Business Briefs

Scara’s Italian Ices Inc., a family-owned business based in the Morganville section of Marlboro, announce the grand opening of its newest location — 246 Route 79, Morganville. The official grand opening was held May 20. A portion of the proceeds from the opening weekend went toward the building project at St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church, Marlboro. Robert and Fran Pinzon, proprietors of the Colonial Deli in Morganville for the past 18 years, are the owners of the new Scara’s location.

Bud Neglio of Howell is preparing to mark his first anniversary as the owner of American Leak Detection, Freehold. The business serves customers in Monmouth, Middlesex, Union, Somerset and Hunterdon counties. In the 30 years since its founding, American Leak Detection has used a continually expanding array of proprietary tools to prevent billions of dollars in residential and commercial property damage around the world. The company’s employees hunt for leaks with a new breed of equipment that eliminates trial-and-error digging by listening for leaks electronically. The company has grown from a single location to nearly 350 franchised outlets in 45 states and 11 foreign countries. Customers ranging from homeowners to restaurateurs regularly call upon American Leak Detection affiliates to locate the source of unsavory smells. In one case, a franchisee was summoned to a 3,500-square-foot house that had been torn up over the course of three years in search of a raw sewage odor that had sent family members to the hospital and forced the homeowners to evacuate. By injecting a special gas into the pipes, the franchisee quickly discovered that a sewer line between two bathrooms with a common wall was missing a 2-inch cap. The house was saved from demolition. Bud Neglio may be reached locally at (732) 863-5622.

Schoor DePalma, an engineering and consulting firm based in Manalapan, announced that Frank A. Frega, professional engineer (P.E.), has been promoted to principal of the firm. Frega, a vice president, is the highway department manager and chief highway engineer.

Schoor DePalma recognized Frega as a principal at the company’s annual meeting held recently in North Branch. During the meeting, Schoor DePalma announced all new principals, associates and outstanding professionals. In 2000, Schoor DePalma had 38 principals. With the recent promotions, the total number of principals increased to 71.

Frega has more than 32 years of experience in the planning, design and rehabilitation of transportation infrastructure, including highways, bridges, transit and airports. His expertise encompasses project management, highway design, preparation of contract documents, constructibility reviews, investigations and traffic studies, and traffic control during construction.

Frega has worked for Schoor DePalma for nine years, beginning his career as a project manager in the firm’s municipal department, and was subsequently promoted to deputy department manager, department manager, associate and now principal in the firm.

Brace Place Orthodontics, which has offices in Freehold Township, Manalapan, and East Windsor in Mercer County, has received Align Technology’s Century Club Award.

Drs. Brad Elkin, Josh Epstein, Martin Epstein, George Sargiss and Thomas Morgenstern have been named to the Align Technology Top 100. The honor recognizes orthodontists who have demonstrated the highest level of expertise with Invisalign Technology. The Web site is www.braceplace.com.

Cartridge World, a retailer of cartridge refilling services, announced the opening of its newest franchise, at 64 Village Center Drive in the Raintree Towne Center, Freehold Township. The store is slated to open in May, with a grand opening celebration scheduled for June 18.

Consumers and businesses will be able to drop off their cartridges for ink jet and laser printers and photocopy and fax machines to the store, where they will be refilled. Customers will get back the same printer cartridge they brought in.

Cartridge World was founded in Australia in 1991 and has more than 500 locations worldwide.

Freehold Cartridge World can be reached at (732) 333-1925 or by e-mail at cwfreehold@optonline.net.

Commerce Bank announced that it recently partnered with The Center for Holocaust Studies at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, to bring Holocaust education to more than 500 area students.

Commerce Bank donated $2,000 to The Center for Holocaust Studies to help fund the production of “Dear Esther,” a play that tells the story of Esther Terner Raab, now a resident of Vineland, who survived the Sobibor death camp as a child during the Holocaust. The play was recently performed at Lakewood High School.

According to the press release, Commerce Bank’s Giving Program has contributed more than $30 million to help improve the quality of life of the people living in the communities served by the bank. Commerce Bank, based in Cherry Hill, has more than 320 branches in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. In 2005, the bank plans to open 55 new locations.

Buddy Benton of the Clarksburg section of Millstone, an agent with the Prudential Insurance Co. of America, has qualified for membership in the Million Dollar Round Table. Benton’s office is at 981 Route 33 in Monroe Township.

MDRT membership is based on excellence in customer sales and service. Founded in 1927, MDRT is an independent association of approximately 28,000 professionals who have met strict ethical and professional requirements. Its members represent 68 nations and territories and some 475 life insurance companies. Benton is one of 900 Prudential sales professionals who qualified for MDRT this year. Prudential has the fourth highest number of MDRT qualifiers, based on membership levels of insurance companies worldwide.

New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants announced that its Disaster Recovery Guide is now available free of charge. The updated guide provides free financial and tax advice to crisis victims, and includes information on topics such as how to document losses and replace personal identification papers. It also includes IRS forms and publications. For a copy of the guide, visit www.njscpa.org/recovery, e-mail communications@njscpa.org., or call (973) 226-4494, ext. 246.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) New Jersey District Office reported that SBA loan approvals to women business owners throughout the state are up 56 percent during the first five months of the agency’s fiscal year 2005 — the period from Oct. 1, 2004, through Feb. 28, 2005.

The office has approved 298 loans to women-owned small businesses for a total of $41.4 million. This was up from the 191 loans for $26.8 million the district office approved during the same period in fiscal year 2004.

Hair salons were No. 1, with 22 loans for $1.6 million; full-service restaurants were ranked second with 14 loans for $3.6 million; child care centers are third with nine loans for $1.3 million; limited-service restaurants were ranked fourth with seven loans for $1 million; and nail salons were ranked fifth with six loans for $570,000.

Bergen County led the way in SBA loan approvals to women business owners, with 42 loans for $4.6 million; Camden County followed with 31 loans for $2.5 million; Monmouth County was third with 29 loans for $8 million; Essex County was fourth with 28 loans for $3.4 million; and Middlesex County was fifth with 18 loans for $3.3 million.

The district office can be reached at (973) 645-2434 or by visiting the Web site www.sba.gov/nj. The SBA’s Online Women’s Business Center can be found at www.onlinebc.gov.

PEP (People Empowering People), an organization for business owners and professionals in the Monmouth County area, meets on the second Monday of each month. For more information, call Sandy Franco of Primerica Financial Services, (732) 863-9955.