New BlackBerry set
TORONTO >> Research In Motion said Monday that it will hold an official launch event for its new BlackBerry 10 smartphones on Jan. 30. The new phones are seen as critical to RIM’s survival. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said details of the much-delayed smartphones and their availability will be announced at the event.
Hawaii targets financial meeting planners
Hawaii tourism industry promoters are visiting California this week to draw more business and convention travelers to the islands.
The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau’s Meet Hawaii sales team is attending the Financial & Insurance Conference Planners annual conference in Los Angeles. The group’s members plan meetings for financial and insurance companies.
Members of the planners group are a top target for the visitors bureau, which aims to increase bookings from companies that organize meetings and that offer travel incentives to employees who reach production goals.
Hawaii Tourism Authority President Mike McCartney said in a statement Monday that the market is one of "the most valuable and lucrative" visitor markets for the state. Corporate and incentive travel from North America accounted for 300,000 visitors and $743 million in spending last year, the agency said.
Michael Murray, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau’s vice president of sales and marketing for the meetings, conventions and incentive sector, said Hawaii is an ideal fit for companies.
The Financial & Insurance Conference Planners group is already scheduled to hold its 2014 meeting at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii island.
Aloha Petroleum wins $17.6M military deal
Aloha Petroleum Ltd., the largest gasoline marketer in the state, has been awarded a $17.6 million, three-year contract to supply gasoline, diesel and alternative fuels to military bases on Oahu for use in fleet, tactical and transport vehicles as well as other equipment and machinery.
The contract was awarded by DLA Energy, a support service of the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which is responsible for sourcing and providing consumable items used by military forces worldwide. DLA Energy assists the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies with energy-related matters.
Aloha Petroleum has been supplying fuel to the military for more than a decade. It has supplied gasoline and diesel to select military bases on Oahu through the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, and recently supplied E85, a renewable ethanol-based fuel, and B20 biodiesel to Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
Aloha employs more than 500 Hawaii residents, and markets through more than 100 Shell, Aloha and Mahalo branded fueling stations in the state.
Mills Group sells 2 Guam shopping centers
An investment company led by the owner of local commercial real estate firm NAI ChaneyBrooks has bought two shopping centers on Guam from Hawaii developer and real estate investor The Mills Group.
Mills Group sold the Tumon Sands Plaza and Guam Premier Outlets for an undisclosed price to S199 Real Estate LLC, a Delaware-based firm managed by NAI ChaneyBrooks owner Steve Sombrero.
Bill Mills, chairman of Honolulu-based Mills Group, said an unsolicited offer by the Sombrero-led firm resulted in the sale of the malls that Mills said were good investments for his firm.
Mills Group is the developer of residential communities Maui Lani and Lanikeha on Maui. The company also has an interest in The Shops at Wailea. Late last year the company sold the 15-story Waikiki Galleria office building to an affiliate of Japanese-based Sanno Group represented by Sombrero.
Livestock feed-human food deal set for isles
Trailers set up for the production of 1,500 pounds of organic grass each day for livestock, or rapidly grown vegetables and tilapia for human consumption, soon could find their way to Hawaii shores via a distribution deal announced Monday.
World Eco Source Corp., a subsidiary of Nevada-based PacWest Equities Inc., has chosen K. Hill Livestock as its exclusive dealer for Hawaii, citing the state’s dependence on imported goods. The World Eco Source MobileFeed units are turnkey systems for production of livestock feed that the company says can drastically lower traditional feed costs. Its MobileFood units combine aquaponic technology for rapid production of vegetables and fish on what World Eco Source calls a "commercially feasible" scale.
Kona coffee gets limited nod from Nestle
Food and drink maker Nestle, through its new Nespresso premium coffee brand, is offering 100 percent Kona coffee as a limited-edition product. Nespresso’s Hawaii Kona Special Reserve is made from 100 percent Hawaii Kona Arabica beans and is the first of its Special Reserve line of coffees.
"As we grow our presence in the U.S. market, the introduction of the Hawaii Kona Special Reserve is truly a special one as it’s Nespresso’s first-ever coffee to be sourced entirely in the U.S.," Nespresso USA President Frederic Levy said.
Hawaii residents might take Kona coffee for granted, but the new Nespresso offering is being marketed as so "extremely rare" that it can be offered only as an extremely limited edition. The company is selling packages of 100 percent Kona coffee capsules for $20 per sleeve in its flagship boutiques in New York City, Boston and Miami, via other retail locations, and online.
On the Move
Hospice Hawaii has announced the following new hires:
>> Lisa Crosier as a registered nurse case manager. She was previously a staff nurse in the general surgery unit at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
>> Rosemarie Serrano Ladera as a registered nurse case manager. She was previously a registered nurse at Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, Texas.
>> Virginia Okamoto as an executive assistant to Hospice Hawaii President Ken Zeri. She has more than 15 years of experience with for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including working in management positions with Inkinen & Associates, Supplemental Health Care, the Midtown Group and Robert Half International/Office Team.
Hawthorne Cat has promoted Greg Vena to Pacific region sales manager. He will lead the product support, sales and rental operations for Guam and Hawaii. Vena has extensive management experience, including serving as a corporate product support manager.
