to the acquired business “for a week or a month” until the merger has gelled.
Falconetti says that Drummond has a highly detailed, 90-day integration plan that kicks in 30 days prior to closing, setting in motion an effort that could continue for up to a year. Throughout that time, the idea is to “plan and execute, live our culture, and overcommunicate.” Being generous with information is a good policy, he observes, given that “in a vacuum of communication, stakeholders can easily assume the worst.”
All of the sources say that more acquisitions could be on the horizon for their companies. As Quartier puts it, “You never know when something will complement your business. We’re constantly looking to grow our business and enhance what we offer our customers.”
Their advice to others wishing to take the growth-by-acquisition route is to proceed with equal measures of confidence and care. Falconetti, for example, counsels first-time acquirers to start small and concentrate on mastering the human aspects of absorbing another company and its personnel. After this, he says, “your acquisitions become a lot more scalable.”
But Falconetti adds, “whatever you do, don’t focus on short-term profit” as the rationale. Prioritize what the acquisition will do to create long-term value.
Helline recommends building an acquisition strategy by working backwards from customers’ needs and best interests, making certain that the deal will do nothing to disrupt them. “The numbers are relatively easy anymore,” he says. It’s execution that counts, and if that stumbles, “it can sink you fast.”
Emotional Preparation Needed
Realism and advance planning are what the sources advocate for printing company owners who want to prepare their businesses for sale to prospective buyers. “Be prepared with a plan to sell, and be prepared emotionally to sell,” Manna urges owners, before they reach the age when owners typically begin to think about selling. “Make sure that you are ready to do this, that your family is behind you, and that your investment committee is behind you.”
To make the business attractive to acquirers, “find a strong specialty and become the best at it, or one of the best,” Helline says. Understand, too, the effect on business valuation that aging equipment will have in plants that fail to modernize. “The value of your business is no longer in those assets,” Helline points out. “The value of your business is in what you can produce with those assets.”
Falconetti says sellers “must be realistic about the business” and understand that there is a difference between making a value-based sale and “liquidating a struggling asset.” If sellers are not realistic, he adds, “they’ll never successfully go to market.”
But, as organic growth becomes harder to achieve amidst a general decline in demand for printed products, realism is a sensible prescription for would-be buyers as well.
“Don’t be afraid to do it,” says Quartier, advising buyers who are sitting on the fence to predicate their strategic planning on what has happened in the past one to two years, not the past 10. “The industry is changing. If your business is not growing organically, you’re kidding yourself.”
