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A City Vibe in Columbia

Someone is probably savoring a cappuccino at Square Market & Cafe right now and wondering‚ “Why can’t I have a place like this in my town?”

Cafe co-owner Liz Lovell often pondered those words as she traveled through compelling cities and restaurants in her past job with the Maury County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Two years ago‚ when a downtown storefront opened up across from the courthouse‚ Lovell and business partner Debra Mann took a chance.

Their bustling Square Market offers breads and pastries baked fresh daily‚ along with gourmet-food-shop-influenced salads and soups. The restaurant’s signature sandwich is the Tennessee Hot Brown – a baked dish with sliced ham‚ turkey and bacon on white toast topped with white sauce and cheddar cheese. Dinner is served on Friday and Saturday nights‚ and – with a tip of the hat to Nashville – a popular songwriters’ performance night takes place monthly.

“People tell us it reminds them of a place you’d visit in Boston or Seattle‚” Lovell says‚ “which was the idea.”

Mixin’ It Up

There are mixers and then there are mixers. When Pugmill Systems Inc. of Columbia builds one of its “Davis pugmills” – a piece of industrial equipment used to mix base materials and soil – it could be used in a number of heavy-duty applications‚ from road-building to hazardous-waste disposal. The diversity of customers has kept Pugmill going strong and still growing‚ says company President Duane Allen.

Pugmill celebrates its 50th year in business in 2007. The year started with a bang‚ as Pugmill shipped one large system off to a customer in Peru and another to a customer in Florida.

But these are not the humble cement mixers that rotate atop trucks at building sites. One of Pugmill’s systems consists of conveyors‚ hoppers‚ cement silos‚ water systems and diesel-electric generators. The unit packed off to Florida required seven truckloads to deliver all the pieces. Now that’s a mixer.

Doing Business With Integrity

The “integrity” part of the business name Integrity Nutraceuticals International will become readily apparent when the Sarasota‚ Fla.‚ company relocates to Spring Hill in 2007. The health ingredient supplier does a few things that no one really requires it to do‚ says spokeswoman Kathy Bender. It conducts research on the products it supplies‚ which are used in making sports nutrition and herbal products that sell in groceries and drug stores.

On-site chemists will test the purity of its raw materials‚ primarily imported from India and China. Employing 25 to 30 people at a new 34‚000-square-foot research and distribution center‚ the firm will be conducting collaborative work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and various universities to ensure the safety and usefulness of its ingredients. Relocating to the new Spring Hill facility has also inspired Integrity to roll out a new company tagline‚ Bender says: “Tested and trusted.”

Hometown Advantage

When Clayton Cutler’s employer said it needed to open a new factory in China to keep up with U.S. customer demand‚ Cutler said‚ “Why not consider my town first?”

Cutler‚ vice president of Printing Technology Inc. of Chatsworth‚ Calif.‚ has lived in Columbia since 1992. PTi liked what it saw and opened a million-dollar‚ 22‚000-square-foot plant nearby in Mount Pleasant in 2006‚ supplying laser and inkjet printer cartridges to the Eastern U.S. market.

“Manufacturers are attracted by China’s low labor costs‚” says Cutler‚ who will serve as plant manager. “We analyzed the larger picture. How much would it cost to ship material to China and then ship the finished goods back? And what would our customer response be like if our plant was in China?”

Another issue: How much time would PTi managers have to spend traveling back and forth?

“This way‚” he notes‚ “I don’t have to travel as much.”

A New Vehicle for Selling Vehicles

In an average year‚ a car dealer might sell 100 to 500 used vehicles‚ depending on the size of his dealership. Columbia auto retailer Ben Freeland’s aspirations are a tad higher: Freeland is planning to sell 60‚000 a year.

Freeland’s auto2auto.com has taken a giant step outside the box of normal used-car selling by retailing vehicles on the Internet. Operating from a renovated 340‚000-square-foot wheel factory‚ Freeland acquires recent-model vehicles from across the United States‚ has them delivered to Columbia‚ reconditions them‚ and then ships them back out to Internet buyers. An on-site call center handles customer questions and even arranges financing. So confident is Freeland of the selling process that he has gone one step further. Auto2auto customers can opt to fly into Columbia‚ inspect their purchased vehicle and drive it home themselves. Freeland provides them with free airfare and free hotel accommodations.

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