Business North Carolina articles from April 2008

Business North Carolina archives from April 2008

Going into labor.(UPFRONT)
April 1, 2008... I'm a union man Just like my daddy and all my kin I took a union stand No matter what the company said I got me two good hands And just as long as I'm able I won't give in --Steve Earle, "Harlan Man" My daddy was a union man,...

Trend.(Statistical table)
April 1, 2008... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Latest Previous Previous % change from month month year last year ...

Stock watch.(share price of real-estate)(Statistical table)
April 1, 2008... SPOTLIGHT The share price of real-estate title insurer Investors Title shot up in late February just before a dividend boost. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] HIGHEST PRICE/EARNINGS RATIOS ...

Economic outlook.(housing prices)(interview of Jacob Vigdor)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... Foreclosures are on the rise in North Carolina--up 9.4% in 2007 and expected to increase as much as 20% this year. Government help for borrowers and lenders is OK, says one expert, but don't overdo it. After all, it's their own fault. Jacob...

Charlotte growth pushes limits: region must make sure its utilities, roads and other infrastructure are prepared for an influx of people and companies.(REGIONAL ROUNDTABLE: SPONSORED SECTION)
April 1, 2008... Unless infrastructure needs, including water, education, electricity and transportation, are addressed soon, the Charlotte region could have trouble sustaining its rapid growth. That was the consensus of a group of leaders assembled by BUSINESS...

Boat builder changes course.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... Brunswick Corp. is closing its 200-employee Hatteras Yachts plant in Swansboro, a year after local boosters gave it an award for creating the jobs. But state officials say Brunswick, a Lake Forest, Ill., company with nearly $5.7 billion in...

Getting (rid of) Randy.(Eastern)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Roanoke Rapids officials agreed to pay $750,000 to cut ties with performer Randy Parton, whom they hired in June 2005 to run an entertainment complex that they hoped would spark the city's economy. Parton, younger brother of country superstar...

Working capital.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... EASTERN REGION Jobs: 1,051,268 YTD change: (2,336) Index: 110.0 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....

Premier Trailer.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... KINSTON -- Premier Trailer hopes to begin production of aluminum horse trailers here this month. The company, part of Pink Hill-based Double D Trailers, plans to employ about 55. Double D employs nearly 35 in Pink Hill making galvanized-steel...

PharmaLinkFHI.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... WILMINGTON -- Durham-based PharmaLinkFHI opened an office that will employ about 35 here. The contract-research organization says it picked Wilmington for its many clinical-research professionals.

Allegiant Air.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... WILMINGTON -- Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air plans to add two weekly round-trip flights this month between Wilmington International Airport and Orlando, Fla., after it ends two weekly flights from Kinston to Orlando. The airport plans to add 500...

Pennsylvania Transformer Technology.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... RAEFORD -- Pennsylvania Transformer Technology is adding 27 jobs, nearly doubling its work force here. The company, based in Canonsburg, Pa., makes power transformers and voltage regulators for power companies.

Pharmaceutical Product Development.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... WILMINGTON -- Pharmaceutical Product Development, which conducts clinical research for drug companies, plans to acquire Russian competitor InnoPharm. Terms were not announced. InnoPharm employs about 300.

Star-News.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... WILMINGTON -- The local daily newspaper here cut 15 jobs, leaving it with about 190. The layoffs were part of a companywide reduction by The New York Times Co., which owns the Star-News.

Progress Energy.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... BEAUFORT -- Raleigh residents Nelson and Diana Paul asked the state Utilities Commission for permission to build a wind farm about seven miles northeast of here. It could generate enough power for about 900 homes. The Pauls hope to sell the...

Poyner & Spruill.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... CAMDEN -- Camden County hired Poyner & Spruill, a Raleigh-based law firm, to persuade the Navy not to build a practice landing field for jets here. The Navy also is studying sites in Gates County and Virginia.

Vernon Park Mall.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... KINSTON -- A Long Island, N.Y., father-and-son investment team bought Vernon Park Mall from four Dare County residents for $9.4 million. It's Alex and Tommy Demetriades' first purchase in North Carolina. They hope to bring more national...

East Carolina University.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... GREENVILLE -- East Carolina University wants to expand enrollment at its Brody School of Medicine. The school admits about 70 students each fall and wants to increase that to 120, but it hasn't set a target date. The UNC Board of Governors has...

Fayetteville State University and UNC Pembroke.(Eastern)
April 1, 2008... FAYETTEVILLE -- The state Board of Nursing placed nursing programs at Fayetteville State University and UNC Pembroke on probation. Only 64% of nursing graduates at Fayetteville State passed the state licensing exam. UNC Pembroke did slightly...

Panel: rail is still the ticket.(Triangle)(federal funding for train)(Triangle Transit Authority)
April 1, 2008... Nearly two years ago, when it dropped its bid for federal funding of a 28-mile, $810 million commuter-train line, the Triangle Transit Authority made it clear that the project had been sidetracked, not derailed. Increased global demand for...

Working capital.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... TRIANGLE REGION Jobs: 919,921 YTD change: (1,874) Index: 111.5 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. ...

State aid is no cure for drug maker.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... GlaxoSmithKline opted out of a 2005 state incentive agreement that would have paid it $1.4 million for creating 200 jobs at its plant in Zebulon and keeping them 10 years. Spokeswoman Stefanie Mendell says the British drug maker filled the jobs...

Research Triangle Institute.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... RALEIGH -- Research Triangle Institute, which does business as RTI International, has begun adding 600 jobs at its call center here. That will bring call-center employment to about 850. The nonprofit is collecting information for a federal...

Siemens Medical Solutions.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... CARY -- Siemens Medical Solutions, part of German electronics maker Siemens, plans to add as many as 300 jobs here, for a total of 975, during the next five years. It makes medical gear and patient-monitoring systems here and could receive $6.1...

Golden State Foods.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... GARNER -- Golden State Foods, an Irvine, Calif.-based supplier of McDonald's, plans to build a $23.5 million warehouse that could employ 225. It's scheduled to open in 2009 and serve about 500 restaurants in the Carolinas and Virginia.

Extron Electronics.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... RALEIGH -- Extron Electronics plans to build a research, development and distribution center here. The Anaheim, Calif.-based maker of video and audio equipment will employ about 125 when it opens next year but could expand to 350 within five...

Biolex Therapeutics.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... PITTSBORO -- Biolex Therapeutics, which is developing treatments for hepatitis C, withdrew plans to go public because of unfavorable market conditions and because it had found financing elsewhere. Biolex never said how much money it planned to...

Sony Ericsson.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- London-based mobile-phone maker Sony Ericsson plans to add about 100 jobs by the end of the year at its campus here, for a total of about 850. Most of the hires will be software or radio-frequency engineers. The...

United Parcel Service.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... RALEIGH -- Atlanta-based United Parcel Service planned to close its office here by the end of March, cutting about 60 administrative and management jobs. It will move about 100 jobs to other places in the region.

Cree.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... DURHAM -- Cree, which makes light-emitting diodes and chips, bought LED Lighting Fixtures of Morrisville for up to $103.4 million, including post-deal incentives. LED Lighting develops light fixtures for homes and businesses, using Cree LEDs....

First Citizens BancShares.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... RALEIGH -- Lewis R. Holding, 80, retired as CEO of First Citizens BancShares but will remain chairman. He was succeeded as CEO by nephew Frank Holding Jr., 46, who also is president. James Hyler, 60, resigned as vice chairman and chief...

East Coast Ethanol.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... SELMA -- Columbia, S.C.-based East Coast Ethanol withdrew plans for a plant here because it couldn't get enough natural gas to the site. It still plans to build one somewhere in North Carolina.

Progress Energy.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... RALEIGH -- Progress Energy requested federal approval for a second nuclear reactor at its Shearon Harris plant by 2020. No cost estimate was given, but other utilities have estimated that similar reactors would run $6 billion to $9 billion.

Array BioPharma.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... MORRISVILLE -- Array BioPharma, a Boulder, Colo., company developing cancer treatments, plans to open an office here by midyear to oversee clinical testing. It won't say how many it intends to hire.

Pfizer.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... DURHAM -- New York-based drug maker Pfizer plans to acquire Serenex, which is developing cancer treatments and other medications. Terms were not disclosed. The fate of Serenex's 36 employees is unclear.

Louisburg College.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... LOUISBURG -- Louisburg College eliminated eight of its 46 faculty positions as part of a move to cut at least $1 million from its $15 million annual operating budget and make its accrediting body happy. It also plans to raise tuition 5% to...

Maxwell Marine.(Triangle)
April 1, 2008... RALEIGH -- Maxwell Marine, a New Zealand-based maker of boating accessories, moved its North American headquarters here from Santa Ana, Calif. The operation employs 11. For a daily roundup of business news in the Triangle region, go to...

New Goose could be on the loose next year.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... Antilles Seaplanes, the Gibsonville company that wants to resurrect the famed Grumman Goose seaplane (cover story, July 2006), plans to have a production line running early next year. The company has purchased two buildings in Graham to house...

Working capital.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... TRIAD REGION Jobs: 775,111 YTD change: (10,114) Index: 101.4 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. ...

For the last two years, the average fare at Piedmont Triad International has been the highest of the state's largest airports.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... For the last two years, the average fare at Piedmont Triad International has been the highest of the state's largest airports. Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, third quarter [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

O'Reilly Automotive.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... GREENSBORO -- O'Reilly Automotive, a Springfield, Mo.-based auto-parts retailer, is building a distribution center here. It will employ more than 350 within three years.

The Wyndham Championship.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... GREENSBORO -- The Wyndham Championship golf tournament will move from Forest Oaks Country Club to Sedgefield Country Club--and a course designed by Donald Ross--starting in August. The tournament has been played at Forest Oaks for 31 years.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM -- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco will receive $387.6 million from United Kingdom-based Gallaher Group to terminate a joint marketing venture in Europe. Reynolds, part of Reynolds American, will receive $155 million by April 20 and annual...

Perry Manufacturing.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... MOUNT AIRY -- Perry Manufacturing will cut about 150 of the 180 jobs at its headquarters and factory here. The company makes knit and woven casual apparel, mostly overseas, and employs about 4,000.

Nypro.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... MEBANE -- Clinton, Mass.-based Nypro plans to add about 75 employees, for a total of 300, to its plastics factory here. No timetable has been set. The plant added about 60 employees after it moved from Graham last year.

Ken Garner Manufacturing.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... RURAL HALL -- Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Ken Garner Manufacturing, which makes counterweights for excavators and other construction equipment, plans to open a factory that will employ more than 70 here within three years.

Old Dominion Freight Line.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... THOMASVILLE -- Old Dominion Freight Line bought Sidney, Mont.-based Bob's Pickup & Delivery. Terms were not disclosed. The trucking company says Bob's gives it full coverage of Montana. It has full coverage in 38 other states.

Forsyth Medical Center.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... RALEIGH -- State regulators denied permission to build two hospitals that would have been only four miles apart. Forsyth Medical Center wanted to build a 50-bed, $96 million hospital in Clemmons. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center...

The city wants private companies that do business with it, including those that take incentives, to do more to keep illegal immigrants off their payrolls.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM -- The city wants private companies that do business with it, including those that take incentives, to do more to keep illegal immigrants off their payrolls. City contracts specify that employers comply with federal laws that...

Skybus Airlines.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... GREENSBORO -- Columbus, Ohio-based Skybus Airlines, which has a hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport, hiked fees for checked baggage. The discount-fare carrier now charges $12--$10 if the bags are checked in online. The fee had been $5.

Steven D. Bell & Co.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... GREENSBORO -- Steven D. Bell & Co., which manages a property portfolio valued at $5.3 billion, and New York-based DRA Advisors purchased more than 25,000 apartments in 86 properties across the U.S. from Denver-based UDR. The deal is the largest...

Annie Penn Hospital.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... REIDSVILLE -- Annie Penn Hospital will close its birthing center July 1. It blamed a shortage of obstetricians and neonatal specialists. The hospital is directing deliveries to The Women's Hospital of Greensboro. Both are part of...

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM -- Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice law firm laid off 15 of its 650 employees here. Most were secretaries.

SilkRoad Technologies.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM -- SilkRoad Technologies, which provides management software to employers, received $10 million in venture capital from Azure Capital Partners of San Francisco. SilkRoad plans to expand its sales and marketing.

International Sports Properties.(Triad)
April 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM -- Sports marketers International Sports Properties and Dallas-based Learfield Sports purchased Alcoa, Tenn.-based Action Sports Media, which manages marketing rights for arena and stadium signs at seven universities. ISP and...

Business lacks team spirit.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... Panthers. Bobcats. Checkers. Knights. Few weekends pass without Charlotte sports fans having something to buy tickets for, and that's not counting NASCAR, golf and other events. Queen City businesses face similar choices about where to spend...

Beer will be PAR for the course.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... Tradition holds Benjamin Franklin once quipped that beer was proof God loved us and wanted us to be happy. Now Gastonia officials are hoping suds will bring in a few extra Benjamins. In March, the City Council voted to sell beer at Gastonia...

Working capital.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE REGION Jobs: 1,047,518 YTD change: 368 Index: 108.9 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. ...

Swift Galey.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... GASTONIA -- Swift Galey planned to close its plant here by the end of March, idling about 250. The Atlanta-based textile maker blamed Asian competition, as it did earlier this year when it cut 150 of 525 employees at its fabric plant in Marion....

Duke Energy.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Duke Energy spent $2.8 million last year to lobby federal lawmakers on energy issues. That broke its record of nearly $2.2 million in 2005. Duke lobbied on 31 bills last year, most concerning global warming.

Bank of America and Wachovia.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Bank of America and Wachovia cut stock grants for their CEOs after disappointing results in 2007. Ken Lewis of Bank of America received a restricted stock grant of $4.3 million, a 60% decrease from the year before. It also cut his...

Continental Tire North America.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Continental Tire North America plans to move its headquarters next year to Indian Land, S.C. About 300 employees will move with the company, part of German auto parts maker Continental AG. A 160-employee factory and warehouse will...

Wachovia.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Charlotte-based Wachovia, which outsourced some human-resources functions in 2005 to Hewitt Associates, is bringing them back in-house or sending them to other vendors. The transition could take 18 months, and Wachovia hasn't said...

First Charter.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- First Charter will lay off 28 employees at its headquarters to prepare for its acquisition by Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank. It has no plans to lay off any more of its approximately 1,100 employees. The deal is expected to...

Ruddick.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Ruddick plans to open 15 Harris Teeter grocery stores this year. That will give it 182 stores in seven Southeastern states. It opened 19 stores in 2007 and 16 the year before.

Robert Bosch Tool.(Charlotte)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... LINCOLNTON -- Robert Bosch Tool plans to close its local plant by the end of the year, letting go about 230 workers. The plant makes bits and other tool accessories. The company, based in Mount Prospect, Ill., says the closing will not affect...

Carolinas HealthCare System.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- State regulators gave Carolinas HealthCare System permission to expand Carolinas Medical Center-Pineville by nearly 100 beds to 206. The $174 million project is slated for completion in 2013. Regulators also approved Carolinas'...

U.S. National Whitewater Center.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- The U.S. National Whitewater Center planned to begin charging admission of $5 per car this month. It has struggled to raise enough revenue to repay $38 million in loans used for construction. It had a $1.3 million operating...

Sonic Automotive.(Charlotte)
April 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Sonic Automotive, which operates more than 170 car dealerships nationwide, plans to buy Mercedes-Benz dealer Beck Imports of Charlotte. Terms of the deal, expected to close by the end of March, were not disclosed. Sonic says it...

Economic impact of Cherokee casino leaves the reservation.(Western)
April 1, 2008... Gambling, proponents predicted, would be the biggest boon to western North Carolina since the other one--Daniel--crossed the Blue Ridge. Sin, critics cried, calling it the road to perdition when Harrah's Cherokee Casino opened in 1998. However,...

Working capital.(Western)
April 1, 2008... WESTERN REGION Jobs: 494,315 YTD change: (5,941) Index: 101.7 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. ...

Change in consumer taste plucks poultry plant's jobs.(Western)
April 1, 2008... Too many people want to pick up hot chicks. After about 20 years selling refrigerated roasted chicken, Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc. will close its Wilkesboro roasting plant, idling 410 workers. Blame consumers' need for speed,...

Earth Fare.(Western)
April 1, 2008... FLETCHER -- Jack Murphy, 60, succeeded Mike Cianciarulo as CEO of the Earth Fare grocery chain. Murphy, a board member, is former CEO of Rockville, Md.-based Fresh Fields Natural Grocery. Cianciarulo will remain on the board. The chain has 13...

Parkway Bank.(Western)
April 1, 2008... LENOIR -- Jim Sponenberg, 64, replaced Gary Clawson, 46, as CEO of Parkway Bank. Sponenberg was a former executive at Central Carolina Bank and SunTrust Bank. Clawson resigned in January after going on medical leave.

Custom Packaging.(Western)
April 1, 2008... ARDEN -- Lebanon, Tenn.-based Custom Packaging plans to spend $4.5 million on machinery for its corrugated-box factory here. It is adding 12 workers to give it nearly 75.

Johnson's Cattle Auction.(Western)
April 1, 2008... CANTON -- Johnson's Cattle Auction planned to open here by the end of March and sell cattle on Wednesdays. Western North Carolina has not had a livestock market since June, meaning producers had to take livestock either to Shelby or to...

Land-of-Sky Regional Council.(Western)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... ASHEVILLE -- A study coordinated by Land-of-Sky Regional Council, a planning organization for Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania and Madison counties, calls for state and local regulation of development on steep mountain slopes. The General...

Luis Pastor.(Financial Services)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... CEO, LATINO COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION, DURHAM When Luis Pastor began volunteer work with Latino Community Credit Union in September 2000, it was meant to be a temporary gig. He and his wife had moved to Durham from Spain so she could get an...

R. Scott Anderson.(Financial Services)
April 1, 2008... CEO, BANK OF GRANITE GRANITE FALLS Early lesson: Born in Louisville, Ky., and raised in Charlotte, he got a bachelor's in psychology at Carolina and took one of the first jobs he was offered: collecting past-due loans for Forsyth Bank and...

Wade Reece.(Financial Services)(Company overview)
April 1, 2008... CHAIRMAN AND CEO BB & T INSURANCE SERVICES INC. RALEIGH Career: 30 years with BB & T. Graduated from N.C. State on a Saturday, moved to Wilson Sunday and went to work as a management trainee Monday. "I liked to eat," he explains. ...

Keith A. Luedeman.(Financial Services)
April 1, 2008... CEO, GOODMORTGAGE.COM, CHARLOTTE With a bachelor's in math and computer science from Clemson, Keith Luedeman, 43, worked for IBM and several up-and-coming high-tech companies before starting Goodmortgage.com in 1999. With a staff of 45, it...

Spotlight on: Tony Plath; Associate professor of finance, UNC Charlotte.(Financial Services)
April 1, 2008... How did an associate professor at UNC Charlotte get to be the go-to guy for commentary on North Carolina-based banks, showing up not only in the Tar Heel press but in such national publications as BusinessWeek and The Wall Street Journal? Well,...

Minding market forces.(FINEPRINT)(Report)
April 1, 2008... Perhaps you look at the embarrassing debacle in Roanoke Rapids involving the publicly financed theater overseen by Randy Parton and think, "Well, when you lie down with third-tier country singers, you get up with a huge debt and public scorn."...

North Carolina's dry heaves.(CAPITALGOODS)
April 1, 2008... Landscapers and lawn-care companies feel picked on these days. They really shouldn't. They may soon have plenty of company when it comes to how water, or the lack thereof, affects businesses in North Carolina. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...