Wheels in motion: Cellcontrol, the Baton Rouge-based developer of technology to combat distracted driving, says its base of Fortune 500 customers grew by 56% this year as more companies adopt technology to ensure employees are compliant with policies related to the use of mobile devices in company vehicles. In a news release, Cellcontrol says the new customers are in a broad range of industries, including insurance, oil and gas, telecommunications and transportation. The company says its largest Fortune 500 customer is using its technology in more than 8,500 company vehicles. Cellcontrol bills its technology as the only product available to block all, or just some, of the features and functionality of both Android and iOS mobile devices. The technology is also compliant with guidelines recently set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for auto manufacturers and wireless carriers relating to the adoption of distracted driving technology.
Picking up speed: Shane Morrison, owner of Baton Rouge-based commercial real estate firm The Shane Morrison Companies, has reached an agreement with Walk-On’s Enterprises for the rights to open eight additional restaurants across five Southeastern states. Morrison’s company broke ground in early June on its first Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar franchise location in Zachary. The agreement announced Monday will allow Morrison’s firm to open restaurants in Auburn and Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Gainesville, Pensacola and Tallahassee, Florida; Gulfport, Mississippi; and Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee. Walk-On’s says the company also plans to open additional locations in Louisiana, but specifics were not provided in a news release. A timeline for the new restaurant openings was also not outlined. Along with the real estate firm, Morrison owns and operates company-owned Sante Fe Cattle Company restaurants, and locations of Cody’s Original Roadhouse and Celebrity Theaters. Walk-On’s says it has more than 50 franchise locations in the pipeline.
Now open: Jacksonville, Florida-based Brightway Insurance has entered the Baton Rouge market with the opening of an office on Essen Lane on Monday. The national property/casualty insurance retailer, which began franchising in 2008 and has since added locations in a dozen states, says the local office will operate as Brightway, The Concord Agency, at 5733 Essen Lane, Suite D-3. The Baton Rouge office was one of four opened by Brightway Insurance on Monday, with others opening in Tuscon, Arizona, and Jacksonville and Lucie, Florida. In Louisiana, Brightway also has offices in New Orleans and Harahan. Brightway offers customized home, condo, renters, auto, flood, RV, motorcycle, boat, ATV, umbrella, business and life insurance policies.
