Business

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- For the first-time ever, the folks who live in Santa Monica and surrounding areas, will get a taste of third-world culture at the International Handcrafted Gifts and Home Textile Expo to be held on January 20 and 21 at the Santa Monica Doubletree Hilton. "This is the fourth year that we have sponsored the Expo," Margaret Galabe, Executive Director, World Women Trade Fair, said.

QUINCY, Mass. -- PowerFlite Communications, an advertising, design, and branding firm headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, has been hired by the NevaSlip(TM) brand to promote that company's recent nationwide expansion.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Big box stores make it difficult for shoppers to find products made close to home. However, MadeinUSAForever.com lists hundreds of products, all American made, that promise to make gift giving easy, safe and fun.

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. -- The internal medicine / family practice medical group practices formerly named Greater Northwest Medical Group, North Suburban Internists and Adult Care Specialists have merged to become Affinity Healthcare, LLC.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The City of Philadelphia awarded U.S. Facilities, Inc. (USF) a four-year contract for facilities operations, maintenance and support services at three of The City's largest municipal buildings (TRIPLEX) located in Center City, Philadelphia.

NEW YORK, N.Y. and AUSTIN, Texas -- Inc. recognized Bantam Electronics, Inc., a leading provider of high mix electronics manufacturing services for emerging companies, on its inaugural Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. The Inc. 5,000, an extension of Inc. magazine's annual Inc. 500 list, catches many businesses that are too big to grow at the pace required to make the Inc. 500.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- CADFORCE, the Los Angeles-based global leader in outsourced architectural services, today announced the hiring of Cliff Moser, AIA, MSQA-LEED(R) AP as Vice President of Architecture. "Cliff's knowledge of quality systems and processes will be passed directly to our clients - resulting in better, more efficient, homes and buildings," said Bob Vanech, CEO.

MIAMI, Fla. -- Marine Exploration International (MEI) (OTC Pink Sheets: MEXP / MEXP.pk), through its joint-venture partner, Hispaniola Ventures, LLC, now has the benefit of innovative host country legal contracts; they will be used to protect all marine exploration projects. Through its joint venture and the use of industry-standard setting contracts, MEI sets the standard for protecting its investments.

ST. CHARLES, Ill. -- Chicago-based property tax consulting firm Advantax(R) announced today the opening of their new northeast regional office in Macungie, Pennsylvania. The office will be headed by John Palvelko, Jr., Advantax's newly appointed Manager of Client Services.

GASTONIA, N.C. -- Stabilus, the world market leader in the design and manufacture of gas springs and hydraulic dampers, has appointed Anthony "Tony" Haba as President Stabilus Inc. Mr. Haba will be responsible for Stabilus business operations in the North American market with facilities in North Carolina, Mexico and Michigan.

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Wholesale network infrastructure provider BandCon announced today that Matthew Haentzschel has joined the firm's senior management team as vice president of sales. Mr. Haentzschel will lead BandCon's national sales team in developing and implementing strategies to reach and communicate with their growing customer base.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Jacob Holtz Company has acquired the product line Table Shox(R) from Fundamental Design, Inc., a British Columbia Corporation. Table Shox is an automatic, self-adjusting, hydraulic glide that replaces manual table glides.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- CADFORCE, the Los Angeles-based global leader in outsourced architectural services, today announced the hiring of David Gerber, Ph.D., as Vice President of Innovation. "In Dr. Gerber, we have found a rare combination of architectural and technology expertise that makes us the clear innovation leader in Revit," said Bob Vanech, Chief Executive Officer of CADFORCE.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Social Platform, a social networking software provider of scalable web-based solutions for branded, high end social applications announced today their move to larger facilities in Los Angeles. "We wanted to be nearer to our media and entertainment customers in the Los Angeles area while remaining close by our state of the art data center in the downtown area," remarked Eric Schlissel, CEO and founder of Social Platform.

EVERETT, Wash. -- Sales Talent Inc., a national executive search firm, opened its second office Sept. in Everett to provide consulting services to local and national companies. "Our philosophy is simply to align ourselves with growing, top-tier companies and develop long-term relationships with them," said Chris Carlson, president.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Sunshine Media Inc. a leading publisher of locally focused business-to-business magazines covering high impact sectors of the economies of the United States and Canada, has named Bobby Thompson, Publisher of M.D. News, Inland Empire Region. Bobby has more than 12 years of strategic marketing and sales experience.

NEW YORK, N.Y. and LONDON, U.K. -- Campbell Belman, an established pharmaceutical analytics company, today introduces its new name: Eularis. This announcement reflects the significant growth the Company has achieved across its full range of pharmaceutical analytics products, which have helped tailor the advertising and marketing programs of its global top-tier clients.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Yale Law Women (YLW), the largest student organization at Yale Law School, announces the release of its 2007 Top Ten Family-Friendly Firms list. Phoenix-based firm Quarles & Brady received top honors, followed by Proskauer Rose; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer; Jenner & Block; Mayer Brown; Covington & Burling; Arnold & Porter; DLA Piper; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC; and Faegre & Benson.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Consumer Raters, LLC, announces the launch of a new web site, ConsumerRaters.com, that allows consumers to share experiences about businesses throughout the state of Florida. It also provides businesses with the opportunity to collect and share testimonials with prospective clients.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- ROK Southwest, Inc. has recently launched two new web sites to provide free information and resources to business unit managers and business communicators. The first focuses on business unit management, project management, business unit IT issues, and the communication of business information.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Ash Brokerage Corporation today announced that it is expanding its market presence with the opening of a sales and service office located in Houston, Texas. Ash Brokerage is one of the largest independently owned general agencies and financial service providers in the U.S.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- HotGigs Inc., an innovator in web-based contract workforce solutions, announced that it has appointed Gregg Bjork as its new vice president of sales. Bjork has 15 years of senior management experience and more than 23 years experience in software and technology businesses.

NANUET, N.Y. -- Children's birthday parties spell success for Michelle Violetto and Tanya Ehrlich, the co-founders of L.S. Franchise Corp., announcing today the opening of three more franchised units located in Rye Brook, NY, Aberdeen, NJ, and Happy Valley, OR. There are 8 Little Scoops party businesses open in the NY and NJ area, with the Happy Valley location representing their first west coast location.

RICHMOND, Texas -- CYNACON / OCuSOFT (OCuSOFT, Inc.), a company specializing in ophthalmic research, development and supply to ophthalmologists and optometrists, is pleased to announce the appointment of Edward J. Holland, M.D. to its Medical Scientific Advisory Board.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Write Away, Inc., a full-service editorial company, announces today that a 20-plus year chef and culinary professional joins their creative team to meet the growing demands of businesses pertaining to the food industry. The company specializes in writing about the food and beverage industry.