LOCAL BUSINESS
New publisher named
Chip Lippincott is the new president and publisher of Akron-based Lippincott & Peto Inc. and Initial Publications Inc., succeeding his father, Job Lippincott, who remains as chief executive officer. Chip had been vice president of both companies.
Lippincott & Peto publishes Rubber World Magazine and Initial Publications publishes Wire & Cable Technology Int’l, Fastener Technology Int’l and Wire Forming Technology Int’l.
Rubber World Managing Editor Jill Rohrer was promoted to editor of the magazine, succeeding Don Smith who has retired but will continue working as a part-time contributing editor.
Mike Dies was hired as an advertising sales representative for Rubber World and for Wire & Cable Technology Int’l. He previously was in sales and marketing with Nestle.
FirstEnergy sells 40 acres
A Texas company is purchasing 40 acres on the Ohio River in Jefferson County for a barge terminal for shipping natural gas liquids from the Utica shale in eastern Ohio.
The land near Toronto was sold by Akron’s FirstEnergy Corp. for $2.5 million to Plains Marketing LP of Houston, the East Liverpool Review reported, citing county land transfer records.
Initial reports indicate that the Texas company plans to build a tank farm and ship liquids such as ethane, butane and propane via barges to processing facilities on the Gulf Coast.
SCORE counseling scheduled
Akron SCORE, an area nonprofit group that offers small-business counseling, will offer free workshops in January. Aimed at small enterprises, the programs will be at the University of Akron’s Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing in the Polsky Building, 225 S. Main St., Akron.
The workshops are:
• Not-For-Profit, Jan. 7, from 5:30-8:30 p.m..
• Business Basics, Jan. 14, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.; and Jan. 23, 8:30-11:30 a.m.
• Business Plan, Jan. 28, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
The workshops are among dozens that SCORE has planned for 2013. Others will focus on social media, web page development, international business, marketing, sales, financial management, intellectual property and QuickBooks.
SCORE information is available online at www.akron.score.org. The phone is 330-379-3163. The nonprofit works with small businesses in Summit, Portage, Medina and Wayne counties.
REDEVELOPMENT
Former GM auto plant sold
The sale of a former General Motors plant near Mansfield is raising hopes that new jobs will be coming.
Representatives of a Miami firm that will own the former auto factory say they have two potential tenants that could bring 1,100 jobs combined.
General Motors shut down the plant three years ago. The factory had opened in 1955.
The Mansfield News Journal reported the new owners plan to demolish half of the plant and turn it into a modern multitenant site.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
COMPENSATION
Netflix raises executive’s pay
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings’ pay will double to $4 million next year, after he took a pay cut due to management missteps in 2012. Hastings’ annual salary will rise to $2 million in 2013 and he will get $2 million in stock options, according to a securities filing. That’s up from a salary of $500,000 and $1.5 million in stock options for 2012.
Hastings’ total pay for 2012 was down 43 percent from $3.5 million in 2011, when some controversial decisions, including a steep price hike on subscriptions, sent the stock spiraling. It fell from a high above $300 to a low below $70 per share.
In 2012, shares were up about 29 percent. Recovering from the missteps, the company expects to add around 5 million U.S. subscribers, to between 26.4 million and 27.1 million by the end of the year.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Ford estimates 2013 sales
Ford says it expects to sell 2.2 million vehicles this year, with the Ford Focus compact car being its most popular model. The company said it is the second year in a row it will sell more than 2 million cars. It sold 737,856 Ford Focuses through September. The Ford Fiesta sedan and hatchback and F-series trucks were other popular models, with Ford selling 560,061 Fiestas and 576,339 F-Series vehicles through September.
Ford EcoBoost engines, which save energy, are on track to be sold in 520,000 cars by year-end since their launch in 2009. A new 1-liter, 3-cylinder engine will be available in 2013 in new Fiesta cars in the U.S.
Compiled from staff and wire reports