Business North Carolina articles from December 2008

Business North Carolina archives from December 2008

He doesn't take plastic.(UP FRONT)
December 1, 2008... I wanted to see the Old West, but it looked as if my initial vista might be through the bars of a hoosegow. I'd rented a car through a travel agency in Charlotte, and in the Albuquerque airport, the unhappy man behind the Hertz counter...

It's no cure-all.(READERS WRITE)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Amanda Parry's column about health care in the UK (November) was my first opportunity to read her work. I will be looking for other opportunities in the future. Universal health care is a noble goal, but Americans need to understand the...

NC trend.(North Carolina)(Statistical table)
December 1, 2008... Latest Previous Previous % change month month year from last year EMPLOYMENT Employed (000s) ...

Stock watch.(Market share report)(Statistical table)(Company rankings)
December 1, 2008... HIGHEST PRICE/EARNINGS RATIOS Company P/E ratio 10/31/08 52-week range (3) price Bank of the Carolinas 180.0 $5.40 $3.70-11.86 Hatteras Financial...

Economic outlook.(Matthias Ruth)(Interview)
December 1, 2008... Always wanted waterfront property but couldn't afford it? If you buy land in the right place, rising sea level will bring the beach to you. Of course, that scenario will be a serious downer for current coastal residents. It's just one of the...

Hey, you, get onto my cloud.(FINE PRINT)
December 1, 2008... I'm not a trendsetter, a declaration that will come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the way 1 dress or noticed which music stations are programmed into my car radio. But I'm way ahead of the other kids on my block when it comes to cloud...

Are bonds ties that bind economy?(CAPITAL GOODS)(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... In tough times, it's probably a good idea to stash the plastic. It can be difficult enough making ends meet without rising credit-card payments. Of course, living a pay-as-you-go life isn't easy when the economy is in the toilet and you're...

Allen Stancil.(Marine Industries)
December 1, 2008... When consolidation became the name of the kayaking game in the late 1990s, it would have been easy for designer Allen Stancil to go with the flow. During 25 years with Easley, S.C.-based Perception Kayaks, he had built a reputation for making...

Bob Peele.
December 1, 2008... For 10 years, Bob Peele, 45, has overseen operations at Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park, a 60-acre site that opened in 1981. Just before the Bear Grass native started there, it had expanded to embrace all marine-related ventures, not just...

Steve Heese.
December 1, 2008... Tough times call for creativity, particularly when you're selling luxury items. Steve Heese, who runs Sarasota, Fla., boat builder Chris-Craft from its plant in Kings Mountain, is banking on cooler designs to keep the business afloat. In...

Chris Freeman.(Marine Industries)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Chris Freeman enjoyed his work as a coastal geologist for the UNC Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences, but he found himself worried about the future. Since earning a bachelor's in environmental science in 1995 from UNC Wilmington, Freeman,...

David Green.(Marine Industries)
December 1, 2008... "It used to be that wild harvesting was worth $1 billion annually. That's dropped off significantly. Not only have we changed the species we harvest, but there are more restrictions. These days North Carolina imports a significant amount of...

Bank doesn't blink at crisis.(Eastern)
December 1, 2008... Forget the fractured proverb--if you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs, you don't know the gravity of the situation. Eric Bergevin knows banking's situation is grave, but he believes that makes it a good time to start a...

Working capital.(Eastern)
December 1, 2008... EASTERN REGION Jobs: 1,060,746 YTD change: 3,851 Index: 111.0 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, August. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of...

Opening the second act.(Eastern)(theater acquired by real-estate developer)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... This time, it will be different. That's what Roanoke Rapids officials say after selling the theater that once bore the name of Randy Parton, Dolly's brother. A year ago, the city fired Parton, whose company managed the theater, saying he...

Tar Heel.(Eastern)
December 1, 2008... TAR HEEL--Virginia-based Smith-field Foods and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union agreed to hold another election at Smithfield's 5,000-worker pork-processing plant. No date was set. The agreement ends years of sniping (cover story,...

ELM city.(Eastern)
December 1, 2008... ELM CITY--IWCO Direct, a direct-mail advertiser, shuttered its printing plant here, putting about 380 people out of work. The Clanhassen, Minn.-based company blamed a drop in demand, particularly from financial-services companies.

Whiteville.(Eastern)
December 1, 2008... WHITEVILLE--Georgia-Pacific planned to close its plywood plant here Dec. 1, idling about 350 workers. The Atlanta-based company blamed the housing slowdown. It also might close a lumber plant that employs about 50 here.

Navassa.(Eastern)
December 1, 2008... NAVASSA--Brunswick will close its boat factory here by the end of the year, putting about 270 out of work. It is one of four the Lake Forest, Ill.-based company is closing. Brunswick blamed the economic slowdown but says the plant could reopen...

Greenville.(Eastern)
December 1, 2008... GREENVILLE--DSM Pharmaceuticals, Pitt County's largest manufacturer, plans to lay off as many as 240 employees--about 20% of its work force--by January. The layoffs are part of a companywide reorganization by Parsippany, N.J.-based DSM...

Nashville.(Eastern)
December 1, 2008... NASHVILLE--American Food Resources plans to spend $3 million and add 70 jobs within three years, for a total of 160. Its factory chops, shreds, blends and packages cheese for food companies and retailers. The new jobs will pay an average of...

New Bern.(Eastern)(Drahtzug Stein Holding )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... NEW BERN--Germany's Drahtzug Stein Holding plans to open a factory in June to make dishwasher baskets. It will employ at least 80. The chief customer will be BSH Home Appliances, another German company that has a plant here. For a daily...

Nearly 50, RTP seeks to avoid midlife crisis.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... In the 1950s, state government and business leaders feared that too many of North Carolina's best and brightest were leaving for jobs in other states, which helped keep per capita income among the nation's lowest. As the decade came to a close,...

Working capital.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... TRIANGLE REGION Jobs: 924,521 YTD change: (2,402) Index: 112.1 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, August. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of...

Industry hunter: losing lab is a hazardous waste.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... Two months after becoming Granville County's top economic-development official, Jay Tilley had bad news for the town board of Oxford, its largest municipality: The county likely will miss out on hundreds of well-paying jobs that would have come...

Durham.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... DURHAM--Silver Line Building Products will close its factory here by the end of the year, putting 428 out of work. The New Brunswick, N.J.-based window maker blamed the decline in the housing market.

Cary.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... CARY--Citing slow sales, German semiconductor maker Qimonda will cut about 190 of 300 jobs here by early next year.

Research Triangle Park.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK--Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM laid off about 100 contract workers here. It did not disclose the reason. It employs about 11,000 at the campus.

Morrisville.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... MORRISVILLE--Amkor Technologies will close its semiconductor factory here by July, idling about 75. The Chandler, Ariz.-based company plans to move production to Asia.

Durham.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... DURHAM--Freudenberg Nonwovens will lay off 59 workers here by April, leaving it with about 160. The German textile maker blames downturns in the housing and automotive industries, its main customers.

Raleigh.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... RALEIGH--Horace Mann Educators plans to move to larger offices in Morrisville this month and add 70 jobs, for a total of 110. The Springfield, Ohio-based insurer specializes in policies for teachers.

Morrisville.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... MORRISVILLE--Computer maker Lenovo will lay off about 50 of its 1,680 workers here by the end of the year as part of a restructuring.

Pittsboro.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... PITTSBORO--Biolex Therapeutics, which dropped plans to go public earlier this year, secured $60 million in a funding round led by Cambridge, Mass.-based Clarus Ventures and New York-based OrbiMed Advisors. It will use the money to develop a...

Morrisville.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... MORRISVILLE--Online book publisher Lulu.com laid off 24 workers, dropping employment to about 100. Among those let go was Bryce Boothby Jr., whom it hired last year as president.

Durham.(Triangle)
December 1, 2008... DURHAM--Drug developer Aldagen withdrew plans for an initial public offering. The company, which had hoped to raise $80.5 million, cited poor market conditions. For a daily roundup of business news in the Triangle region, go to...

Market tries to cushion the fall.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... It's no surprise that High Point Market President Brian Casey wants to put the best face on the city's fall furniture show. But he's also a realist. "People came in with low expectations, and I think it exceeded them. Attendance was a little...

Working capital.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... TRIAD REGION Jobs: 757,403 YTD change: (7,554) Index: 99.1 Source: Employment Security Commission, August. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of the average in 2000. ...

Bank will bail in.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... Given John Allison's fervor for the free market, the CEO and chairman of Winston-Salem-based BB&T would be one of the last people you'd figure would accept a share of the federal financial-services bailout. In September, he even sent a letter...

Greensboro.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... GREENSBORO--NewBridge Bancorp suspended its quarterly dividend of 5 cents a share and applied for $52 million in capital from the federal financial-services bailout program to help it weather the economic downturn. It cut its dividend from 17...

High Point.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... HIGH POINT--Thomas Built Buses laid off 205 workers because of slow sales. The bus maker employs nearly 1,000 at four plants here.

Mebane.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... MEBANE--Sweden-based Sandvik plans to add 51 jobs within three years at its cutting-tool plant. That will bring employment to more than 210.

Winston-Salem.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM--Krispy Kreme Doughnuts reached an agreement with KKD Lotte Holdings to open 35 stores in three of China's largest cities--Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin--in the next five years. Seoul-based Lotte is the company's franchisee in...

Winston-Salem.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM--Triad Guaranty named Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Jones, 50, as its president and CEO. Jones, who will keep the CFO title, succeeds William Ratliff, 55, who will remain chairman of the mortgage insurer.

Lexington.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... LEXINGTON--TelWorx Communications, which refurbishes telecommunications equipment, wants Davidson County commissioners to pitch in $31,000 to help it move from Lexington to the northern part of the county. It has about 20 employees and plans to...

Winston-Salem.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM--BB&T Chief Financial Officer Chris Henson, 47, will become chief operating officer Jan. 1, succeeding Kelly King, 60, who will become CEO. Assistant CFO Daryl Bible, 47, will replace Henson as CFO.

Greensboro.(Triad)
December 1, 2008... GREENSBORO--New York-based American Express says an unspecified--but small--number of 7,000 job cuts worldwide will come from its call center here, which employs about 2,300. It wants to cut costs by $1.8 billion next year. For a daily...

Wachovia sale could cut interest in space.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... Light rain falls on a lunchtime crowd as men in hard hats and reflective vests prowl a cluster of construction sites on the south side of downtown Charlotte. Metal clanks against metal. Cranes lift and lower objects next to a towering concrete...

Working capital.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE REGION Jobs: 1,036,497 YTD change: (10,366) Index: 107.7 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, August. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a...

Nutrition research campus varies its diet of tenants.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... David Murdock's $1.5 billion bet on the food-and-nutrition research campus he's developing in Kannapolis bore its first fruit--three new buildings--in October, three years after plans were first announced. Instead of building it near major...

Charlotte.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE--US Airways will resume direct daily flights between Charlotte/Douglas International Airport and Paris April 21. The Tempe, Ariz.-based airline did not announce fares. The carrier dropped the flights after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Gastonia.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... GASTONIA--Daimler Trucks laid off 39 workers at its Freightliner parts plant here. The cuts come on top of 510 previously announced by the Portland, Ore.-based company at the Freightliner plant in nearby Mount Holly. The company blames slow...

Kings Mountain.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... KINGS MOUNTAIN--Ultra Machine & Fabrication laid off 38 employees--10% of the work force--here and at its shop in Shelby. It blamed the economic downturn. Products include armor plating for military vehicles.

Kings Mountain.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... KINGS MOUNTAIN--Schofield, Wis.-based Greenheck Fan will add 102 jobs at its plant here within three years, bringing employment to 166. The factory makes fans and ventilation systems for hotels, malls and offices.

Lincolnton.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... LINCOLNTON--West Lafayette, Ind.-based Chromcraft Revington planned to close its Cochrane Furniture plant by the beginning of this month, idling about 185. The company plans to move production of dining-room furniture to other factories.

Kings Mountain.(Charlotte)
December 1, 2008... KINGS MOUNTAIN--Sony DADCs purchase of New York-based Entertainment Distribution Co., scheduled to close by year end, will result in the closing of a local CD and DVD factory and put nearly 420 people out of work by the end of February....

Lincolnton.(Charlotte)(Magna Tech Manufacturing )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... LINCOLNTON--Muncie, Ind.-based Magna Tech Manufacturing plans to spend $2.5 million to open a factory here by the end of the year that will heat-treat and seal castings used in automotive engines and transmissions. It will employ about 25. The...

Hospital hopes to heal itself by hooking up.(Western)
December 1, 2008... The straw that brake Haywood Regional Medical Center's back--February's Medicare and Medicaid decertification after the death of a 37-year-old woman was linked to a medication error--might be the one that gets it up and around again. The crisis...

Working capital.(Western)
December 1, 2008... WESTERN REGION Jobs: 499,761 YTD change: (929) Index: 102.9 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, August. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of...

A sagging economy.(Western)
December 1, 2008... A sagging economy and high fuel prices took their toll on the number of people traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway from January through September. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Source: National Park Service

Lenoir.(Western)
December 1, 2008... LENOIR--The City Council and Caldwell County commissioners agreed to pay $2 million to St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International as an incentive to consolidate Broyhill Furniture Industries' upholstery manufacturing here. It will employ...

Forest city.(Western)
December 1, 2008... FOREST CITY--Mako Marine International will close its boat factory here by the end of the year, idling about 125 workers. The Springfield, Mo., company blamed the poor economy.

Old fort.(Western)
December 1, 2008... OLD FORT--International Automotive Components laid off 60 of nearly 570 employees at its plant here. The Dearborn, Mich.-based company cited the slowdown in the auto industry. IAC acquired the plant, which makes carpet for automobiles, from...

Banner elk.(Western)(Curtis Media Group acquired radio stations )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BANNER ELK--Raleigh-based Curtis Media Group bid $2.3 million to buy six radio stations in the region from Aisling Broadcasting, which went into court receivership earlier this year. Curtis owns 19 stations. The deal requires approval from a...

Lynn.(Western)
December 1, 2008... LYNN--Grover Industries closed its yarn plant here, idling about 30. The company, based in the Cleveland County town it is named for, blamed overseas competition. It hopes to sell the 50,000-square-foot building.

Black mountain.(Western)
December 1, 2008... BLACK MOUNTAIN--FLS Energy, which designs and installs solar-energy systems, plans to open a solar farm on seven acres in Canton next year. It will produce about 1.6 million kilowatts of electricity a year, enough to power about 1,100 homes,...

Boone.(Western)(Appalachian State University)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BOONE--Donations to Appalachian State University reached a record $24.7 million last fiscal year, nearly double the amount the year before. The success of the school's football team, which won its third straight national championship in its...

Tar Heel banking's withdrawal symptoms.(DUE DILIGENCE)
December 1, 2008... San Francisco-based Wells Fargo could become the largest mortgage originator in the state after it buys Charlotte-based Wachovia. Loans * (millions) 1 Bank of America Corp. ...

The fix is in: TigerTek earns its stripes as our Small Business of the Year by pouncing on problems crippling industrial equipment.(FEATURE)(Company overview)
December 1, 2008... Eight o'clock Friday night, a good time to crack open a cold one and kick back--Miller time, ads would have you believe. But when you're making beer 24/7, it's no time to relax. Particularly on the night in 2003 when a pneumatic supply line...

Marco Polo comes home: if Spirit was willing, the flesh couldn't be weak: How the Global TransPark lured a major aerospace manufacturer.(COVER STORY)(North Carolina Global TransPark )(Conference news)(Cover story)
December 1, 2008... Lightning flickers in the Saturday evening sky as Jim Fain's flight lifts off late from Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Missing his connection in New York, North Carolina's top industry hunter dozes through the night slumped in a chair at...

Hear the roar: Bruton Smith wants officials to stop spinning their wheels on paying what they promised for his speedway to stay put.
December 1, 2008... Here are the numbers: Six months of work for 300 construction workers, 57 contractors, more than 3,000 cubic yards of concrete and one 81 -year- old billionaire who fought City Hall and won $80 million. That last one would be Bruton Smith,...

Bricks & Mortar.
December 1, 2008... Where rescuers once put to sea, teachers breathe new life into their skills. The old Ocracoke Coast Guard Station, built at the mouth of Silver Lake harbor just before the U.S. entered World War II and closed in 1997, became state property in...