Business North Carolina articles from July 2006

Business North Carolina archives from July 2006

To win again.(UP FRONT)
July 1, 2006... Consistency is one of the keys to quality, and if this year's Alliance of Area Business Publications Editorial Excellence Awards are any indication, we have that in plenty around here. BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA won five, same as last year. In...

Trend.
July 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Latest Previous Previous % change from month month year last year EMPLOYMENT ...

Stock watch.
July 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Highest price/earnings ratios P/E ratio 5/26/06 52-week Company (3) price range Pozen 352.3 $14.09...

Hog industry must make haste on waste systems.(ECONOMIC OUTLOOK)(Interview)
July 1, 2006... Hogs are North Carolina's top agricultural product, bringing farmers more than $2 billion in 2004. That total might have been bigger if not for a nine-year-old moratorium on starting or expanding farms with more than 250 hogs. Waste spills...

Project is part of GE's nuclear reaction.(EASTERN)
July 1, 2006... General Electric is building a 40,000-square-foot engineering and design center in Wilmington. It's the latest phase of a $77 million expansion of a campus where next-generation nuclear reactors are developed and built. About 200 engineers and...

Garysburg.(EASTERN)
July 1, 2006... GARYSBURG -- Lotus, a Hethel, England-based maker of sports cars, plans to build a $1.5 million research and development center here and create 108 jobs during the next two years. The average annual wage for the new positions, about $48,000, is...

Wilson.(EASTERN)
July 1, 2006... WILSON -- Sandoz, part of Swiss drug maker Novartis, plans to spend $10 million to expand research and development and add 65 jobs here within three years. Sandoz makes generic drugs and employs 316 here. The new jobs are expected to pay more...

Laurel Hill.(EASTERN)
July 1, 2006... LAUREL HILL -- Kordsa, which makes tire cord, opened a $22 million, 232,000-square-foot factory here to consolidate production from two nearby plants. The new factory will increase production by about 40%, but local employment will remain at...

Beaufort.(Moores Marine)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... BEAUFORT -- Riviera Beach, Fla.-based Moores Marine, which repairs wooden boats, will move here next year and open a yard to restore Trumpy yachts, the make that includes the former presidential yacht Sequoia. Trumpy quit making yachts in 1973....

Working capital.(EASTERN)
July 1, 2006... Jobs: 487,722 YTD change: 190 Index: 101.5 Jobs: 762,689 YTD change: (8,627) Index: 100.0 Jobs: 888,495 YTD change: 21,821 Index: 108.8 Jobs: 1,009,836 YTD change: (2,908) Index: 104.7 ...

Tekelec hangs up on software maker.(TRIANGLE)
July 1, 2006... Morrisville-based telecommunications-equipment maker Tekelec plans to sell IEX, which makes software for call centers, to Ra'anana, Israel-based Nice Systems for $200 million. Proceeds should strengthen Tekelec's balance sheet as it tries to...

Durham.(TRIANGLE)
July 1, 2006... DURHAM -- N.C. Central University regained accreditation for its business school after an administrative error caused it to lapse at the end of 2005. The school missed its deadline to file a necessary self-evaluation form.

Wendell.(TRIANGLE)
July 1, 2006... WENDELL -- Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution, part of German electronics giant Siemens, will cut 180 jobs here in the next 18 months as it shifts production of medium-voltage equipment to Mexico. It will keep 235 workers--none in...

Durham.(TRIANGLE)
July 1, 2006... DURHAM -- Motricity, a distributor of music, games and other content for cell phones and wireless devices, raised $40 million in venture capital. That brings its total to $120 million since it was founded in 2001. Chicago-based Advanced...

Sanford.(TRIANGLE)
July 1, 2006... SANFORD -- Score Group, a Peterhead, Scotland-based industrial-engineering company, began operations here and expects to employ 40 within five years. The plant specializes in reconditioning gas-turbine engines.

Cary.(TRIANGLE)
July 1, 2006... CARY -- CEO David Swanson, 51, became chairman of phone-book publisher R.H. Donnelley. He replaced George Burnett, 51, former CEO of Englewood, Colo.-based Dex Media. Burnett became chairman of Donnelley after its $9.5 billion purchase of Dex...

Raleigh.(TRIANGLE)
July 1, 2006... RALEIGH -- Stock Building Supply bought three Las Vegas contractors and an electrical supplier for an undisclosed sum. The companies reported sales of $94 million in fiscal 2005; Stock, part of England-based Wolseley, had $4.1 billion.

Embrex.(TRIANGLE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Durham-based Embrex, which designs machines that vaccinate poultry inside the egg, won U.S. Department of Agriculture approval to make and sell Inovocox, a vaccine that combats a digestive disorder. Embrex also received USDA approval for its...

Lexington.(TRIAD)
July 1, 2006... LEXINGTON -- Billings Transportation Group plans to close within a year, idling about 225 workers here and 100 others elsewhere. Executives of the 84-year-old trucking and logistics company blamed a declining customer base of domestic textile...

Greensboro.(TRIAD)
July 1, 2006... GREENSBORO -- John Cawthron, 62, replaced Roy Rimmer, 74, as CEO of TIMCO Aviation Services, which repairs and maintains aircraft. Cawthron is president of Cawthron, Wommack & Coker, a Waco, Texas-based accounting and consulting firm. Rimmer...

Winston-Salem.(TRIAD)
July 1, 2006... WINSTON-SALEM -- Some production and maintenance workers at cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds Tobacco rejected union representation by a vote of 1,228 to 862. A union appeal to the National Labor Relations Board is expected. Less than 3% of workers...

Kernersville.(TRIAD)
July 1, 2006... KERNERSVILLE -- Forsyth Medical Center, part of Winston-Salem-based Novant Health, wants state permission to build a 50-bed hospital here. It would cost $84 million, open in 2009 and employ about 300.

Atlantic Coast Conference.(TRIAD)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Atlantic Coast Conference, based in Greensboro, awarded its men's college basketball tournament to its hometown in 2011 and 2013-15. The 2012 tournament will be in Atlanta. Both sites were picked over Charlotte, mainly because they have...

High point.(TRIAD)
July 1, 2006... HIGH POINT -- Vomela Specialty, a St. Paul, Minn.-based maker of vinyl graphics, bought Motorsports Designs Holding, maker of graphics for auto-racing teams and others. Terms weren't disclosed. Vomela expects to gross $70 million in 2006.

Mayodan lands maker of aircraft tires.(TRIAD)
July 1, 2006... Tokyo-based tire maker Bridgestone will move the North American headquarters of its aircraft-tire business from Miami to Mayodan in mid-2007, when it opens a factory there. Bridgestone will move about 33 corporate and administrative jobs from...

Big shipper gets the Royal treatment.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Maersk, the U.S. subsidiary of Copenhagen, Denmark-based shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, will expand its Charlotte operations by about 250 employees and buy the headquarters of insurer Royal & SunAlliance USA. Maersk's Charlotte office...

Oakboro.(CHARLOTTE)
July 1, 2006... OAKBORO -- Converpro, a paper-products maker based in St. Cesaire, Quebec, will open a 60,000-square-foot plant to recycle waste paper into tissue and paper towels. The plant will employ 87 at an average weekly wage of $555; the Stanly County...

Charlotte.(CHARLOTTE)
July 1, 2006... CHARLOTTE -- Misenheimer-based Pfeiffer University plans to expand its satellite campus here to accommodate 2,000 students, 800 more than current enrollment. The project, costing $30 million, will include a medical-office building and...

Mooresville.(CHARLOTTE)
July 1, 2006... MOORESVILLE -- Developers will convert a mill into offices, stores and residences, while preserving much of the 104-year-old plant Burlington Industries closed in 1999. The 1.5 million-square-foot project will cost $150 million. Construction...

Charlotte.(CHARLOTTE)
July 1, 2006... CHARLOTTE -- First Charter, a bank with $4.3 billion in assets, will buy GBC Bancorp, the parent of Gwinnett Banking of Lawrenceville, Ga., for $102 million. Gwinnett has $418 million in assets. It's the first out-of-state acquisition for First...

Lincolnton.(CHARLOTTE)
July 1, 2006... LINCOLNTON -- Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Big Dog Holdings will move its distribution center in January from Santa Fe Springs, Calif., to an industrial park about five miles north of here. The company, which operates Big Dog USA clothing stores...

Charlotte.(Falfurrias Capital Partners)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... CHARLOTTE -- Former Bank of America Chairman Hugh McColl is forming a private-equity firm with Marc Oken, an ex-chief financial officer of the bank. Named for the Texas town where they go hunting, Falfurrias Capital Partners plans to raise $85...

Newton.(CHARLOTTE)
July 1, 2006... NEWTON -- PalletOne will open a $3.5 million plant in Catawba County that will employ about 35. PalletOne, based in Bartow, Fla., is the nation's largest manufacturer of pallets.

Charlotte.(CHARLOTTE)
July 1, 2006... CHARLOTTE -- Naples, Fla.-based InfiLaw System will launch Charlotte's first law school in August. Expected first-year enrollment is 75. InfiLaw, a for-profit company, operates law schools in Jacksonville, Fla., and Phoenix.

Ritz-Carlton Hotel.(CHARLOTTE)
July 1, 2006... A 150-room Ritz-Carlton hotel will open in downtown Charlotte in 2008. The $60 million hotel will be the first in the state for the Chevy Chase, Md.-based Ritz-Carlton Hotel chain. Bank of America will own the hotel, which will adjoin its...

Incentives cap deal for water bottler.(WESTERN)
July 1, 2006... Ice River Springs Water will open a water-bottling plant in late summer in Morganton. The company, based in Feversham, Ontario, will spend about $12 million to renovate and equip a building in an industrial park near Interstate 40. The plant,...

Murphy.(WESTERN)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... MURPHY -- Cherokee County joined other western North Carolina counties and towns to fight building of an interstate highway through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Nantahala National Forest and other attractions. County commissioners...

Cherokee.(WESTERN)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... CHEROKEE -- The Eastern Band of the Cherokee will get an economic boost from a $50 million resort under construction along Tellico Lake in North Carolina and Tennessee. The first phase will be finished in early 2007. Sequoyah Lodge and Lake...

Waynesville.(WESTERN)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... WAYNESVILLE -- The family of former state Sen. Voit Gilmore has donated 530 acres of mountaintop, worth about $2 million, to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On Purchase Knob in central Haywood County, the land and a cabin owned by the...

Bobcats boss has folks scratching their heads.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
July 1, 2006... Soon after he bought the rights to start the Charlotte Bobcats, Bob Johnson made clear why he would be the boss: "Any business I put $300 million in, I'm the CEO." So it was surprising when in March he promoted Ed Tapscott to CEO of...

Fishermen: pings lead to a net loss.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
July 1, 2006... Commercial fishermen have a message for the Navy: When Opie tosses that rock in the lake at the beginning of The Andy Griffith Show, it spooks the fish. So imagine what will happen if you bombard them with pings and beeps. On the heels of...

WHAT THEY'RE READING.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Phil Kuttner, CEO, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose If you've ever felt overwhelmed by an audacious goal, this...

Drug maker's IPO isn't heaven-sent.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
July 1, 2006... Raleigh-based Voyager Pharmaceutical Corp. is trying to develop Memryte, its treatment for Alzheimer's disease. If its former chief scientific officer and co-founder had his way, it also would be working to glorify God. That's what Voyager...

CEO wants Krispy Kreme to make lots more dough.(PEOPLE)
July 1, 2006... Winston-Salem-based Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. once was a Wall Street wonder. Its glazed doughnuts, each packing 200 calories and 12 grams of fat, still are the undoing of dieters. But investors have been turning up their noses at its stock....

Sports guru gets back in the game.(PEOPLE)
July 1, 2006... Max Muhleman and Arnold Schwarzenegger see eye to eye on one thing: There's room for two National Football League teams in the Los Angeles market. California's governor announced after a May meeting with NFL owners that he didn't want to settle...

India fits into his theory of Relativity.(PEOPLE)
July 1, 2006... When Steve Maysonave replaced founder Vivek Wadhwa as CEO of Relativity Technologies Inc. three years ago, the Raleigh-based software maker was flirting with bankruptcy. Now it's boosting employment in India--not by exporting jobs but by adding...

Colleges keep running up the score on coaches' pay.(SPORTS SECTION)
July 1, 2006... When Terry Holland coached basketball at the University of Virginia from 1974 to 1990, he ran a summer camp and started a television show to make a little money on the side. He also negotiated a team shoe contract--a small one, he says--to pay...

Turn over an old leaf: he runs the biggest book conservator in the nation. But for Don Etherington, it's not size but volumes that count.(PICTURE THIS)
July 1, 2006... In the beginning was the word. So begins the Gospel of John. And the word was but a sound until it was put upon a page. The apostle failed to mention that the Lord would send down mold, earwigs, floods and children with sticky fingers to plague...

Goose riders in the sky: to resurrect a worldwide market, a small-town startup melds a 70-year-old design with modern manufacturing.(Antilles Seaplanes LLC)(Cover story)(Company overview)
July 1, 2006... Not much is left except the smell of oil on old metal. The cockpit is stripped, its instruments useless. A wiper dangles on one side of the arched windshields, creating the appearance of a man squinting into fog. Twin control wheels with...

Heavy industry: there's no dearth of girth. But rather than expand, Durham's Rice Diet and its brethren watch their wait.(FEATURE)
July 1, 2006... Longtime Durham residents easily spot the people who've come to lose weight. They see them huffing along the gravel trail encircling Duke University's East Campus, marked by their girth, their tentlike T-shirts and their new sneakers. They...

Strong medicine: that's exactly what these doctors--identified by their peers as the best in the state--are practicing.(FEATURE)
July 1, 2006... With health-care inflation of 10% or more a year, it's not surprising that rising costs are changing medicine. But an outcome many analysts didn't expect is one that patients and employers have long sought: better ways to judge doctor quality....

While others stall, life science goes on: optimism about the state's future in creating and maintaining biotechnology jobs crosses a broad spectrum of experts.(Interview)
July 1, 2006... Can biotechnology be the savior of North Carolina jobs? That's the question put to a panel of life-sciences experts assembled by Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, a Winston-Salem-based law firm: Don deBethizy, CEO of Targacept Inc., a...

Bricks & mortar.
July 1, 2006... There's vroom for many at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, site of six major races a year. With 167,000 seats, it's the biggest sports venue in the Southeast. Just north of Charlotte, site of NASCAR's first race, the track opened just 10 years...