Business North Carolina articles from April 2003

Business North Carolina archives from April 2003

Never too old to learn. (Up Front).(student retention)
April 1, 2003... As one measure of Eastern North Carolina's economic vitality for his cover story in our February issue, Ed Martin wanted to see what percentage of its students finish high school. Sifting through N.C. Department of Public Instruction data, he...

Trend.(economic indicators)
April 1, 2003... TREND Latest Previous month month EMPLOYMENT (1) Total employed (000s) 3,698.5 3,711.5 Civilian labor force...

With liberalized trade, gain outweighs the pain. (Economic Outlook).(University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's, Thomas Oatley )(Interview)
April 1, 2003... An associate professor of political science at UNC Chapel Hill, Thomas Oatley co-wrote a white paper that says liberalizing trade, despite the pain to displaced workers, is beneficial because it lowers prices and creates jobs that often pay...

Wachovia thinks deal will prove Prudential. (Money Matters).(Wachovia Corp. to merge with Prudential Financial Inc.)
April 1, 2003... Buying low is a key to success in the market. Wachovia Corp. hopes it applies to building stock brokerages, too. Charlotte-based Wachovia (NYSE: WB) will pay no money up front to combine its retail brokerage with Newark, N.J.-based...

Tar Heel Stock Watch.(stock prices of North Carolina companies)(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Expensive stocks Highest price-earnings ratios among North Carolina stocks P/E 01/31/03 52-week Company ratio * price range Winston Hotels ...

Group says subsidizing movies is a film-flam. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Institute for Justice sues North Carolina Department of Commerce)
April 1, 2003... It's not that Michael Byrne hates movies. But the executive director of the North Carolina chapter of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Justice says $8 a ticket is enough for anyone to have to pay. In particular, he thinks Tar Heels...

Foes: trolley takes taxpayers for a ride. (Tar Heel Tattler).
April 1, 2003... You can tell it's the Charlotte trolley. Instead of clang, clang, it goes ka-ching, ka-ching: Fifteen years after it was started as a nonprofit enterprise needing little or no public money, the line will cost taxpayers more than $33 million....

Tattle Tales.
April 1, 2003... * Wild blue yonder: Complaining that hard-partying employees left a company jet in "beyond acceptable" condition, Wachovia has threatened to ground anyone it catches flying too high. In other words, too much booze, you lose -- your job. *...

Data Bits.(U.S. states ranked by percentage of traffic fatalities that occurred on interstate highways)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... DATA BITS THE ROAD LET'S TRAVEL Only a small percentage of Tar Heel traffic fatalities in 2001 occurred on interstate highways. National Interstate rank deaths 1 Wisconsin 5% 2...

Accusations distill developer's fears. (Tar Heel Tattler).(ethanol plant developer Bill Horton)
April 1, 2003... The accusation could have come from an Oliver Stone script: "This is a complex and intricate conspiracy involving extortion, corruption and racketeering by public and private individuals reaching the highest levels of state government." ...

His stars run off, but coach is still on track. (Tar Heel Tattler).(track, field stars Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery leave coach Trevor Graham)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... It should have been a time of joy: Raleigh sprint specialist Trevor Graham was being honored by USA Track & Field, the sport's governing body, as 2002 Nike Coach of the Year. Yet rumors abounded that his biggest stars, Marion Jones and Tim...

Maola Milk and Ice Cream. (Eastern).(acquired by Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... NEW BERN -- Reston, Va.-based Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative bought Maola Milk and Ice Cream for an undisclosed amount. Maola will operate as a subsidiary of the cooperative. No layoffs of Maola's 400 North Carolina employees...

ConAgra Foods. (Eastern).(is closing its turkey-processing plant in Wallace, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... WALLACE -- Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods is closing its turkey-processing plant here, eliminating 450 jobs. The shutdown was scheduled to begin in March. ConAgra is consolidating poultry operations in the Midwest.

Air System Components. (Eastern).(to expand plant and increase employment)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... TARBORO -- Richardson, Texas-based Air System Components will expand its plant and increase employment by 120, to about 350. The company, which makes grilles, registers and diffusers for heating and cooling systems, is spending $3 million for...

Weyerhaeuser. (Eastern).(announces layoffs at Plymouth, North Carolina, mill)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... PLYMOUTH -- Federal Way, Wash.-based Weyerhaeuser laid off about 13% of the work force at its paper mill here. The cuts, scheduled to be completed by the end of March, left the mill with 1,135 workers. The company blamed foreign competition.

PrettlNoma Systems. (Eastern).(is spending $10 million on plant to make appliance panels)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... WASHINGTON -- Germany-based PrettlNoma Systems is spending $10 million on a plant to make appliance panels. It will employ 84 when it opens in June and about 200 within a few years. The company is a supplier for Germany-based BSH Home...

Cedar Creek Fibers. (Eastern).(filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... FAYETTEVILLE -- Cedar Creek Fibers, created when Shrewsbury, N.J.-based Wellman closed its polyester plant here in May 2002, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The company, made up of former Wellman executives, cited the rising cost of raw...

West Pharmaceutical Services.(offered incentives to rebuild plant)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Caption: Lenoir County has offered $600,000 in incentives for Lionville, Pa.-based West Pharmaceutical Services to rebuild its plant in Kinston. Dust was blamed far a January explosion that killed four and destroyed the plant, which employed...

NT Techno. (Triangle).(is building a $21 million plant)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... OXFORD -- Japan-based NT Techno, which makes automotive transmission parts, is building a $21 million plant that will employ 40 when it opens in June. The company expects to be in full production by spring 2004. It will supply parts to another...

Paradigm Genetics. (Triangle).(is selling its plant-genotyping business to DNA LandMarks)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Researcher Paradigm Genetics is selling its plant-genotyping business to Canada-based DNA LandMarks. The deal was expected to close in February. Paradigm plans to focus on crop-trait and protection research.

Measurement. (Triangle).(to buy and renovate plant )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... DURHAM -- Standardized-test maker Measurement is buying the 100-year-old D.C. May plant and plans to spend $4.2 million to renovate it for office and warehouse space. Measurement did not disclose the purchase price. The deal is expected to...

First Citizens Bank. (Triangle).(is buying First Virginia Bank branch)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... RALEIGH -- First Citizens Bank, a subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares, is buying the Emporia, Va., branch of Hampton Roads-based First Virginia Bank. Price was not disclosed. First Citizens expects the deal to close in the second quarter.

Teamm Pharmaceuticals and Raleigh-based Respirics. (Triangle).(to make and market a new inhaler)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... MORRISVILLE -- Teamm Pharmaceuticals and Raleigh-based Respirics joined forces to make and market a new inhaler for people with asthma and other respiratory ailments. Teamm will pay royalties to Respirics, which is developing MDTurbo, based on...

Analytical Sciences. (Triangle).(acquired Protocare Services)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... DURHAM -- Health-care researcher Analytical Sciences acquired Santa Monica, Calif .-based health-care consultant Protocare Services. Protocare helps pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies bring products to market. The price was not...

LipoScience. (Triangle).(reduced its staff by 14%)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... RALEIGH -- LipoScience, which makes cholesterol blood-level tests, trimmed its staff 14%, down to 155. The company, which pulled back its plans to go public in October because of stock-market conditions, says it did not hit sales targets,...

Universal Leaf North America. (Triangle).(spending $11 million to renovate and equip warehouse)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... OXFORD -- Richmond, Va.-based Universal Leaf North America is spending $11 million to renovate and equip its warehouse here to process tobacco. The company, which closed a processing plant in nearby Henderson in July 2002, says the renovated...

Dominion plans. (Triangle).(to build merchant power plant in Roxboro, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ROXBORO -- Richmond, Va.-based energy company Dominion plans to build a $625 million gas-fired merchant power plant here. It would extend a pipeline to fuel the plant. The company wants to start construction in the second quarter and finish the...

NetOctave. (Triangle).(acquired by CyberGuard)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... MORRISVILLE -- Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based CyberGuard bought NetOctave, which makes network-security computer boards, for $1.5 million. CyberGuard, which makes security software, is keeping 11 of NetOctave's 15 employees. Started in 2000,...

Wake County residents spend 70% more on transportation than people in rural Warren County.(ranking of North Carolina counties by per capita transportation spending)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Wake County residents spend 70% more on transportation than people in rural Warren County. Per capita spending Wake $2,759 Orange 2,483 Moore 2,477 Durham 2,459 Lee ...

Founder Vivek Wadhwa stepped down as CEO of Relativity Technologies. (Triangle).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Caption: Founder Vivek Wadhwa (Mouth Piece, April 2002) stepped down as CEO of Relativity Technologies. His successor is veteran high-tech exec Steve Maysonave. Wadhwa was looking to cut back on his responsibilities after a heart attack last...

Yankee Commodity Foods. (Triad).(is buying the former Luck's Foods plant)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... SEAGROVE -- Norfolk, Va.-based Yankee Commodity Foods is buying the former Luck's Foods plant. It plans to can greens, apples, green beans and sweet potatoes in the 188,000-square-foot building. The company plans to invest $3.4 million in the...

Sears, Roebuck and Co. (Triad).(closes call center)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... GREENSBORO -- Sears, Roebuck and Co. closed its call center, putting 324 out of work because of "a change in business circumstances." The center was scheduled to shut down in mid-March.

Guilford leads the state's five largest counties in percentage of people who didn't finish high school.(ranking of North Carolina counties)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Guilford leads the state's five largest counties in percentage of people who didn't finish high school. U.S. No rank County/State diploma 1 Hidalgo, Texas 42.2% 2 Cameron, Texas ...

Levolor-Kirsch Window Fashions. (Triad).(closes High Point, North Carolina, plant)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... HIGH POINT -- Levolor-Kirsch Window Fashions, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, closed its plant here, which employed 182 making blinds and other window coverings, in March. About 250 employees remain in High Point at a call center and division...

Blue Rhino. (Triad).(acquired Surburban Propane's cylinder-exchange business)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... WINSTON-SALEM -- Propane dealer Blue Rhino bought New Jersey-based Surburban Propane's cylinder-exchange business. It operated as USA Cylinder Exchange at 1,500 locations in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. Terms weren't disclosed.

Samet. (Triad).(choosen to build ballpark in Greensboro, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... GREENSBORO -- Samet will build a $20 million minor-league baseball stadium in downtown Greensboro. The general contractor was chosen from six local contractors invited to bid. Samet will team with Michigan-based Barton Malow, builder of...

Pine State Knitwear. (Triad).(goes out of business)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... MOUNT AIRY -- Pine State Knitwear closed in February, putting 303 out of work. The sweater maker had been in business here 73 years. Company executives blamed the closing on lower-cost imports.

Fairchild Industrial Products. (Triad).(filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... WINSTON-SALEM -- Fairchild Industrial Products, which makes pneumatic controls and other industrial products, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company is sound, its attorney says, but wanted to stave off an attempt by a lender to...

Steven D. Bell & Co. (Triad).(acquisition of Henry Town Center shopping center )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... GREENSBORO -- Investors led by Steven D. Bell & Co. bought the 720,710-square-foot Henry Town Center shopping center near Atlanta for about $50 million. The center opened in July 2002 and includes Belk and Target stores. Bell owns or manages...

Honda Power Equipment Manufacturing. (Triad).(new facilities and hirings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... SWEPSONVILLE -- Honda Power Equipment Manufacturing will add 200 full-time jobs to its 370-person work force here. The company is building a third production line - cost $30 million - to increase its output of small engines for lawn mowers and...

BB&T. (Triad).(acquisition of First Virginia Banks)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... WINSTON-SALEM -- BB&T, the nation's 13th-largest financial holding company, would become the 11th-largest with its $3.4 billion purchase of Falls Church-based First Virginia Banks. It's BB&T's largest acquisition and, if approved, would ratchet...

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts made itself famous with tasty pastries that have no center. (Triad).(plans for new headquarters complex)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Caption: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts made itself famous with tasty pastries that have no center. But its plans for a new headquarters complex should sweeten the appeal of Winston-Salem's core. The $60 million downtown project -- owned and operated...

SPX. (Charlotte).(acquisition of Hankison International )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Manufacturing conglomerate SPX bought a Pennsylvania maker of industrial filters for an undisclosed sum. Hankison International has annual sales of $60 million.

Government Acquisitions. (Charlotte).(not enough sponsors for law-enforcement vehicles)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... MOORESVILLE -- The town will not get those free police cars after all. Charlotte-based Government Acquisitions, which tries to secure sponsors to pay for law-enforcement vehicles, couldn't find enough companies to sign on for NASCAR-type logos...

The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. (Charlotte).(employment forecast)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Local businesses announced 12,025 new jobs last year, about 2,000 more than the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce had forecast. Tony Crumbley, vice president for research, attributes it to a gradually improving local economy. The...

Blythe Construction. (Charlotte).(contract for interstate road construction)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CONCORD -- Motorists on a congested eight-mile section of Interstate 85 north of Lowe's Motor Speedway should get relief in late 2004. Blythe Construction won an $87.5 million bid to add two lanes to the interstate in each direction. To speed...

Meridian Industries. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... BELMONT -- Meridian Industries, a Milwaukee-based textile manufacturer, will cut 70 jobs at its Belmont Dryers plant and 56 at its Valdese Manufacturing plant in Valdese. Officials blamed low-priced imported yarns.

Mecklenburg had the region's highest median home price in 2000, but prices grew faster elsewhere in the '90s.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Mecklenburg had the region's highest median home price in 2000, but prices grew faster elsewhere in the '90s. Median Country (000s) Change Iredell $116.1 43.3% Union 128.5 42.2 Cabarrus ...

Minka Group. (Charlotte).(new distribution center )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CONCORD -- Minka Group, which supplies decorative lighting to homebuilders and others, will build a 365,000-square-foot distribution center here that will employ more than 50. The California company opened a Charlotte center in 1998, but...

Collezione Europa. (Charlotte).(facilities expansion)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CLAREMONT -- Collezione Europa, which distributes imported furniture, will enlarge its operation here more than a third rather than going ahead with a $30 million renovation of a closed Broyhill Furniture Industries plant in nearby Newton. The...

Meineke Car Care Center. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Meineke Discount Mufflers renamed itself Meineke Car Care Center to reflect growth into brake service, oil changes, air-conditioner service and other lines. President Ken Walker says mufflers now make up only 40% of sales.

Neworld. (Charlotte).(Pakistani bedding manufacturer to open facility )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... RANLO -- A Pakistani company, Neworld, is opening a bedding manufacturing and distribution center, investing about $5 million to refit a former Carolina Mills textile plant. Operations will start in May with about 75 workers.

Gold Toe. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... NEWTON -- Burlington-based Gold Toe will shut down its sock factory here by July, costing Catawba County, already hit hard by telecommunications layoffs, 290 jobs. Gold Toe is consolidating operations at plants in Burlington and moving other...

Day & Zimmermann. (Charlotte).(Charlotte office to close)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Engineering company Day & Zimmermann will close its office here in June, due to a slowdown in building in the chemical and manufacturing industries. About 100 employees may transfer to other offices, including Greenville, S.C.,...

Citing the need for more private rooms.(Carolinas HealthCare System's Carolinas Medical Center)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Caption: Citing the need for more private rooms, accommodations for brain- and trauma-surgery patients and space for new technology, Charlotte-based Carolinas HealthCare System wants to spend $70 million to expand its flagship Carolinas Medical...

The Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. (Western).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ASHEVILLE -- Officials anticipate that Henderson and Haywood counties will be added later this year to the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area, now just Buncombe and Madison counties. They would have boosted the MSA's 2000 population from...

Lowe's Co. (Western).(Robert Tillman resigns)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... NORTH WILKESBORO -- Robert Tillman, chairman and CEO of Lowe's Cos., relinquished the post of president to the hardware-store chain's former chief financial officer. As president, Robert Niblock, 40, is responsible for store operations,...

The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa. (Western).(plans for mixed use development)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ASHEVILLE -- The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa wants to build a mixed-use development and condominiums on city-owned property downtown. The resort has asked City Council for a six-month option to give Grove Park time to determine the project's...

Lark Books. (Western).(acquired by Barnes and Noble)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ASHEVILLE -- Lark Books, which publishes about 60 titles a year, became part of the Barnes & Noble book-selling empire. The New York-based retailer paid $115 million for Lark's New York-based parent, Sterling Publishing. No layoffs are expected...

Mission St. Joseph's Health System. (Western).(to change name to Mission Hospitals and Clinics)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ASHEVILLE -- Mission St. Joseph's Health System hopes to simplify its patients' lives by simplifying its name. Starting in October, it will be called Mission Hospitals and Clinics. Mission executives say the current name, along with the health...

Phoenix Ski. (Western).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... MAGGIE VALLEY -- Phoenix Ski, which runs Cataloochee Ski Area, bought the 110 acres on which the resort sits from Birmingham, Ala.based Sheep Pasture Development for $1.6 million. Phoenix has operated Cataloochee 12 years.

Ingles Markets. (Western).(president Vic Fisher retires)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ASHEVILLE -- Vic Fisher retired as president and director of Ingles Markets. Fisher joined Ingles in 1972 and became president in 1996. Robert Ingle, chairman and CEO, will serve as interim president until a successor is named.

Still stuck in the rough, the GGO switches seasons to get back in the swing of things with top players. (Fall Guys).(DaimlerChrysler Corp. sponsors Greater Greensboro Open)
April 1, 2003... The golf course at Greensboro's Forest Oaks Country Club is a mess today. With portions of its rain-soaked turf ripped open and its muddy innards spilling onto paved pathways, the course seems more like a patient in surgery than the home of a...

She's not a lawyer or engineer, but Ruth Shaw was considered the best man for the job of restoring Duke Power's reputation. (Duchess Power).
April 1, 2003... Eleven years ago, they settled into a routine, meeting every few days for breakfast behind glass partitions of a restaurant in a downtown Charlotte hotel. He was a balding, somber-suited executive pushing 60. She might pass for a fortyish...

The state's last fish factory has not died. Its detractors say it just smells that way. (Finis?).(Beaufort Fisheries Inc.)
April 1, 2003... When he stands on the wharf of the state's sole surviving menhaden fishing-and-processing operation -- one of only two on the East Coast -- Beaufort Fisheries Inc.'s president and general manager can easily imagine fins circling him. Jule...

Expect changes in corporate travel. (Special Advertising Section).(Directory)
April 1, 2003... These are, putting it mildly, difficult times for the country's second-largest industry. Over the past two years the airline industry alone lost $16 billion, and even the most optimistic forecasts sound dismal. Virtually all hotels and...

Triad's success based on teamwork. (Regional Focus).(Piedmont Triad Partnership)
April 1, 2003... Whatever the sport, a team can be only as good as its members. And while it's business instead of sports, nowhere in North Carolina is this more true than in the Piedmont Triad Partnership. Anchored by Greensboro, High Point and...

Outward Bound exec sets a survival course. (People).(Henry Browning)
April 1, 2003... Henry Browning's first adventures were free. "I was about 9, and we didn't live far from Linville [Gorge], so I'd go backpacking and hiking there." North Carolina Outward Bound was headquartered in Morganton, his hometown. "My brother took a...

She gets top dollar for arts in Charlotte. (People).(Harriet Sanford, president of Charlotte's nonprofit Arts and Science Council)
April 1, 2003... When Harriet Sanford was a girl, her father worked two and three jobs to support his family, including welding and driving trucks in her hometown of Colonie, two hours north of New York City. "It's hard to say how he came to appreciate music,...

Use birds that don't fly in the ointment. (People).(use of emu oil )
April 1, 2003... Richard Guy wasn't quite buying what Andy Martin and Johnny Johnson were selling in March 2001. "That sounds like snake oil," he remembers saying. Actually, it was emu oil. Martin and Johnson, owners of Johnson Emu Inc. in Eva, Ala., had hoped...