Business North Carolina articles from April 2005

Business North Carolina archives from April 2005

Pro-choice.(UP FRONT)
April 1, 2005... I had considered writing about the time I saved Hunter S. Thompson from getting busted when the father of gonzo journalism whipped out a joint in a bar frequented by off-duty Miami vice cops. But the prospect of doing two columns in a row on...

Trend.
April 1, 2005... Two-thirds of employers surveyed outsource human-resources tasks. PERSONNEL FILES (7) [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] ...

Stock watch.(Illustration)
April 1, 2005... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Highest price/earnings ratios P/E 2/25/05 52-week Company ratio (3) price range Summit Properties ...

School overcrowding reopens factory.(Comark Building Systems)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Comark Building Systems, which makes portable classrooms, will hire about 170 workers over three years for its new plant in Lumberton. It was scheduled to begin production this month in a 140,000-square-foot former mobile-home factory that it's...

Festival Park Plaza.(buildings and facilities)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... FAYETTEVILLE -- The city's Downtown Development Corp. will erect a $5.8 million building with stores and offices at the gateway to downtown's new Festival Park. About 14,000 of Festival Park Plaza's 42,000 square feet will be devoted to shops...

Harper Brush Works.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... GREENVILLE -- Fairfield, Iowa-based Harper Brush Works is moving into a plant that Rubbermaid closed in late 2003 when it moved operations to Mexico and China. Harper will eventually employ about 250--hiring 50 by this summer--to make brooms...

Holt Hosiery Mills.(EASTERN)(Facility closures)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... PENDERLEA -- Burlington-based Holt Hosiery Mills planned to close a 67-year-old factory here in March, eliminating 60 jobs. About 200 worked at the plant in 2002, when it was Pender County's third-largest employer. Production was to shift to a...

Army Corps of Engineers.(EASTERN)
April 1, 2005... OCEAN ISLE BEACH -- The Army Corps of Engineers postponed a beach-renourishment project after bids came in 25% higher than the $3.2 million it expected to pay. Some stretches of beach have eroded several hundred feet in recent years.

Cumberland County.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... FAYETTEVILLE -- If the legislature approves, Cumberland County could get its first state park. The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation wants to develop it on 1,173 acres of pine forest that the North Carolina Nature Conservancy bought in...

Working capital.(REGIONAL REPORT)
April 1, 2005... Source: Employment Security Commission, December. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of the average in 2000. [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

Icagen IPO isn't prescription-strength.(TRIANGLE)(Initial public offerings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Icagen landed about $37 million when it became the first Tar Heel company to go public since 2002, but it had hoped for more. The Durham drug developer cut its proposed IPO price from $12 to $8--and even that might have been too high. The stock...

Research Triangle Institute.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Research Triangle Institute broke ground on a $20 million, 78,000-square-foot science and engineering research building. The first wing is scheduled for completion in 2006. RTI is one of the nation's largest...

Spuntech Industries.(TRIANGLE)(Foreign operations)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... ROXBORO -- Spuntech Industries, a nine-year-old Israeli maker of nonwoven fabric used in dry and wet wipes, plans to open its first U.S. factory here later this year and create 60 jobs during the next three years. Average salary will be...

GlaxoSmith-Kline.(TRIANGLE)(downsizing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- British drug maker GlaxoSmith-Kline plans to cut 250 jobs--about half of them at its research center here and the rest in Philadelphia. The layoffs here--mostly marketing and administrative jobs--are about 2% of its...

Duke University.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... DURHAM -- William and Sue Gross gave Duke University $23.5 million. William Gross, a 1966 Duke graduate, is chief investment officer and a founder of Newport Beach, Calif.-based PIMCO, one of the world's largest bond-management firms. Most of...

LVL7 Systems.(TRIANGLE)(capital conatracts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... MORRISVILLE -- LVL7 Systems raised $21 million in venture capital from a group led by Menlo Park, Calif.-based U.S. Venture Partners. The five-year-old software maker's Fastpath helps communications-equipment makers get their products to market...

Constella Group.(TRIANGLE)(finance)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... DURHAM -- Constella Group, a 22-year-old provider of outsourced health services, raised $61 million in equity and debt for expansion and acquisitions from Wachovia Capital Partners and Wakefield Group, both based in Charlotte.

Cornerstone BioPharma.(increase employment )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CARY -- Cornerstone BioPharma plans to increase employment from 53 to about 130 by July. It sells drugs for infections, colds and congestion. It hopes to add antibiotics and pain relievers by tweaking or licensing approved drugs.

Arsenal Digital Solutions.(plans of expansion)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CARY -- Data storage manager Arsenal Digital Solutions plans to expand from 85 to about 110 employees, thanks to $15 million in senior debt from Wells Fargo Foothill, part of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo. Arsenal has raised $101 million in...

Greenfield Online.(acquires Rapidata.net)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... DURHAM -- Wilton, Conn.-based Greenfield Online bought Rapidata.net for $5.5 million. Greenfield is a publicly traded provider of Internet survey services. Rapidata.net helps drug market researchers find healthcare providers and patients. No...

Sysco.(plans to build new distribution center)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Sysco plans to start construction this spring on a 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Selma. The Houston-based food-service giant would employ as many as 600 workers in Selma during the next seven years. The overage salary will exceed...

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings.(partners with Medicity )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... BURLINGTON -- Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings has teamed with Salt Lake City-based Medicity to give physicians a way to order tests and get results online. Medicity offers secure Web sites that can house records and other patient...

Delta Air Lines.(invetments to build a maintenance hangar)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... GREENSBORO -- Cincinnati-based regional airline Comair, part of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, is spending $1.6 million to build a maintenance hangar at Piedmont Triad International Airport. It is scheduled to open by the end of the year and...

RF Micro Devices.(customer-support and microchip-design center in france)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... GREENSBORO -- RF Micro Devices, which makes integrated circuits for cell phones, opened a customer-support and microchip-design center in Toulouse, France. The company did not specify how many it will employ.

Wake Forest University.(Nathan D. Hatch appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... WINSTON-SALEM -- Nathan D. Hatch, former provost at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., will succeed Thomas Hearn as president of Wake Forest University July 1.

US Airways.(merge its call centers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... WINSTON-SALEM -- Arlington, Va.-based US Airways will consolidate its call centers by October. That could add 300 employees to the 850 who work here.

Lowe.(investing to build new corporate-data center )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... WINSTON-SALEM -- Mooresville-based hardware retailer Lowe's will spend $100 million to build a corporate-data center that will employ as many as 25 by mid-year.

Spinoff will be the size of a hurricane.(Sara Lee Corp. spins off it apparel division)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Winston-Salem is getting its third Fortune 500 company headquarters. Sara Lee plans to spin off its U.S. apparel division into a public company based in the Twin City as part of a restructuring to focus on food. The Chicago-based conglomerate...

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is getting leaner.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is getting leaner. The Winston-Salem doughnut maker sold its corporate jet for $30.5 million to Wilmington-based drug researcher Pharmaceutical Product Development. Getting rid of the plane should save $3 million a year...

Study: Queen City homes are a bargain.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Homes in Charlotte sell for 6% under their value, says a study by National City, a Cleveland-based financial holding company. The average sales price of a home in Charlotte last year was $199,439. National City compiled the study by examining...

SPX.(Thermo Electron acquires)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- SPX continued cutting costs and reducing debt by selling two divisions. The industrial conglomerate sold Kendro, its laboratory and life-sciences business, to Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Electron for $833.5 million. It agreed to...

FairPoint Communications.(raised funds, stocks)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- FairPoint Communications, which operates 26 phone companies in 17 states, raised $434.8 million in its initial public offering. Its stock opened at $18.50 but closed its first day at $18.05.

Broyhill Furniture Industries.(facility closed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CONOVER -- Broyhill Furniture Industries will close a 106-employee plant this month to improve efficiency. The Lenoir-based manufacturer will move production of dining-room chairs to other factories and may transfer some workers.

Australian Manufacturing.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... LINCOLNTON -- Licorice maker Australian Manufacturing picked Lincoln County as the site of its first U.S. factory. It sells its Lucky Country licorice to retailers such as Target and Dean & DeLuca. The $4.1 million plant will employ 20 when it...

Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.(record passenger volume )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- Charlotte/Douglas International Airport had record passenger volume last year. More than 25.1 million people used the airport, up 9% from 2003.

Carolina Materials.(moves to michigan)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... BELMONT -- Carolina Materials, a tire recycler that moved here from Michigan in 2004, will start a division that will employ 20 to make plastic resin.

Southern Pipe.(capacity expanded)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... NEW LONDON -- Southern Pipe expanded capacity at its factory in Stanly County by 28% and added five jobs to its 78. It makes plastic pipe for electrical distributors, utilities and hardware wholesalers.

Carolinas Health-Care System.(acquires The Sanger Clinic)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- Carolinas Health-Care System is buying The Sanger Clinic, a cardiology practice with more than 60 physicians at 10 locations. Terms weren't disclosed.

US Airways.(layoffs)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... US Airways cut 468 maintenance jobs in Charlotte, mostly mechanics, stock clerks and members of cleaning crews. The cuts are part of the bankrupt airline's plan to eliminate 1,800 positions.

They're in it for their mutual advantage.(Home Savings Bank of Eden joined HomeTrust Bank)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Home Savings Bank of Eden has joined Clyde-based HomeTrust Bank, creating what HomeTrust executives say is the largest mutually owned bank in North Carolina. Pending expected regulatory approval in March, Home Savings would become HomeTrust's...

Heavenly Mountain.(WESTERN)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... BOONE -- Watauga County planners have approved more than 260 of a planned 300 lots for the 5,500-acre Heavenly Mountain development in the Triplett community adjoining Wilkes County. The project originally was part of the...

Western Carolina University.(United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CULLOWHEE -- After finishing second to Harvard University in 2004, a Western Carolina University program that prepares students to start businesses has been chosen the best of its kind nationwide. The United States Association for Small...

Western Redevelopment Office.(new facility)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... ASHEVILLE -- The state opened an office to help local governments find ways to assist businesses and residents still recovering from last fall's hurricane-linked storms and flooding. The Western Redevelopment Office will have access to more...

Scratch that--handshake deal turns into a fistfight.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)(Pro-Tint Inc. and United Packaging & Industrial Inc. contract)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Maybe they should have seen it coming. After all, executives of Kannapolis-based Pro-Tint Inc. and Charlotte-based United Packaging & Industrial Inc. were trying to adapt a product to help military helicopter pilots see through their...

Cary sees signs: Sam the sham must scram.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
April 1, 2005... The first time Tammy Roberts drove through Cary, she thought it was fictional Stepford come to life. "Even the buildings have a boring look to them." Many of its houses are white or genteel earth tones. The town regulates the size and...

Cities try to recover from getting malled.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
April 1, 2005... It's been nearly 30 years, but John Touloupas still remembers when Burlington closed part of Main Street to vehicles and built a pedestrian mall to try to resuscitate downtown, using about $650,000 in federal grants. "It upset me when they did...

Alexander Hamilton.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... Alex Bernhardt Sr., CEO, Bernhardt Furniture Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I've always liked books about American history. They offer a fascinating look into the past and amazingly relevant insight into...

Memoirs.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... Cameron Coburn, CEO, Bank of Wilmington Memoirs by David Rockefeller [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is a candid and fascinating account of his life and career as chairman and CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank. Rockefeller's reflections...

The Da Vinci Code.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... Bob Greczyn, CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This was a very entertaining and compelling book. Dan is a great writer who combines the best aspects of a great...

State auditor figured he could do better job.(Les Merritt)(Biography)
April 1, 2005... Les Merritt seems to have the right pedigree for state auditor. He's the first certified public accountant to fill the post. He has been a Wake County commissioner, which gives him grassroots political experience, and he has performed public...

Weaving Tapestry is women's work.(Tapestry Group LLC)(Sharon Decker)(Biography)
April 1, 2005... Sharon Decker is a preacher's daughter, former beauty queen, mother, executive and now an innkeeper and business owner. When people ask her if women can have it all, she says sure. "Just not at the same time." She left a job in August as...

He followed course of a different color.(PEOPLE)
April 1, 2005... Joe Miller was born outside the front door of a drugstore. He found fame and fortune inside between the aspirin and laxatives. A pharmacist by training and artist by inclination, he parlayed his desire for art supplies into a retail business...

Boyce is one trial lawyer conservatives don't hate.(CAPITAL)(Biography)
April 1, 2005... Phil Haire still remembers that day 32 years ago when his roommate walked into their Alexandria, Va., apartment with an ashen look on his face. "You just won't believe what I just heard," Gene Boyce told him. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Lagging attendance gives Bobcats pause.(SPORTS SECTION)(Bobcats)
April 1, 2005... Last November, 21-year-old UNC Chapel Hill student Ben Couch and some friends went to Charlotte to be part of a history-making event--the first game of the Queen City's new National Basketball Association franchise. Couch, a senior...

A woman's work: it's almost never done as the CEO of a major company. And there's more to that than just men behaving badly.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2005... Eleven years after R.J. Reynolds died in 1918, they completed the building that bears his name. It stands 22 stories in downtown Winston-Salem, a monument to the dark-eyed, bearded man who set out to make plug chewing tobacco and wound up...

Make work: triad leaders profess faith in life after death for manufacturing.(FEATURE)
April 1, 2005... The economy of the Triad--famous for making textiles, apparel, furniture and cigarettes--is changing. As production moves overseas, the 12-county region's manufacturing sector dwindles--jobs decreased 10.4% from mid-2002 to mid-2004--and its...

Career ladder: working 24-hour shifts gives firefighters enough time off to do something on the side when just one job won't do.(PICTURE THIS)
April 1, 2005... In 1887, Charlotte hired its first four full-time firemen. The job paid $25 a month. The city now has slightly more than 1,000 firefighters on its payroll, including about 40 women. Starting salary is $30,681 a year, but having a bachelor's...

Clear view: state's attributes attract more business.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT)
April 1, 2005... Some things on North Carolina's economic-development landscape never seem to change--namely the state's success in attracting high-profile relocations and expansions. But in 2004, that came about at least in part because of something that has...

Bricks & mortar.
April 1, 2005... There was no doubt what brand this Shell station sold when it opened in Winston-Salem in 1930. Built of stucco over a frame of bent green wood, it became a lawnmower repair shop in the '70s. Preservation North Carolina, which protects old...