Business North Carolina articles from August 2002

Business North Carolina archives from August 2002

Puck of the draw.(Cover Story)(Cover Story)
August 1, 2002... He leans forward and gnaws his nails. From a luxury box in Raleigh's Entertainment and Sports Arena, Peter Karmanos Jr. locks his eyes on his hockey team. Below, the Carolina Hurricanes battle the Washington Capitals. Skates scrape, wood whacks...

Doubling down.(Features)(Bruton Smith's Business Strategies)
August 1, 2002... Gambler. It's a bad word to Bruton Smith. Ask him if he is one, and he's dismissive. "Somebody sitting on the outside who doesn't know anything about my business might believe that, but they would never win the argument with me. Unless they are...

Lights out.(Features)(Drive-in-movie theatres)
August 1, 2002... Sundown. Lightning flickers over the horizon, and tree frogs chirp in the surrounding woods. Tires crunch on gravel. Lawn chairs squeak as they're unfolded, and couples shake out blankets on the ground between cars. Coolers and picnic baskets...

Two pros, three awards.(Upfront)
August 1, 2002... The highest praise I can give any writer is that he makes me care about something I didn't previously give a damn about. That's what Senior Editor Ed Martin did with his profile of U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, a Brevard Republican (cover story,...

Time to say amen.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... Your assessment of the problem in the Catholic Church as a management issue (Up Front, June) is right on. As a practicing Catholic and a former schoolmate of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, I regret that he does not see himself as a leader and a...

You go to Helms.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... What Sen. Jesse Helms did for your magazine (Out Back, June) was not just good work--his staff was made to pay attention to details. With a biased and liberal media, Jesse's viewpoints were brushed aside unless he used some far-out verbiage....

Study finds N.C. laws short-circuit e-commerce.(Economic Outlook)(Interview)
August 1, 2002... Rob Atkinson is vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Progressive Policy Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council, and co-author of a study of state electronic-commerce laws. The study graded states on...

Rising rates could prune LendingTree.(Money Matters)
August 1, 2002... Less than three years after going public, LendingTree Inc. has taken root in the minds of customers. It's even borne some fruit for investors--especially if they bought when the stock was below $5 a share late last year. The Charlotte-based...

Reinsurance pool isn't deep enough to cover 9/11 losses.(Tar Heeltattler)
August 1, 2002... For 29 years, Fortress Re Inc. has sold reinsurance--lots of it. It operates from a drab, two-story building two blocks off Main Street in Burlington. Between 1982 and 2001, it netted an estimated $528 million, largely by helping airlines get...

State sues agency for model behavior.(Tar Heeltattler)(Model Select International Inc.)
August 1, 2002... Here's how North Carolina's attorney general says Model Select International Inc.'s pitch worked: The Charlotte-based agency would advertise that it was searching for models. Typically, 500 or so people, mostly 18- to 25-year-old women, would...

This is a pet peeve among veterinarians.(Tar Heeltattler)(licences to veterinarians)
August 1, 2002... The N.C. Veterinary Medical Board is cracking down. With the aid of its own pet detective, the board by mid-June had charged 13 people with practicing without a license, including a Wilmington chiropractor accused of treating a Rottweiler with...

Cigna puts premium on pricey hospitals.(Tar Heeltattler)(Cigna HealthCare of North Carolina)
August 1, 2002... If you make patients pay more to go to a certain hospital, they'll choose a cheaper one. And when a more-expensive hospital starts losing patients, it will lower its prices. Elementary economics, right? It's a lesson that Cigna HealthCare...

John Cavanaugh.(Eastern)(University of West Florida appointed)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... WILMINGTON -- John Cavanaugh has left his job as provost of UNC Wilmington to become president of the University of West Florida in Pensacola. The provost is UNCW's top academic officer and No. 2 overall, behind the chancellor. [GRAPHIC...

The Craven Regional Airport Authority.(Eastern)(Larry Scantlin appointed)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... NEW BERN -- The Craven Regional Airport Authority has hired Larry Scantlin, former Hickory Regional Airport manager, to replace retiring manager John H. Price Jr. Scantlin started in July.

Manis Custom Builders.(Eastern)(job creation)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... LAURINBURG -- Mobile-home manufacturer Manis Custom Builders plans to add 55 jobs, pushing employment to 400 during the next five years. The company was incorporated in February and completed its first mobile home in April. Founder Joe Manis...

Lowe.(Eastern)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... GARYSBURG -- Lowe's $90 million distribution center here will begin receiving merchandise in December. The company plans to employ 600 in the 1.3-million-square-foot center. It will begin hiring workers this month.

Buehler Motor.(Eastern)(production of electric motors moving to Mexico)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... KINSTON -- Cary-based Buehler Motor, a subsidiary of Germany-based Buehler Motor, will close a plant here by the end of 2003, moving production of electric motors to Mexico. More than 100 jobs will be eliminated, and 22 others will be moved to...

Black & Decker.(Eastern)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... FAYETTEVILLE -- Towson, Md.-based Black & Decker, which makes tools, appliances and other products, is buying $6 million worth of aluminum die-casting machines to manufacture DeWalt miter saws here, moving production from Taiwan. Fifty...

Konover Property Trust.(Triangle)(shopping center selling)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Konover Property Trust has sold a 426,500-square-foot shopping center in suburban Charleston, S.C. Konover is receiving $9 million cash, and the buyer, New York-based DRA Advisors, will assume $46 million of debt. Konover is a...

Waste Holdings.(Triangle)(Hudgins Disposal)(Georgia Waste and Recycling Service)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Jim W. Perry, president and COO of Waste Holdings, has been promoted to CEO, replacing Lonnie Poole Jr., who will remain chairman. Waste Holdings, a garbage hauler and dump operator, also acquired American Disposal and the commercial...

Nortel Networks.(Triangle)(job cuts)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Nortel Networks is laying off 3,500 more people, including an undisclosed number at its U.S. headquarters here. The job cuts come as Canada-based Nortel grapples with a sector-wide telecommunications downturn. They...

Red Hat.(Triangle)(new office)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Red Hat, a software distributor, has opened an engineering and research-and-development office in the Boston suburbs. The new office will have nearly 50 employees.

Martin Marietta Materials.(Triangle)(acquisitions)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Martin Marietta Materials, which mines and sells construction materials, is buying a granite quarry in Haw River and a limestone quarry in Texas. The company is also selling two Virginia quarries. Terms of the deals were not...

Inveresk Research Group.(Triangle)(securities)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CARY -- Inveresk Research Group, a contract-research company, has boosted the amount it wants to raise in its initial stock offering to $192 million. The company first asked federal regulators for approval to sell $150 million in stock.

Venture capitalist Rachel Selisker.(Triangle)(finance)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Venture capitalist Rachel Selisker, formerly Quintiles Transnational CFO, is raising up to $50 million to invest in health-care companies. Last year, she joined London-based Thompson Clive Venture Capital and is...

ConAgra Foods.(Triangle)(facility closure)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Nebraska-based ConAgra Foods is closing offices here, formerly the headquarters of GoodMark Foods. The 85 employees will lose their jobs, though some may move to Minnesota. ConAgra bought GoodMark, maker of Slim Jims meat snacks,...

Winston Hotels.(Triangle)(Comfort Inn divestments)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Winston Hotels, a real-estate investment trust based here, has sold a Comfort Inn in Clearwater, Fla., for $3.4 million and agreed, in partnership with another hotel company, to purchase an Iowa hotel for $4 million. The joint...

Capital Bank.(Triangle)(acquisitions)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Capital Bank is acquiring Hickory-based High Street Corp. in a $21 million exchange of stock. The transaction will create the eighth-largest bank in the state, with $805 million in assets and 21 offices. The deal is Capital's first...

Guilford Mills.(Triad)(Unger Fabrik securities divestment)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Fabric maker Guilford Mills wants to exit the garment business. The company is hoping to sell its interest in Unger Fabrik, which makes swimwear, intimate apparel and other garments in Mexico, for $2.1 million. Guilford, which...

Laboratory Corp.(Triad)(Laboratory Corp of America Holdings acquisitions)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... BURLINGTON -- Laboratory Corp of America Holdings, which operates medical-diagnostic laboratories, is buying Dallas-based Dynacare for $685 million in cash, stock and assumed debt. Dynacare provides lab services in 21 states and Canada. The...

R.J. Reynolds.(Triad)(finance)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... WINSTON-SALEM -- R.J. Reynolds has sold $750 million in bonds. Proceeds will be used for general corporate expenses and to pay off $550 million of higher-interest debt that matures in May 2003.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.(Triad)(expansion)
August 1, 2002... WINSTON-SALEM -- Having opened its first store in Canada, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is laying a foundation to feed more of the world. Japan, South Korea, Australia, Spain and Britain will be the next expansions. The first stores outside North...

Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries.(Triad)(new location)
August 1, 2002... HIGH POINT -- Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries, part of Furniture Brands International, is moving its headquarters here from Burke County. About 30 employees will make the move, which is expected to be completed this summer.

Insteel Industries.(Triad)(sells wire operations )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... MOUNT AIRY -- Wire maker Insteel Industries has sold its industrial-wire operations in Andrews, S.C., to Leggett & Platt, a Missouri-based furniture and wire maker, for about $10.2 million. The deal will allow Insteel, which makes...

The Danbury Reporter and The King Times News.(Triad)(merge, Stokes News formation)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... KING -- Two Stokes County weekly newspapers, The Danbury Reporter and The King Times News will merge to form The Stokes News. Both defunct papers were bought by Spartanburg, S.C.-based Mid-South Management Co. in June 2001. The new paper will...

Gilbarco.(Triad)(contracts)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Gasoline-pump maker Gilbarco, a subsidiary of Danaher, has won a contract to provide pumps to Shell International Petroleum. Gilbarco will be the sole supplier of pumps to Shell stations in Europe and 24 Latin American and...

Triad Guaranty Insurance.(Triad)(office in kirkland)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Triad Guaranty Insurance has opened a regional underwriting office in Kirkland, Wash., to serve Washington, Oregon and Idaho. It is Triad's 13th underwriting office.

Alan Cole.(Triad)(LifeStyle Furnishings International, resigns)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... HIGH POINT -- Alan Cole has resigned as president and CEO of LifeStyle Furnishings International. He has been replaced by Ronald J. Hoffman, formerly LifeStyle's chief financial officer.

Burlington Industries.(Triad)(upholstery business selling)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Textile-maker Burlington Industries plans to sell its residential-upholstery business, but not to the company to which it originally agreed. Spartanburg, S.C.-based Tietex International outbid Richloom Fabrics in...

Presbyterian Healthcare.(Charlotte)(expansion )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- On its fifth try, Presbyterian Healthcare has gotten permission from state regulators to build a $56 million hospital in Huntersville, in northern Mecklenburg County. The 50-bed hospital will have an emergency room and five...

American LaFrance.(Charlotte)(location change)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CLEVELAND -- American LaFrance, a Freightliner division that builds fire trucks, is moving its plant from here to North Charleston next year and taking with it 210 jobs. South Carolina offered tax breaks and other incentives.

The 20-acre Radiator Specialty industrial site near downtown will be redeveloped as a $100 million complex of offices, retail shops and residential condominiums.(Charlotte)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- The 20-acre Radiator Specialty industrial site near downtown will be redeveloped as a $100 million complex of offices, retail shops and residential condominiums. Crosland Commercial officials say work could begin in 2003 and will...

Carolina Beer & Beverage.(Charlotte)(boosting annual output )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... MOORESVILLE -- Carolina Beer & Beverage is spending $5 million to boost its annual output from 15,000 barrels to 100,000 barrels. Employment will double to 32 workers.

Two married couples have been indicted for bilking the federal government out of $21 million by selling fictitious mortgage notes.(Charlotte)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Two married couples have been indicted for bilking the federal government out of $21 million by selling fictitious mortgage notes. One couple owned Beneficial Mortgage, indictments say, and the other worked there. FBI officials...

Wachovia.(Charlotte)(sponsorship)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Wachovia will sponsor a Professional Golf Association tournament, starting in 2003. The $5.6 million purse is expected to attract well-known players to Quail Hollow Club each May, just prior to the U.S. Open.

NASCAR.(Charlotte)(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing expansion)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CONCORD -- NASCAR, the race-sanctioning body, will spend $8 million and hire 20 technicians to open a safety-research center here to analyze data from car-mounted crash recorders, which are similar to those in airplanes.

H & R Block affiliate.(Charlotte)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- In a lawsuit to be heard next spring, an H & R Block affiliate has accused LendingTree, the online loan broker, of violating Block's patent for a system that processes credit-card applications. The affiliate specified no amount of...

Heavily booked surgery suites.(Charlotte)(Rowan Regional Medical Center)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... SALISBURY -- Heavily booked surgery suites have prompted Rowan Regional Medical Center to launch a $7.2 million outpatient surgery center. It will open in the fall of 2003.

Carolinas HealthCare System.(Charlotte)(Carolinas Medical Center)(Carolinas HealthCare System )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Carolinas HealthCare System will spend up to $83 million in the next 10 years to add an office building, parking deck and other features to its flagship hospital, Carolinas Medical Center.

Pillowtex.(Charlotte)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... KANNAPOLIS -- Pillowtex, maker of bedding and towels, has emerged from 18 months of bankruptcy protection. Pillowtex, whose brands include Cannon, Fieldcrest and Royal Velvet, has cut debt from $1.1 billion to $206 million and named new...

International Paper.(Western)(investments)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... WEAVERVILLE -- International Paper will spend $1 million to double the size of its packaging plant this fall, adding 35 jobs to the 40 here. The plant prints inserts for compact-disc cases. [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

The U.S. Forest Service.(Western)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... MARION -- The U.S. Forest Service has bought 607 acres on the western side of the Linville River between Lake James and Linville Gorge to expand Pisgah National Forest. The government paid International Paper $6.5 million.

Biltmore Farms.(Western)(DoubleTree Biltmore Hotel)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- Biltmore Farms has spent $4 million to upgrade its former Quality Inn motel and renamed it DoubleTree Biltmore Hotel. The 160-room hotel is on the grounds of the former Biltmore Dairy, near the Biltmore Estate.

This town is halting commercial building for a year.(Western)(Saluda)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... SALUDA -- This town is halting commercial building for a year. Town Council members cited strain on the town's 80-year-old water-and-sewer system.

Harrah.(Western)(Harrah's-Holiday Inns Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CHEROKEE -- Harrah's has opened a $62 million hotel with a walkway connecting it to the adjacent Harrah's Cherokee Casino. The 15-story building is the state's tallest west of Asheville.

Sky Regional Council.(Western)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- The Land of Sky Regional Council has received a $200,000 federal grant to study contaminated industrial sites, known as brownfields, in Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania and Madison counties. Three tracts have already been chosen.

Builders hammer together a company with coffin nails.(People)(Grim Reapers brand of Cigarettes enter local market )
August 1, 2002... Dan Norris, 50, wants to be sure you know one thing about his product: It'll kill you. His Castle Hayne company's name is Poison Inc., and it sells cigarettes called Grim Reapers. Each pack is emblazoned with a skull-and-crossbones. ...

Something smells about her business.(People)(Aromatherapy)
August 1, 2002... Naomie Poran, 48, first attracted attention in the academic world for her expertise in snake venom. She's now using her doctorate to make sure her passion, aromatherapy--the use of aromatic oils to cure illnesses and ease pain--isn't dismissed...

Assurance is what he renders lenders.(People)(Todd Gorelick of Atlantic Assurance Group)
August 1, 2002... The weekend of graduation from Princeton in 1986, Charlotte native Todd Gorelick's career plans were dashed. "I had planned on working in the family consumer-finance business," says Gorelick, now 38. The problem: Charlotte-based First Union was...

Conscience decisions.(Outback)(The Forum for Corporate Conscience)
August 1, 2002... Cage them in Guantanamo, next to al-Qaida captives, and roast them black beneath the Cuban sun--just a hint of the hell they so richly deserve. After all, corrupt corporate chieftains have bested terrorists when it comes to crippling our...