Heritage to work out failed Douglas bank
Stan Wilmoth brought six dozen doughnuts with him when he arrived at Carson River Community Bank early last Monday. Wilmoth, president of Heritage Bank of Nevada, figured on spending some time with worried customers of the Douglas County bank after it was closed by state regulators and assumed by his Reno-based bank. Not many of the doughnuts got eaten as customers appeared to handle the bank failure and new ownership with aplomb. For Heritage Bank, however, the chore of working through the $38 million in Carson River Bank loans that it acquired is just beginning.

Paddleboard makers get feet wet in Reno, Sparks
Seeking to capitalize on the growing popularity of stand-up paddleboarding — think of an oversized surfboard powered with a long-handled paddle — Reno-Sparks entrepreneurs have launched two paddleboard companies in the area in recent years. The companies, though small, are providing a boost to efforts to create a diversified manufacturing base for the region’s economy. Three years ago Nate Brouwer was on a business trip in Laguna Beach, Calif. when he saw guys standing on surfboards and using paddles to catch waves. He thought paddleboards would catch on around the Lake Tahoe area, and he began adapting designs for lake use.

Global sales get renewed focus in area
As the U.S. economy slowed, Coral LLC of Incline Village increasingly looked to international markets for new revenues. “We noticed a huge increase in sales in our international markets,” says Alberto Galdamez, who heads export sales for the marketer of nutritional products based on above-sea coral. Coral LLC isn’t alone as northern Nevada companies increasingly look for export opportunities. At the same time, the state is looking to increase the amount of direct investment by foreign companies in Nevada industries such as renewable energy and mining.

Accounting charge hits Monarch net

EDAWN sets its sights on manufacturing prospects
An uptick in inquiries from manufacturing companies led the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada to move up its scheduled e-marketing campaign targeting the sector. EDAWN delivered the marketing materials featuring a testimonial from Tom White, president of Haws Corp. in Sparks, to executives of 180 manufacturing companies last week. Tom Matter, business development manager for EDAWN , said 97 of the prospects are in California — prime territory for EDAWN’s message about Nevada’s business-friendly regulatory and tax environment.

CrazyBidNow.com completes sprint, gets into operation
When the dozen employees of CrazyBidNow.com flipped on the switches in the company’s south Reno broadcast studio, they barely had time to take a deep breath after a six-week sprint to get the company into operation. In barely more than a month, the operation’s parent — CBN Inc. — had raised capital, hired on-air, production and administrative staffs, and built the studio with its four stages. The site works something like a combination of Home Shopping Network and eBay, with elements of the newly popular “penny auctions” added in.

Joist manufacturer to close Fallon plant

Blue Moon acquires ad specialty firm

Sandwich shop sold

The jobs outlook
As much as northern Nevadans would like to see an end to high unemployment, relief won’t come this year. The Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation projects an almost 6 percent decline in jobs this year over 2009 and a 2 percent year-over-year dip next year. Not surprisingly, a sampling of large employers in northern Nevada aren’t expecting to grow their workforces significantly this year, although certainly the news is not as grim as last year at this time. International Game Technology in Reno, which laid off 700 workers in late 2008 and early 2009, is hiring for about 75 new positions, 30 of those in Reno. The local positions are mostly in engineering, particularly software engineering, IGT Marketing Director Julie Brown says.

In his own words: Richard Silverman, Grand Sierra Resort

Renown chief finds success in his community, family

J.J. Johnson

Tom R. de Jong

Jason Rose

Frankie Vigil

Blane W. Wilson

Bob Carnahan

Kathy Gamboa

Mario Villar

Skip Davis

Carol York, Christie Gescheider

Gary Kraemer

Nevada Military Support Alliance officers, board

Cavallero retains Minor

Calculated signs distribution deal on automotive calculator

Startup sets equity sale

Panattoni wraps construction

Nuttall wins BLM contract

Landscaper loses license

Gibson publishes book

JoDog wins patent

Business plan judges sought

Renown among top 100

Alice Heiman LLC recognized

New members of Reno-Sparks Chamber

Adams wins $18.6 million Job Corps contract

Battle or bliss?

Overcoming workplace language challenges