HALL OF FAME2012

Formed in 1984 as Kosciusko Development Inc., economic development functioned on a part-time basis. In early 2010, responding to a community conversation on the need for a stronger economic development effort, Kosciusko County, the City of Warsaw, the towns of the County and the private sector joined together to create a fully staffed, full-time economic development organization. Renamed Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation (KEDCo), the first year was a focus on business retention and new business development.

We asked the questions: What is unique about Kosciusko County? Why is this County the orthopedic capital of the world? Why does this County have one of the highest per acre “value-added” dollars in agriculture? Why are there so many unique world-class manufacturing companies located in this rural northern Indiana County? The first answer is we have a tradition of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship that is our history, our present and our future. The KEDCo Board of Directors felt that as a County we needed to celebrate that tradition. In 2010 we created The Kosciusko Entrepreneur and Innovation Hall of Fame.

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KOSCIUSKOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTCORPORATION

Leadership:

Craig Allebach(Chair Small Business)Town of Winona Lake

John Boal(Secretary)Grace College

Michael Brill(Vice Chair Business Retention)CenturyLink

Dan Brown(Chair Infrastructure)Phend & Brown, Inc.

Larry Coplen(Vice Chair Infrastructure)Coplen Construction

Max Courtney(Chair)Retired Banking

Josh Gordon(Chair Marketing)Tower Bank

Joe Kessie(Treasurer)Lake City Bank

Todd Lybarger(Vice Chair Small Business)First Financial Bank

Will Linnemeier(Vice Chair Marketing)ABC Industries, Inc.

Greg Maxwell(Vice-Chair)Farmers State Bank

Jim Tinkey(Chair Business Retention)Mutual Bank

Board Members:

Brad BishopOrthoworx

Dennis Hively1st Source Bank

Dr. Seelpa KeshvalaIvy Tech Community College

Victor Mancinelli CTB, Inc.

Mike MetzgerMetzger Trucking Co, Inc.

Kathy MillerParker Hannifin Corporation

Brett BoggsTippecanoe Valley School Corp.

Steve MillerKosciusko Community Hospital

Jeremy MullinsLouis Dreyfus Agricultural Industries

Ron TruexKosciusko County Government

Steve RhodesKosciusko REMC

Henry DeJuliaTown of Syracuse

Ron RobinsonKosciusko County Government

Bob SandersKosciusko County Council

Charlie SmithCity of Warsaw Council

Mayor Joe ThallemerCity of Warsaw

Ernie WigginsRamsey & Wiggins, Inc.

Staff:

George RobertsonKEDCo President

Jenna StantonProgram Manager

Amy RidingsOffice Manager

Jan and John Rinker

Tobias Buck

Adele De Berri

Miles Igo

Wallace E. Stouder Kip Tom

Rinker Boats

Paragon Medical

Da-Lite Screens

Medtronic Spinal Business

Penguin Point

Tom Farms

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2012 Hall of Fame Inductees

Todd Lybarger(Vice Chair Small Business)First Financial Bank

Will Linnemeier(Vice Chair Marketing)ABC Industries, Inc.

Greg Maxwell(Vice-Chair)Farmers State Bank

Jim Tinkey(Chair Business Retention)Mutual Bank

Henry DeJuliaTown of Syracuse

Ron RobinsonKosciusko County Government

Bob SandersKosciusko County Council

Charlie SmithCity of Warsaw Council

Mayor Joe ThallemerCity of Warsaw

Ernie WigginsRamsey & Wiggins, Inc.

ENTERPRISE describes the essential elements of creating a successful, healthy, growing economy. It includes INVENTION of new products and INNOVATION of new processes or markets. But equally important are ENTREPRENEURS having the critical and unique talents to build a strong, growing company. Kosciusko County has a rich abundance of talented inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs which we are celebrating annually by inducting these incredible individuals and companies into the Kosciusko County Entrepreneur and Innovation Hall of Fame. Last year, our selection committee reflected on the history and current strengths of the Kosciusko County economy. It became obvious that our first inductees should reflect the two substantial wealth generators in our County—agriculture production, processing and equipment; and the orthopedics industry. This year we expanded outwards. While including two orthopedic companies (Paragon and Medtronic) and one agricultural company (Tom Farms), we also are recognizing our broad range of other manufacturing (Da-Lite Screen), our impressive boat building industry (Rinker) and our innovative retail community (Penguin Point). While the first reason for the unique nature of Kosciusko County’s world class economy is innovation and entrepreneurship, the second answer is a workforce noted for its work ethic, its common-sense creativity and its commitment to quality. Uniquely, our Hall of Fame honors both the innovator/entrepreneur and the company itself. It takes a team of people to turn ideas into products and beginnings into a successful growing business. Therefore, two awards are presented: one to the key individual and one to the Company itself.

INNOVATION: Boat innovation is a long tradition of the Rinker family. Lossie Rinker was a dairy farmer who started building fishing and later, racing boats, at a fishing boat company called Garmin in Goshen, IN. His sons Jan and John immediately took to boat building and racing their own boats on the White River. The wooden boats built by the dairy farmer and his boys became sought after by local fisherman and enthusiast.

In the 1950’s, John Rinker returned to Indiana after serving his country during the Korean War. With the help of his brother Jan and younger brother Jim, John Rinker aspired to build what would become a world famous boat building company. Under the trade-name, Rinkerbuilt, the company expanded with innovation as the platform to their success. In 1958, long before most competitors, Rinker introduced fiberglass in the manufacturing process. Innovations such as multiple gel-coat colors and back-to-back seating distinguished them in the 1960’s with the deluxe family boat, the ROAMER 16 at the forefront. In 1968, Rinkerbuilt went international with 14 boats sold to Sweden and Japan.

During the 1970s’, Rinker developed new runabout designs. Rinkerbuilt was one of the first fiberglass manufacturers to have a Tri-Hull model; the most popular being the 15 & 17 Tri Hull. When the gas crunch hit the country, John Rinker opened a new division called Gail Force in Syracuse, where they manufactured 2 models of fiberglass sail boats, 25 and 18 feet in length. John was looking out for the people, giving families the opportunity to still enjoy the recreation of boating without spending money on electric. Entering the 1980s’, the nearly 40 year old company developed a new name, new logo, and new designs, dropping “built,” and summating the company name into one word, Rinker.

The company expanded further by becoming an established Cruiser builder in the 1990’s, producing some of most popular express cruisers in the world, the Rinker Fiesta Vee 265, 285, and 300. Also during this time, the 232, 236 Captivas became “go fast” boats with big block motors and exhilarating performance.

In July 2004, Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC out of Chicago, IL purchased Rinker Boats, providing the capital, purchasing power, and manufacturing efficiencies for future growth. This company later developed into Nautic Global Group, who owns Rinker Boats today. Nautic also builds Godfrey Pontoon Boats, Polar Kraft Fishing Boats and Hurricane Deck Boats. It is one of the largest boat builders in the United States and exports to nearly every continent and over 40 countries worldwide. In 2012, Nautic Global Group grew faster than any other boat building company in America.

Rinker Boats is the oldest boat brand in continuous production in the U.S.A., known for innovation and a rich local, national, and international boat building history. A 66 Year old brand with a heritage of innovation, Rinker products continue to be hand built by proud, veteran, boat builders.

From organic and inorganic growth, in 1999 Paragon began manufacturing custom surgical instrumentation and implantable components for orthopedic device manufacturers furthering the vision of being the “Total Delivery System and Instrumentation Management” company of choice. The capability further complemented the company’s delivery systems offerings to the OEM community.

From a background in the automotive and defense industries, Tobias Buck has led the company into significant expansions in the 21st century, creating strategic centers of excellence within the United States, Europe and

Asia. While they have attained a global presence, their commitment to providing innovative, responsive solutions to the OEM medical community has not wavered. One of Paragon’s strengths is the ability to identify needs in the market and develop a product that fits that need. With this, they have continually expanded product lines, meeting the needs of customers around the world.

With only a little over 20 years in business, Paragon Medical has become a leading tier 1, turnkey supplier of world-class solutions for delivery systems, surgical instrumentation, implantable components and design and development services to the medical device marketplace. They are headquartered in Pierceton, IN with over 155,000 square feet of office & manufacturing space and their markets served include reconstruction, spine, sports medicine, extremities, and trauma.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: They envisioned “a polymer company, which integrated different processes of polymer manufacturing.” Their ultimate goal was to become The Total Delivery Solution to the worldwide medical market, providing custom surgical instruments and implantable components as well as polymer, metal and hybrid case and tray sets, with all design and manufacturing support capabilities integrated on one campus. And that’s exactly what materialized for cofounders Tobias Buck and Ronald Vanderpool.

Paragon Medical, Inc. was incorporated on June 14, 1991 and began designing and manufacturing a variety of polymer products in the old Warsaw Steel Building. After extensive market research, the young company broke into a new and exciting area, namely surgical instrument delivery systems. This was a perfect niche market for Paragon with few competitors, and more importantly the orthopedic capital of the world was just around the corner.

It did not take long before Paragon had outgrown its building and moved all divisions to Boggs Industrial Park on the west side of Warsaw. By 1993, only 2 years into business, the company was supporting 32 different surgical instrument delivery system projects, up from only one project the year before. Paragon quickly became a serious player in the custom medical case and tray market. They had successfully developed a business concept designed to integrate the manufacturing, storing, sterilizing, and presenting of surgical instruments and related medical devices, extremities, and trauma.

In 2011, Milestone AV Technologies acquired Da-Lite Screen Company, adding to their portfolio of leading AV brands. Da-Lite Screen Company remains today the leading producer of high quality commercial and residential projection screens worldwide. With headquarters in Warsaw, IN and additional operations in the U.S. and Europe, Da-Lite manufactures projection screens and accessories for fortune 500 companies, entertainment and major broadcast networks, educational systems, and governments around the globe.

Throughout the years the constant at Da-Lite has been innovation, from the original screen coatings invented by Adele De Berri to today’s award winning line of projection fabrics. Da-Lite stays at the forefront of the projection screen industry by constantly improving on the chemistry of its fabrics and pushing the boundaries of size. Today, Da-Lite’s proprietary screen technologies are specified for the most demanding installations, from military training simulators to board rooms and classrooms to home theaters. Da-Lite has become the first name in projection screens.

INVENTION: At the turn of the last century, a woman starting a manufacturing company rarely occurred. Da-Lite Screen Company was founded in 1909 by Adele de Berri in Chicago. Adele had been employed in New York City selling aluminum ware with a highly reflective silver paint. Armed with this knowledge and her curiosity about the reflective nature of paints, Adele applied this concept in response to the poor quality of nickelodeon movies of that era. She founded a company under the name De Berri Screen and Scenic Company. Adele set-up her business in a rented basement of an abandoned church in Chicago. Here she tested silver paint on the basement walls and combined paint and canvas, inventing the first ever projection screen. The movie business was blossoming at this time and Adele’s invention, the silver screen was just what the movie industry needed.

As the company continued to grow, the move was made to larger facilities in Chicago, where Adele continued to experiment with new projection screen products. By the 1950’s, Da-Lite had outgrown the Chicago plant, and in 1957 built a new facility in Warsaw, IN. Since moving to Warsaw, Da-Lite has expanded even more, adding additional production facilities in Wichita, KA and Cincinnati, OH and European facilities in the Netherlands and France. At the same time, Da-Lite continued the De Berri tradition by innovating and inventing new approaches to projection screens and accessories. These products include flat panel and projector mounts, audio-visual carts and stands, lecterns, and easels.

INNOVATION: Medtronic Spinal, as well as the current Warsaw manufacturing unit, traces its origins to Carlin Manufacturing which was first established in the 1950s as a manufacturer of openers for 55 gallon drums. Miles Igo joined Fritz Carlin in 1970 and the name of the company was changed to C & I Manufacturing. Miles eventually bought the company and changed the focus towards orthopedic products. In 1982, the name of the company was changed to Warsaw Orthopedic.

Later, Miles joined forces with Dr. George Rapp and Charlie Davis to create Biotechnology Inc. with Warsaw Orthopedic remaining as a wholly owned subsidiary. Biotechnology bought Danek Medical combining its sales office in Memphis to establish a direct sales organization while manufacturing remained in Warsaw. On May 17, 1984, although the manufacturing plant was severely damaged by fire, the company endured through the vision of Miles’ leadership and the dedication of the employees.

In 1986, the company began working with orthopedic surgeons on spinal products and devising unique ways to manufacture high precision, high quality instruments and implants which would lead to the company’s success as a leader in spinal implant devices. Miles and the management team held a private placement to raise money for research and development of spinal products with most of the funds coming from the Warsaw area.

In 1990, the company officially changed its name to Danek Group, Inc. Miles Igo stepped down this same year as the President of Manufacturing and continued his role on the board of directors. On May 17, 1991, seven years from the day of the fire, the company went public on NASDAQ. In an exchange of stock, a French company, Sofamor, SA merged with Danek Group, Inc. on June 21, 1993. The company was renamed Sofamor Danek Group. In November of 1993, the company stopped trading on NASDAQ and started trading on the NYSE.

Developing new products and processes, Sofamor Danek continued its market dominance catching the eye of Medical Device giant, Medtronic, based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1999, Sofamor Danek was acquired by Medtronic in order to expand their therapy portfolio beyond cardiovascular to include the spinal implant market. It only made sense to work with the best!

In 2000, Medtronic moved the manufacturing unit from their humble beginnings to a brand new 150,000 square foot facility at Silveus Crossing in Warsaw. By doing so, Medtronic acknowledged its commitment to keep the manufacturing function in the area, as well as its value of the Hoosier talent. As of 2012, the Warsaw Manufacturing facility employs over 600 people, having been named for two years in a row as one of Indiana’s Best Places to Work along with receiving AME’s Manufacturing Excellence award in 2011.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: It was 1950 and Wallace E. Stouder, unable to earn a good living as a truck driver, with an entrepreneurial spirit aspired to start a quality food business. On June 6, 1950 Penguin Point Franchise, Inc. began as a seasonal carhop drive-in, led by Wallace and Mary Stouder and his brother Lloyd and Heleta Stouder. Business growth led the two brothers to open their first restaurant at the junction of State Roads 13 and 15 in Wabash, Indiana. The second restaurant was opened in 1954 in Warsaw. In June 1961, Penguin Point was established as a corporation. It now operates 13 restaurants in northern Indiana, a catering company and a restaurant equipment company.

Penguin Point restaurants use their own proprietary recipe products and are famous for their Tenderloin Sandwich that was developed by the company founder, Wallace E. Stouder. They are widely known for their fresh chicken, Idaho French Fries, and their double deck Big Wally sandwich. Innovation comes from achieving a quality product with uniqueness and value. Well before it was popular, Penguin Point developed the 0% trans-fat cooking medium. In addition, the company was an originator of the concept of “drive-thru windows”. In fact, Penguin Point was one of the first restaurants to install a drive-thru window with a canopy.

Indiana Restaurant Equipment Corporation was acquired in 1964. It was a worthy investment for the company, able to then supply restaurant equipment to all of their operations. Currently, the division is primarily engaged in engineering, design and installation of institutional kitchen for schools, hospitals, jails and nursing homes. They also have a 12,000 square foot showroom, featuring new and used equipment, supplies, and gifts for the professional or home cooking enthusiast.

Customers kept requesting individual Penguin Point restaurants to cater events and hence Penguin Point “Black Tie” Catering was established in 1968. Today, the Catering Division has developed a strong following in formal events such as weddings, award dinners and holiday parties. The catering staff is capable of serving groups from 25 to 2500. One of the things the company is most proud of is being the first employer for thousands of young people. Many of these employees later thanked Penguin Point for the opportunity to learn work ethic, good service and quality that led them to business success in their lives.

Headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Penguin Point is one of the last independent regional chains in Indiana. The company’s years of faithfulness to quality food service and to the community has stabilized them throughout decades. With Entrepreneurism and Innovation, the company has seen over half a century of successful business growth and development.

Today, Tom Farms is one of the largest suppliers of seed corn and related services to Monsanto Company as well as a major supplier of corn and soybeans to industrial processors and livestock operations. The company has over 22,000 acres in production globally. They have established deep roots in several communities and have cultivated relationships built on honesty, reliability, and value.

Tom Farms has maintained pace with the fast-growing trends of the market and has recognized and acted on growth opportunities. The company has built a business environment that embraces change in its structure and has empowered its employees to accept and thrive on change. The company has taken new leads in research and has developed new production technologies, which will launch them into a successful future of being the preferred supplier of products and services. Tom Farms is adding to its focus and goals by leading innovation in the development of advanced informatics platforms, which supports improvement of production models and ERP systems. Also, recently the business has announced the launch of a TETHY’S AGRI-CAPITAL FUND investing in the Food and Agriculture Industry.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Tom Farms is a family owned organization that was planted 175 years ago in the abundant prairies of Northern Indiana. In 1837, the Tom family settled in Kosciusko County on some of the same farm land still used by Tom Farms today. Originally from Scotland, the Tom family immigrated to America, first settling in the original 13 colonies. Eventually, the Tom Family made their way west to Indiana, where a future of success awaited them. In 1952, Everett and Marie Tom of Leesburg, IN founded Tom Farms.

These early foundations started a business that would later evolve into a global crop production, sales and service company; an industry leader specializing in seed corn, corn, and soybeans. Along with hard-work and vision, entrepreneurship and innovation have played key roles in the development of this company. Kip Tom is the Managing Member of Tom Farms LLC and the President of CereServ Inc. In 1992, Kip began seed corn production consulting services in Latin America by working with companies to improve yields, increase efficiencies and shorten the time line in the supply channel in Southern Hemisphere Seed Production. In addition, Kip Tom led the company’s engagement in seed production for DuPont Pioneer. By 1996, Tom Farms became Pioneer’s largest U.S. contract seed producer. In 2000, Tom Farms expanded by founding a company in Argentina to produce seed for Pioneer. Tom Farms is currently known internationally for its innovation in agricultural production.

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Kosciusko EconomicDevelopment Corporation

121 North Lake StreetWarsaw, IN 46580

Local: 574/265-2601Toll Free: 877/482-3331Fax: 574/267-3176 www.Kosciuskoedc.com