MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (APOG) today announced that it has amended and extended its secured revolving credit facility to support the companys strategic growth plans with an expanded facility at better terms. The facility has been extended five years to October 2017 and expanded to $100 million, from $80 million. It replaces the previous secured revolving credit facility that was set to expire in January 2014.

The expanded credit facility, along with Apogees strong balance sheet and expectations of improving free cash flow position us to invest in growing domestically and internationally. We plan to invest in new capabilities and new capacities, as well as to fund acquisitions, said James S. Porter, Apogee chief financial officer. In addition, with Apogees improving financial performance and the current attractive financial markets, we were able to refinance our revolving credit facility at better terms. We are pleased with the ongoing support we have received from our lenders.

Wells Fargo Bank, National Association serves as administrative agent, swingline lender and issuing lender of the new facility, while Comerica Bank is documentation agent and issuing lender. Additional lenders under the new facility are BMO Harris Bank N.A. and US Bank, National Association.

About Apogee Apogee Enterprises, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is a leader in technologies involving the design and development of value-added glass products and services. The company is organized in two segments:

Forward-looking statements The discussion above contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect Apogee managements expectations or beliefs as of the date of this release. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are qualified by factors that may affect the operating results of the company, including the following: operational risks within (A) the architectural segment: i) competitive, price-sensitive and changing market conditions, including unforeseen project delays and cancellations; ii) economic conditions, material cost increases and the cyclical nature of the North American and Latin American commercial construction industries; iii)product performance, reliability, execution or quality problems that could delay payments, increase costs, impact orders or lead to litigation; and iv) the segments ability to fully and efficiently utilize production capacity; and (B)the large-scale optical segment: i) markets that are impacted by consumer confidence and trends; ii)dependence on a relatively small number of customers; iii) changing market conditions, including unfavorable shift in product mix and new competition; and iv) ability to fully and efficiently utilize production capacity. Additional factors include: i) revenue and operating results that are volatile; ii) financial market disruption which could impact company, customer and supplier credit availability; iii) self-insurance risk related to a material product liability event and to health insurance programs; iv) cost of compliance with governmental regulations relating to hazardous substances; and v) foreign currency risk related to certain continuing operations. The company cautions investors that actual future results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, and that other factors may in the future prove to be important in affecting the companys results of operations. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or a combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. For a more detailed explanation of the foregoing and other risks and uncertainties, see Item 1A of the companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 3, 2012.

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Apogee Closes on $100 Million Revolving Credit Facility

Demolition began Monday of the former Benhams Restaurant & Catering building, the first of seven former commercial buildings that will be torn down over the next two to three months as the initial phase of an $11 million project to build a Goodwill Easter Seals Community Service Center just south of downtown Dayton.

The 80,000-square-foot facility will house the 125 employees who currently work at Goodwills Kuntz Road headquarters off Stanley Avenue. Agency officials anticipate creating 50 more jobs during the next five years at the new center. When it opens in late 2014 or early 2015, the human-services center will allow Goodwill Easter Seals of the Miami Valley to expand its services to the developmentally disabled, elderly and unemployed.

The former Benhams at 209 Warren St. was the first building to fall to the wrecking claw. The other six structures, all in the 600 and 700 blocks of South Main Street, will follow after asbestos removal and other environmental remediation is complete, according to Goodwill Easter Seals spokeswoman Kim Bramlage.

The demolition phase is expected to take about 75 days. Wed like to be finished before the weather gets bad, Bramlage said. The next step of the project will be the hiring of an architectural firm, which will occur sometime after the bidding deadline of Nov. 1.

Among the spectators as demolition began Monday morning was Bill Howser, who along with his wife Becky owned and operated Benhams for decades prior to its closing in March 2012.

No remorse, no sadness, but its definitely the end of an era, Howser said.

Originally posted here:
Demolition begins for Goodwill project

FAIRFIELD, N.J., Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasing his range of key responsibilities for the company, Amerlux has announced the expansion of Bill Plageman's responsibilities to include Vice President of Marketing, Product Development and Customer Service, according to CEO/President Chuck Campagna. Amerlux is a leader of task-specific, energy-efficient lighting solutions for the retail, supermarket, commercial and hospitality markets.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120118/NY36894LOGO )

"As our firm continues to grow exponentially, Bill has done an excellent job in his management roles overseeing our highly valued marketing and product development departments," explained Mr. Campagna. "Our customers and specifiers will continue to reap the benefits of his industry expertise and depth of knowledge as he heads-up our customer service team."

In his latest role, Mr. Plageman will oversee a team of nearly a dozen customer service representatives that work very closely with the production, quotations and purchasing departments. He will streamline the customer service department to specialize in National Accounts and Commercial Accounts, while implementing new policies and procedures to help customers and specifiers process their orders more quickly, accurately and efficiently.

Mr. Plageman will continue to oversee product management while Senior Project Manager JR Krauza manages the day-to-day operations of the product development department. Amerlux project management personnel continue to make new inroads with innovative commercial and retail task and accent lighting employing the latest LED technologies.

Mr. Plageman will also continue to manage the marketing department while Jeff Zaro oversees digital marketing content including the new website design, emarketing and mobile applications. Graphic Designer Chrissy Dagnall will manage the design and production of all print materials including catalogs and magazine advertising.

"Bill's vast and diverse skill set continues to raise his star within our customer and corporate communities," continued Mr. Campagna. "His leadership has helped nurture our younger executives and drive fellow employees to become the best that they can be."

During his tenure with Amerlux, Mr. Plageman served for five years as Vice President of Specification Sales while building a sales team to work with high-profile architectural, engineering and lighting design firms. Since that time, he has overseen the marketing and product development departments building the Amerlux brand and growing the product line with many new LED solutions.

About Amerlux LLC

Amerlux speaks the language of light for design and construction professionals around the world by manufacturing a broad array of optically superior, energy efficient lighting solutions for the retail, supermarket, hospitality, commercial and outdoor lighting markets. Amerlux products and services include track lighting, recessed downlighting and multiples, pendants, linear fluorescents, and custom lighting systems, as well as support for energy reduction plans that can be used as a guide to state, city and local utility rebate programs for maximum energy savings and utility incentives. The company's domestic and international clients receive the support of Amerlux's highly trained specification sales force, as well as expert service from initial design to on-time delivery made possible by strategically located manufacturing, warehousing and shipping locations.

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Amerlux Expands Vice President Roles of Bill Plageman to Marketing, Product Management and Customer Service

Kolkata, Oct 17:

A US trade mission comprising 20 US companies and organised by the US Foreign Commercial Service of the US Department of Commerce and the American Institute of Architects, has made a halt at Kolkata on a three-city tour of India.

The first Architecture Services Trade Mission from the US aims to introduce US firms to Indias rapidly expanding market for architectural and engineering services and to assist them in pursuing export opportunities in the sector.

According to Dean R. Thompson, US Consul-General in Kolkata, this was one of the largest trade delegations to visit Kolkata since 1999.

"We stopped at Chennai first and then came to Kolkata, from here we will be moving to Bangalore. It is an exciting time to be in India," he said at a press meet to announce the purpose of the trade delegation here on Wednesday.

The sectors that hold high potential for US architectural firms include master planning, regional and neighbourhood design, as well as architecture for ports, hospitals, healthcare facilities, airports and other transportation infrastructure.

shobha.roy@thehindu.co.in

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US architecture services mission acquaints itself with Indian market

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke announced today it has moved its Dubai office to prime real estate in the Burj Khalifa District -- the thriving business and financial area crowned by the renowned Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of Chadbourne's Dubai office. The new Boulevard Plaza office is in excess of 10,000 square feet, and the seven-year lease reflects Chadbourne's continuing commitment to developing its client relationships in the MENA region, and the firm's growing presence in this robust emerging market.

"Chadbourne's Dubai office is the key to our MENA presence," said Dubai office Managing Partner Daniel J. Greenwald. "The new office space will provide us with the room we need to grow as we continue to develop our on-the-ground presence in this dynamic legal and financial center."

"The new Dubai office represents another step in our program of major upgrades to the working environments throughout Chadbourne's international network," said Chadbourne Managing Partner Andrew Giaccia. "In addition to our move to a prime location in Dubai, we have recently built a striking new state of the art office in Istanbul, modernized our Washington DC office to provide collaborative work areas in a contemporary light-filled environment, and signed a 20-year lease for Chadbourne's new global headquarters in midtown New York which will be built out by one of the world's leading architectural firms. The successful completion of these and other such initiatives is consistent with Chadbourne's strategy of investment to better serve our clients worldwide."

Strategically located to serve clients' needs in the Gulf region and throughout the Middle East and North Africa, lawyers in the Dubai office work closely with their colleagues in our New York, Istanbul and London offices to counsel UAE-based and international clients on a broad range of corporate, finance and disputes work, including: mergers and acquisitions, new investments, project finance, international dispute resolution, funds formation, securities compliance and corporate governance.

Chadbourne's Dubai office has been involved in some of the most groundbreaking and complex transactions in the region, including the recent representation of the sponsors, led by ACWA Power International, on the approximately $2 billion debt financing of the Qurayyah independent power project in Saudi Arabia, the largest independent power project in the world. The firm is also representing the State of Kuwait on all legal aspects relating to the competitive procurement of the 1,500 MW and 100MIGD Az-Zour North Independent Water and Power Project, the first IWPP in Kuwait.

The Dubai office is consistently recognized by leading publications for the significant depth and skill that its lawyers bring to cross-border, project finance and dispute resolution matters. Most recently, Chadbourne was ranked by Chambers Global 2012 as a leading law firm in the practices of Projects and Energy in the Middle East, and in Dispute Resolution in the United Arab Emirates.

About Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, project finance, private funds, corporate finance, venture capital and emerging companies, energy/renewable energy, communications and technology, commercial and products liability litigation, arbitration/IDR, securities litigation and regulatory enforcement, special investigations and litigation, intellectual property, antitrust, domestic and international tax, insurance and reinsurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, executive compensation and employee benefits, employment law, trusts and estates and government contract matters. Major geographical areas of concentration include Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Middle East and Latin America. The Firm has offices in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, London, Moscow, Warsaw, Kyiv, Istanbul, Dubai and Beijing. For additional information, visit http://www.chadbourne.com.

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Chadbourne & Parke's Dubai Office Moves to Burj Khalifa Financial District

While the ability to evolve is pivotal in facilitating the survival of brands and service providers, the physical process of change can be difficult to manage in an age of such rapid technological advancement. Despite this, however, there are numerous brands that have evolved considerably during the last decade and subsequently emerged as market leaders in their specific fields of practice. The Swedish furniture brand Ikea is one that embodies this philosophy, with its recent innovations having empowered citizens to fulfill their social and environmental responsibilities.

IKEA: How to Evolve in an Age of Social AwarenessWhile Ikea are best known for the design and sale of affordable furniture, they have also strived hard to evolve beyond the provision of a single, core product. This has been inspired by a vision to construct entire properties and cultivate individual Ikea communities, which the brand hope will be located in major international cities across the globe. The initial stage of this project saw Ikea collaborate with Oregon architectural firm Ideabox in the design of its first flat pack housing structure, which retailed at $86,500 and tapped into the growing social awareness that had developed among U.S. consumers.

Google: Evolving in the Face of Market CompetitionLike Ikea, Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) is another global corporation that has invested both time and money into realizing a long term commercial vision, and as a brand it has evolved consistently since its launch in 1998. That said, it is the intense market competition provided by social media giant Facebook that has proved pivotal in dictating the time frame for Google's recent evolution, with the result that the latter has launched a number of new products and services ahead of schedule. So while Google continues to earn the vast majority of its revenue through its core search engine function, it has also entered into the worlds of social media and publishing with tremendous speed and decidedly mixed results.

Whenever a brand or corporation evolves, there is a strong possibility that it will encounter new competition within the market place. The now long-standing rivalry between Facebook and Google provides a relevant case in point, as it gained significant momentum when the former superseded the latter as the worlds most visited online resource in 2010. Google has subsequently responded with a series of innovations, with those relating to social and professional networking among the most prominent. While some such as Google Buzz have failed, however, Google + has achieved relative success, which proves that the brand remain uniquely equipped to grow and evolve in the face of emerging market challenges.

The rapid and seemingly relentless evolution of Facebook has been blighted by controversy, however, while there are potential factors that may hinder its future growth. Earlier this year for example, certain employers in the U.S. were criticized for requesting social media log in details from potential candidates, which forced Facebook to issue a widespread and public condemnation of the practice. This is an example of how the co-existence of personal and professional accounts has the potential to cause long term issues for the brand, and alongside a falling share price it has encouraged some analysts to predict a bleak future for Facebook and similar sites. Whether this comes to fruition is another matter, however, and for the time being, Facebook remains the most influential and popular online resource in the world.

The Bottom LineBrands such as Ikea, Google and Facebook embody the principle of continual evolution, while also providing insight into the issues facing companies who strive to change in the course of meeting both consumer and market demands. More specifically, their efforts in the face of adversity should serve as a lesson to all aspiring businesses, especially in an age where the global economy is providing a significant obstacle to commercial growth and long-term success. At the time of writing, Lewis Humphries did not own any shares in any company mentioned in this article.

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The Advent Of The Ikea City: The Concept Of Brand Evolution

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), the global leader in Application Delivery Networking, today announced the appointment of Michael L. Dreyer, Chief Information Officer, Global Head of Technology for Visa Inc., to F5s board of directors.

Mikes expertise and success as an IT executive in a highly complex and competitive industry will bring great value to our board, said John McAdam, President and Chief Executive Officer of F5. We welcome his deep experience in application planning, network architecture, and development, all of which complement F5s overall strategy for market-leading application delivery.

We are very pleased that Mike has agreed to join F5s board, said Alan J. Higginson, Chairman of F5. His experience in a very security-conscious industry and his understanding of F5s technology and competitive position will greatly benefit our team.

Prior to the formation of Visa Inc., Dreyer was chief information officer of Inovant (Visas technology division), where he oversaw the development and management of Visas global systems technology. Named to the position in July 2005, Dreyer was responsible for application planning, architecture, and development in four core areas: transaction services, access and delivery, information services, and program management office/open systems.

Prior to Inovant, Dreyer served as Visa USAs senior vice president of processing and emerging products, developing products and services to provide Visa with competitive differentiation in the marketplace. Prior to that position, Dreyer was senior vice president of commercial solutions for Visa USA, where he oversaw product development and management for the large corporate, middle market, public sector, small business, and business-to-business ecommerce segments.

Before joining Visa in 1998, Dreyer was vice president of the electronic commerce center of excellence for American Express travel-related services. He has also held senior positions at Prime Financial, Inc., Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Downey Savings, Bank of America, and the Fairmont Hotel Management Company.

Dreyer received an M.B.A. and a B.A. in Psychology from Washington State University.

About F5 Networks

F5 Networks, Inc., the global leader in Application Delivery Networking (ADN), helps the worlds largest enterprises and service providers realize the full value of virtualization, cloud computing, and on-demand IT. F5 solutions help integrate disparate technologies to provide greater control of the infrastructure, improve application delivery and data management, and give users seamless, secure, and accelerated access to applications from their corporate desktops and smart devices. An open architectural framework enables F5 customers to apply business policies at strategic points of control across the IT infrastructure and into the public cloud. F5 products give customers the agility they need to align IT with changing business conditions, deploy scalable solutions on demand, and manage mobile access to data and services. Enterprises, service and cloud providers, and leading online companies worldwide rely on F5 to optimize their IT investments and drive business forward. For more information, go to http://www.f5.com.

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F5 Networks Announces Appointment of New Director

MEP engineering services for retail and grocery clients drives expansion into Mid-Atlantic region

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) October 15, 2012

The Eastern U.S. is an area of amazing opportunities in retail and supermarket facilities design, Scott Webb, Principal of MPW Engineering said. The population density and motivation for reusing existing buildings drives specialized store design. A project in this part of the U.S. may require 2 to 3 times the amount of engineering investigation and design services compared to a new store built on an unimproved pad site.

The systems used in restaurants and grocery facilities are energy intensive and in some cases are responsible for more than 80 percent of a commercial buildings energy costs. MPW Engineering provides expertise in reducing costs and creating an environmentally-responsible solution.

The Eastern Region office will provide increased availability and quicker response to projects and clients in the area, and will be supported by more than 50 engineers at the firms Tulsa, OK headquarters. The group will initially focus on serving retail and large grocery clients, but will expand services to restaurants, hospitality, banking, and government facilities. The firm is currently in the planning stages of a specialized three-level, water-cooled refrigeration system that will be installed in the Empire State Building.

Philadelphia is an increasingly important business center for large architecture and engineering firms because of its proximity to growing and rebuilding efforts in communities.

Philadelphia is a great city and is centrally located in the area we want to serve with our Eastern Region office, Webb said. We will be adding staff and expertise in mechanical, electrical, fire protection, and refrigeration design and engineering services.

MPW Engineering's Eastern Region office will provide MEP engineering, fire protection engineering, architectural lighting, LEED certification, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other sustainable engineering services and technologies to help clients meet their sustainability initiatives successfully and more effectively.

MPW Engineering, Eastern Region:

One Greentree Center

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Engineering Firm Picks Philadelphia for Expansion

A leader in quality timing devices with decades of experience, National Time & Signals new website shares a brief company history along with product and service information, testimonials and their strengths.

Wixom, MI (PRWEB) October 12, 2012

The new website, http://www.natsco.net/, provides answers to questions about product lines, services and industries served. It also shares success stories and the long history of how National Time & Signal came to be. All this information can be found by exploring the websites numerous dropdown menus that are organized into logical categories. A clean, simple design was selected for the websites visual appearance. This resulted in a clutter-free layout that is easily readable and is not distracting.

National Time & Signal has been designing and installing master clock systems, life safety systems, which include fire alarm systems, outdoor clocks and architectural clocks in America for eight decades. The company, located at 28045 Oakland Oaks Ct., Wixom, Mich. 48393, prides itself with providing quality, long-lasting products that feature low life cycle and maintenance costs, top notch technology and remote diagnostic capabilities. National Time & Signal provides their services to K-12 schools, universities, commercial and retail buildings as well as hospitals and other health care facilities.

National Time & Signal began as a successor of Hahl Pneumatic Clock System, a company from the 1870s. The three generations that have controlled the company since have seen clock technologies grow from pendulums and pull cord fire alarm bells to Cesium atoms and fiber optic networks. This lengthy history makes National Time & Signal the most experienced manufacturers of their product lines in America.

The new website design was created by Market Pipeline. Market Pipeline is based in Portage, Mich. and provides web design and development, web marketing and search engine optimization. The company is made up of a team of programmers, designers and copywriters.

Craig Bradford cbradford@natsco.net 248.380.6264 Email Information

Originally posted here:
New Website Launched For National Time and Signal

ATLANTA, Oct. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Coro Realty Advisors, LLC announces the execution of a Modani Atlanta, LLC lease for the 11,035 SF Anchor Space at Buckhead Pavilion Shopping Center located at 3221 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA. According to Patti L. Pearlberg, Vice President, "We are really excited to have this unique, successful furniture retailer open their inaugural entry into the Atlanta market with us. Buckhead has always had a strong mix of residential and commercial real estate, making it the perfect location for contemporary furnishing such as Modani offers. Modani will benefit from the prominent Peachtree Road address and visibility as it brings this new style of home furnishings to the market."

Modani furniture conceptualizes on contemporary and modern furniture at very affordable prices. With stores in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago, Modani has designed award winning collections of modern sofas, bedroom, dining room and outdoor furniture. Modani prides itself on staying embedded in the world of interior design to select the trendiest items from the most renowned designers of the last 50 years to young artists' new lifestyle concepts. According to Modani, "[i]n life, there's the Trendsettersand the followers. We have made a goal to create lines of furniture that would be ultra-modern, yet affordable to everyone and look forward to bringing our unique style and prestige to Atlanta, and more particularly Buckhead."

Coro Realty Advisors, LLC was founded in 1997 and is synonymous in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast with intelligent real estate development and investment. With a commitment smart growth, the urban landscape, and innovation, incorporating distinctive architectural designs and the latest in building trends and technology, Coro continues to demonstrate its leadership in the market with the successful execution of quality developments. The firm provides Asset Management, Property Management and Real Estate Advisory Services for a myriad of residential and commercial properties throughout the Southeastern United States.

For More Information Please Contact:

Teresa Pastore Coro Realty Advisors, LLC. 3715 Northside Parkway 400 Northcreek Suite 100Atlanta, Georgia 30327 (404) 846-4002www.cororealty.com

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Coro Realty Advisors Announces the Execution of a Modani Atlanta Lease at Buckhead Pavilion Shopping Center