01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, October 2, 2005

Westerly firm wins government contract

Jerry Swerdlick, who runs Electronic Vision Access Solutions with his wife, Catherine, and daughter, Sara, landed a $3 million contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs last week to develop specially equipped Dell computers for blind and visually-impaired veterans.

About 1,000 veterans participating in rehabilitation programs for the blind will receive the special computers.

Swerdlick estimates the contract's value at $3 million in the first year. With four one-year options for renewal, the total value over the life of the contract could be worth an estimated $15 million. Electronic Vision, in Westerly, employs 15 people and has annual sales of $8 million.

Swerdlick, who is 64 and legally blind, founded Electronic Vision in 1979 to design and manufacture computer software solutions -- sold to third parties such as state or federal agencies -- for people who are visually, physically, hearing or learning disabled.

He'll bring the business to the clients

To stay one step ahead of a host of competitors as the housing mortgage business slows, Anthony Verduchi, owner of Sun National Mortgage and Funding, of Warwick, had a different idea.

He bought a recreational vehicle and now tells potential customers that he'll drive out to a home or business to complete an application.

"It's outfitted with a wireless system so I can pull the credit reports right there and complete the application," said Verduchi, 62, of Cumberland.

Verduchi started Sun National six years ago and grew the company to 60 employees. Previously, he ran Cal's Jewelry, in North Providence, which employed 130 people until the foreign competition forced him to close.

About the housing market, he says inventory and days on the market are going up, but properties are still fetching good prices.

"When things start to slow up, you have to try and go out with a new idea to get more business," he says.

A new use for shrink wrap

Small-business owners struggle with the disposal costs for waste, wrapping and packing material.

But how do you get rid of tons of shrink wrap?

That's what faced marina owners who use shrink wrap to protect and store boats for the winter.

"It's bulky, it doesn't pack well, it takes up a lot of room in the Central Landfill and it doesn't decompose," said Gerry DiSchino, CEO of Hinckley Yachts, of Portsmouth, and vice president of the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association.

Earlier this year, 15 marinas and the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, working with the Institution Recycling Network, ran a pilot program to recycle 40,000 pounds of shrink wrap.

The marina owners paid $10 for each collection bag, stuffed them with used shrink wrap and had them picked up at no cost by IRN, which sold it to Trex Co., a manufacturer that makes composite decking.

RIMTA says the program worked so well that this year it is encouraging 100 marinas to collect 50 tons of shrink wrap when the boats are unwrapped next spring.

DiSchino said the project brings the recycling full circle because he's replacing plywood docks at the marina with composite material that may have been from shrink wrap.

New name, new deal for Lincoln firm

Nephros Therapeutics, of Lincoln, has changed its name to RenaMed Biologics and signed a collaboration deal to jointly develop and sell RenaMed's therapy for acute renal failure.

The product treats a sudden loss of kidney failure with the goal of improving survival rates. The deal calls for a 50/50 sharing of costs and profits. Genzyme will contribute $23 million through the third quarter of 2006 to support the next stage of clinical development, and may make an additiuonal $20-million payment, if certain milestones are hit.

Genzyme made an equity investment in a recent private financing comnpleted by RenaMed in June.

Greg Phelps, chairman and CEO of RenaMed, said the new name better reflects the company's goal of improving the lives of patients with critical diseases involving kidney problems.

Printer finds a partner for newsletters

Sheahan Printing, of Woonsocket, and Prosnitz Communications, of East Greenwich, have formed a new venture, called NewscomRI, to produce print and electronic newsletters for businesses and organizations.

The new venture will operate as a division of the two companies.

Sheahan Printing is a third generation family-run company owned by David and Kevin Sheahan. Prosnitz Communications was founded in 2001 by Frank Prosnitz, former editor of Providence Business News and a former staffer of The Providence Journal.

Mass. lawmakers may turn down this wager

Horse and dog track owners in Massachusetts are pushing for state approval to add slot machines because they say their industry is struggling, especially from new competition across the border at Lincoln Park, which is expanding its gaming business.

But key legislators don't have a sympathetic ear.

Rep. Daniel Bosley, D-North Adams, last week said slot machines and casinos are fiscally dubious and socially costly.

Bosley, chairman of the House Economic Development Committee, is charged with reviewing the slot machine and casino bills. He said he didn't think any of the bills would win the backing of the committee.

"I have never had anyone come off the street, just John Q. Public, who has come to my hearing and said, 'I don't really have a horse in this race, but I want casinos in Massachusetts,' " Bosley said. "I don't think the House is going to vote for it."

Governor Romney is also opposed to slot machines and casinos.

Despite the opposition, gambling supporters packed a State House hearing to plead for slot machines, casinos and an extension of the state's simulcasting law, which allows racetracks to broadcast races from other tracks.

After the bell

. . . GTECH's stock has slipped 8 percent to $32.06 from its peak of $34.81 on Sept. 12 after the lottery company said it is reviewing options after a potential buyer expressed interest in acquiring the company. Since then, the company has said nothing substantive about an acquisition.

. . . Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright will deliver the keynote address to about 1,300 people expected at the Northeast Human Resources Association annual convention from Nov. 2 to 4 at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

. . . Peter Walsh, senior vice president of retail lending at Bank Rhode Island, has been named co-chair of the Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission.

. . . Four business leaders have been named trustees of Roger Williams University, according to Ralph R. Papitto, board chairman. They are: Richard Bready, chairman and CEO of Nortek; David Joseph Calabro, former executive vice president and chief operating officer of GTECH; Joseph Caramadre, president of Estate Planning Resources; and Gary R. Chapman, president and CEO of LIN TV Corp.

. . . No matter how this weekend's showdown with the Yankees turns out, the Red Sox have provided great entertainment and an exciting diversion from the daily grind.

With reports from the Associated Press

John Kostrzewa is the Journal's business editor. Share an anecdote or quip from the world of business and finance by sending it to pjbiz [at] projo.com