Florida Newswire - Neotrope News Network

Dark Matter Technologies and Mezzo bring one-to-many verification orchestration to lenders

Dark Matter Technologies — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:00:29 +0000

FLORIDA NEWSWIRE (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) --- Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative leader in home lending technology, today announced an integration with Mezzo, creator of the mortgage industry's first one-to-many operating architecture for third-party services. Available through Dark Matter's Exchange℠ Partner Marketplace, the integration gives lenders using the Empower® Loan Origination Solution a single gateway and workflow across multiple verification providers, with standardized reporting and without the cost and timeline of individual vendor integrations.

Historically, each additional verification vendor has meant another integration, another workflow and fragmented reporting. The integration removes that trade-off. Lenders using Empower can turn on a new provider already integrated with Mezzo with the flip of a switch, with no integration expense or development timeline.

Within Empower, lenders use Mezzo's VoX (Verification of Everything) orchestration gateway to build an unlimited number of verification waterfalls tailored to their strategy. Loan attributes determine the path, and each provider's response determines whether the waterfall continues or stops. That replaces a process that is manual today, in which a processor orders from one vendor and, when no result comes back, logs into the next. VoX also catches duplicate orders before they become duplicate fees and returns results in one normalized format.

Every VoX transaction generates an immutable trace log showing which providers were queried, in what order and what each returned. That audit trail gives lenders a clear view of vendor performance to inform future routing and vendor decisions. "Lenders have always known that optimizing their vendor mix could improve margins and reduce turn times," said Vikas Rao, CEO of Dark Matter Technologies. "The problem has been the cost and friction of doing it. The integration between Dark Matter and Mezzo solves that by bringing vendor-neutral orchestration directly into Empower, giving our clients the control and visibility to act on what they already know."

"The value of vendor choice is only realized when lenders can execute on it efficiently," said Jina Choi, AMP, president of Mezzo." Mezzo removes the integration barrier, automates the waterfall and gives lenders a single source of truth for vendor performance, with measurable ROI in as little as 30 days. Through this integration with Empower, that capability is now available to some of the industry's most sophisticated lenders."

The integration will debut at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Annual Convention and Expo, October 11-14 in Chicago, and will be available to Dark Matter clients following the event. Clients should contact their account manager for more information.

ABOUT DARK MATTER TECHNOLOGIES:

Dark Matter Technologies is the trusted innovation partner that empowers home lending. As the home of the Empower loan origination solution with its integrated point-of-sale, intelligence suite and partner marketplace, Dark Matter moves enterprise lenders and servicers from doing to reviewing with its unified data model and exception-based processing. For more information, visit https://dmatter.com .

ABOUT MEZZO:

Mezzo builds the operational layer that unifies and standardizes a lender's fragmented third-party services ecosystem. Accessible through the LOS, AI-native technology executes a lender's own rules and strategy through dynamic waterfalls, appends verified data and triggers cross-service actions in real time to fine-tune cost and performance across verifications, credit, fees and automated underwriting technology, including Desktop Underwriter® and Loan Product Advisor®. Every run is transparent and self-optimizing, providing a complete audit trail of every decision while continuously improving execution and reporting ROI on every loan.

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This version of news story was first published on and is Copr. © 2026 Florida Newswire (FloridaNewswire.com) - all rights reserved.

184 New Packaging Industry Projects Drive $17B+ Capital Pipeline in August 2026

Industrial SalesLeads Inc — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:00:43 +0000

FLORIDA NEWSWIRE (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) --- Industrial SalesLeads tracking for August 2026 identified 184 capital projects where packaging equipment is a procurement opportunity or where the operating company is a packaging manufacturer. Spanning more than 30 states and Canadian provinces, these projects range from single-facility equipment upgrades to multi-billion-dollar campus construction, with 20 projects valued at $100 million or more and 137 in planning and design, representing procurement conversations yet to be won.

The 184 projects break into 181 leads with packaging equipment flagged in project opportunity alerts. They define a deep and actionable pipeline for packaging equipment suppliers across the U.S. and Canadian manufacturing sector.

The following are selected highlights on new Packaging industry construction.

Packaging - By Industry Segment

* General Manufacturing - 140 New Projects

* Food & Beverage Processing - 25 New Projects

* Packaging Manufacturers - 9 New Projects

* Pharmaceutical / Cannabis Processing - 7 New Projects

* Distribution & Logistics - 2 New Projects

* Refrigerated Facilities - 1 New Project

Packaging - By Project Scope/Activity

* Equipment Upgrades - 115 New Projects

* Renovations - 73 New Projects

* Expansions - 71 New Projects

* New Construction - 41 New Projects

* Relocations - 16 New Projects

Packaging - By Project Stage

* Planning/Design - 137 New Projects

* Approval - 36 New Projects

* Conceptual - 11 New Projects

Packaging - By Project Value

> $100 Million - 20 New Projects

$25 - 100 Million - 27 New Projects

$10 - 25 Million - 38 New Projects

$5 - 10 Million - 28 New Projects

$1 - 5 Million - 27 New Projects

< $1 Million - 4 New Projects

Packaging - By Project Location (Top 10 States)

* Ohio - 12

* New York - 12

* Pennsylvania - 11

* California - 10

* Indiana - 10

* Massachusetts - 8

* Wisconsin - 8

* Alabama - 7

* North Carolina - 7

* Tennessee - 7

LARGEST PLANNED PROJECT

During the month of August, our research team identified 20 new packaging-adjacent industrial facility construction projects with an estimated value of $100 million or more.

The largest project is owned by SpaceX, who is planning to invest $17 billion for the construction of a 100 million sf manufacturing, processing, and warehouse campus in GEORGETOWN, TX. Packaging equipment is flagged as a procurement opportunity for the project. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

Top 10 Tracked Packaging-Adjacent Projects

TEXAS:
Aerospace company is planning to invest $17 billion for the construction of a 100 million sf manufacturing, processing, and warehouse campus in GEORGETOWN, TX. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

CONNECTICUT:
Submarine mfr. is planning to invest $5 billion for the expansion, renovation, and equipment upgrades on their manufacturing complex in GROTON, CT. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

OREGON:
Semiconductor equipment mfr. is planning to invest $1.5 billion for the expansion of their manufacturing campus in TUALATIN, OR by 210,000 sf. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

COLORADO:
Tobacco products processor is planning to invest $1.2 billion for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their processing facility in AURORA, CO. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

NORTH CAROLINA:
Wire and cable mfr. is planning to invest $1 billion for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their manufacturing facility in CLAREMONT, NC. Completion is slated for 2028.

ARIZONA:
Industrial gas mfr. is planning to invest $1 billion for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their processing complex in PHOENIX, AZ. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

INDIANA:
Construction equipment mfr. is planning to invest $890 million for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their manufacturing facility in LAFAYETTE, IN. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

OHIO:
Pharmaceutical company is planning to invest $750 million for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their manufacturing facilities in BLUE ASH, OH and HAMILTON, OH.

OREGON:
Biotechnology company is planning to invest $750 million for the expansion of their processing and manufacturing campus in HILLSBORO, OR. Completion is slated for 2031.

OHIO:
Sterilization products manufacturer and services company is planning to invest $600 million for the construction of a 600,000 sf processing and distribution campus in SANFORD, NC. Completion is slated for late 2028.

About Industrial SalesLeads, Inc.

Since 1959, Industrial SalesLeads, based in Jacksonville, FL is a leader in delivering industrial capital project intelligence and prospecting services for sales and marketing teams to ensure a predictable and scalable pipeline. Our Industrial Market Intelligence, IMI, identifies timely insights on companies planning significant capital investments such as new construction, expansion, relocation, equipment modernization and plant closings in industrial facilities.

Each month, our team provides hundreds of industrial reports within a variety of industries.

Website: https://www.salesleadsinc.com/
Blog: https://www.salesleadsinc.com/blog/

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This version of news story was first published on and is Copr. © 2026 Florida Newswire (FloridaNewswire.com) - all rights reserved.

EnergyCAP Adds Insights to its Energy Management Platform as Customers Report 3x More Value Than They Pay

EnergyCAP — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 14:10:22 +0000

FLORIDA NEWSWIRE (ORLANDO, Fla.) --- EnergyCAP®, the leading utility and energy management platform for public and private sector organizations, announced Insights, a new capability to their energy and utility management platform, that brings reporting, alerting and prioritization together so energy teams can focus on what's most important. The announcement came at Catalyst Converge, the company's 20th annual conference where energy, facilities, finance and sustainability teams are gathered for three days of learning, collaboration, and product innovation.

This year's event marks two decades of the annual, in-person conference, bringing together longtime customers as well as those experiencing Catalyst for the first time. The 2026 theme, Converge, reflects how energy management is changing as data, teams, and technology come together to solve increasingly complex challenges.

Closely following EnergyCAP Watts AI and Watts Chat, which were released earlier this year, Insights is built on powerful AI technology that lets users better understand their data and quickly surface their most pressing issues.

Beyond new products like Insights, EnergyCAP is applying the latest AI and automation across the platform to strengthen proven workflows. In Bill Capture, new technology improves processing speed and accuracy while reducing manual work and exceptions.

The launch follows a productive year for the platform. Last month, the company released its 2026 Value of EnergyCAP report, based on responses from customers across every industry they serve. Among the findings, more than 9 in 10 customers say that EnergyCAP meets or exceeds their ROI expectations, 1 in 4 had their expectations exceeded, and customers report receiving 3 times more value from EnergyCAP than they pay for it.

"Twenty years of Catalyst have taught us the same thing every year: the best ideas in utility management come from the people doing the work," said Shawn Lankton, CEO of EnergyCAP. "Our customers don't need help finding more problems - they have plenty competing for their time and attention. They need help prioritizing what matters and getting the right data in the right format to share across teams. Our latest product innovation brings those pieces together so our customers can focus on the work that has the greatest impact."

Watts Reports allows all customers, regardless of expertise or experience, to quickly build the custom reports that simplify their complex data into exactly what they need, then refine, save, rerun, and share the report output. Watts Alerts let customers define what matters to them and choose how they want to be notified when it happens. The Signals dashboard brings key issues and priorities into one place, ranked by impact so teams know where to focus first.

Together, these capabilities form Insights and extend EnergyCAP's broader investment in AI and automation while building on the centralized data and longstanding technology customers have trusted for more than four decades.

Melanie Stewart, Senior Sustainability and Energy Consultant at IMEG, said "We've started creating reports around the questions we're trying to answer, with the flexibility to refine and reuse them as our needs change. Even from our early experience, we're excited about the value Watts Reports could bring to our team."

Catalyst Converge continues September 14-16 in Orlando, Florida. The program features founder and former CEO, Steve Heinz, athletes and advocates for inclusion Kyle and Brent Pease, multiple learning tracks, and customer-led sessions including NASA Kennedy Space Center, Miami-Dade County, and the University of Arizona.

The next Catalyst is already taking shape and is planned for September 20-22, 2027, in Austin, Texas.

About EnergyCAP

EnergyCAP is the leading utility and energy management platform, trusted by more than 750 organizations and tracking more than $100 billion in utility bill value annually. EnergyCAP combines four decades of energy management expertise with purpose-built automation and AI to turn complex utility, energy, and emissions data into faster answers, fewer errors, and lower costs. For more information, visit the Insights webpage at: https://www.energycap.com/utility-bill-energy-management-software/features/insights.

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This version of news story was first published on and is Copr. © 2026 Florida Newswire (FloridaNewswire.com) - all rights reserved.

Seriously Italian. Never Serious. – Naples Flatbread Debuts a Reinvented Menu at Miromar Outlets Sept 14

Naples Flatbread Kitchen and Bar — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:00:21 +0000

FLORIDA NEWSWIRE (ESTERO, Fla.) --- Naples Flatbread Kitchen & Bar has launched a top-to-bottom reinvention of its menu on Monday, September 14 at Miromar Outlets - the heart of a rebrand built on one promise - seriously Italian, never serious.

Guests have taken to calling it "the fun Italian," and the family-run restaurant is happy to wear it: authentic Italian ingredients, none of the formality.

THE NEW MENU LEADS WITH

Italian Tacos
- warm piadina folded around fillings like limoncello shrimp and Grandpa Vinny's meatballs with ricotta alongside

La Mortazza
- the restaurant's take on the mortadella-and-stracciatella pizza currently sweeping Rome and Bologna;

Three Little Pigs
- a ham-pepperoni-pancetta pie finished with hot honey; and scratch pastas like

Pasta e Piselli
- Grandmas original peas and macaroni with pancetta recipe

The kitchen's foundation stays proudly serious: San Marzano DOP tomatoes, a proprietary high-gluten/Caputo 00 flour blend, and a 700-degree hearth oven.

Beyond the plate, the restaurant leans into what already makes it one of the area's more unusual rooms:

- Southwest Florida's original 54-tap self-pour wall with beer, cider, botanicals, meads, and cocktails poured by the ounce

- a guest-controlled jukebox, and

- a dog-friendly patio that now gets its own Pup Menu, headlined by an 8-ounce "Wagyu Woofer."

The reinvention arrives as the restaurant enters its 18th year at Miromar Outlets - eighteen years of refusing to sit still. When Naples Flatbread opened in February 2009, the menu was a modest lineup of paninis, pizzas, flatbreads, and a handful of pastas, served with beer and wine only. Since then the concept has never stopped evolving - a full bar, then the self-pour tap wall, interior remodels every four to five years, and now a menu rebuilt top to bottom.

"We're seriously Italian about ingredients and never serious about anything else," said owner Ralph Desiano, who operates the restaurant with his wife. "We've been reinventing this place since 2009 - keeping things fresh for our guests is the whole point. And if nonna wouldn't approve of a pizza named Three Little Pigs, she hasn't tasted it yet."

The food menu is only the first act. A reinvented drink menu follows close behind, led by "Italia, Poured" - an all-Italian cocktail section - and a barrel program crowned by the Starlight Mizunara Reserve, a bourbon finished in rare Japanese Mizunara oak that was named Best Overall Bourbon at the 2025 World Spirits Competition. A rebuilt weekend brunch arrives in October. Email subscribers get early access Sept 14-17; a public launch party follows in early October, with jukebox happy hour, tap-wall specials, and the dog patio in full swing.

Naples Flatbread Kitchen & Bar | Miromar Outlets, Estero | https://naplesflatbread.com/ | @naplesflatbread

Food and Beverage Sector Surges to Second-Highest Month of 2026 with 63 New Planned Projects in August

Industrial SalesLeads Inc — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:00:10 +0000

FLORIDA NEWSWIRE (JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) --- Industrial SalesLeads announced today the August 2026 results for its planned capital project spending report for the Food and Beverage industry, tracking North American facility expansions, new plant construction, and significant equipment modernization projects.

The Firm's research team confirmed 63 new planned projects in the Food and Beverage sector during August, marking a strong rebound from July's 51 projects and the second highest month of 2026, trailing only March's peak of 66 projects. After a mid-year softening through April, May, and July, August's surge signals renewed momentum in the sector, with activity led by processing facilities at 43 new projects and distribution and industrial warehouse at 28 new projects.

The following are selected highlights on new Food and Beverage industry construction news.

Food and Beverage Project Type

* Processing Facilities - 43 New Projects

* Distribution and Industrial Warehouse - 28 New Projects

Food and Beverage Project Scope/Activity

* New Construction - 17 New Projects

* Expansion - 19 New Projects

* Renovations/Equipment Upgrades - 29 New Projects

* Plant Closing - 10 New Projects

Food and Beverage Project Location (Top 10 States)

* New York - 7

* California - 6

* Pennsylvania - 6

* Kentucky - 4

* Minnesota - 3

* New Jersey - 3

* Colorado - 2

* Illinois - 2

* Indiana - 2

* Iowa - 2

Largest Planned Project

During the month of August, our research team identified 5 new Food and Beverage facility construction projects with an estimated value of $100 million or more.

The largest project is owned by Philip Morris International, who is planning to invest $1.2 billion for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their processing facility in AURORA, CO. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

Top 10 Tracked Food and Beverage Projects

MINNESOTA:
Cheese mfr. is planning to invest $135 million for a 120,000 sf expansion and equipment upgrades on their processing and warehouse facility at 13200 County Road 51 in BONGARDS, MN. They are currently seeking approval for the project. Construction is expected to start in late 2026, with completion slated for early 2028.

LOUISIANA:
Beverage company is planning to invest $106 million for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their distribution facility in ALEXANDRIA, LA. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

NEW YORK:
Global retail chain is planning for the construction of a 1.5 million sf distribution center in WALLKILL, NY. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

KENTUCKY:
Food products mfr. is planning for the construction of a 552,000 sf distribution center at 6630 Lewis Ln. in LOUISVILLE, KY. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

IOWA:
Agricultural processing company is planning to invest $56 million for the renovation and equipment upgrades on their processing facility in CLINTON, IA. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

NORTH CAROLINA:
Food and beverage mfr. is planning to invest $37 million for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their processing facility at 1040 Cedar Crest Dr. in BURLINGTON, NC. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

GEORGIA:
Pet food mfr. is planning to invest $32 million for a 301,000 sf expansion and equipment upgrades on their distribution center at 4955 Oakley Industrial Blvd. in FAIRBURN, GA. They are currently seeking approval for the project. Construction is expected to start in late Fall 2026, with completion slated for Fall 2027.

PENNSYLVANIA:
Pet food mfr. is planning for the renovation and equipment upgrades on a 216,000 sf distribution and cold storage facility at 757 Hellertown Rd. in BETHLEHEM, PA. Completion is slated for late 2026.

TENNESSEE:
Food products mfr. is planning to invest $24 million for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their processing and warehouse facility in MT. JULIET, TN. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

NEW YORK:
Food products distributor is planning to invest $18 million for the renovation and equipment upgrades on their warehouse facility in GLOVERSVILLE, NY. They are currently seeking approval for the project.

About Industrial SalesLeads, Inc.

Since 1959, Industrial SalesLeads, based in Jacksonville, FL is a leader in delivering industrial capital project intelligence and prospecting services for sales and marketing teams to ensure a predictable and scalable pipeline. Our Industrial Market Intelligence, IMI identifies timely insights on companies planning significant capital investments such as new construction, expansion, relocation, equipment modernization and plant closings in industrial facilities. The Outsourced Prospecting Services, an extension to your sales team, is designed to drive growth with qualified meetings and appointments for your internal sales team. Visit us at https://salesleadsinc.com/.

Each month, our team provides hundreds of industrial reports within a variety of industries.