Naperville man leaves corporate world, establishes his own investment business

Noland Langford spent about 15 years in the investment industry before he decided it was time to launch his own investment and wealth management business.

"It was time to hang my own shingle and start my own firm," said Langford, who started Left Brain Wealth Management in Naperville about 21 months ago.

The focus of his business is to help clients with 401(K)s, IRAs, portfolio management, investment strategies, planning for college and retirement income. The majority of his clients are middle to upper income families.

Langford, 45, said it was tough coming up with a name for the business. He reviewed more than 300 business names before settling on the left brain concept. "The left side of the brain is responsible for logic, thinking and rationale," he said, adding that this portrays what the business handles - taxes, the financial markets - logic.

Langford, a resident of Naperville, knew at a young age that he wanted his own business. Then in his early 20s, he found investments interesting.

"I had a natural mind for math," he added. He earned his MBA from Chicago Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. He also obtained his Certified Financial Planner designation.

Langford began his career with Merrill Lynch, and later moved to Wachovia, which was later acquired by Wells Fargo. In operating his own business, now with six employees, he stresses that they are independent, objective and unbiased in assisting clients, adding they are paid based on the success of the assets and not off commission.

Langford, who grew up in Detroit, Michigan, said the firm is expanding. In addition to serving as financial advisers, they do investment advising. They started a private investment hedge fund geared for accredited investors. He added they are bringing on new partners in this area, which started in January.

The business owner said he is optimistic about the economy and the investment market. "The best way to increase net worth over time is to invest regularly."

When Langford is not working, he spends time with his wife and teenage son. He added that he enjoys movies and reading. "I like to ride my motorcycle and I'm trying to learn to play piano," he added.

Global headquarters moves in

NAI Hiffman Oakbrook Terrace represented Viskase Companies Inc., a supplier of cellulosic casings and a producer of specialty plastic casings for the food industry, in its long-term lease with Highland Pointe LLC, for 27,346 square feet of office space in Lombard at 333 E. Butterfield Road. "The relocation of our global headquarters aligns with our broader growth strategy. Retaining and attracting top talent while continuing to position our brand in the market as an innovative forward-thinking company in our industry," said Viskase CEO Thomas Davis.

The company operates in over 120 counties from 9 global plants, with more than 2,100 employees.

Leases signed

Brown Commercial Group, based in Elk Grove Village, completed three area leases totaling 20,139 square feet in the western suburbs.

• In the first transaction, Jim Wagner Plumbing is leasing 9,000 square feet at 51 Eisenhower Lane South in Lombard. The plumbing business is expanding and relocating after several years in Plainfield.

• Breda Moving Company is leasing 7,639 square feet to Almtan Midwest at 801 Dave Pate Drive in Roselle. The Brooklyn-based company is expanding its operations into the Chicago area.

• Kane Brandein is leasing the last 3,500 square-foot space in a 21,000 square-foot building to VIP Limousine. The company will occupy Unit F at 101 Kelly Road in Elk Grove Village.

Pizza and beer

Fast-growing MOD Pizza opened its newest location last week in Vernon Hills and is planning another this spring for downtown Naperville.

Seattle-based MOD Pizza stands for "made on demand." The chain has a simple but innovative formula: Customers can choose their own toppings to go on an 11-inch pizza, all priced the same, and meant to be served speedily, within six to eight minutes of ordering. Other suburban locations are in Bloomingdale, Deerfield, Elmhurst, Kildeer and Naperville. The entrepreneurial couple who founded MOD Pizza, Scott Svenson and Ally Svenson, have a successful track record. They went to the same high school in the Seattle area, where they first started dating, and were recently profiled in Forbes for their pizza model.

And a craft beer served at area restaurants and sold at local grocery stores will soon have a new venue. Ten Ninety Beer Company, which contract brewed in Zion is opening its own facility in Glenview where it will launch a taproom this month, said co-owner Brian Schafer.

The Ten Ninety Beer Company, founded in June 2012, is now making its beer at the new facility at 1025 Waukegan Road. The 11,000-square-foot home in Glenview will feature a 89-seat taproom with an outdoor patio with an initial capacity of 5,000 barrels for production, said Urban Innovations, serving as contractor for the project.

Candy expansion all wrapped up

Krusinski Construction Co. of Oak Brook recently completed a 250,000 square-foot expansion for Ferrara Candy Co., which was built adjacent to its existing 750,000 square-foot distribution facility in Bolingbrook.

Ferrara Candy was attracted to this site as it had the flexibility to expand the building to just over 1 million square-feet. Krusinski utilized all of the remaining buildable land on this property for the new 250,000 square-foot build-out. This produced 62 new dock positions and 2 new drive-in doors. Krusinski also saw-cut 3 new openings into the existing facade to tie the expansion into the existing building.

"It was great to work with all the partners involved throughout this entire project which proved to be a success," said Jeffrey J. Krusinski, executive vice president of Krusinski Construction.

"Our 25-year history with Harris Architects and the Village of Bolingbrook was integral to the accomplishments of this project."