Business Bits

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Simpson Manufacturing Co.

Simpson Manufacturing Co., headquartered in Hacienda, has formed a new European subsidiary, Simpson Strong-Tie Ireland Ltd., which in turn has acquired certain assets of Liebig International Ltd. and a number of associated companies based in Ireland, England, and Germany. Liebig manufactures mechanical anchor products in Ireland and distributes them primarily throughout Europe through warehouses located in Germany and in the United Kingdom. The purchase price (subject to post-closing adjustment) was $18.3 million in cash. Simpson Strong-Tie designs, engineers and is a leading manufacturer of wood-to-wood, wood-to-concrete and wood-to-masonry connectors and fastening systems, stainless steel fasteners and pre-fabricated shearwalls.
iTradeNetwork, Inc.

Hacienda's iTradeNetwork, Inc., a privately-held corporation specializing in on-demand e-business solutions for the food industry, is merging with Instill Corporation, a privately-held company which provides solutions that help facilitate greater collaboration and information sharing among food service manufacturers, operators and distributors

The combined company will be uniquely capable of delivering a complete supply chain solution to both the retail and food service channels. Customers of the merged companies will now experience the expanded suite of solutions and analytical tools required to reduce food costs, increase operating margins, identify new revenue opportunities and collaborate with all supply chain trading partners.

"Over the past decade, iTradeNetwork and Instill have built leading positions in providing... solutions to the food industry," said Robert Bonavito, founder and CEO of iTradeNetwork. "We believe our consolidated customer base will experience a significant multiplier effect in terms of incremental value creation through the combined solution offerings of ITN and Instill." Bonavito will serve as CEO of the combined companies.
Ellie Mae

Ellie Mae, Hacienda's award-winning provider of software and services for the mortgage industry, is supporting the East Bay affiliate of Habitat for Humanity by sponsoring a corporate volunteer day program. On May 7, 2008, 24 Ellie Mae employees spent the day giving back to the community by working at a 54-home Oakland Habitat for Humanity "green" development construction site, all on company-paid time. Nearly 20 percent of Ellie Mae's in-house staff participated in this volunteer effort.
Trapeze Networks

Trapeze Networks has introduced what the company is touting as a "significant breakthrough in enterprise wireless LAN technology" in a suite of products they have dubbed NonStop Wireless. The company says that the new technology is the culmination of an intensive multi-year development effort that brings fully automated dynamic redundancy and scaling to wireless LANs for the first time. The technology allows for non-stop operation, in-service upgrades, and other features while simplifying configuration. Access their web site at trapezenetworks.com for more information.

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May Business Bits

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