Stratus enters Colo. market

Commercial cleaning franchisor Stratus Building Solutions announced Friday it has entered the Colorado market by awarding a master franchise to Stratus Building Solutions of Northern Colorado LLC in the Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley region, about 65 miles north of Denver. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cody and Kelly Churchill of northern Colorado are the owners of Stratus Building Solutions of Northern Colorado. As master franchisees, they will offer Stratus Building Solutions sub-franchises for sale to entrepreneurs in the region, according to a release.

The St. Louis-based franchisor of cleaning services for retail, commercial and industrial buildings now has franchises in 14 states. Founded in 2004 by Dennis Jarrett and Pete Frese, Stratus had 2006 revenue of more than $4.5 million.

Jarrett said the northern Colorado master franchise is planning to hire six employees immediately and plans to open 40 sub-franchises in the region in 2008.

In September, Jarrett said the company had a goal of reaching 500 units systemwide by the end of 2007. Stratus far surpassed those growth expectations with more than 600 sub-unit franchises currently in operation, according to Jarrett.

He said his expectation for 2008 is to add 60 to 100 sub-unit franchises per month systemwide and expand into more states.

Stratus Building Solutions operates its own master franchise in St. Louis and has awarded 260 sub-franchise units in the metropolitan area.

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source: bizjournals.com

Matrix Packaging signs lease with Duke

Duke Realty Corp.'s St. Louis office announced Friday that Matrix Packaging Co. leased 150,000 square feet of space in Duke's Lindbergh Distribution Center on the northwest side of St. Louis for an undisclosed amount.

Duke said Matrix needed the extra space after it secured a contract to manufacture plastic bottles for an undisclosed home and health-care company. Matrix will hire about 75 new people at its new facility, according to a release.

Matrix Packaging, a Mississauga, Ontario-based company, manufactures custom-designed plastic containers and injected molded parts for the health and beauty, household chemical, and automotive markets.

Lindbergh Distribution Center is a 528,000-square foot speculative industrial building on the former General Motors site at Lindbergh Boulevard and James S. McDonnell Boulevard that was completed last month, the release said.

Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. (NYSE: DRE) specializes in the ownership, construction, development, leasing and management of office, industrial, medical office and retail real estate. In the greater St. Louis area, Duke owns, manages, or has under development more than 7 million square feet of office, industrial and retail commercial real estate and controls nearly 550 acres of land for future development. Locally, Duke employs more than 60 real estate associates.

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source: bizjournals.com

Dietz steps down at WCI

James Dietz, executive vice president and chief financial officer, is resigning from WCI Communities Inc.

Dietz has a new career in the vacation resort industry and will leave WCI at the end of the year, according to a release.

Ernest Scheidemann was appointed interim chief financial officer effective Dec. 28. Scheidemann, who is currently the company's vice president and treasurer, has been with WCI since 2004. He will retain his duties as treasurer while serving as interim CFO, the release said.

Dietz is the second top executive to leave WCI since billionaire financier and investor Carl Icahn was elected chairman of its board of directors. Christopher Hanlon, senior vice president and chief operating officer, announced in September that he would resign at the end of the year.

WCI (NYSE: WCI) is a Bonita Springs-based homebuilding and real estate services company with strong ties to the Tampa Bay area. Its communities include Sun City Center in Hillsborough County, Westshore Yacht Club in Tampa, Tidewater Preserve and Waterlefe in Bradenton, and the Venetian Golf & River Club in Venice.

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source: bizjournals.com

Brown buys Pennsylvania agency

Brown & Brown Inc. bought the assets of Curzi Insurance Agency Inc.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Curzi is a retail insurance agency that serves the general commercial property and casualty insurance needs of a wide range of clients throughout Pennsylvania and surrounding states, according to a release. Joseph Curzi III, president, and his team will join Brown & Brown, the release said.

Brown & Brown (NYSE: BRO), based in Tampa and Daytona Beach, is among the largest independent insurance intermediaries, offering a broad range of insurance and reinsurance products and services.

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source: bizjournals.com

First Home Builders slashing its workforce

A national home building company with strong ties to Lee County is slashing its workforce. First Home Builders, a company that focuses on first time buyers, announced Friday that it is cutting 200 jobs. Other local builders say they aren't surprised by the decision.

"I think the market is like a wave. First Home caught the wave at a good time. Now the wave is down," said Rafael Perez, who works for MP3 Construction.

First Home Builders call the move "right sizing" and says it's designed to ease the financial pain of sagging sales.

"They saw the writing on the wall. It was going to happen down the road as the market shifted," said Fred Price, who works for Priceless Realty.

Despite the bad news, Price sees the job cuts as a chance to grow and thinks the sales slump could soon turn around.

"We've seen the downsizing already. A lot of people are sort of gearing up. They are looking at their budgets and getting ready for the next boom," he said.

A spokesperson for First Home Builders says the employees will be laid off at the end of the year.

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source: nbc-2.com