BIZ BEAT: Lima-Allen County Paramedics celebrate 50 years
Oct. 11--LIMA -- Lima-Allen County Paramedics celebrates 50 years as an ambulance service this week with an event at its West Spring Street garage from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The former Lima Ambulance Service began in 1964, providing a service previously offered by funeral homes, taking sick and injured people to hospitals for treatment. At that time, crews were primarily drivers.
"We had an ambulance with a box of Band-Aids and what have you, an oxygen bottle and a cot," Tom Cushman, a paramedic since 1977 and an LACP employee since 1992, said in an interview on St. Rita's Medical Center's website.
LACP was sold by the Yeager family in 1988 to Brad Harter. St. Rita's Health Partners purchased LACP in 2008, moving to its current facility at 708 W. Spring St., Lima, in 2010.
LACP employs 70 full-time employees, operates nine ambulances and has a total of 15 vehicles, according to St. Rita's. It responded to more than 20,000 service calls and transported nearly 19,000 patients in 2013, in addition to working at community festivals and sporting events or offering community education.
Bluffton announces entrepreneur prizes
BLUFFTON -- The Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs has announced prizes for its sixth business plan competition.
First prize is $4,000 in business start-up costs. Second prize is $1,500 in start-up costs, while third place is $500 in start-up costs.
The 2015 Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition is open to start-ups and emerging businesses less than three years old. It includes educational sessions from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays starting Jan. 14, 2015. The first session, "Launch Your Business Right," is open for free.
There is a $150 application fee, but college students can enter for $75. The deadline to enter is Jan. 21, 2015. For details, visit blufftonentrepreneurs.com or call 419-369-2985.
Perry proTech unveils mobile app
LIMA -- Perry proTech released a new mobile app for its business services clients using iOS to handle basic functions simply and securely.
The Apple app helps you order supplies, request services, report meter readings and request additional information about services. Users can stand at their multifunction printer and scan the ID tag barcode from their device to quickly send information to the service provider.
"The team did a phenomenal job of mapping out the strategy with our client's needs front and center," Jeff Boate, Perry proTech president, said in a press release.
Perry proTech has corporate headquarters and a distribution center in Lima, with additional offices in Findlay, Mansfield, Sidney and Toledo in Ohio and Fort Wayne in Indiana.
Grocery distributor to break ground
FINDLAY -- Officials will break ground on a new grocery distribution center in Findlay on Thursday.
McLane Company will break ground on its site at 3200 McLane Dr., Findlay, off county Road 212 between county Roads 99 and 230, on Thursday afternoon.
The company, which provides wholesale supplies to grocery retailers and restaurants, plans to create 425 jobs and invest $119 million in its distribution facility. The company has 45,000 retail locations nationally, and the highly automated distribution center should enhance its efficiency in the Great Lakes region, according to a press release from the Texas-based company.
Copyright 2014 - The Lima News, Ohio
