May 6, 2013 - 12:00pm    admin

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Superior Energy Solutions, LLC, of Ottawa, was recently honored by AEP Ohio, at the AEP Ohio Energy Efficient Champion Awards Luncheon for 2012.

Superior Energy Solutions, LLC, was the award winner for the Commercial Program Partners: Small Business Contractor.

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Superior Energy Solutions provides commercial lighting assessments and installations, including utility company rebates for all non-residential applications. Located in Ottawa, Ohio, Superior Energy Solutions was one of the first contractors to register in the AEP Ohio Express program and completed one of the first projects in 2010.

 

April 16, 2013

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The owner of Bluffton’s newest business has big plans for thinking small.

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Andy Chapell-Dick of Bluffton, a general and remodeling contractor, has started Small House Bluffton, a business whose focus is constructing small, fully-functional houses.

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“A lot of people want to go small, not just empty nesters, but people who for a practical basis see the cost of living going up,” Chappell-Dick says, in explaining his new venture.

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“Bluffton is a unique community. I’m providing something the community hasn’t seen. It’s different housing option,” he said.

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He describes “small houses” as those from 600 to 1,000 square feet. They are fully functional houses featuring everything you would need. “There’s just no ‘bonus’ rooms in these houses,” he said.

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The small homes Chappell-Dick hopes to construct will be designed efficiently and with lots of innovation. In addition, Chappell-Dick says he will try some new technology and provide older proven technology in the housing construction.

He says his houses will have an overall energy efficiency at least 50 percent greater than the average new house constructed today.

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This spring and summer he is building his first such house at 207 N. Lawn Ave. He invites Icon viewers to watch as the house goes up. He and his wife, Wendy, will eventually live in the house.

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The house soon-to-be under construction has 960 square feet not counting the basement. Chappell-Dick says it is will have one and one-half floors, a slate roof and will evoke an English cottage feel when finished. He anticipates the house to be completed in a six-month-building period.

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Chappell-Dick brings lots of experience to his new business. He served as construction supervisor for nearly a dozen Habitat for Humanity homes in Lima.  And, for one and one-half years he was an apprentice cabinetmaker in Williamsburg, Va. He has a side interested in finish carpentry.

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His interest in launching Small House Bluffton came when he entered the Bluffton Center for Entrepreneur’s Business Plan Competition in 2012. He won second place in that competition and received a $1,000 cash prize.

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“I used that seed money to achieve my LEED accreditation,” he said. In addition to his services as a construction and remodeling contractor, Chappell-Dick says that is he also a consultant about green design and certification.

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For more details, visit his website: www.smallhousebluffton.com
Phone: 419-296-8431

February 27, 2013 - 8:24am    admin

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Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs is accepting entries in the Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition, according to Denise Durenberger, BCE executive director.

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Cash prizes will be awarded to the first three winners in the competition that honors the late Ropp Triplett, long-time Bluffton industrial leader and entrepreneur.

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“The contest is open to start-up businesses and emerging businesses that are less than three years old.  The competition teaches entrepreneurs to write a business plan that will help them improve their existing business or to successfully start a new one,” said Durenberger.

Bluffton Center for Entrepreneur's board committee appointments for 2013 were released this week by Brendon Matthews, board president.

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The committee list and committee assignments follow:

• BCE/Chamber synergy - Dick McGarrity, George Lehman, Cam Warner, Fred Steiner

• BCE Client space - Dave Steiner, Mitch Kingsley, Laura Voth

• Business survey - Fred Steiner, George Lehman, Ryan Lowry, Jeff Sprague

• Menu of client services - Denise Durenberger, Brendon Matthews, Laura Voth

• Resource development - Hans Houshower, Jeff Sprague, Fred Rodabaugh, Brendon Matthews

• BCE business plan - Brendon Matthews, Hans Houshower.

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The mission of the Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs (BCE) is to provide resources - financial, intellectual, and technological - in partnership with local educators and business leaders that will facilitate and nurture growth of new and developing enterprises.

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Moreover, the center will ultimately enhance the greater Bluffton area, not only through job growth, but also by being a visible and sustainable sponsor and promoter of innovation that will continuously attract new entrepreneurs to the area.

The Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs, will hold a roundtable workshop for one-shop-do-it-all business owners and independent consultants for product lines.

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The free workshop is at 8:45 a.m., Friday, Jan. 11, in the third floor of the Bluffton town hall.

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The workshop follows the 7:30 a.m. January Bluffton chamber breakfast also held in the town hall. The workshop will last about one hour.

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“The Bluffton chamber and BCE have a special interest in helping small business owners succeed,” said Fred Steiner of the chamber. “We hope this workshop is the first of several to take place in 2013.”

December 11, 2012 - 1:47pm    admin

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Community leader William Ropp Triplett, 92, of Bluffton, died Nov. 10, 2012, of natural causes. 

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Mr. Triplett leaves behind a legacy of leadership and creativity that blessed his family, friends and community.  He was instrumental in Bluffton’s recreational venues, helping small businesses succeed and his innovative Christmas displays.  He also was dedicated to the associates of the family business, The Triplett Corporation, Bluffton.