Business North Carolina articles from June 2002

Business North Carolina archives from June 2002

Faith and foibles. (Up Front).
June 1, 2002... Granted, journalists, as a group, aren't religious. If we do our job right, we're skeptics, and that skepticism often seeps into matters of faith. So you can imagine the glee with which my colleagues have ribbed me about the scandal gripping...

Trend.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... TREND EMPLOYMENT (1) Latest Previous Previous month month year Total employed (OOOs) 3,756.1 3,763.2 ...

Don't count on machines to enhance performance. (Economic Outlook).(Barbara Flynn interview)(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 1, 2002... Barbara Flynn is co-author of the recently published book High Performance Manufacturing: Global Perspectives and a professor of operations management at Wake Forest University's Babcock Graduate School of Management. A psychology graduate of...

Conservative play with pop culture. (Money Matters).(Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... If you're looking for the pause that refreshes, glance at this year's numbers for Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated. Analysts estimate that earnings will increase 110%, to $2.25 a share. And that's after rising 51% last year. But look...

Inn crowd tells State: be our guest, not competitor. (Tar Heel Tattler).(North Carolina)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Government should operate more like business." That's a bromide of the commercial set, but the coda is usually unspoken: "Just don't compete against mine." Consider the gripes of the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Coalition, the North...

You could say he's a whiz at business. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Privacy Protection Services, switches urine samples for drug testing)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Kenneth Curtis' pitch: Urine trouble no longer. He peddled his piddle to people who feared failing drug tests. His Hendersonville-based Privacy Protection Services, which had about $500,000 of sales last year, has caught the attention of...

Tattle tales.
June 1, 2002... * Tutu tantrum: Greensboro Ballet Director Maryhelen Mayfield protested advertisements promoting the Greensboro Jaycees Chrysler Classic golf tournament as depicting dance as "not something a real man would do." The billboards show a golfer...

City proves nobody doesn't like Sara Lee. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... In Winston-Salem, a business that wants tax breaks doesn't have to stick out an open hand. And if that business is Chicago-based Sara Lee Corp., the city comes running with an open wallet. Just hinting that it might move its 2,900 jobs out of...

Some ATMs have an identity crisis. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... The banking industry calls them white-label ATMs. Some consumers have another name for them: unarmed bandits. They're unbranded automated teller machines, and North Carolina's three biggest banks have managed to annoy some customers with...

Global Trans-Park. (Eastern).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... KINSTON -- Paul Busick has quit as executive director of Global Trans-Park, a post he had held since 1998. Busick took what was to have been a 90-day leave in November to become chief of civil aviation security within the Federal Aviation...

Carolina brand foods. (Eastern).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... HOLLY RIDGE -- The Carolina Brand Foods bacon plant here is closing, idling 467 workers. The company is a subsidiary of Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods, which cited the age of the 34-year-old plant and the fact that most of its pork comes...

Cumberland County Civic Center Commission. (Eastern).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... FAYETTEVILLE -- Green Biz Nursery & Landscaping is suing the Cumberland County Civic Center Commission, alleging the commission failed to pay a $20,000 termination fee when it canceled a contract for Green Biz to landscape the Crown Coliseum...

Culp. (Eastern).(closes printing plant in High Point, North Carolina)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... LUMBERTON -- High Point-based Culp says it will close its printing plant here and dismiss 76 workers if the company cannot sell it. The plant prints upholstery fabric. Culp expects to take an after-tax charge of $3 million to $6 million...

DCI. (Eastern).(furniture maker moves into new building)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... LUMBERTON -- Lisbon, N.H.-based furniture maker DCI moved its factory to the former Gerber ChildrensWare plant about 2 1/2 miles away. The move gives DCI, which makes furniture for college dormitories and military housing, 83,000 square feet of...

Havelock. (Eastern).(beaver problem)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... HAVELOCK -- Three years ago, this town spent $60,000 to mount a backhoe on a barge to knock down beaver dams on canals. But within six months, the beavers had returned. This spring, Havelock hired trappers who killed 37 beavers and agreed to...

Phillips surveying. (Eastern).(purchased by McKim and Creed)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... WILMINGTON -- Engineering and architecture firm McKim & Creed has acquired Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Phillips Surveying. McKim & Creed employs 250 in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida.

RBC Centura Banks. (Eastern).(acquires Eagle Bancshares)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... ROCKY MOUNT -- RBC Centura Banks, a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, is acquiring Atlanta-based Eagle Bancshares for $153 million. Eagle is a holding company that owns Tucker Federal Bank in Atlanta, which has assets of $1.1 billion. The...

Wilmington Waves. (Eastern).(team moves to Georgia)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... A pro team is leaving because it can't play downtown. The Charlotte Hornets? No, it's the Wilmington Waves Class A baseball team, but similarities end there. David Heller, a Washington, D.C., political consultant, and Los Angeles-based Mandalay...

Salix Pharmaceuticals. (Triangle).(initial public offering)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Salix Pharmaceuticals went public in March, selling 4 million shares of common stock at $13.37 each. The drug company plans to use the expected proceeds of $50 million to develop its first two drugs, Lumenax, for traveler's diarrhea,...

Progress Energy. (Triangle).(lowers rates)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Progress Energy in March reduced rates 18.9% for customers of its NCNG (formerly North Carolina Natural Gas) subsidiary. Separately, Progress, holding company for CP&L and Florida Power, said it would cut its Florida electricity...

Inveresk Research Group. (Triangle).(initial public offering)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... CARY -- Inveresk Research Group, a contract-research company, has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to go public by selling $150 million worth of common stock. Inveresk moved to Cary last year when it acquired...

Cree. (Triangle).(receives contract)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... DURHAM -- Semiconductor-manufacturer Cree has won a four-year, $14.5 million contract with the U.S. Defense Department to develop light-emitting diodes for biological-agent detection and communications systems.

Winston Hotels. (Triangle).(stock offering)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Winston Hotels, a real-estate investment trust, is doing a secondary offering of common stock, selling 2.75 million shares at $9 each. Winston expects to use the net proceeds -- estimated at $23 million -- to repay debt.

Worldcom. (Triangle).(layoffs)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... CARY -- Long-distance telephone company Worldcom has cut 99 of 2,850 jobs at its network management center here as part of a 4% reduction in companywide employment. One fired employee was arrested after threatening to fly an airplane into the...

Quintiles Transnational. (Triangle).(company activity)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Durham-based Quintiles Transnational, a contract-research company, had a busy March. It revealed in an SEC filing that it is being sued by two insurers that allege it falsified applications for coverage of a Georgia drug study involving 185...

Wake County accounts for 40% of the homes in the triangle region. (Triangle).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Wake County accounts for 40% of the homes in the Triangle region. Housing County units Wake 258,953 Durham 95,452 Johnston 50,196 Orange 49,289 Harnet + ...

Market America. (Triad).(company goes private)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Direct marketer Market America is going private in a $28 million management-led buyout. The company is being bought by Miracle Marketing, led by Market America CEO James Ridinger. The group already owns 82% of Market America. The...

The Pfefferkorn Co. (Triad).(acquired by BB and T)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... WINSTON -SALEM -- BB&T has bought The Pfefferkorn Co. of Winston-Salem, a 70-year-old mortgage-banking company with an $840 million loan-servicing portfolio. It had 34 employees. Terms were not disclosed.

Greensboro Bats. (Triad).(Bill Blackwell resigns)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Bill Blackwell quit as president and general manager of the Greensboro Bats baseball team shortly after the start of the season to become general manager of the Charlotte Knights. Donald Moore, director of sales and marketing,...

John S. Clark Co. (Triad).(new employees)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Mount Airy-based builder John S. Clark Co. has gotten an unexpected boost from the collapse of Wilmington-based Miller Building. Clark has hired six former Miller employees to staff its new seven-person Wilmington office. Clark, which...

Dana Corp. (Triad).(layoffs)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... WHITSETT -- Auto parts maker Dana Corp. is laying off 100 of the 373 workers at its Guilford County plant as it moves production of axle components to other plants. The company says it will restore the jobs within six months when a new product...

Perry Ellis International. (Triad).(acquires Jantzen brand from VF)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- VF has sold the Jantzen clothing brand to Perry Ellis International for about $25 million as part of a restructuring. The deal includes some inventory.

Syngenta Crop Protection. (Triad).(sues Monsanto)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... GREENSBORO -- Syngenta Crop Protection is suing St. Louis-based Monsanto, claiming its ads impugn the safety of Syngenta weed killer on crops that Monsanto genetically engineered to tolerate its Roundup weed killer. The Monsanto ads say...

Unilever. (Triad).(investments in Lipton soup factory)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... ASHEBORO -- Unilever plans to spend $5.5 million to expand its soup plant here. Unilever is closing its food-processing plant in Montgomery, Ill., and transferring production of Lipton soups here by the second quarter of 2003. The move will add...

Montgomery and Caswell were the only triad counties with poverty rates higher than the state's in 1998. (Triad).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Montgomery and Caswell were the only Triad counties with poverty rates higher than the state's in 1998. County Rate Montgomery 15.8% Caswell 14.8 Surry 12.4 Rockingham 12.4 Guilford ...

American Community Bank. (Charlotte).(stock offering)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... MONROE -- American Community Bancshares, parent company of American Community Bank, told the Securities and Exchange Commission in March that it intends to sell 700,000 shares of stock to raise expansion money. A price has not been set.

US Airways. (Charlotte).(resumes flights to Germany)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- US Airways was to resume Charlotte-to-Frankfurt flights arid to expand Charlotte-to-London service in May. It had cut service after Sept. 11.

Interstate Group. (Charlotte).(acquired by Morgan Keegan)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Memphis-based Morgan Keegan, a division of Regions Financial of Birmingham, Ala., purchased the Interstate Group of Charlotte, a division of IJL/Wachovia Securities for an undisclosed sum. The group has about 30 employees,...

TechSolutions. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Two Charlotte technology companies, ettain and TechSolutions, have merged to form ettain Group. TechSolutions offers staffing and training while ettain develops Web sites and computer applications. The merged company, which employs...

Bank of America. (Charlotte).(salary for Ken Lewis)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Bank of America Chairman and CEO Ken Lewis received $17.5 million in pay, bonuses and stock options in 2001, the bank said in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He earned a base salary of $1.3 million and a $5.2...

SouthPark Mall. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- A $100 million expansion of SouthPark Mall has been given a green light by the N.C. Court of Appeals, which overruled arguments by residents that the city overstepped its bounds in approving the project. Opponents predicted it will...

Piedmont Natural Gas. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Piedmont Natural Gas wants its first general rate increase in two years. The N.C. Utilities Commission is expected to hold a hearing on the request in August. The average monthly bill for residential customers would increase 10%....

G.L. Wilson Building. (Charlotte).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... STATESVILLE -- G.L. Wilson Building has bought 32 acres on Interstate 77 and will spend $20 million developing a commercial center for eight tenants. Morland Park is to be 36,000 square feet and will be completed in December.

Asheville Regional Airport. (Western).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- Citing standing-room-only crowds during flight delays, Asheville Regional Airport has approved a $2.1 million expansion of its waiting area. Construction by Wilkie Construction of Lenoir will be completed in late summer.

Tennessee Valley Authority. (Western).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... BOONE -- The Tennessee Valley Authority has decided not to build 16 electricity windmills on Stone Mountain, on the Watauga County line. North Carolina argued the TVA misconstrued laws that ban structures over 40 feet tall but allow farm...

Caldwell County Economic Development Commission. (Western).(fires Tony Colvard)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... LENOIR -- The Caldwell County Economic Development Commission has fired for unspecified reasons its director, Tony Colvard, from his $53,550 job. Colvard, hired in 1997, is a Vietnam veteran who says he is treated for post-traumatic stress...

Vista Industrial Center. (Western).(will house expanded J. Crew distribution center)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- Retailer J. Crew will expand its distribution center here by 60,000 square feet, increasing its space in Vista Industrial Center to more than 200,000 square feet. The center already houses a 150-employee call center.

Ashe County Airport Advisory Board. (Western).(seeks funding for airport runway extension)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... WEST JEFFERSON -- The Ashe County Airport Advisory Board will seek $15 million from federal and state sources to extend the airport's 4,300-foot runway to 5,500 feet. The two-year project would allow small corporate jets to land.

Broadslate Networks. (Western).(closes)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- Broadslate Networks, which provided digital-subscriber lines for Internet service, has closed. It is the third such service to leave the Asheville market in a year. All say they were hurt by cheaper rates by larger competitors such...

Brew Bikes. (Western).(to open new bike plant)
June 1, 2002... CRESTON -- Brew Bikes, a maker of custom mountain and road bicycle frames and components, will open a 7,500-square-foot plant in an industrial park owned by Ashe County. The company will employ more than 20 people.

Volvo Construction Equipment. (Western).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... SKYLAND -- Volvo Construction Equipment has been granted foreign-trade-zone status here, which will allow it to import parts without paying tariffs. The move will save Volvo $1 million a year.

Carolina Power & Light. (Western).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- Carolina Power & Light says it has reduced ozone-causing emissions at its plant here by 70%. The company attributes the reductions to new burner technology.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (Western).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... A March tourism forum in Asheville heard bad news: Average visibility in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has dropped from 70 miles to 12 miles since the '70s. "Air pollution is the No. 1 threat to the mountain tourism business,"...

Buncombe County has the most real-estate and leasing jobs in the region. Graham has the fewest. (Western).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Buncombe County has the most real-estate and leasing jobs in the region. Graham has the fewest. Average County Employees salary Top 5 Buncombe 1,037 $21,022 Henderson 252 19,484...

Balloon payment: CargoLifter's giant airships could boost the state's economy. But can they get aloft before the company runs out of cash? (Feature).
June 1, 2002... Fifteen miles east of Kinston, gulls flock behind huge John Deere tractors to pluck insects from freshly plowed fields that spread from one horizon to the other. This stretch along the county line, like the rest of Craven and Jones counties, is...

The twilight of the gods: global forces bring another textile giant to its knees, drawing the curtains on a modern mill lord's career. (Cover Story).(Guilford Mills Inc.)(Interview)(Company Profile)
June 1, 2002... Chuck Hayes gingerly lowers himself down the stairs to his den, wincing with each step. A barrel-chested man with beefy hands, white hair and eyes fogged by painkillers, he's in no shape to leave the house today. A few years ago, he tripped...

Beeing there: Steve and Sandy Forrest built a business out of bugs and turned their mountaintop hideaway into a hive of activity. (Feature).(Brushy Mountain Bee Farm Inc.)(Company Profile)(Interview)
June 1, 2002... Though reared city kids, Steve and Sandy Forrest plunged into country life when they got to rural Alexander County in 1973. By their second year, Steve, who was teaching business at West Iredell County High School, was helping a colleague tend...

Hickory still poised for growth: Catawba County leaders acknowledge bumps in the highway but expect to get back in the fast lane soon. (Special Advertising Section).(advertisement)
June 1, 2002... Understand this right off about Hickory: Residents don't deny the city and its surrounding region have had a rough time. You don't lose 5,000 jobs in a year without suffering some problems. For most of the late 1990s, Hickory and Catawba...

Corporate travel adjusts to changes. (Special Advertising Section).(advertisement)
June 1, 2002... Even as the effects of Sept. 11 and the 2001 recession slowly fade, the corporate traveler faces anything but smooth waters. A spring shake-up in the travel industry promises to change the old rules and make developing a travel plan even more...

He hopes customers don't sink money in his business. (People).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Marty Foerster grew up tooling around Barnagett Bay, off Long Beach Island, N.J., in an aluminum johnboat that his grandfather had given him. "I just loved it. I went all over the place on that boat." Now he's found a way to turn his...

Peddling paintings through modem art. (People).(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... During a first-grade field trip to the Bronx Zoo, Josh Chodniewicz learned that a hen can lay more than 350 eggs a year. That inspired him to start a business at his Chester, N.J., home. "The $5 allowance just wouldn't cut it," he says. With...

Doctor practices vocational rehab. (People).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Andrew Rothschild is a physician, so it makes sense that, since moving to Raleigh two years ago, he has cared for the old and run-down. Only they haven't been people. He rehabilitates old buildings. His first project here was the Clark &...

Thank you, Jesse. (Out Back).
June 1, 2002... I write this one week after Jesse Helms went under the knife to replace a worn-out pig valve in his heart. His enemies -- and they are legion -- express wonder that the sliver of swine had not long ago rejected its host. Their fellows sneer and...