Business North Carolina articles from June 2004

Business North Carolina archives from June 2004

Fund and games.(UP FRONT)
June 1, 2004... Saying Chris Roush is a fan is like saying Barry Bonds is a baseball player. Chris' enthusiasm for athletic competition, combined with his background covering business, is why we've asked him to write Sports Section, our new column about how...

Merck is a bitter pill.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... The idea of so-called incentives (cover story, April) has brought about a lot that is plainly false and wrong. Among these, the involvement of favor and advantage seeking in partisan politics, the terrible waste and misuse of public funds,...

Keep logging in.(LETTERS)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... The April edition of BNC details good information, but allow me to summarize a bit and pull it together: 1. Wall Street punished the forest industry during the 1990s for owning "capital intensive" forestland, so the companies are forced to...

Trend.
June 1, 2004... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Latest Previous Previous % change month month year from last year EMPLOYMENT...

Consultant has designs on northwestern N.C.(ECONOMIC OUTLOOK)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... Using federal funds, the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments and the Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce hired Austin, Texas-based AngelouEconomics to create an economic-development plan for eight counties in northwestern North Carolina. Its...

15 eastern counties lose population.(demographic)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... New U.S. Census figures for Eastern North Carolina confirm what advocates for the region feared: People are leaving. Estimates for April 2000 through July 2003 show that 15 of the 17 Tar Heel counties that lost population were in the East. Hyde...

Heritage Medical Associates.(bankruptcy)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... FAYETTEVILLE -- Heritage Medical Associates, which operates Primary Care Plus, one of the largest medical clinics here, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing more than $1.6 million in debts and less than $1.5 million in accounts receivable....

Currituck County.(light rules)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... CURRITUCK -- Currituck County commissioners want to dim light pollution. They passed an amendment to the county development ordinance that will require companies to use outdoor lights that shine downward. The rule would apply to buildings...

Pharmaceutical Product Development.(convention centers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... WILMINGTON -- City Council members have chosen a site owned by Pharmaceutical Product Development for a new convention center. PPD bought the 8 acres recently for an undisclosed sum, but officials say the company is willing to sell.

Wayne County.(school construction)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... GOLDSBORO -- In a move that could boost a sluggish local building industry, Wayne County approved an $82.5 million school-construction plan that would include high schools in Mount Olive and Grantham. No date was set for a bond referendum. The...

Heartland Publications.(publishing industry)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... FAYETTEVILLE -- Heartland Publications of Ponte Verde Beach, Fla., bought The Sampson Independent in Clinton, the Bladen Journal in Elizabethtown and The Robesonian in Lumberton from Birmingham, Ala.-based Community Newspaper Holdings. Terms...

Smitty's Cleaners.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... FAYETTEVILLE -- A Cumberland County jury awarded I.C. Smith Jr., owner of Smitty's Cleaners, more than $400,000 after he sued the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, contending that water from its pipes left spots on clothes and damaged his...

Working capital.(REGIONAL REPORT)
June 1, 2004... Source: Employment Security Commission, February. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of the average in 2000. [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

Heavy dose of incentives seals deal.(TRIANGLE)
June 1, 2004... The deal is official. The state will pay Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based pharmaceutical maker Merck & Co. (cover, April) up to $39.4 million in incentives to build a vaccine plant in Treyburn Corporate Park in Durham County. The $300 million...

Red Hat.(human resource)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... RALEIGH -- Red Hat, which distributes and services the Linux computer-operating system, plans to add about 100 employees here by the end of the year, bringing employment to about 300. It also plans to add about 100 employees at its...

Underwriters Laboratories.(healthcare)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Northbrook, Ill.-based safety-testing company Underwriters Laboratories will lay off up to 70 employees at its laboratory here as part of a companywide restructuring. UL employed about 350 here before the layoffs.

PolySi Technologies.(locations)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... SANFORD -- Lubricant maker PolySi Technologies is moving its corporate headquarters and manufacturing here from Avon, Ohio. The company will begin operations in early July and will employ about 20 initially.

Pinpoint Networks.(software industry)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... DURHAM -- Pinpoint Networks, which makes software for handheld computers, merged with Nashville, Tenn.-based Power By Hand, which provides content and games for the devices. Terms were not disclosed, but the company will operate as Power By...

Cree.(semiconductor industry)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... DURHAM -- Cree, which makes light-emitting diodes and semiconductor chips, bought the gallium nitride business of Danbury, Conn.-based ATMI for $10.3 million. Cree uses gallium nitride in its chips.

Wake County.(apparel sales)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... In 2003, per capita apparel sales in Wake County were higher than in any of the region's other counties. Most Least Wake $1,919 Warren $1,052 Orange 1,852 Vance 1,166 Durham 1,694 Harnett...

Ross spins BI and Cone Mills into ITG.(TRIAD)(WL Ross & Co acquired Burlington Industries and Cone Mills)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Two tattered Tar Heel textile titans have become one. New York-based WL Ross & Co. plucked Burlington Industries and Cone Mills from bankruptcy within the past six months, paying $704 million, then combined them in March to form International...

Unilin.(laminate flooring)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... THOMASVILLE -- Unilin, a Belgian maker of laminate flooring, is expanding operations here from 75,000 to 735,000 square feet with the construction of a 660,000-square-foot building. The expansion will boost employment from 70 to about 400 by...

Bepco.(locations)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... YADKINVILLE -- Bepco, a maker of truck parts, is moving here from Winston-Salem and expanding. The 46-year-old company employs 68 and plans to have 150 by 2009.

Bekaert Textiles USA.(buildings)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... WINSTON-SALEM -- Bekaert Textiles USA, a Dutch maker of mattress coverings, will add 100,000 square feet to its 130,000-square-foot plant here and boost employment from about 100 to about 150 during the next three years.

Forsyth Medical Center.(TRIAD)(healthcare)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... WINSTON-SALEM -- Forsyth Medical Center will spend $95 million to expand its main campus. It could boost employment--now 4,352--by 100 over the next three years.

Caswell County.(TRIAD)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... Caswell County has the region's highest percentage of managers and officials who are black. Managers Labor and County force officials Caswell 31.9% 16.8% Guilford ...

Ex-Shelby Yarn workers settle lawsuit.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Four years after Shelby Yarn shut down (cover story, September 2000), former employees have settled a lawsuit over medical-insurance payments and back pay. Former CEO Sidney Kosann will pay $200,000 and Shelby Yarn's former owner, San Mateo,...

Lowe.(Lowe's Companies Inc)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... MOORESVILLE -- Robert Tillman, chairman and CEO of Lowe's, will retire in January. He joined the company in 1962 and has been CEO since 1996 and chairman since 1998. Lowe's annual sales grew from $8.6 billion in 1996 to $30.8 billion in 2003....

Bank of America.(Bank of America to cut down jobs)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... CHARLOTTE -- Bank of America plans to cut 12,500 jobs from its 180,000-person work force during the next two years, following its merger with FleetBoston Financial. About 30% of the reduction will be through attrition.

New Britain.(The Stanley Works' distribution center )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... KANNAPOLIS -- This summer, New Britain, Conn.-based toolmaker The Stanley Works will complete a 300,000-square-foot expansion of its distribution center here. The expansion will boost employment from about 200 to at least 300.

ZF.(ZF to build a plant)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... NEWTON -- ZF, a German auto-parts maker, will build a 150,000-square-foot plant here. The $30 million plant is expected to create 200 jobs by next year.

Time Warner Cable.(Time Warner Cable to hire )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... CHARLOTTE -- Stamford, Conn.-based Time Warner Cable, which employs 3,830 in North Carolina, will add 350 jobs and erect a new building next to its offices here. It will invest up to $36 million and will begin hiring later this year.

Cabarrus.(census of Cabarrus)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The growth rate of Cabarrus' Hispanic population led the state in the 1990s. N.C. rank County Growth 1 Cabarrus 1,270.6% 5 Union 1,031.4 14 Catawba 756.2 19 Rowan 724.7 29 ...

Productivity, not jobs, prods growth.(North Carolina - economic aspects)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... A study of western North Carolina's economy concludes that an increase in productivity--not job creation--is keeping the region afloat. Appalachian State University economist Todd Cherry concluded that economic growth in 25 counties took place...

Cone Mills.(Cone Mills adds staff)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... CLIFFSIDE -- Cone Mills added about 120 jobs at its weaving plant here. Most were filled by Cone workers laid off last year.

Blue Ridge Community College.(WESTERN)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... FLAT ROCK -- The state auditor ruled that Blue Ridge Community College competed unfairly with private computer-service companies in Henderson County by developing Web sites and other activities. The auditor ruled that Blue Ridge should repay...

UNC Asheville.(University of North Carolina (Asheville))(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... ASHEVILLE -- UNC Asheville will spend $5 million on a crafts campus next to Buncombe County's closed landfill. Methane from the landfill will help power studios, offices and classrooms on the 150-acre site.

North Carolina Association of Hearing Care Professionals.(official booked for embezzling)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... ASHEVILLE -- John Richard Mills, former treasurer of the North Carolina Association of Hearing Care Professionals, pleaded guilty to embezzling $155,000 from the organization. He received a suspended sentence, but he must perform community...

Blue Ridge Motion Pictures.(WESTERN)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... BURNSVILLE -- This town will be the setting for scenes in a movie based on The Window of Childhood, a book by Asheville physician Olson Huff. The $1.5 million project will also be shot in Asheville at Blue Ridge Motion Pictures, which is...

The first thing we do, let's mill all the lawyers.(Elon University plans a law school)
June 1, 2004... Stop me if you've heard this one: Why does California have the most lawyers and New Jersey the most toxic-waste dumps? New Jersey got first pick. Or how about this one: Why does New York have the most lawyers per capita and North Carolina...

And sometimes you can win for losing.(companies move away from North Carolina)
June 1, 2004... In the recruiting game, you win some, you lose some--and sometimes you lose after you think you've won. In 2002, North Carolina lost a promising biotechnology company, Winston-Salem-based Pilot Therapeutics. It moved to Charleston, S.C., after...

Cities vie to ride folks out on a rail.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
June 1, 2004... When it comes to luring more train service to your city, is it better to bad-mouth the competition, poor-mouth yourself or thump your chest? Goldsboro and Fayetteville are competing for a stop on a proposed route from Raleigh to Wilmington by...

Elizabeth Costello.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Paul Anderson, chairman and CEO, Duke Energy Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee I was attracted to it because I was quite taken by his earlier book, Disgrace. I enjoy his writing as I can relate to the settings of South Africa and...

The Meaning of Everything.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... John Allison, chairman and CEO, BB & T The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester This is the story of the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary, which took almost 70 years. The book is both interesting and enjoyable. It...

The Guns of August.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Richard Moore, state treasurer The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman It is a classic, timeless piece of nonfiction that reads like fiction. The book is a graphic reminder of two very important realities: One, war is indeed horrible;...

Car wars.(shotgun-wielding man booked for discharging firearms)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Car wars: A shotgun-wielding man in a pickup truck blasted a remote-controlled blimp touting Cloninger Ford in Salisbury. A witness got the number on the license plate, a dealer tag traced back to Team Chevrolet. Dealership owner Thom Dillard...

Light my ire.(Currituck County )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Light my ire: Currituck County officials, who lost a bitter fight with a nonprofit over who owns the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, threatened to close it because it has too few bathrooms and parking spaces--neither a big concern when the...

Open and shut.(cops compete with locksmith by opening car doors)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Open and shut: a federal judge denied a Forest City locksmith's claim that cops unfairly compete with him by opening car doors for people who can't find their keys.

Runs and gun.(American Basketball Association to have a logo and trips)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Runs and gun: The Charlotte region's other new basketball franchise will tip off in November. The Carolina Thunder, part of the minor-league American Basketball Association, will have a NASCAR-themed logo and some long road trips. Among the...

Saks of woe.( Dee-Dee Harris wants state to fund)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Saks of woe: Charlotte developer Dee-Dee Harris wants the city and state to help pay for her stalled $200 million project, which includes a Saks Fifth Avenue and a five-star hotel. "We read daily that the state is granting other out-of-state...

3, not fore.(Dale Earnhardt movie calls for extras)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... 3, not fore: The folks making the Dale Earnhardt movie for ESPN held a casting call in, of all places, Pinehurst for extras for racing scenes shot in Rocking-ham. Wonder if they had to teach them how to toss chicken bones at the fence.

Doh!(Montana Mills to be sold off)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Doh!: Even Winston-Salem-based Krispy Kreme Doughnuts wants to cut carbs. It's selling Montana Mills, a chain of bakeries it bought last year.

The long way around.(Charlotte hires new planning director)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The long way around: Charlotte spent more than $17,000 to hire a Boston consultant to conduct a nationwide search for a new planning director. Then it hired Debra Campbell, who has worked in the city planning department 15 years.

Well, not right away.(Bank of Granite CEO to leave this year end)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Well, not right away: "I have no plans to retire," Bank of Granite CEO John Forlines (left), 86, said in late February. On April 26, he revealed he was leaving at the end of the year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

New blood.(TATTLE TALES)(bank has a new CEO)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... New blood: The new CEO will be Charles Snipes, the bank's 70-year-old president. He predicted that, unlike his predecessor, he won't be in the job 50 years.

Data bits.(insured banks statistics)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... The number of federally insured U.S. commercial banks fell 18% from 1992 to 2002. Top gainers: Change Massachusetts 250.8% Nevada 100.0 Maine 85.7 New Jersey 41.5 Connecticut ...

Figuratively speaking.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... * Percentage of American CEOs who feel overregulation is the biggest threat to their business: 18. That increased competition is: 17. Currency fluctuations: 15. Loss of key talent: 11. * Percentage of workers who say not asking for help...

His gizmos go to those with driving ambition.(PEOPLE)(AccuSport Inc)
June 1, 2004... David Rankin doesn't claim to be a great golfer, but he is helping others improve their games. As president of Winston-Salem-based AccuSport Inc., he has developed a device that records the speed and spin of a freshly whacked golf ball to help...

Restaurateur goes Low Carb Crazy.( Good Ol' Days)
June 1, 2004... Andrew Goldstein is known around Charlotte as the "Jewish Santa" for his commitment to helping the poor and hungry. But the restaurateur is looking less rotund these days. Thanks to a low-carb diet, the belly that once shook like jelly is no...

Agent coaches past prime-time players.(PEOPLE)(Wisse, Hollmann & Co., LLC)
June 1, 2004... If Jay Wisse misses a business call at home, his daughters sometimes get more than a name and number. They often get a history lesson after Dad sees who has called and drags out a sports almanac to show them the statistics and stories behind...

Her travel plans are very Pacific.(PEOPLE)(Travel Services)
June 1, 2004... Burdened by family problems and unfulfilling work, Karolyn Wrightson struck out in 1996 to find a new direction. "I spent three months in the Australian outback and fell in love with the landscape and the people." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Settlement unsettles SPX shareholders.(MONEY MATTERS)
June 1, 2004... Surprises can bring big smiles on birthdays. But when earnings are announced, they usually cause frowns. Charlotte-based industrial conglomerate SPX Corp. gave analysts a surprise earlier this year. Now it's struggling to win back their trust...

Tar heel stock watch.(MONEY MATTERS)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... 3-month 1-year 52-week Company change (1) change range Top 10 large-cap stocks Salix Pharmaceuticals 36.8% 185.7% $10.14-33.47 Inspire Pharmaceuticals...

State gets taste of Campbell's snoops.(CAPITAL)
June 1, 2004... You don't have to be smart or honest to work for the state. A smart person wouldn't use a government computer to store pornographic material, fail to delete the dirty pictures before turning in the machine as surplus, then use a new computer to...

Raleigh must play tough D to keep CIAA tournament.(SPORTS SECTION)(Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau)
June 1, 2004... How are things going?" David Heinl asks a visitor. "What can we improve on?" he says to another. Heinl, chief executive of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, works the luxury boxes of the RBC Center in Raleigh in late February,...

Los obreros: Latino labor influences the way things are built--and what they're built with--across the state.(BUILDING NORTH CAROLINA)
June 1, 2004... Saturday dawns warm and bright. At outdoor tables along the industrial-chic section of Charlotte's South Boulevard, diners breakfast on juice and croissants. A few blocks away, the interior of a building under construction is drenched in...

Nextel[TM] presents North Carolina's top 20 general contractors.(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... 2003 N.C. revenue Company Headquarters (millions) 1 Skanska USA Building Inc. (1) ...

The God squad: Mark Cress built Corporate Chaplains of America Inc. on two foundations--the Bible and a business plan.(FEATURE)
June 1, 2004... Mark Cress should've been happy. He says he was. After a few false starts, he had realized his dream of launching and running a successful business. From a $5,000 investment in 1987, he had built Richmond, Va.-based Success Stories Inc. into a...

Sister President: that's what they call Johnnetta Cole, who has brought Bennett College back from the brink of bankruptcy.
June 1, 2004... She still remembers her introduction to racial lines. It was around 1941 in her hometown of Jacksonville, Fla. Johnnetta Cole can even smile now, her warm, deep voice almost belying the terror she must have felt as a child of 3 or 4. Except for...

No pane, no gain: what may be the nation's largest stained-glass studio seizes the light.(PICTURE THIS)(Statesville Stained Glass Inc.)
June 1, 2004... "If you want to assemble simple windows, first mark out the dimensions of their length and breadth on a wooden board, then draw scroll work or anything else that pleases you and select colors that are to be put in. Cut the glass and fit the...

2004 Law Journal.
June 1, 2004... Law is order," Aristotle wrote, "and good law is good order." That's one reason American business is built on a strong legal framework--without it would be the chaos that accompanied capitalism's return to countries that communism had so long...

Go west: economic strategy shifts.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION: REGIONAL FOCUS)
June 1, 2004... There is a saying: If you keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same results. In western North Carolina there is a group of people who have heard the beat of a different drummer--the sound of innovation--and they are responding...

By design: architects, engineers spur change.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)
June 1, 2004... ARCHITECTS Architects often quote Winston Churchill, who said, "We shape our buildings, and then the buildings shape us." Churchill was onto something. Even as you read this, your environment influences you. For better or worse, the...

Bricks & mortar.(Grove Arcade)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Asheville's elegant lady in gray, Grove Arcade, was built in 1925 by Dr. E.W. Grove, who pictured a place where people could work, shop and play under one roof. Restored in 2002, it houses apartments, offices and shops--just what the doctor...