Business North Carolina articles from May 2003

Business North Carolina archives from May 2003

Gravity's rainbow. (Up Front).(Utah's Bryce Canyon and Paunsaugunt Plateau)(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... Two weeks into this war, I stand gaping in pagan wonder at the wounds of one that nature has waged on itself for 50 million years. Here, on the eastern edge of Utah's Paunsaugunt Plateau, wind, rain, snowmelt and frost have gouged limestone,...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... What's in a name? I was moved by your editorial (Up Front, March). At the time of both tragedies, my husband and I were in Phoenix. The only news we received of the Kinston accident was limited national coverage. Never was a name given to...

Trend.(Illustration)
May 1, 2003... TREND Latest Previous month month EMPLOYMENT (1) Total employed (000s) 3,916.2 3,874.1 Civilian labor force ...

Tax code needs to reflect reality of state's economy. (Economic Outlook).(Interview)
May 1, 2003... Thomas Ross, executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem, is chairman of the 14-member Commission to Modernize State Finances, created by Gov. Mike Easley last year to study North Carolina's revenue system and tax...

RJR's profit margin is the price you pay. (Money Matters).
May 1, 2003... If anything is recession-resistant, it's cigarette making, right? Chemical dependency -- in this case, on nicotine -- has a way of generating repeat business, and customer loyalty helped build Winston-Salem-based R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings...

Tar Heel Stock Watch.(Illustration)
May 1, 2003... TAR HEEL STOCK WATCH Expensive stocks Highest price-earnings ratios among North Carolina stocks P/E 03/28/03 52-week Company ratio * price range RF Micro...

Some poor counties shed tiers for fears. (Tar Heel Tattler).
May 1, 2003... Whoever said you can't be too rich or too thin obviously didn't understand the economic-incentives game. Fifteen Tar Heel counties found out you can be too rich. The issue, state Commerce officials say, surfaces each year when they recalculate...

They don't want to land this airfield. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Navy's plans for airfield meets opposition)
May 1, 2003... Beaufort County resident Carolyn Harding says she and her neighbors are patriotic. Nevertheless, they want to torpedo a Navy plan to build a landing field for new jet fighters in neighboring Washington or Craven counties. F-18 Super Hornets as...

Tattle tales. (Tar Heel Tattler).(multiple briefs)
May 1, 2003... * Honor thy forefather: The Winston-Salem camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, along with several others in the state, fear that the national organization is getting too political. A solution they're considering: secession. * Too much...

Credibility problem is Blue Cross' to bear. (Tar Heel Tattler).
May 1, 2003... Compliance. Just three syllables long but with plenty of room, it seems, for different interpretations. As they sought regulators' blessing for conversion from nonprofit to for-profit business, executives of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North...

Duke squabbles over laser fair economics. (Tar Heel Tattler).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Star Wars got shot down, but a key component -- the free-electron laser -- is alive at Duke University. Whether the scientist who developed the laser will ever use it again is another question. Duke and John Madey have been fighting over...

Panyu Seagull Kitchen and Bath Product. (Regional Report: Eastern).
May 1, 2003... KINSTON -- China-based Panyu Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products is building a $1.5 million, 30,000-square-foot distribution center here. The company will employ 10 when the center opens in July. It will supply parts to faucet maker Moen's nearby...

California company. (Regional Report: Eastern).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... GREENVILLE -- Leendeert Staal, former CEO of England-based Imperial Chemical Industries' flavor and food-ingredients division, replaced Wes Wheeler as president and CEO of Greenville drug-maker DSM Catalytica. Wheeler left to become CEO of a...

National Spinning. (Regional Report: Eastern).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... WHITEVILLE -- Washington, N.C. based National Spinning is moving hand-knitting yarn operations from Lafayette, Ga., here, adding about 25 jobs to bring employment to about 250. The company makes acrylic yarn.

Tidewater Auto Auction. (Regional Report: Eastern).(is moving its dealer-only auctions to Moyock, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... MOYOCK -- Chesapeake, Va.-based based Tidewater Auto Auction is moving its dealer-only auctions here, about five miles south of the state line in Currituck County, by the first quarter of 2004. The business had outgrown a Chesapeake location....

Fleet-wood Enterprise. (Regional Report: Eastern).(closed plant in Lumberton, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... LUMBERTON -- Riverside, Calif.-based mobile-home maker Fleet-wood Enterprises closed its plant here, idling 120. It blamed the glut of mobile homes on the market.

The Kinston Indian. (Regional Report: Eastern).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... KINSTON -- The Kinston Indians signed a $550,000, seven-year lease with the city, which has spent $1.7 million to renovate its baseball stadium. The minor-league team will receive all proceeds from concessions and naming rights for the...

Brown Publishing. (Regional Report).(acquired 7 newspapers, including 4 from Community Newspaper Holdings)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Cincinnati-based Brown Publishing bought seven Tar Heel newspapers, including four in Eastern North Carolina, from Birmingham, Ala.-based Community Newspaper Holdings. Neither company would disclose the price. Brown is the fourth owner in six...

Dominion Resource. (Regional Report: Triangle).(withdraws plans to build power plant in Roxboro, North Carolina)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ROXBORO -- Citing poor market conditions, Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Resources withdrew plans to build a $625 million gas-fired power plant here. It would have employed about 50.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport. (Regional Report: Triangle).(is charging a $3 boarding fee to help cover costs of improvements)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... MORRISVILLE -- Raleigh-Durham International Airport began charging a $3 boarding fee in April to help cover costs of improvements. The fee is expected to generate about $70 million during the next six years. Among other things, it could help...

Duke University. (Regional Report: Triangle).(President Nan Keohane and Duke Health System CEO Ralph Snyderman to retire)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... DURHAM -- Hang out the help-wanted sign at Duke University and its medical center. University President Nan Keohane and Duke Health System CEO Ralph Snyderman, both 62, plan to step down in June 2004. Both plan to take a year off before...

AirTran Airway. (Regional Report: Triangle).(added two flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Atlanta)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... MORRISVILLE -- Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Airways added two flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Atlanta, bringing the total to six a day. The flights are on 50-seat regional jets flown by Air Wisconsin. AirTran has a hub in...

Harriet & Henderson Yarn. (Regional Report: Triangle).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... HENDERSON -- Harriet & Henderson Yarns closed another plant here, idling about 120. The yarn maker cited imports from China and Pakistan and falling demand for U.S. cotton yarn. It is the third Harriet & Henderson plant to close since 2001. The...

EMD Pharmaceutical. (Regional Report: Triangle).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... DURHAM -- EMD Pharmaceuticals, U.S. subsidiary of Germany's Merck, picked Jena, Germany, over Durham as the site for a $300 million plant that will employ 260. North Carolina offered $20 million in tax breaks and other incentives but was outbid...

RBC Centura Bank. (Regional Report: Triangle).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... RALEIGH -- Scott Custer, president of Rocky Mount-based RBC Centura Banks, is moving to the state capital, where he will run its commercial and retail-banking operations. RBC had already moved its wealth-management, consumer-credit and...

Lee County commissioner. (Regional Report: Triangle).(plant expansion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... SANFORD -- Lee County commissioners have authorized $2.2 million in incentives for drug maker American Cyanamid, which operates a Wyeth Lederle Vaccines factory here. The company is spending $152 million to expand the plant, which will add 20...

ABB. (Regional Report: Triangle).(new US headquarters )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... RALEIGH -- Swiss energy conglomerate ABB is placing the U.S. headquarters of its power-technologies division here. It will add an unspecified number of jobs. ABB employs about 550 here and in Cary.

General Shale Brick. (Regional Report: Triangle).(closing Burlington plant)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... SANFORD--Johnson City, Tenn.-based General Shale Brick will close its Burlington brick plant, eliminating 45 jobs, and move production to its Brickhaven plant here this fall. The Brickhaven plant, which employs 40, is being automated to handle...

Research Triangle Park. (Regional Report).(Biogen to set up production in North Carolina)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Massachusetts-based Biogen selected Research Triangle Park for production of Antegren, its new drug to treat multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease. The catch is that the company is still conducting clinical trials. It hopes to ask the Food and...

Raleigh added home Internet users more quickly than any other U.S. city from January 2002 to January 2003.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 1, 2003... Raleigh added home Internet users more quickly than any other U.S. city from January 2002 to January 2003. Users Market (000s) Growth 1 Raleigh 924 29% 2 Nashville, Tenn. ...

Burlington Industrie. (Regional Report: Triad).(acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway falls through)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... GREENSBORO -- Bankrupt textile maker Burlington Industries seemed to have found its savior in Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company led by investor Warren Buffett. But Berkshire withdrew its offer to buy Burlington for $579...

Stanley Furniture. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... LEXINGTON -- Stanley Furniture is eliminating 150 of 524 jobs here. Though production of youth bedroom furniture will remain, adult bedroom furniture will be made in a plant in Stanleytown, Va. No timetable was announced.

Diebold. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... LEXINGTON -- Ohio-based Diebold laid off 32 assembly-line workers at its factory here, which makes voting and automated-teller machines. Diebold cut 25 jobs at the plant in October. The most recent layoffs, caused by weak sales, cut employment...

The Greensboro Coliseum. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... GREENSBORO -- The Greensboro Coliseum won a five-year contract to host the Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball tournament. The current contract runs through 2004. The new one keeps the tournament in Greensboro through 2009.

Elon University. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ELON -- Elon University plans to open a $12 million, two-building complex for its business school as early as 2005. The school now has 944 students and three classrooms. It also uses rooms in other buildings on campus. Elon has raised about a...

Krispy Kreme Doughnut. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... WINSTON-SALEM -- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts purchased rights to three markets in Kansas and one in Missouri from franchisees. The deal includes five stores in Kansas City, Wichita and Topeka, Kan., and in Springfield, Mo. Terms weren't disclosed.

Steven D. Bell & Co. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... GREENSBORO -- Investors led by Steven D. Bell & Co. have bought two apartment complexes in Birmingham, Ala., for $36.4 million, bringing the real-estate management company's holdings in Birmingham to more than $70 million.

Carolinas HealthCare System. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... BURLINGTON -- TriPath Imaging has won a multiyear agreement to sell Pap-smear technology to Carolinas HealthCare System of Charlotte. Executives at Carolinas HealthCare hope TriPath's cervical-cancer-screening products will help it process high...

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... WINSTON-SALEM -- The North Carolina Biotechnology Center will open its first office outside Research Triangle Park here in June, partly paid for by a $200,000 contribution from Wake Forest University. The state-funded center promotes...

Dover Mortgage. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ASHEBORO -- FNB is buying Charlotte-based Dover Mortgage, the state's seventh-largest Federal Housing Administration lender, for an undisclosed price. The deal was expected to close in April. Dover, which also has loan offices in Cornelius,...

Electrical-wiring system. (Regional Report: Triad).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... MEBANE -- Alphabet, a division of Warren, Ohio-based Stoneridge, will close its plant here, throwing 161 out of work. Alphabet makes electrical-wiring systems for car and truck products. Permanent layoffs will begin in June and continue through...

Lexington Home Brand. (Regional Report).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Lexington Home Brands is closing a furniture factory in the city it was named after, idling about 350. The closing, scheduled to be completed by the end of May, will shift some production overseas and leave the company with about 2,000...

The Federal Reserve Bank. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Because consumers are writing fewer checks, the Federal Reserve Bank could add 50 workers here. The Fed is consolidating operations due to lower volume and will close five processing centers, including one in Columbia, S.C. Workers...

OrthoNeuro. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(to open orthopedic hospital)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- OrthoNeuro will open an orthopedic hospital, the first of what it hopes will become a chain of specialty hospitals, in Austin, Texas, in June. Founder and Chairman Steve Puckett played the same roles in MedCath, a Charlotte-based...

SCR-Tech. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(new plant opened in Mecklenburg County)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Germany's SCR-Tech opened a plant to recycle pollution filters from coal-fired power plants. It will spend about $3 million to begin operations in existing industrial space in western Mecklenburg County. The plant will employ about...

Lance. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(nationwide layoffs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- With sales at their lowest point in four years, snack maker Lance laid off 300 of its about 4,600 employees nationwide. Among them were about 100 of 1,400 who worked here. Analysts blame slow demand, partly because consumers want...

Goulston Technologie. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... MONROE -- Goulston Technologies is buying an 80,000-square-foot building and 100 acres in a city industrial park for $21 million. A company that planned to make computer supplies built the building in 1999 but never used it. Goulston, which...

BellSouth. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(job cuts in North Carolina)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Atlanta-based BellSouth is shedding 144 Carolinas positions, mostly in this metropolitan area, as part of a plan to cut 1,100 jobs in nine states. A spokesman says some of the positions are already unfilled. Some displaced workers...

Siemens Westinghouse Power. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(layoffs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Siemens Westinghouse Power, maker of turbines and generators for power plants, is laying off 190 more workers. The company cited a sluggish economy. It has dropped from about 1,000 employees in mid-2002 to about 600 after the...

Citizens South Bank. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(new headquarters)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... GASTONIA -- Citizens South Bank, which has almost $500 million of assets, is building a $5 million headquarters. Citizens South has nine offices in Gaston and surrounding counties and was known as Gaston Federal Bank until it bought Citizens...

SPX bought IDenticard System. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CHARLOTTE -- Manufacturing conglomerate SPX bought IDenticard Systems, a Lancaster, Pa., company that makes and distributes security systems to schools, hospitals and other users. Price was not disclosed, but IDenticard had about $30 million in...

Southside Co. (Regional Report: Charlotte).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... BELMONT -- Southside Cos. will develop a $6 million, 150,000square-foot office and distribution project on the Catawba River, incorporating a textile mill built in 1988 that shut down last year.

Iredell County industrial. (Regional Report).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Iredell County industrial recruiters say a $320 million service center being built for Lowe's in Mount Mourne is triggering a rush for nearby manufacturing and warehouse space by more than 300 businesses that wont to supply the home-improvement...

Mecklenburg County leads the region in homes valued at $1 million or more.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 1, 2003... Mecklenburg County leads the region in homes valued at $1 million or more. Per 1,000 Homes population Mecklenburg 1,106 1.59 Anson 14 0.55 Catawba 48 0.34...

Mountain-Bank Financial. (Regional Report: Western).(plans to acquire Cardinal Bankshares off)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... HENDERSONVILLE - Mountain-Bank Financial's plans to buy Floyd, Va.-based Cardinal Bankshares have been torpedoed by Cardinal shareholders. Cardinal's board had agreed to sell the company for $37 million in stock in May 2002, but shareholders...

InterAct Public Safety System. (Regional Report: Western).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ASHEVILLE -- InterAct Public Safety Systems has won a $20.8 million, one-year contract with Kentucky to provide public-safety software to law-enforcement agencies throughout the state. It is the company's biggest contract so far. InterAct...

Springs Industrie. (Regional Report: Western).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... SWANNANOA -- South Carolina-based home-furnishings maker Springs Industries is buying Owen Manufacturing's blanket business. Terms weren't disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. Springs' products include sheets, towels,...

Polk County. (Regional Report: Western).(real estate development banned)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... COLUMBUS -- Polk County is banning development of subdivisions of 10 homes or more until mid-August. Meanwhile, it will update its 10-year-old land-use plan.

Continental Airline. (Regional Report: Western).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ASHEVILLE -- Continental Airlines is adding a nonstop flight between here and Houston, starting June 12. The airline also is changing its daily schedule between Asheville and Newark, N.J., to allow business travelers to leave Asheville, attend...

Rexnord Industrie. (Regional Report).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Milwaukee-based Rexnord Industries, which makes power-transmission components and other industrial equipment, will close its Morganton plant by the end of the year, putting 157 out of work. Rexnord had considered an expansion that would have...

In the right light: focusing on innovation, execution and the bottom line, Cree shines brightly as our high-tech company of the year. (Cover Story).
May 1, 2003... Thomas Jefferson fancied himself an inventor and innovator, and he wasn't bad with a quote. Here's one: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." Jefferson, who had to write by...

Chip beef: a Sanford company's battle with the nation's No. 2 printer maker could reshape intellectual-property law. (Feature).(Lexmark sues Static Control Components Inc.)
May 1, 2003... His plans for the New Year's holiday were like those of thousands of other American guys: turn on the tube, find a football game and start shoveling down snacks. Repeat as often as possible, with breaks for sleep and other necessary functions....

On a fast track: it's no loco motive: the state is spending millions because it thinks more travelers need to be trained. (Feature).
May 1, 2003... For more than a year, North Carolina has been working on the railroad. Its goal: Get drivers off the highway and bring fliers back down to earth, then ride them out on a rail. It is, transportation officials say, just a matter of time. In...

The business North Carolina golf getaway. (Special Advertising Section).(Advertisement)
May 1, 2003... Win a North Carolina golf getaway for two. Just fill out the entry card at the end of this section for a chance to win. You also may request detailed information from the advertisers listed on the entry card. Elk River Ranked among...

Sandhils rolling in the green. (Special Advertising Section: Regional Focus).
May 1, 2003... There's a place in North Carolina that focuses so intently on charm and elegance, not to mention golf and horses, that it has become famous. "You can now say Southern Pines to a horse person anywhere in the United States -- or Europe, for that...

He patches things up with astronauts. (People).
May 1, 2003... Bernie Conrad and his wife were watching television when suddenly the screen showed a streak of fire splitting the sky over Texas. The space shuttle Columbia was disintegrating before their eyes. "We just walked around kind of shaking our heads...

RF Micro boss won't get his wires crossed. (People).(Bob Bruggeworth )
May 1, 2003... "There used to be wired remotes from TVs," Bob Bruggeworth says. Soon, the new CEO of RF Micro Devices Inc. says, cable-television boxes and the other remaining wired gadgets will seem just as archaic. "Everyone is working on replacing that...

Ex-Avon CFO does not keep the books. (People).(Edwina Woodbury )
May 1, 2003... It seems Edwina Woodbury can't shake vanity. It was her company's stock in trade when she was executive vice president and chief financial officer of cosmetics giant Avon Products. It still is. People bring her their life stories, sometimes in...

Bricks & mortar.(tallest building in Greensboro)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The tallest building in Greensboro--Jefferson-Pilot Financial's 20-story headquarters--opened in 1990. Its architecture marries the modern and traditional, fitting for a company that turns 100 this year.