Business Bits

By Jay Hipps, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Simpson Strong-Tie Product Wins Kudos

Retrofit magazine named Strong-Wall SB wood shearwall, a product from Hacienda's Simpson Strong-Tie, to its Top 50 Products of 2014 list.

Strong-Wall SB shearwall is a prefabricated, trimmable wood shearwall that offers enhanced design flexibility and greater lateral-force-resistance performance for a range of applications, including supporting two-story structures, garage portals and large openings. In areas susceptible to seismic activity or high winds, it provides structural support comparable to steel shearwalls in narrow panel widths.
Voxeleron Provides Researchers with Retinal Scan Tool

Hacienda's Voxeleron has released Orion, an optical coherence tomography (OCT) application which allows users to obtain sub-surface images of the human eye. Orion offers fully automated, rapid, and accurate segmentation of seven layers of the retina. The ability to precisely measure these retinal structures helps gauge the health of the eye, and offers direct anatomical correlates to the brain's structure and its overall health.

"We used Orion to process a considerable amount of data and found it to be a very useful research tool," says Pablo Villoslada, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Barcelona's August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS). "The analysis tools that come with some of the OCT devices do not offer the functionality we need to do some of our fundamental clinical research, so Orion is a very powerful adjunct offering."
Green Home Builder Magazine Honors Taylor Morrison

Taylor Morrison Home Corporation has received the 2014 Builder of the Year honor from Green Home Builder magazine, a national trade publication focused on certified housing and energy-efficient and environmentally responsible building practices.

"We are honored by this recognition from Green Home Builder. As a company that has always maintained a strong commitment to the sustainability of the communities we build and service, our responsibility for the environment continues to be a priority," said Sheryl Palmer, Taylor Morrison CEO. "Increasingly, homebuyers share this priority, and we are constantly looking for ways to distinguish ourselves and our products through a continued commitment to improving our environmental footprint while maintaining our competitive value proposition."
Hacienda Companies Win Readers Choice Awards

A number of Hacienda businesses were recognized in the Pleasanton Weekly's 2015 Readers Choice awards. In the dining category, Eddie Papa's American Hangout won for the fourth consecutive year for Best American Food and was also recognized as Pleasanton's Best Family-Friendly Restaurant. Best Sporting Goods & Apparel went to Sport Chalet while Mercedes Benz of Pleasanton was honored as Best Auto Dealership. In the Best Bank category, Wells Fargo brought home the honors for the fourth year in a row while Patelco Credit Union won Best Credit Union for the third consecutive year.

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August Business Bits

Business Bits