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BizVoice/Indiana Chamber – September/October 2014
South Bend Modern Molding
has made a name for itself in the
industry by manufacturing quality molded rubber products, rubber
assemblies and recycled rubber products for use in every industry. The
company attributes much of its success to its efficient manufacturing,
treating recycled rubber products the same as non-recycled – a
unique method.
For the first 65 years of its existence, the company focused solely on
industrial rubber products. That changed over the past decade when
South Bend Modern Molding expanded into recycled rubber products and added a
consumer product line to its industrial customer base. As a result, the company has
experienced 50% growth in sales and 100% growth in employment over the last two years.
A major innovation of the company is a sound barrier wall constructed out of recycled
rubber tires. In addition to greater durability than competitive products, this rubber noise
wall reduces the decibel level three times more than a standard concrete sound wall. The
company has prototype installations in New York, but the product is not yet in full production.
Don Zimmerman,
president
Current leadership
since 2013
Founded:
1942
Location:
Mishawaka
Primary business:
manufacturing
Sites in Indiana/elsewhere:
1/0
Full-time equivalent employees:
142.5 in 2013; 159.5 expected in 2014
AT A GLANCE:
TLS by Design
produces custom furniture for the
hospitality, higher education, health care and consumer
markets. With no minimum quantity orders, TLS allows
clients to customize a piece without paying a significant
additional amount. The company differentiates itself
from competitors by providing custom pieces in six weeks, as opposed to the
competition’s standard eight-to-12-week timeframe for non-custom pieces.
In 2007, TLS showed its product at a Las Vegas furniture show in conjunction with a Los Angeles-
based upholstery maker, showing the pieces in room-like settings. With buyers able to see
the products in the context of the room settings, TLS secured its largest customer to date.
The company eventually outgrew its facility and purchased a second space, enabling TLS
to fully commit to the upholstery business. And the renovation of a 53,000-square-foot
former automotive facility in Portland (Jay County) allows the company to continue to grow.
TLS received a 2010 Sage Award, recognizing the company for its environmental stewardship;
80% of its content comes from a 100-mile radius of the plant. The company also donates
furniture to homeless shelters and local flood victims and has been an
Extreme Home
Makeover
sponsor.
Elizabeth Day,
president
Current leadership
since 2010
Founded:
2004
Location:
Indianapolis
Primary business:
manufacturing
Sites in Indiana/elsewhere:
2/0
Full-time equivalent employees:
N/A
AT A GLANCE:
Swipe. We don’t always think about the process behind
running a credit or debit card through a point of sale
machine or when making purchases online. But there is
a technology behind those transactions and
Tempus
Technologies
– an innovative payment technology
integration services provider – connects merchants and shoppers every day. The
company’s technology accepts virtually every form of non-cash payment including card,
mobile and web payments.
The business began as a barcode tracking technology company before getting into video
store software management – right as the video store industry started to become obsolete.
However, during that time, Tempus created a payments integration software that allowed
the connection of point of sale software to credit card networks. By 2006, the company
had built up its payments software and changed management to be able to focus on
payments software, services and integration technology.
Strict regulations around credit card security and recent major security breaches have made
self-deployment of payment services virtually impossible for all but the largest of merchants.
Those factors, along with the growth of mobile payments, have positioned Tempus to service
over 10,000 merchant accounts and processes millions of dollars of transactions every day.
Jason Sweitzer,
president and CEO
Current leadership
since 2006
Founded:
1987
Location:
Auburn
Primary business:
finance and
insurance
Sites in Indiana/elsewhere:
1/0
Full-time equivalent employees:
18 in 2013; 23 expected in 2014
AT A GLANCE:
