The cover of the July 11, 2011, edition of the Northern Nevada Business Weekly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week in 2021, we will feature snippets of stories that published a decade ago to provide readers a 10-year perspective of business news in the region. This week’s stories first published in the July 18, 2011, edition of the NNBW.
Jobs Team: Region needs venture fund
Backers of an effort to develop a venture-capital fund that would link Northern Nevada investors with promising startups in the region feel some confidence that their efforts will bear fruit.
About 30 investors who potentially could help establish the fund will meet late this month with representatives of a management firm that’s interested in overseeing a locally based venture fund.
The need to create better channels to link entrepreneurs to investors has been identified as a priority by the Regional “Jobs Team,” a year-long initiative led by Washoe County Commissioner Kitty Jung.
— Page 1, by John Seelmeyer
Nimble exporters keep state in lead
Nevada’s exporters are the most nimble in the nation. A study by a researcher at Ball State University in Indiana finds that exporters in Nevada have been quick to shift their focus to newly emerging markets for U.S. products, and they also have led the nation in the speed in which they’ve moved into exporting products that experience rising demand from foreign buyers.
It’s no accident that the state’s exports have shifted quickly, says Alan DiStefano, director of global business development for the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.
More than a decade ago, the state agency began identifying potential growth markets for exports from Nevada, and began targeting those nations for trade missions and locations for independent trade representatives.
— Page 1, by John Seelmeyer
Bay Area private equity firm set to purchase EP Minerals
EP Minerals, one of Reno’s oldest minerals companies, agreed last week to be acquired by Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm headquartered in San Francisco.
EP Minerals, a subsidiary of Eagle Picher Management Corporation, was founded in Reno in 1945. The company is the last subsidiary to be divested by EP Management Corp., which was formed in 2006 after Eagle Picher filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005.
“EP Minerals had been looking for the right buyer for a couple of years now, and we are really happy that Golden Gate Capital is stepping in as EP Mineral’s new owner. I think it will mean good things for the company, our employees and the state of Nevada,” says Dave Keselica, president of EP Minerals.
EP Minerals employs about 250, including 40 people at its headquarters on Gateway Drive in South Reno. The company employs about 340 worldwide.
— Page 3, by Rob Sabo
