Longtime Bill's Cycle Shop mechanic starts own business

Ben Hawker of Ben's Quality Cycle LLC

A downtown mainstay for decades, Bill's Cycle Shop is no more, but the business carries on with Ben Hawker, who runs Ben's Quality Cycle around the corner, at 152 Park Avenue.

Hawker came to work as a mechanic for Bill's in 1981, at the age of 19. As owner Mike Murdock moved into retirement this fall, Hawker bought the service department and kept the loyal customers. The shop offers service and repair for most major bands, including Honda, KTM, Yamaha, Suzuki, Polaris and Kawasaki.

The showroom on Park Avenue is taking shape and should be open sometime in January, he said. It represents a homecoming of sorts. He still has three Honda minibikes, including his 1970 Z-50, all of which came out of the original Bill's showroom when he was a kid.

Things have changed a lot in three decades, Hawker said. "Agriculture used to be a huge part of our business, bit with center pivots there's less equipment and less people."

To have a look at his Web site, visit this link: http://www.bensqualitycycle.com/index.html. And of course you can "like" him on Facebook by going here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bens-Quality-Cycle/377558579001399.

Participants sought for Asian trade mission

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter

Idaho businesses are invited to join Gov. Butch Otter's spring trade mission to South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam this spring.

The trade delegation will visit Seoul, Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City from April 19 to 27. Locations were chosen from a survey of Idaho companies' top export destinations, according to a press release from the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Taiwan is Idaho’s third largest trade partner, and Korea is a top-five export destination for Idaho companies. Vietnam is an emerging market for Idaho companies, with strong potential for a variety of Idaho’s key exports.

This will be Otter’s second visit to Vietnam since 2008. The goal of trade mission is to open international markets to Idaho businesses by helping them gain high-level access to private sector business leaders and government decision makers. Ideally, the result is expanded sales, distribution network growth, new strategic alliances and stronger customer relationships.

Participating companies will receive pre-qualified appointments, market briefings in each country,logistical arrangements for the trip, and business networking receptions in Seoul and Taipei.
Space is limited and will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration deadline is Feb. 1, 2013. More detailed information is available at http://www.commerce.idaho.gov.

Idaho Falls, South Fork Archers announce plans for public archery range

Erroll Flynn with bow and arrow in 'Robin Hood'

The Idaho Falls Division of Parks and Recreation is partnering with the non-profit South Fork Archers Club to develop the first public archery range in the city of Idaho Falls, open to archers, bow hunters, youth groups and others interested in perfecting their target skills.

The range will be on approximately 30 acres of city-owned property on the eastern edge of Sandy Downs. Plans call for a static range where archers can shoot into large targets secured onto freestanding target sheds. In addition, a second trail range, about half-a-mile long, will be built with 14 static targets set up at ranges up to 80 yards.

The club hopes to build an indoor range in the future.

“Public archery ranges are popular with hunters and recreational shooting sports enthusiasts,” said Greg A. Weitzel, Idaho Falls' Parks and Recreation director. “We’re looking forward to working with the South Fork Archers, and thanks to their cooperative effort, we’ll be able to build the range at a minimal cost”.

Funds to develop the site will be raised through grants, membership dues and individual donations. The South Fork Archers Club was established in 1982 and has more than 100 members. Club members have volunteered to manage and maintain the range for the city through a lease agreement.

I.F. company DocuTech looking to hire people, preferably homegrown talent

DocuTech CEO Ty Jenkins

DocuTech, an Idaho Falls company that develops software and applications for mortgage banking institutions, might be a great example of a local employer that seems to fly under the radar a lot of the time.

Founded in 1991, the company now employs 70 people and is likely to have 125 by the end of 2013. "We have 15 open positions for customer service reps," said CEO Ty Jenkins. "We're looking for IT people, computer programmers, people with XML skills. These are not $9-an-hour jobs."

A native of Idaho Falls himself, Jenkins prefers to hire locally. "We hope we can get homegrown because they stay," he said.

But little of its business is local, because it is geared toward big lenders. The company does business in all 50 states, with such clients as PNC Bank, Stearns Lending and Pinnacle Mortgage. "Our smallest customer does 300 to 500 mortgage loans a month," Jenkins said.

One of the company's biggest challenges is finding people who can address cyber-security issues. "We can't go down; we're a critical app," he said. "If we go down, PNC bank can't do any mortgage loans. All of that data sits on our servers."

In the 22 years it has been in existence, DocuTech has always been profitable, even in the dark days of 2007-2008 when Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers went out of business and credit froze up worldwide. "We saw a six- to eight-month dip, but it's just been expanding since then."

Eyeing the future, Jenkins went to the People's Republic of China in May with a group of Idaho business people led by Commerce Director Jeff Sayer. "That's a long-term play for us," he said. "The older generation there is very credit averse, but the next generation, boy, they're just gearing up. I've been there four times and will continue to go back," he said.

Here is a link to the company's Web page: http://www.docutechcorp.com/

Wall Street Journal blog highlights INL's cyber-security role

In case anyone is interested, here's a link to a post on the Wall Street Journal's blog about the Idaho National Laboratory and its place in cyber-security research.

http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/11/14/top-u-s-cyber-defenders-work-in-idaho-falls/