Batavia firm eyes e-stores
When Batavia-based ADP Plastics marks its 20th anniversary on Tuesday, it will have the traditional open house to celebrate with employees, clients and vendors.
In addition, the custom plastic products firm will keep an eye on the future when it launches an e-commerce business by mid-July.
ADP debuted its Web site last year (www.adpplastics.com) and will expand with online stores for some of the industries that it serves.
The first e-store is expected to be plastic products for the real estate industry. Items will include sign holders, business card holders, accessory boxes and suggestion boxes.
The company then plans to launch a second online store serving the floral industry, which includes sign holders and floral risers, among other related products, said company spokeswoman and purchasing agent Kat Lorenzi.
"We have quite a loyal customer base and we're hoping to branch out and serve even more customers," Lorenzi said.
ADP was cofounded in 1988 by Diane Sullivan, who became its sole owner in 1996. The company started in St. Charles.
As it grew, it moved to Geneva, West Chicago and finally Batavia. It serves a variety of small to large companies in the financial, food, institutional, laboratory, retail and safety industries.
"We're truly a Fox Valley company," Lorenzi said.
Surfing: Chicago-based uBid.com, which offers new, overstock and refurbished merchandise to consumers and businesses, couldn't get a buyer for its auction Web site, Bidville.com, so it will close. All existing auctions must close by Friday. Sellers have until June 27 to complete their transactions.
"Although the site was a break-even proposition for uBid.com Holdings Inc., monetary considerations were not the reason Bidville.com was shut down," the company said in an e-mailed statement. "Due to its new business strategy in dealing only in certified supply in a business-to-consumer marketplace, uBid.com was not equipped to run a consumer-to-consumer marketplace like Bidville.com."
Bidville launched in 1999 and it recently had around 300,000 registered users.
Prorated refunds will be available to sellers who provide their user name, e-mail and amount due in an e-mail to refunds@bidville.com.
Ubid.com maintains a distribution warehouse in Naperville.
Libertyville-based ForceLogix (www.forcelogix.com) offers software to companies that pinpoints what their salesperson is doing wrong and assists a coach in helping the sales staffer to overcome obstacles.
It also tracks what the salespeople are selling and where they are succeeding.
Rolling Meadows-based Train Signal Inc. (www.trainsignal.com), which creates computer training products for information technology students, is partnering with Transcender, a division of Kaplan IT Learning.
Rush-Copley Medical Center has selected Aurora-based Allscripts' (www.allscripts.com) Electronic Health Record and Practice Management software for its physicians. In addition, Rush-Copley has partnered with Allscripts to allow physicians to access patient documents and other hospital information electronically from their offices or other remote places via the Internet.
Westmont-based The McCrone Group Inc. (www.mccroneatlas.com) has expanded its Atlas of Microscopic Particles, an online reference resource available by subscription by scientists, first responders, researchers and teachers.