David Lelm has been in the auto body business for 45 years, including the past seven in Kailua-Kona. In October 2010, he turned his independent body shop into a Maaco franchise. Lelm talks about the advantages and challenges of joining…
Making a smart business acquisition “all comes down to how well your team can analyze the business,” says Gabe Lee, executive vice president of commercial marketing at American Savings Bank. Lee recommends hiring an attorney with experience in acquisitions and…
When Rick Hadley became chairman and CEO of Hawaiian Springs in 2006, he didn’t want Hawaiian Springs to be just another water. He says his vision was to take the best water from the most beautiful place on Earth and…
Q. I’ve worked hard to build my business and I don’t want to lose it in a disaster. How do I know if I’ve got the right insurance coverage? A. Smart. The best time to think about that question is before…
It’s late afternoon in Liliha and minutes are ticking by on the new town clock high above Finance Factors at the crossroads of North Kuakini and Liliha streets. Schoolchildren and early diners squeeze onto stools at Liliha Bakery for $4 hamburgers, hot cakes and…
6:34 A.m., Monday Hawaiian Airlines MAINTENANCE HANGAR Honolulu International Airport >> This Boeing 717 pulled in at 10 p.m. the night before and the maintenance crew went to work overhauling the right engine. Engines are overhauled after a set number…
Idea Engineers used to rely on meteorological towers to measure wind speed. But “met towers” only give you data for one location; they don’t tell you anything about wind velocities around a valley or along a ridge. Wind 3D, a…
People tell me that I’m a lucky guy because I got out of the newspaper business a year ago. True, I have a lot more job security now than my friends at the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the two…
[Note: An earlier version of this story reported Sopogy sells affordable solar photovoltaic cells. To clarify, Sopogy sells affordable compact solar thermal collectors.] Robin Campaniano General partner, Ulupono Initiative, since January Campaniano, former president and CEO ofFarmers Insurance Hawaii (formerly AIG), now…
YES Hawaii’s fisheries need adaptive regulations to ensure that we and future generations can continue to catch fish and preserve cultural practices. Fishing has been regulated in Hawaii since ancient times. Long before Western contact, Native Hawaiians regulated catch based…
Health insurance is the second-biggest expense for most employers after payroll. And that cost keeps soaring: Hawaii companies have been paying an average 9 percent more in premiums each of the past 10 years – and that will likely continue.…
High on a ridge overlooking Maalaea Bay, a small group of students from the Horizons Academy scramble out of vans into the vast open space at the top of the Kaheawa wind farm. They gape for a moment in the…
When you think of a great place to work, a hospice probably doesn’t come to mind. Emotional and physical pain are a daily part of the job, as employees try to comfort people in the last days of their lives.…
Developing a vaccine is a “pretty rigorous, complex process,” says Elliot Parks, CEO of Hawaii Biotech, which is deep into development of West Nile and dengue vaccines, and beginning to develop a vaccine for tick-borne encephalitis. “Further back” in the…
If you think your assistant looks forward to flowers and chocolate on Administrative Professionals Day, April 21, you’re wrong. What he or she really wants is to attend a workshop — paid for by the company. It’s a smart investment…
Three Kauai couples have launched Oceanside Productions, a small theater company trying to fill an entertainment void for tourists and residents alike. Their experience includes operating small businesses and nonprofits, and they love to perform. So the six did their…
Jeffrey Peroutka, from Our Saviour Lutheran School, displays his project at the 2009 Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. The Hawaii Academy of Science has raised the money needed to hold the 2010 Hawaii State…
Praseuth “JJ” Luangkhot of JJ’s Bistro & French Pastry is confident, even in a down economy. He recently added a party room that seats about 45 people — the second expansion since he opened in 1995. The first expansion in…
Your online business can be “hijacked” if you don’t pay attention to business listings on the Web. “People who are victims don’t even know they are victims,” says Daniela Stolfi, interactive marketing specialist at Boss Hawaii, which specializes in Web…
Constance Lau is president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries, ranked No. 1 on our Top 250 list of the biggest Hawaii companies. What is the most important lesson you learned at your first job? My first job was as…
Until teleportation is invented, mail and package services will remain essential to Hawaii businesses, who are served by three major providers: FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. William Donohoe, who worked at FedEx for 19 years before opening the…
Raymond Jefferson has already given a lot for his country and for his comrades. During Special Forces training in 1995, Capt. Raymond Jefferson lost all five left-hand fingers as he shielded teammates from a grenade that exploded prematurely. He spent…
Hawaii Island is now home to the first large-scale commercial maile farm in the state. Although maile is one of the most popular lei in Hawaii for special occasions, virtually all of what’s sold here is imported from the Cook…
My company provides a cell phone and says it understands if an occasional call is personal (calling home to say I’ll be late, for instance). But I find myself using it more and more as my primary phone and have…