The Times from Munster, Indiana • 29

See what's going on The Business Calendar offers a list of events, workshops and meetings throughout the region. D-3 Inside Ticker, D-4throui D-10 SUNDAY July 25, 1999 SECTION Story tip or comment? Call Times Business Editor Crista Zivanovic. (219) 933-4088; or email, zivanhowpubs.com Porter County officials recognize the loss of companies, but say that's all the more reason to attract new businesses Isratt ail (Ms 1 i V- 7- 'T 4 Global steelmaker has good relationship with workers at Canadian minimill, but i bargaining has been colder to the south 5 V. 'bt v-iL. "They're very difficult to deal with.

They're very hard-nosed. I don't think they understand the domestic steel A local vendor whose business" depends on local steel mills 3 mm But Ispat's dealings with Amei icans have been less than pleasj ant. Ispat Inland workers have threatened to strike if a contract agreement isn't reached bj month's end. In 1992, efforts by Is pat to buy a Pennsylvania steel facility fell through when Ispat officials could not strike a deal with the United Steelworkers. Even industrial vendors in the region say Ispat made unrea sonable demands when it bought Inland Steel in Marcjj 1998.

See ODDS, D-3 BY CLINT MITCHELL Times Business Writer Ispat negotiators quickly gained a reputation for hard-nosed, European-style bargaining after moving into the region last year, but United Steelworkers at one of the company's North American conquests say they've maintained an amicable relationship with Ispat while profits have skyrocketed. Ispat bought Sidbec-Dosco the fourth largest Canadian steelmaker, in 1994 from the Quebec government. The Canadian minimill had never shown profits under government ownership. Andre Tremblay, assistant to the director for Steelworkers District 5, the union division that oversees the steelworkers at Sidbec-Dosco, said Ispat turned the company around immediately, boasting profits of nearly $300 million in the last three years. "It's much better than before Ispat bought it," Tremblay said.

pjs iv y' v- 1 All 'Ay Methane pipeline The red pipeline is NiSource's main connector between Gulf of Mexico gas fields and Columbia Energy Group's extensive pipeline system, shown in green. NiSource is trying to take control of the Columbia sys tern so it can sell methane to the Northeast, which heretofore has r-been priced out of the natural gas market. Crista Zivanovic Beyond the Bottom Line Roster Network has fresh ideas for business So you're a family owned business with 30 employees and you're ready to add a building. But you're clueless about how to make the building conform to federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Or, you're a larger business that needs to reassess your organization and cost-contain- ment.

Maybe you'd also like to formalize a benchmarking process. But you're not quite big enough to justify hiring a CFO or putting someone in charge of these functions. Who're you going to call? The Roster Network. Around for more than a decade and begun in Fort Wayne with Indiana locations now in Richmond and South Bend, with more locations planned downstate and in Northwest Indiana, Roster Network member firms help businesses identify and meet their needs in systematized ways, enabling them to quantify results and boost Member firms include ac-; counting and law firms that, together, have as clients more 2,000 Indiana businesses many industries. Member firms pool their professional talent and services and have access to Network Inc.

materials, which is the crux of the Network. Now run by Fort Wayne-based John King, Roster Inc. has developed proprietary technologies and tools to help companies improve profits by teaching them to document what managers and employees do, how they do it and how they should do it-Member firms benefit because they can share with clients Roster's proven methods. Clients benefit because Roster Network member firms don't have to charge them a bundle for analyzing and solving their particular problem from scratch. "We're very systems driven," says King, warming to his subject.

"We had a major client who wanted us to be in thexecutive-search business. It's very subjective; we didn't like that. We're better at addressing issues of cost reduction, activity-based management, ISO facilitation, things you can measure and inspect, so clients get what they expect. You can't manage what you can't measure. "We do a profitability assessment," King explains.

"There are 177 questions from which you can do an in-depth analysis of the company and diagnose what they really need and systematically show how we can meet their needs and concerns. We do a lot surveying, constantly asking companies, 'What are your Once we see what the needs are among our client base, we will also do a seminar to show them how to meet those needs." With a background in investing and the insurance in-Idustry, King says he had needs as a business owner, 'and had seen some of the things Roster had started, and thought he could make it into a successful business. In Fort Wayne, member firms include Baden, Gage Schroeder LLC, Benefit Consultants Bottom Line Solutions and PHONE Chek. The Roster Network can help companies with everything from work force reductions, COBRA compliance, job descriptions and recruitment, to OSHA compliance, business-expansion financing, salary surveys and employee empowerment. For more information, contact John King at Roster Network 6333 Constitution Drive, Fort Wayne, 46804, (219) 436-6330; fax: (219) 432-7126.

Crista Zivanovic is The Times' business editor. MICHAEL GARD THE TIMES Frank Babiak of Boone Township In Porter County tends to the flowers in his garden. Babiak expects to have a lot more free time In the future after his employer, MB Manufacturing, closes its Porter County plant later this year. Taking business closings in stride MIKE RICE THE TIMES The hunter now becomes the huntedi INSIDE Downsizings and closings in Porter County take their toll on workers, who have to find new jobs, new skills. D-3 BY CARMEN McCOLLUM Times Business Writer Despite the boom in the residential sector in Porter County, there have been several companies that have closed or merged, putting hundreds of people out of work.

Milwaukee-based Rexnord a division of London-based BTR, announced it would close MB Manufacturing Co. in September, resulting in the loss of more than 100 hourly and salaried employees. Two weeks before Rexnord's announcement, Hunt-Wesson, a division of ConAgra, said it would close the Valparaiso Orville Redenbach-er plant next summer, putting 230 workers out of a job. The plan is part of the company's $810 million restructuring of its manufacturing and distribution facilities. City and county officials made a last ditch effort to save the plant last week, meeting with Hunt Wesson executives.

However, the effort was unsuccessful. Chief exec: NiSource takeover bid is key to long-term expansion plan. BY JOE CARROLL Times Business Writer -i NiSource Inc. President Gary Neale and his equal at Columbia Energy Group discussed a merger of their companies last fall while their Labrador retrievers flushed pheasant from a South Dakota cornfield. The proposal took more definite shape after additional meetings between Neale and Columbia Chief Executive Oliver Richard Dl culminating in a $5.7 billion cash buyout offer by Neale in early June.

But NiSource's bid to take over Columbia is actually just the crowning touch to a three-yea? old expansion plan aimed at mal ing Northwest Indiana the natur al gas gateway to the Great Lakes industrial corridor and the hugej untapped residential market in the Northeast. Long before Neale an3 Richard went on their November hunting trip, NiSource strategists had decided that the key to corp tinued prosperity lay in the And if the deal gets done'- Col lumbia shareholders have untij Aug. 6 to decide whether to ac cept NiSource's offer the profit? will enrich not only those in the boardrooms and marble-floored halls of NiSource headquarters; but also every retiree and small investor with pension and 401(kJ money tied up in utility-heav See HUNTER, D-3 Closings have taken their toll Four years ago, the Owens Corning plant's tank division closed in Valparaiso, which left 100 people jobless. A separate Owens Corning division, called AlphaOwens-Corning, continues to operate in the city as part of a joint venture. The remaining division produces polyester resin, a key component in the manufacture of fiberglass.

Emerson Electric Co. closed the electrical division of McGill Manufacturing Co. last year, putting about 30 people out of work. United Tractor in Chesterton relocated to Ohio last February, eliminating 49 jobs. Valparaiso's Dietrich Industries closed part of its operation, with a job loss of more than 50.

Numerous Porter County residents work See CLOSINGS, D-3 BRIEFCASE orders in the most efficient way. 2 National Corn Yield Contest entries due -2 The corn grower's equivalent -to the World Series, the Yield Contest, is taking place. This contest recognizes America's top corn producers. The information is shared to helr growers learn from each other 5 how to produce the highest yieldi ing, most profitable corn crop. Sponsored by the National Corn -J Growers Association, forms must be postmarked and in the mail by Vg- 2.

For information, call 'Z (314) 275-9915, ext. 129. ATMs or at grocery stores and gas stations on Jan. 1, 2000, according to a nationwide Gallup survey. Furthermore, nearly 79 percent of those surveyed said they expect Y2K to have little or no impact on their personal finances.

About 64 percent of the survey's participants said they plan to withdraw and set aside extra cash before the millennium, although more than half said the withdrawal amount won't exceed the normal amount planned for a weekday, weekend andor holiday. Of the 1,606 adults who completed the telephone survey, 62.5 percent said they normally make ATM cash withdrawals one or change for people with disabilities. Everybody Counts Executive Director Teresa Torres said," For a long time, we've been labeled as a bunch of misguided radicals. But the local community is teginning to understand that the role we are playing in Lake County identifying barriers and working to eliminate them will benefit not only people with disabilities but everybody else as well." Consumers expect ATMs will work Eight out of 10 ATMdebit cardholders in this country expect to be able to conduct transactions at more times per week. NIPSC0 improving customer service Northern Indiana Public Service Co.

is improving customer service with its Computer Aided Dispatch system, according to NTPSCO officials. The integration of the system enables NTPSCO to electronically transfer customer service orders from the customer service representatives to a computer located in the service vehicle. In addition to providing rapid order updates, the system also tracks the location of the service person and helps to route work Everybody Counts Center recognized in magazine Everybody Counts Center for Independent Living has been recognized in the July issue and 1999-2000 Consumer Guide of New MobilityDisability Lifestyle. In an article titled, "Cutting Edge CJXs: What Separates the Good from the Bad," the national publication identifies the lake County agency as an outstanding example of what a Center for Independent Living is all about. New Mobility editor Dough Lathrop credited Everybody Counts with being a force for.