Home inspectors gather reams of information as they poke around houses that are about to change hands. In some cases, the information prompts buyers to back out of a deal or demand concessions, such as a new roof or a lower price. But in many cases, the information is simply dumped into a binder or […]
Ecore International, a Lancaster-based company that makes flooring from recycled rubber, has purchased a Cumberland County company that collects and refurbishes old tires. The company, Newville-based Ameritread, fits in with Ecore’s goal of reusing and repurposing rubber products but also produces scrap that Ecore can incorporate into its own products. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. […]
Thanks to a single deal, Linkbancorp went this year from doing business in one state to doing business in five. That deal was the bank’s merger this fall with Maryland-based Partners Bancorp. The all-stock deal closed at the end of November, followed by a bankwide conversion to the Linkbank brand over the first weekend in December, according to Andrew Samuel, […]
When Michael Coy joined Wolfgang Confectioners as its workforce development manager, the candy maker employed about five people who spoke Spanish. Now, the Loganville-based company employs more than 100, a change Coy attributes to the company’s willingness to listen to employees and meet their needs, regardless of their background and experience. Coy shares Wolfgang’s experience […]
Two regional venture capital firms are joining forces to raise a new investment fund that will funnel early-stage capital to startups across Pennsylvania, with a focus on rural areas of the state. State College-based 1855 Capital and York-based White Rose Ventures hope to raise about $40 million for the new fund, dubbed Keystone Innovation Fund II, which they will co-manage. […]
A new survey claims to show that three-quarters of Pennsylvania’s small-business owners support the creation of a state-backed retirement plan that would automatically enroll workers — the kind of plan that was approved earlier this year in the state House. Nearly a quarter, or 26%, “strongly support” the idea, according to the survey, conducted by The Pew Charitable […]
A private equity firm focused on manufacturing has acquired ATI Corp., a family-owned company that makes equipment used in excavation and site preparation. Terms of the deal with Houston-based LDR Growth Partners were not disclosed. Based in East Earl Township, Lancaster County, ATI had been owned by Jansen Herr. The company — which employs more than 30 people […]
To settle allegations that it violated federal law during a union election at a Virginia plant, The Hershey Co. has agreed to a do-over under a settlement with federal regulators. In the original election, held in early 2022, workers at the Stuarts Draft plant rejected joining the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. But the […]
A state court has tossed aside regulations that would have enrolled Pennsylvania in a multistate carbon-cutting program, regulations that were a climate-change priority for the former administration of Gov. Tom Wolf. At issue was whether the heart of the program — a market in which companies must buy credits to emit carbon — represented a fee […]
State officials are directing federal funds toward venture capital firms they hope can jumpstart early-stage tech companies in Pennsylvania. The firms are Allegheny County-based BTVC Fund I LLP, which is receiving $1.5 million, and Atlanta-based Metallum Ventures LP, which is getting $2.25 million. The funding, announced yesterday, comes from the State Small Business Credit Initiative, a federal program that […]
For the second time this month, a local group has come up short in a bid to attract high-profile federal funding. The first was an effort led by Harrisburg-based Team Pennsylvania to land money for a clean-hydrogen hub. The Team PA effort was not among those given awards. The second was an effort by a diverse group to […]
High Real Estate Group LLC is taking the first step toward building a mixed-use development next to the suburban headquarters of Armstrong World Industries in Manor Township, Lancaster County. High has struck an agreement with Armstrong World to buy 476 acres south and west of the manufacturer’s campus, which sits off Columbia Avenue west of Lancaster city. Terms of […]
Gratz borough in Dauphin County failed to properly advertise a meeting where it set stricter zoning standards for solar energy systems even as a company was seeking permission to build a 17-megawatt project there. That was the ruling last week from a three-judge panel of Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court, which upheld a 2022 decision by Dauphin […]
The Stewart Companies has agreed to sell its Apple Automotive dealerships to a Lehigh Valley company, as the York-based holding company focuses on its other businesses, The buyer is Allentown-based Ciocca Dealerships, which operates 42 dealerships and 12 collision centers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including in the Harrisburg and State College markets. Apple operates 10 dealerships, six collision […]
A Lancaster County developer has lost its bid to overturn a zoning decision blocking a mixed-use development in Manheim Township. In a ruling this week, a county judge upheld the township’s denial of plans for Oregon Village, a proposed development that would bring housing, offices, shops and a hotel to a nearly 76-acre tract that […]
One of the worlds’ largest recycled cardboard-box makers is planning to plow $500 million over the next decade into its Pennsylvania operations, which include a plant in the Carlisle area. The company is Pratt Industries, which has annual sales north of $6 billion and Australian-born businessperson Anthony Pratt at its helm. In a statement, Pratt said his company’s investment in Pennsylvania […]
Mid Penn Bank is firing back at claims it did not adequately protect a nonprofit from fraud. In a legal filing this month, the Harrisburg-based bank alleges that the Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania harmed the bank’s reputation in a press release issued in February announcing a lawsuit against the bank. In the press release, the center claimed […]
A federal court has approved a settlement in a data-breach lawsuit brought against Fulton Bank. Under the agreement, the Lancaster-based bank will pay $750,000 to set up a fund to compensate victims of the breach, which hit a Fulton Bank vendor rather than the bank itself. The bank is not admitting any liability for the breach, […]