NEW PRODUCT DataCard Corp., Minnetonka, Datacard Group, launched two new instant issuance products at the BAI, Retail Delivery Conference, in Orlando, Fla. The Datacard FP65i and RP90i financial card printers have been developed specifically to address the needs of the financial and retail instant issuance markets.
Lumen Biomedical Inc., Plymouth, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared its FiberNet Embolic Protection System for the treatment of patients receiving endovascular intervention for carotid artery disease.
NEW BUSINESS SoftBrands Inc., Minneapolis, has signed an agreement with the U.S. Air Force to provide SoftBrands enterprise software for its 95 on-base transient lodging operations in the United States and 12 foreign countries. The eight-year contract is worth more than $27 million.
PERFORMANCE General Mills Inc., Golden Valley, said it was on track to achieve its sales and earnings targets for the fiscal year ending May 2009. The company reaffirmed targets of mid single-digit net sales growth, mid single-digit segment operating profit growth, and earnings per share of $3.81 to $3.85 before any impact from mark-to-market valuation of certain commodity positions and a gain from the recent sale of the Pop Secret microwave popcorn business.
DEBT AND EQUITIES Fair Isaac Corp., Minneapolis, has declared a 2 cent per share quarterly dividend, payable on Dec. 19, to shareholders of record Dec. 3.
Ecolab Inc., St. Paul, said that the sale of 72.7 million Ecolab shares by Henkel has been completed and that it purchased 11.3 million shares for $300 million directly from Henkel using existing cash and commercial paper to fund the purchase, which is expected to add to Ecolab's 2009 earnings per share.
PERSONNEL Clearfield Inc., Plymouth, named Bob Poorman vice president of sales.
OptumHealth Inc., Golden Valley, named Diane Souza president of OptumHealth Specialty Benefits, which provides benefits to more than 75,000 employers.
