Nevada Briefs - January 2005

Nevada Briefs

Alere Medical Named to Inc. 500

Reno-based Alere Medical Incorporated has been named to Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation. Alere specializes in care management and remote monitoring for patients with chronic conditions, including heart failure. Alere showed a 411 percent annual growth rate over four years, with 2003 revenues of $17.6 million. Alere Medical was ranked 64th overall on the list and sixth within the list’s health sector. The Alere Home Monitoring Program currently tracks more than 12,000 patients each day across the country, and more than 22,000 patients have used its services. The Inc. 500 ranks privately held companies according to year-to-year sales growth as averaged over four years. It verifies all information using tax forms and audited financial statements from certified public accountants, and by conducting interviews with company officials.

Mergers Transform Nevada Companies

One of the largest independently owned exchange companies in Nevada, Southwest Exchange Corporation, recently announced its merger with Nevada National Exchange. The company will retain the name Southwest Exchange. Both firms specialize in processing 1031 exchanges, which have become increasingly popular due to the boom in real estate investments. Individuals seeking the services of a 1031 exchange company are most often looking to avoid capital gains taxes upon the transfer of investment property under Internal Revenue Service Code Section 1031. In another merger transaction, SouthwestUSA Bank and Nevada Trust Company have filed an application with the Federal Reserve Bank and Nevada’s Financial Institutions Division to merge the two companies. SouthwestUSA Bank is a subsidiary of SouthwestUSA Corporation, which will acquire Nevada Trust Company and operate it as a wholly owned subsidiary. The transaction is expected to close in early 2005, subject to regulatory approvals. Nevada Trust is expected to supplement SouthwestUSA Bank’s private banking services.

Nevada Rates High in Economic Freedom Study

The Pacific Research Institute recently released the "U.S. Economic Freedom Index: 2004 Report," a ranking of economic freedom in the 50 states. Published in association with Forbes, the index scores states based on more than 100 variables, including regulatory and fiscal obstacles imposed on residents. Kansas was named the nation’s most economically free state, with New York ranking last. The report, which shows how economic freedom affects Americans’ bottom line, reveals that a 10 percent improvement in a state’s economic freedom score yields, on average, about a half-percent increase in annual income per capita. The report confirms that the most economically free states are experiencing population growth, as Americans are moving to states that have the most business- and job-friendly climates. Nevada ranked 12th in the study, while neighboring California received a 49th rating, which may be one reason Californians are fleeing into the Silver State in record numbers.

Mining Report Shows Optimistic Outlook

Higher gold prices have breathed new life into Nevada’s mining industry, which has been beset by low prices and declining employment in recent years, according to a study released by the Nevada Mining Association. Based on 2003 figures, Economic Overview of the Nevada Mining Industry presents a comprehensive look at exploration and production of minerals in Nevada, as well as mining’s impact on the state economy. The 7.32 million ounces of gold produced in Nevada make it the third-largest gold producer in the world, after South Africa (12.7 million ounces) and Australia (9 million ounces). At the 2003 average of $363 per ounce, the value of gold produced in Nevada was $2.7 billion. The calculated value of 2003 silver production in Nevada was $49.8 million, down from $62.4 million in 2002. The decline was largely due to the closure of several large silver mines.

SanMar Relocates to Sparks

SanMar Corp., a wholesale distributor of apparel, is relocating this month to a 490,500-square-foot warehouse at 555 Vista Blvd. in Sparks. The company has spent the last six months on a substantial remodeling project to transform the facility, formerly occupied by GM, into a state-of-the-art distribution center. Large enough to hold eight football fields, SanMar’s building will be the largest imprinted apparel warehouse in the West. The new facility will provide one- to two-day shipping to customers in Nevada, California, Utah and Arizona, and also contains a showroom. The company employs over 100 people in Nevada. The facility was previously located in a smaller building 20 miles away in southwest Reno, which it had occupied since SanMar came to Nevada in 2000. SanMar’s other distribution centers are located in Seattle, Cincinnati, Coppell, Tex., Jacksonville, Fla. and Cranbury, New Jersey.