Called “the Nobel prize for manufacturing” by BusinessWeek, The Shingo Prize was established in 1988 for the purpose of educating, assessing and recognizing world-class companies for creating a culture of continuous improvement through employee engagement and effective leadership. The Shingo Prize was named for world-renowned industrial engineer Shigeo Shingo, who distinguished himself as one of the leading experts in improving manufacturing processes.

“In 2008, The Shingo Prize qualification criteria became much more rigorous and focused on behaviors and principles across the enterprise, rather than just in operations,” said Bob Miller, executive director, The Shingo Prize. “US Synthetic is one in only a handful of companies to receive this prestigious award since the bar was raised. We congratulate US Synthetic for the culture and practices which qualify them for The Shingo Prize, and commend them for the world-class company and people we observed while evaluating their business.”

“Unlike many companies that adopt continuous improvement programs to cut costs and regain a competitive financial position, US Synthetic started its Lean journey with a focus on enterprise excellence in serving our customers and delivering value through rapid customization, innovation, on-time delivery, and superior quality,” said Rob Galloway, president and CEO, US Synthetic. “Our lean efforts come from a desire to continually improve what we do, to engage the minds of all our people throughout the entire organization, to effectively deploy company strategy, and to stay ahead of our customers’ expectations from both a capacity and a technology perspective. We are grateful to have been awarded The Shingo Prize, and we view this award as a mile marker on our Lean journey, rather than the finish line.”

As an enterprise, US Synthetic has averaged 23 percent growth in annual revenues since beginning its Lean journey in 2005. This growth would not have been possible without continuous improvement efforts to free up capacity and space for growth, and the ongoing support of its parent company, Dover Corporation. Employee headcount over the same period has risen only 16 percent annually, and building space has only grown by 17 percent annually.

US Synthetic is the first and only company in the upstream oil and gas industry and in the industrial diamond industry to receive the award. Company representatives will attend the 2012 Shingo Prize Global Summit and awards ceremony in Atlanta next spring, where they will be formally recognized, along with other companies around the world, for their achievement.

“This award is a compliment to our people and their attitude towards continuous improvement which aligns with our customers’ needs,” said Eric Pope, vice president of operations, US Synthetic. “Throughout US Synthetic, our people find ways to help our customers succeed in their jobs and with the products they make. Regardless of title or functional area, every US Synthetic employee works together to deliver the value our customers have come to expect from us.”

About US Synthetic

US Synthetic, an operating company within the Energy platform of the Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV) Fluid Management segment, is the leading provider of polycrystalline diamond cutters (PDCs) for oil and gas exploration, and provides solutions for a variety of additional engineering challenges using the unique material properties of diamond. Thanks to constant innovation, proven quality, and superior customer service, more of the world’s energy suppliers rely on US Synthetic than any other PDC manufacturer. US Synthetic has spent more than two decades perfecting its products to drill faster and last longer—in conditions that test the limits of the most durable drilling equipment. For more information about US Synthetic, please visit www.ussynthetic.com.

About Dover Corporation

Dover Corporation is a global manufacturer providing innovative components and equipment, specialty systems and support services for a variety of applications in the industrial products, engineered systems, fluid management and electronic technologies markets. For more information, please visit www.dovercorporation.com.

Press Contact
John Pilmer
PilmerPR
jpilmer@pilmerpr.com
801.369.7535

Utah’s first coworking space, Cowork Utah, will celebrate the launch of its first location at 383 N. State Street in Orem with a “Tweetup Meetup” event from 6:00–9:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 11. Cowork Utah will provide Brick Oven pizza, drinks, and a Twitter “expert panel” discussion—educational for Twitter pros and novices alike. The event is free.

Three years ago the coworking movement began in San Francisco with the advent of Citizen Space and has grown rapidly around the world. A recent msnbc.com video documents its growth. Cowork Utah provides an ideal alternative for “cubicle adverse” web developers, writers, designers and independent professionals who prefer the collaborative, community benefits of working in a creative environment away from home.

Community-Driven Collaboration
Coworking is not another “corporate-rent-a-desk” concept. Cowork Utah is all about the community—encouraging collaboration between resident members. Although all like-minded professionals are welcome, Cowork Utah specifically fosters and promotes collaborative projects that revolve around web 2.0 social media tools and strategies.

“Accelerated Serendipity”
“It’s amazing what happens when you bring a bunch of independent creative professionals together in one place,” says Jack Hadley, Cowork Utah’s founder. “It’s about momentum, and about people connecting with different backgrounds. It’s like working alone without always having to work alone.”

Efficiency, Functionality, Value and a Unique Business Model
Cowork Utah has a unique, open-book business model. As membership increases, members’ costs go down. The goal is to create a high-energy, synergistic work environment where a unified community simply covers the facility’s overhead.

Click here to view the embedded video.

About Cowork Utah
As a collaborative, community-driven venture, Cowork Utah seeks like-minded professionals to share the facility’s uniquely furnished and networked 3,000 square foot space. Basic membership starts at $250 per month. The space also has seven private offices for rent, a multi-media equipped conference room, large open “brainstorming” areas, fiber-optic internet, a nicely appointed kitchen, and lots of open desk space.

In addition to Orem, Utah, Cowork Utah is evaluating other Utah locations in Sandy, Salt Lake City, Bountiful, Ogden and St. George. For more information please visit www.coworkutah.com or contact jack@coworkutah.com.

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PR Contact:
Snapp Conner PR
(801) 994-9625
Cheryl Snapp Conner
cheryl@snappconner.com

Nexeo, an outsourced, comprehensive HR solution provider, announced today significant, continued growth over the past three years, with record-setting revenue in 2008. The company has continued to experience steady growth despite the rising unemployment rate and slow economy by providing customized services to meet their clients’ outsourced human resource needs.

“In our slow economy, many businesses are seeking more efficient employment options,” said Teegan Clark, CEO of Nexeo. “They are looking to us to fill seasonal and temporary positions more than ever. We have been able to facilitate their needs with skilled individuals and eliminate the hassle and risk associated for them.”

Opening their doors in 2002, Nexeo began as a staffing company and quickly recognized their clients had needs beyond staffing. They expanded their services to include customized staffing, HR administration and consulting. They are leading the way in simplifying business administrative services by providing lower cost, increased productivity and reduced risk.

“We put a strong emphasis on delivering a personal touch to our clients,” said Clark. “We find that by doing that, we instill trust and confidence. Our overall goal is to help them focus on their core business while we worry about all the HR administrative tasks.”

With notable clients across the state, such as TwinLab, Aflac and Merit Medical, Nexeo has offices in Salt Lake City, Orem, Utah and additional offices opening during the first quarter of 2009. While they are able to provide services to clients outside of their geographic reach, they continue to seek expansion opportunities in the region.

“Nexeo’s local offices allow them to really get to know our people, our facilities, our equipment and our needs,” said John Alviani, TwinLab Corporate Recruiter. “We have been with them from the beginning and consider them a valued business partner.”

About Nexeo
Nexeo, with offices in Salt Lake City and Orem, Utah, simplifies the complexity of human resource functions for businesses, enabling clients to focus on their core practices. Nexeo acts as an extension of its clients’ HR department by providing customized, outsourced solutions for staffing, HR administration and consulting. With a hands-on, personal approach, Nexeo provides unmatched service and quantifiable results for each client.

Customers can receive a custom HR assessment at no cost, detailed insight into staffing trends, liability requirements and compensation comparisons within their industry. For more information about Nexeo, visit www.nexeohr.com or call (801) 841-4000.

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PR Contacts:
Snapp Conner PR
(801) 994-9625
Cheryl Snapp Conner or Jamie Kaneko
cheryl@snappconner.com or jamie@snappconner.com

The annual public service awards are named for Sen. Arthur V. Watkins, who was a former U.S. Senator for Utah. This year is the 30th Anniversary of the Award, and a particularly special event featuring the award of Citizen of the Year to Tye Noorda, who is Ray Noorda’s widow, and a remarkable philanthropist.

Nicke Brown and husband Kurtis Brown together own and operate Let’s Logo, a corporate embroidery and promotions company they started together as a ‘dream business’. An accomplished networker, Nicke is a member of Corporate Alliance, BNI, and the Chamber of Commerce. She credits her emphasis on relationship building and strong focus on customer service as her secrets to success.

Other notable Utah Valley businesses in the spotlight included:

Dexter & Dexter, who received the Business of the Year award.

Culinary Crafts, taking home the award for Small Business of the Year.

Our local Timpanogos Harley-Davidson shop received praise for Business Beautification (which I personally think is well deserved).

The Environmental Quality Award goes to the Utah Flash.

The Businessman of the Year award went to Keith Tintle, CEO of Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem.

The Business Education Partnership award was presented to SCERA for their dedication to “Build the body, enrich the mind, touch the soul and unify the family.”

As we have already covered, John Pilmer’s PR group received the best Home-Based Business of the Year award. Way to go PilmerPR!

The Community Service Award went to Kena Jo Mathews for her work as the executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Utah County.

The Chamber Chairman’s Award went to William Sederburg, president at UVU.

And finally. the Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Jeremy Hanks for creating Doba, one of Utah Valley’s most successful companies with growth of over 8,000 percent. Yes, I said ‘eight thousand’. Doba has been ranked No. 23 on the Inc 500 list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in America, and numer one on the Utah 100 list of fastest-growing companies in Utah.

Congratulations to all of you!

ProPay, a comprehensive provider of simple, safe and affordable merchant payment solutions, today announced a breakthrough product for the millions of mobile, small, and home-based merchants who accept credit and debit card payments in face-to-face transactions.

ProPay’s patent-pending process includes the credit or debit card information being encrypted at swipe and stored in coded form for later processing or being transmitted and processed real-time through ProPay’s secure virtual terminal from any Internet-connected PC.

“We believe the MicroSecure Card Reader has the potential to change the face of the transaction industry,” said Greg Pesci, ProPay Executive Vice President of Business Strategy. “Because the cardholder information is encrypted at swipe and then securely transmitted and processed though our virtual terminal, this is the first truly secure, end-to-end card processing solution we are aware of.”

Released at an introductory price of US$99 plus a small monthly support fee, the ProPay MicroSecure Card Reader is also affordable.

Market research shows that more than 6.9 million small and mobile merchants run credit and debit card transactions. Since its recent launch, over 2,000 home party consultants, mobile service providers, schools, charities, fund raisers, fast food restaurants, and door- to-door sales people have purchased and are using the ProPay MicroSecure Card Reader to quickly and securely capture and process their customers’ credit and debit cards.

“This goes well beyond helping these merchants avoid the risks and headaches of writing down cardholder information for later processing.” added Mr. Pesci.  “We find most don’t fully appreciate the PCI requirements and risks they and their acquirers bear. Rather than expecting these smaller merchants to spend vast sums of money on PCI compliance or to learn how to secure their systems from every possible breach, they can use the ProPay MicroSecure Card Reader to remove cardholder data from their systems altogether. By removing the data, they can remove most, if not all, of the cardholder data security risks.”

To purchase the ProPay MicroSecure Card Reader or to obtain more information, please go to ‘MicroSecure Card Reader’.

About ProPay
Since 1997, ProPay has led the market in providing simple, safe and affordable credit card processing and electronic payment services for businesses, ranging from the small, home-based entrepreneur to multi-billion-dollar enterprises.

ProPay understands the unique needs of these businesses and has created payment services specifically for them. With ProPay, merchants can set up an account online and rapidly begin accepting credit cards without buying special equipment and making long-term commitments or investments. ProPay leads out in educating merchants of every size about how to reduce or eliminate the risk of touching or holding sensitive cardholder data. The company also leads the payments market in the development of end-to-end data security solutions and alternative payment options that can significantly reduce risks and operating costs.

ProPay is a privately held company, headquartered in Orem, Utah.

For more information, visit www.propay.com.

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PR Contacts:
Cheryl Snapp Conner or Don Osmond
Snapp Conner PR
801 994-9625
Cheryl (at) snappconner.com or don (at) snappconner.com

“We are extremely pleased to be the first alternative payment option that eBay has integrated with as a part of their effort to move entirely to paperless transactions,” said Greg Pesci, ProPay Executive Vice President of Business Strategy. “Moving all eBay purchases to an electronic method will help expedite the purchase process, and potentially reduce complaints and negative buyer feedback. ProPay is looking forward to providing alternative merchant services to help improve the buying/selling experience. We welcome the opportunity to support the advanced eBay power sellers, who we anticipate will benefit most from the comprehensive payment solutions we provide.”

According to eBay, items paid for with check or money order are 80 percent more likely to result in an item not received (INR) than those paid with credit card. Also, buyers who pay with check or money order are 50 percent more likely to leave negative feedback than those who pay with electronic methods. eBay hopes to reduce these numbers by integrating more electronic payment offerings in order to make the checkout process faster and more reliable for sellers and buyers.

ProPay Accounts and Pricing

eAuction Account
With today’s announcement, ProPay has unveiled the ProPay eAuction Account for eBay Silver power sellers and higher.  It will be available from ProPay in late October. It will have a $24 annual fee ($2 per month, billed annually at sign up), with a $24 rebate processing credit offered to sellers who process $3,000 or more with ProPay during their first 6 months after signing up. The transaction fees will be very similar to competitors’ virtual terminal transaction fees.

ProPay is fully integrated into eBay checkout. Buyers do not provide their banking information or log into or sign up for ProPay accounts. Buyers simply enter their credit or debit card information, making their checkout quicker and easier.  And many buyers prefer paying with credit cards because of the convenience, broader protection and rewards.

In early 2009, the eAuction account is expected to be available for Bronze power sellers.

eAuction Pro Account
Late this year, ProPay will unveil the eAuction Pro Account for eBay Silver power sellers and higher who sell on eBay and need additional, specialized services for processing credit and debit cards in face-to-face and other situations. This account will add processing options such as ProPay’s:
-    online virtual terminal
-    touch-tone phone processing
-    e-mail invoice
-    direct API integration
-    secure card reader

The annual fee for this account will be $240 ($20 per month, billed annually upfront at sign up).  The transaction fees will be identical to the eAuction account and very similar to competitors’ virtual terminal transaction fees.

ProPay Card Reader
ProPay’s secure card reader allows sellers to remotely “swipe” and process credit cards safely. The card holder information is immediately encrypted and, with an internet connection, processed real time through ProPay’s virtual terminal.  If internet access is not available, the information is stored for later processing, eliminating the need to manually record or key in credit card information.

For more details about these ProPay accounts and fees, please go to www.propay.com.

About ProPay
Since 1997, ProPay has led the market in providing simple, safe and affordable credit card processing and electronic payment services for businesses ranging from the small, home-based entrepreneur to multi-billion-dollar enterprises.

ProPay understands the unique needs of these businesses and has created merchant services specifically for them. With ProPay, merchants can set up an account online and begin accepting credit cards without buying special equipment and making long-term commitments or investments. ProPay leads out in educating merchants of every size about how to reduce or eliminate the risk of touching or holding sensitive cardholder data. The company also leads the payments market in the development of end-to-end data security solutions and alternative payment options that can significantly reduce risk and operating costs.

ProPay is a privately held company, headquartered in Orem, Utah. For information, visit www.propay.com.

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PR Contacts:
Cheryl Snapp Conner or Don Osmond
Snapp Conner PR
801 994-9625
Cheryl (at) snappconner.com or don (at) snappconner.com