PR firm celebrates 25 years in business
Thompson & Bender L.L.C., the public relations, marketing and advertising firm in Briarcliff Manor, this month celebrated its 25th anniversary in the Westchester County business community.
The firm”™s principals ”“ Geoffrey Thompson, Dean Bender and Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson ”“ all worked at the Gannett newspapers in Westchester before starting their company. Thompson and Bender, former business editors at Gannett, launched their public relations business in 1986 in White Plains. Bracken-Thompson, a former vice president of marketing for the Gannett newspaper chain, joined the firm as a partner in 1990. The company has been headquartered in Briarcliff Manor since 1997.
With annual billings of some $4 million, Thompson & Bender has worked with more than 125 private-sector and public-sector clients. Its diverse client base includes developers such as Cappelli Enterprises Inc. and Simone Development Cos., hospitals such as the Westchester division of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Blythedale Children”™s Hospital, educational institutions including Iona College and Westchester Community College and government agencies such as the Westchester County Office of Economic Development and county tourism office.
“Our goal was to be the experts, the leaders in the market we serve,” said Thompson. “We know our market and we know it well. I think it”™s safe to say that we have accomplished that goal.”
Thompson & Bender”™s partners were inducted into the Westchester Business Hall of Fame in 2003.
ITT in space
Astronauts aboard the Discovery space shuttle on its final flight and an International Space Station crew are using two instruments developed by ITT Corp., said officials at ITT headquarters in White Plains.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected ITT”™s total organic carbon analyzer for use by the space station crew to test processed and purified water to be sure it is safe for human consumption.
The water-quality analyzer was specifically developed for use in space by ITT”™s analytics division in collaboration with NASA.
The crews of both the space station and Discovery will use a conductivity temperature meter developed by ITT that measures the conductivity of water within the spacecrafts”™ oxygen generation assembly to ensure the life-supporting system”™s continued operation. ITT officials in a press release said the meter”™s “robust and ergonomic design makes it particularly suited for this demanding application while its innovative touch screen enables all functions to be performed single-handedly.”
Discovery lifted off for its final mission on Feb. 24.
PepsiCo partners on Latin American development
Purchase-based PepsiCo Inc. recently announced a “landmark” five-year partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to spur social and economic growth in 26 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The partners launched their inaugural project in Mexico with an agricultural initiative to expand commercial sunflower production and create a sustainable market for sunflowers, a once-thriving commercial crop in Mexico that has declined in recent years.
The $100 million project will provide loans and a source of income for some 850 Mexican farmers and their families, said PepsiCo officials at PepsiCo. PepsiCo will use the crop as a source of high-oleic sunflower oil for cooking potato chips, biscuits, nuts and other snacks produced in Mexico by the company under the Sabritas and Gamesa-Quaker brands.
The global food and beverage giant has committed to buy the entire crop at an estimated $52 million cost over seven years. PepsiCo also will invest $2.6 million to support crop management and will provide technical training to the small farmers in the project.
Agrofinanzas, a Mexican institution specializing in supply chain finance, will make available $40.4 million in microloans as working capital for farmers. The IDB, through its Opportunities for the Majority Initiative program, will provide Agrofinanzas a partial credit guarantee for up to $5 million.
