Business North Carolina articles from March 2002

Business North Carolina archives from March 2002

Midas meets Midway. (Up Front).
March 1, 2002... Reader surveys say you've subscribed to BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA for five years on average. And that's why we're loath to repeat ourselves: We don't want to bore you. But this month, you'll notice not only that we've written again about someone...

Letters.
March 1, 2002... Airing dirty linen Ed Martin's story on his heart surgery in your December 2001 issue differs greatly from the version he told us about in his phone conversations with our public-information staff and in a face-to-face meeting. Mr....

Trend.(economic indicators, North Carolina)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... TREND Latest Previous month month EMPLOYMENT (1) Total employed (000s) 3,792.7 3,809.7 Civilian labor...

Latinos are taking jobs--the kind others don't want. (Economic Outlook).(Hispanic American employment trends, North Carolina)
March 1, 2002... Latino workers have become a staple of low-wage industries in North Carolina. N. C. State sociology professors Jeffrey Leiter and Donald Tomaskovic-Devey surveyed nine human-resource managers in pork, poultry, warehousing, pickles, plastics and...

McRae orders keep marching into battle. (Money Matters).(McRae Industries' military boot division reaps profits from war on terrorism)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... The fighting in Afghanistan might be turning into another Vietnam for McRae Industries of Mount Gilead. And for CEO Gary McRae, that's good news. That's because the boots U.S. soldiers are using to kick Taliban tall come from McRae's...

Tar Heel Stock Watch.(North Carolina business securities prices)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... TAR HEEL STOCK WATCH Ranking based on three-month price change October-December Top 10 large-cap stocks 3-month 1-year 52-week Company change change range Cree ...

How to get a charge out of risque business. (Tar Heel Tattler).(massage parlors in Greensboro, North Carolina investigated)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Until recently, customers of four Greensboro "Asian spas" who opted to put it on plastic got credit-card receipts from DJK Sport Supply. Which was really quite convenient because law-enforcement officials contend that the massage parlors were...

Anthrax is a spoil spore for company. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Vital Living Products Inc. and its anthrax test kit under investigation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... A home test kit for anthrax looked like a sure cure for sickly Vital Living Products Inc. of Mattews. Then in November, FBI agents raided company headquarters, wanting to know where Vital Living got the anthrax it claimed had been used to prove...

Publishers fear being broken on the rack. (Tar Heel Tattler).(controversy over free newspaper distribution between Linx Distribution, Triad Publishers Association)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... To hear Tim Stratton tell it, he extended a helping hand to Triad newspaper and magazine publishers only to have it slapped away. His supposed beneficiaries say Stratton's employer -- The News & Record, Greensboro's daily paper -- was reaching...

Foe: Tower sends the wrong signal. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Lenoir County's competing radio towers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Lenoir County Manager John Bauer says he's just trying to provide countywide radio coverage for law enforcement. But he admits the 480-foot radio tower the county is building near Kinston might attract interest from cellphone companies. ...

Data Bits.(gasoline consumption statistics)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... DATA BITS PUMPING GAS Tar Heel drivers used 2.5% more gasoline in 2000 than in 1999. The states with the biggest gains: Indiana 9.9% Vermont 6.0 Utah 5.0 Missouri 4.0 Louisiana ...

Dollar daze. (Tattle Tales).(Krispy Kreme outlet in Ontario, Canada, opening day sales statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Opening-day sales at Krispy Kreme's first foreign doughnut shop -- in Mississauga, Ontario -- totaled $70,920, which the Winston-Salem-based company touted as a first-day record. Uh, those were Canadian dollars, equivalent to about $45,000...

Taxing times. (Tattle Tales).(Marty Bostic, Mayor of North Topsail Beach, wanted for back taxes)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Marty Bostic, North Topsail Beach's mayor, has caught the eye of state officials -- but not for a plum political appointment. He ranks seventh among the 70 Tar Heels on the Revenue Department's first list of deadbeats. The state says he owes...

Getting to the top. (Tattle Tales).(North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. urges employees to take stairs)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. encourages employees who work on the first four floors of its 12-story headquarters in downtown Durham to take the stairs. That doesn't apply to denizens of the executive offices on the top floor, though...

Familiar faces. (Tattle Tales).(Candle Corp. hires, fires undocumented workers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... After firing 72 Hispanic workers in Elkin because their names didn't match those that went with their Social Security numbers, Candle Corp. rehired them when they returned with new numbers -- and new names. They were fired again when Blyth...

Running scared. (Tattle Tales).(anthrax false alarm created by Carolina Hash House Harriers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... After a jogger left a trail of flour for fellow Carolina Hash House Harriers to follow, Fayetteville officials evacuated Mayfair Mall while a hazardous-materials team removed what some feared might be anthrax spores. The running club is...

Easy come, easy go. (Tattle Tales).(Fayetteville, North Carolina, drops in ratings from Expansion Management)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Speaking of Fayetteville, it dropped off Expansion Management magazine's list of "America's 50 Hottest Cities" after debuting at No. 33 last year. A flummoxed economic developer says last year's ranking was "something out of the blue."

No go for logo. (Tattle Tales).(Pinehurst-Southern Pines Area Association of Realtors loses "for sale" sign case)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A federal magistrate has recommended dismissing a lawsuit by the Pinehurst-Southern Pines Area Association of Realtors challenging the Village of Pinehurst's rules governing for-sale signs ("Sign Language," December 2001). Signs come in one...

Spin doctors. (Tattle Tales).(Dr. Michael Reiff Ross is suspended for prescribing Cipro at VirtualMedicalGroup.com)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A Myrtle Beach doctor says executives of VirtualMedicalGroup.com assured him the N.C. Medical Board wouldn't mind if he prescribed the antibiotic Cipro to the Morrisville dot-com's customers without examining them (Tattler, January 2002). Oops....

WKFT. (Eastern).(eliminates local news segment)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... FAYETTEVILLE -- Independent television station WKFT eliminated its locally produced news after anchor Stacy Neumann resigned in December. The station is owned by Charlotte-based Bahakel Communications and for four years had produced briefs that...

Alamac American Knits. (Eastern).(receives grant from Golden Leaf Foundation for plant equipment)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... LUMBERTON -- Alamac American Knits will use a $75,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation, which is parceling out tobacco-settlement money, to buy new equipment at its plant here. That will enable it to increase employment from 315 to 460 in...

Haworth. (Eastern).(to close plant)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... CHADBOURN -- Furniture maker Haworth is closing its plant here, eliminating 345 jobs. The plant makes desks, credenzas and other furniture. The Holland, Mich.-based company is moving production to Calgary, Alberta. The closings won't affect...

Penn Yan Marine Manufacturing. (Eastern).(plant closed, plans on where to move it)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... RAEFORD -- Penn Yan Marine Manufacturing's stay here was brief. The New York-based boat builder opened its plant in June, employing 28, and closed in January. Owner Tom Amato said he state reneged on $100,000 in tax breaks. They were contingent...

Onslow County. (Eastern).(North Carolina officials, water shortage management)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... JACKSONVILLE -- Onslow County officials have backed down from imposing a development moratorium that was intended to stave off water shortages. The county is studying other measures such as summer watering limits and boosting well production....

BSH Home Appliances.(to build new plants)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Huntington, Calif-based BSH Home Appliances will spend $150 million to build two plants in New Bern during the next five years. The company, part of a Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances joint venture in Munich, Germany, already employs 400 at a...

The New Hanover County Airport Authority. (Eastern).(offering airline incentives)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... WILMINGTON -- The New Hanover County Airport Authority is offering incentives for airlines to launch new service from Wilmington International Airport. The airport will waive terminal rent and landing fees for a year for airlines that begin jet...

National Spinning. (Eastern).(National Spinning Company Inc. buys plants from Glen Raven Yarn)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... WASHINGTON -- National Spinning, based in Beaufort County, has acquired two dyeing and spinning plants in Alamance County from Burlington-based Glen Raven Yarn. Terms were not disclosed. National Spinning produces natural and dyed yarns for...

Manufacturing pays the highest average annual wage in the Triangle. Retail pays the lowest. (Triangle).(wage information based on industries)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Manufacturing pays the highest average annual wage in the Triangle. Retail pays the lowest. Industry Wage Manufacturing $35,757 Transportation, communication, utilities 34,812...

A4 Health Systems. (Triangle).(to buy EmSTAT Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... CARY -- A4 Health Systems, which makes and sells medical software, is buying a Texas-based competitor. The acquisition of EmSTAT will give A4 a total of 70 emergency rooms as clients, including those of Rex Healthcare in Raleigh. Terms weren't...

Progress Energy.(asking North Carolina Utilities Commission for rate cut for Tar Heel Energy Corp. customers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Progress Energy is asking the N.C. Utilities Commission far a $3 million rate cut for Tar Heel customers in 2002. The Raleigh-based electric utility said savings from its acquisition of Florida Progress, completed in November, enabled it to...

Kerr Drug. (Triangle).(planning a new drug store)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... RALEIGH -- Kerr Drug is planning a new corporate headquarters at Wakefield Plantation office park. The three-story, $10 million building is slated to be done in 2003. Kerr will leave its current headquarters in Research Triangle Park, though...

American Eagle. (Triangle).(expands service to Boston, New York from Raleigh-Durham International Airport)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... MORRISVILLE -- American Eagle, the commuter subsidiary of American Airlines, is adding flights to Boston and New York's LaGuardia airport from Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Midway Airlines, which, after declaring bankruptcy in...

Inspire Pharmaceuticals. (Triangle).(sees stock prices fall by 73%)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... DURHAM -- Dizzying. That was the plunge the stock of Inspire Pharmaceuticals took in January when the biotechnology company announced its best hope for the pharmacy market -- an eye treatment -- worked no better than a placebo. Despite the 73%...

Lifestyle Furnishings. (Triad).(sells furniture assets to Furniture Brands International)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... HIGH POINT -- Lifestyle Furnishings has sold three of its North Carolina-based furniture lines to St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International for $275 million in cash and stock. Furniture Brands executives expect the Henredon, Drexel...

Aviation Sales.(is delisted by the New York Stock Exchange)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Its stock had sputtered below $1 since Sept. 11, and in November the New York Stock Exchange said it would delist Aviation Sales, the parent company of Greensboro-based Triad International Maintenance, prompting the company's move to the...

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings. (Triad).(acquires Santa Fe Natural Tobacco)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... WINSTON-SALEM -- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings has bought Santa Fe Natural Tobacco for $340 million and replaced its CEO with Richard Sanders, a former Reynolds vice president. In the 12 months ending Sept. 30, Santa Fe, which makes...

Spring Industries. (Triad).(is closing textile plant)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... BISCOE -- Fort Mill, S.C.-based Springs Industries is closing its 95-year-old fabric-weaving plant here and laying off about 300 people. The shutdown, expected in May, will allow Springs Industries to consolidate production of bedding fabric in...

Russell. (Triad).(is cutting jobs in North Carolina)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... MOUNT AIRY -- Alexander City, Ala.-based apparel maker Russell is cutting as many as 300 jobs, about half of its local employment, and closing a distribution center here as part of its consolidation of Cross Creek Apparel into Russell Art-wear....

BB&T. (Triad).(acquires Community First Banking)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... WINSTON-SALEM -- BB&T has completed its purchase of Carrollton, Ga.-based Community First Banking. The $122.1 million deal gives BB&T the seventh-largest market share in metro Atlanta.

Corning Cable Systems. (Triad).(will transfer production from Saskatchewan, Canada, to Winston-Salem)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... WINSTON-SALEM -- New York-based Coming Cable Systems is shutting down its optical-cable plant in Saskatchewan, Canada, and transferring production here by the end of 2002. Some of the Canadian plant's 200 employees could move. Faced with...

Nearly 95% of Triad workers drive or carpool to work, compared with 87.5% nationally. (Triad).(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Nearly 95% of Triad workers drive or carpool to work, compared with 87.5% nationally. Triad United States Drave alone 0.8% 76.3 Carpool 1.2% Public transportation 0.4% ...

Wachovia Securities. (Charlotte).(to cut jobs)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Wachovia Securities will shed up to 400 jobs here in the first half of 2002 as it consolidates its brokerages following the merger of Wachovia and First Union. The new Wachovia is trying to find jobs for displaced employees in the...

Von Drehle. (Charlotte).(von Drehle Corp., plans to build paper towel plant)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... MAIDEN -- Hickory-based Von Drehle announced in December that it plans to build a $6.5 million paper-towel plant here. The plant will start with 60 jobs and is expected to add 45 more within five years. It will open by July.

Nucor. (Charlotte).(Samuel Siegel retires from board)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE -- Samuel Siegel has retired from the board of Nucor after 40 years. The steel maker announced his departure the same day that it said Clayton Daley, chief financial officer for Procter & Gamble, was joining the board. Siegel was...

US LEC. (Charlotte).(Frank J. Jules to replace Tansukh V. Ganatra)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... CHARLOTTTE -- US LEC has named Frank J. Jules, 45, chief executive, to replace co-founder Tansukh V. Ganatra, 58, who retired in December. Ganatra will remain a member of the board and consultant. Jules was previously president and CEO of...

J.A. Jones Construction. (Charlotte).(receives contracts, plans to build U.S. embassies)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... CHARLOTTE - J.A. Jones Construction has won $160 million in contracts to build three U.S. embassies. The first, to start construction in January, is in Nigeria. The other two, scheduled for spring starts, are in Bulgaria and Armenia. All are...

Elogex.(receives venture funding from Fenway Partners Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Elogex, a Charlotte-based provider of software and management services to grocery and consumer-goods companies, received $10 million in venture funding in December from Fenway Partners of New York City. Elogex plans to invest the money in...

Nearly a quarter of the state's women-owned businesses are in the Charlotte region. (Charlotte).(statistical information)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Nearly a quarter of the state's women-owned businesses are in the charlotte region. Revenues Share of Number (millions) N.C. total Macklenburg 2,641 $2,865.5 11.5% Catawba ...

Seiren. (Western).(Seiren Company Ltd. to open automotive upholstery plant)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... MORGANTON -- Japan-based Seiren announced in December that it will open a new automotive upholstery plant here. To staff the plant, the company will hire 200 during the next two years. In addition, Seiren's Visotec Automotive Products division...

Tennessee Valley Authority. (Western).(plans to build wind farm)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... STONE MOUNTAIN -- Anew kind of farm -- a windmill farm -- could be coming to the top of this mountain in western Watauga County. The Tennessee Valley Authority wants to spend $25 million to build 14 wind-powered electricity generators. A nearby...

Tyco International. (Western).(to buy CII Technologies)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- Tyco International will buy CII Technologies for $310 million, giving Tyco a way to expand in the original-equipment automobile market. CII has 450 employees here. The company makes electrical-relay switches for automobiles, the...

Blue Ridge Savings Bank. (Western).(is victim in forgery/fraud case)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... SYLVA -- A lawyer here has been indicted for making false statements to help a client, auto dealer Charles Cagle, obtain loans from a bank in which U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor is the largest stockholder. Thomas Jones, 58, faces a possible trial...

VF. (Western).(announces layoffs)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... ANDREWS -- Greensboro-based VF is laying off 505, continuing a string of job losses for Cherokee County. The plant joins a list that includes Levi Strauss, a jeans maker with a plant in Murphy, and Baker Furniture in Andrews, both closed in...

Mountain Neurological. (Western).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... ASHEVILLE -- The only neuro-surgery practice in western North Carolina, Mountain Neurological, has broken ground on a $7.5 million office in Vanderbilt Park South. The practice has 16 surgeons and treats patients from 20 counties.

Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital. (Western).(plans expansion)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... ELKIN -- Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital has asked for permission from state regulators to undertake an $18.9 million expansion. The hospital's occupancy rates exceed 90%, and the number of doctors based there has jumped from 27 in 1994 to 39,...

Mission St. Joseph's Health System.(extends contract with blue Cross and Blue Shield)
March 1, 2002... Mission St. Joseph's Health System and Blue Cross and Blue Shield in December went to the wire before singing a one-year contract extension under which 45,000 people in western North Carolina covered by Chapel Hill-based Blue Cross can continue...

Catwissa Lumber & Specialty. (Western).(furniture maker closes doors)
March 1, 2002... WEST JEFFERSON -- Catwissa Lumber & Specialty closed in January, leaving 81 employees out of work. President William Gittler Jr. blamed imports and a slowdown in the furniture industry. The company made hardwood furniture and cabinet...

Buncombe has the most plants in Western North Carolina, but Burke has more manufacturing workers. (Regional Report: Western).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Buncambe has the most plants in western North Carolina, but Burkehas more manufacturing workers. County Plants Employees Buncombe 332 16,947 Burke 171 17,279 Wilkes 108 8,082 McDowell 63 ...

Sweet burp of youth: As its avid local fans grow older, 85-year-old Cheerwine tries to pop the top on a wider, callower customer base. (Feature).(Carolina Beverage Corp., Piedmont Cheerwine Bottling Co.)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Mark Ritchie had it all figured out when he stepped onto the campus of UNC Chapel Hill in 1975. He would frontload his education, get all the requirements for his psychology major out of the way early, then go to grad school for a doctorate and...

Trail Blazer: Our High-Tech Company of the Year pioneered an industry in North Carolina. A quarter-century later, it still leads the way. (Cover Story).(SAS Institute Inc.)(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2002... With both hands on the arms of the purple armchair in the corner of his office, Jim Goodnight winces as he pushes his 6-foot-5-inch frame erect. "I'm not getting old," he tells a visitor. "I broke my collarbone skiing a week ago." It happened...

The flight of the Phoenix: A billionaire's bailouts couldn't save Midway Airlines. Can it rise from the ashes on millions of taxpayers' money? (Cover Story).(analysis of Midway Airlines Inc. bankruptcy)(Statistical Data Included)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2002... With the jets silent, you can hear sparrows chirping in the parking decks. Beneath a mural of blue skies and white clouds in Terminal C, the ticket counter is empty. It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon of Sept. 12, and quiet has settled over...

Late scores: With middle age upon him, a sportscaster gets back into the swing of things--this time, on the Senior Tour. (Feature).
March 1, 2002... David Kagel remembers watching Terry Mauney take his practice swings at the T.D. Waterhouse Championship tournament in Kansas City. It was the spring of 2000, and Mauney was trying to play his way onto the Senior PGA Tour. Back then, he only...

These days, he counts a lot more than beans. (People).(brief profile of Don Reynolds, CEO of Port City Java Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... When two investors from Iceland approached Don "J.R." Reynolds in late 2000 to buy a license to operate a Port City Java coffee house, he knew he had a winner. "They are huge coffee drinkers in Iceland," he explains. "Right after alcohol, it's...

Begotten. (Out Back).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Maybe it was because I was a father before I became a man. When you're Dad at 20, it's difficult to deal with progeny as another generation. After all, you're growing up together. Or perhaps it was spending most of my career as a hired hand,...

Jeff-Pilot president is a premium player. (People).(profile of Jefferson-Pilot Corp. president and chief operating officer, Dennis Glass)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Among the challenges facing Dennis Glass as Jefferson-Pilot Corp.'s new president and chief operating officer is making life more rewarding for the deserving and less fine for the other kind. That sounds pretty basic. But at...

Promoter wants to cover all the bases. (People).(profile of David Baucom, MAL Entertainment)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... It's no secret that David "Slim" Baucom is a leader in a business in which scantily clad performers strut their stuff before an exuberant audience. But we're not talking about the 13 strip clubs that make up his MAL Entertainment, based in his...