Content about Miami

Miami-based Costa Farms hired Hispanic writer Andrés Fortuño as “the voice for Costa Farms’ new Facebook page, Costa Farms en Español.

The plan is for Fortuño speak to the growing number of Hispanics who love to garden, said the company, which describes itself as “the largest producer of indoor plants in North America.”

Black & Decker is partnering with Richard Petty Motorsports and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Marcos Ambrose. The Black & Decker-branded No. 9 Ford Fusion will race at four primary races: Kansas on Oct. 21, Martinsville on Oct. 28, Phoenix on Nov. 11 and Homestead-Miami on Nov. 18.

MarJam Supply Co. has acquired a Lainhart & Potter, a 119-year-old Florida hardware and LBM dealer, with locations in West Palm and Juniper. These two locations will expand MarJam’s current Florida yards, which include Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers and Wildwood.

George’s Hardware, a home-improvement store in Gainesville, Fla., closed at the beginning of December, according to an article in the Gainesville Sun.

Owner Robert George, a second-generation dealer, helped his father and uncle run a Miami hardware store for 42 years. The family relocated to Gainesville and bought Glock’s Hardware in 1967. Eventually, George took over the renamed store from his parents.    

The Hillman Companies has announced the purchase of certain assets of Micasa Trading Corp., a Miami-based based producer of the OOK brand of picture hangers and related products. Annual revenues of Micasa for 2010 exceeded $15 million.

Established in 1964 by David Weck, Micasa serves home centers and hardware retailers, as well as art galleries and the professional market.

A Home Depot sales associate in Deerfield Beach, Fla., helped end an organized crime operation that defrauded the retailer of more than $97,000 in merchandise, according to an article in the Sun Sentinel.

Authorities arrested Bobby Joe Ellis Staley, 34, who they claim was able to make fraudulent purchases by duping the company that handles credit card accounts for Home Depot into adding him as an authorized purchaser.

Banner Supply Co., the Miami-based drywall distributor, has agreed to pay $53 million to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming it sold defective drywall imported from China. The settlement offer, which is still subject to court approval, will be deposited into an escrow account for plaintiffs who claim their houses need remedial work after being built with toxic drywall.

Banner and its insurers deny any wrongdoing, pointing out that the company never manufactured the drywall it sold or delivered. 

Miami-based home builder Lennar Corp. posted a profit of $27.4 million in the first quarter ended Feb. 28. That compares with a loss of $6.5 million in the same quarter last year.

Revenues were down 3% to $558.0 million, as the company's gross margin on home sales improved 80 basis points to 20.0%.  

A moving-truck rental deal with Penske Truck Rental has been expanded from its original pilot program in Richmond, Va., to include five Miami, Fla.-area Home Depot stores, according to a report from Dow Jones.

The Atlanta-based retailer has made no announcement regarding the potential roll-out of the pilot program to more stores.