South Bend Tribune, Ind., BizBuzz Column.

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Mar. 26 -- Two Michiana men are among 12 people elected to the Recreational Vehicle/Manufactured Housing Hall of Fame in Elkhart.

The two are Mervin Lung chairman and chief executive officer of Patrick Industries Inc., Elkhart, and Walter Wells, president and chief executive officer of Schult Homes Inc. in Middlebury.

Lung has been engaged in the manufactured housing industry since 1941.

He founded Elkhart-based Patrick Industries in 1957. Among his accomplishments are the introduction of plaster drywall and pre-finished paneling to the manufactured housing industry.

Wells is a 38-year veteran of the manufactured housing industry. He is a longtime proponent of industry construction and safety standards. His company was cited as having developed the first two-story manufactured house that met federal Department of Housing and Urban Development code standards.

Michigan City Mayor Sheila Brillson announced that three Michigan City businesses have received Indiana's prestigious Half Century Business Awards.

The three businesses include Michigan City Paper Box Co., clothing manufacturer Jaymar Ruby Group and Lakeshore Foods Corp.

"Over the last decades, these businesses have provided jobs for our families, strengthened the local economy and contributed to many community organizations through volunteerism and community service," said Brillson.

Unfortunately, the Tire Rack's Internet Web site did not receive a 1999 Webby Award, the Oscar of the Internet.

The Tire Rack, a South Bend-based company that sells tires via mail order and over the Internet, had been nominated to receive the award based upon its growth as an Internet retailer.

Zimmer, a major manufacturer of prosthetic implants in Warsaw, has obtained a contract to supply its products to Premier Inc., one of the nation's largest alliances of hospital and health-care services providers.

Premier members operate 800 hospitals and 900 other health-care facilities. One of Premier's main purposes is to provide group purchasing of supplies and equipment for its members. It purchases some $10 billion worth of goods and services each year.

"We have participated in similar agreements in the past, but Premier's size makes this significant for us," said Brad Bishop, director of corporate communications for Zimmer.

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