Business North Carolina articles from May 2005

Business North Carolina archives from May 2005

After the fall.(UP FRONT)
May 1, 2005... She fell outside her doctor's office after her checkup, losing her balance when she stepped off the pavement onto the grass. There's nothing unusual about an 84-year-old woman falling. And if it had to happen, it's hard to imagine a better...

Trend.(Illustration)
May 1, 2005... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Latest Previous Previous % change month month year from last year EMPLOYMENT ...

Stock watch.
May 1, 2005... SPOTLIGHT AaiPharma's share price dropped 90% in the past year. In March, it fell 50% the day after it said bankruptcy was likely. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Highest price/earnings ratios ...

State gets good return on community colleges.(ECONOMIC OUTLOOK)(Kjell Christophersen, CCbenefits Inc.)(Interview)
May 1, 2005... The community-college system paid CCbenefits Inc. $264,750 to study the economic impact community colleges have on their students and the state. The Moscow, Idaho-based consultant has done similar work for 17 other states and a national study...

Parts plant will stamp 200 new jobs.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A metal-stamping company will employ about 200 when it moves into a vacant 117,000-square-foot industrial building outside Rocky Mount by December. York, Pa.-based New Standard is spending about $10 million to convert the former Fontaine...

New York City garbage could end up here under a plan to barge it to coastal Virginia.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CAMDEN -- New York City garbage could end up here under a plan to barge it to coastal Virginia, then truck it to a landfill owned by Black Bear Disposal, part of Raleigh-based Waste Industries USA. Black Bear executives say 125 or more...

DSM Dyneema.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... GREENVILLE -- DSM Dyneema, which makes polyethylene fiber, will expand here, adding 60 jobs over three years. The company plans to spend $60 million to add equipment at its plant, which employs about 75. Pay will average about $40,000 per year....

The city canceled its annual Nautical Festival.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... WILMINGTON -- The city canceled its annual Nautical Festival, citing inability to get commitments from tall sailing ships, which formed the core of the two-day event. During its three-year run, it had an economic impact of about $250,000 a...

North State Millwork.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ROCKY MOUNT -- North State Millwork, which distributes pre-hung doors for the building industry, opened a warehouse that employs about 20.

Mount Olive College Foundation.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... MOUNT OLIVE -- The Mount Olive College Foundation will use a $5.7 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build homes for a school of business, a mathematics department, an agribusiness center and a teleconferencing center. The...

Working capital.(REGIONAL REPORT)
May 1, 2005... Source: Employment Security Commission, January. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of the average in 2000. [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

Dry eye is just one thing to cry about.(TRIANGLE)(Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... When it rains, it pours. Two days after Durham-based Inspire Pharmaceuticals announced that its treatment for dry-eye disease had hit a barrier on the road to regulatory approval, Chairman Leigh Thompson died of pulmonary fibrosis. He was...

Waste Industries USA.(TRIANGLE)(Trash hauler Waste Industries USA)(D and D Disposal)(Southland Disposal )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... RALEIGH -- Trash hauler Waste Industries USA bought three waste-disposal companies in the Atlanta market--D & D Disposal, Southland Disposal and A Plus Disposal. Terms weren't disclosed. The purchases are expected to add $2.7 million to annual...

The Pantry agreed to buy Rome, Ga.-based D & D Oil, operator of 53 Cowboys convenience stores.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... SANFORD -- The Pantry agreed to buy Rome, Ga.-based D & D Oil, operator of 53 Cowboys convenience stores. Terms weren't disclosed, but D & D generated revenue of about $320 million in 2004. The Pantry expects the deal to add to earnings...

New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Closure Medical for about $370 million.(TRIANGLE)(New Jersey)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... RALEIGH -- New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Closure Medical for about $370 million. Closure makes liquid bandages and other adhesives. The companies already were marketing partners. Closure will keep its name, and no...

Hospira.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CLAYTON -- Hospira, a maker of hospital products, plans to expand its factory here and add 150 jobs. Lake Forest, Ill.-based Hospira was spun off from Abbott Laboratories in 2004. It employs more than 50 here and 2,000 in Rocky Mount

Gov. Mike Easley established the North Carolina Motorsports Advisory Council.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... RALEIGH -- Gov. Mike Easley established the North Carolina Motorsports Advisory Council. Its 19 members--who include Commerce Secretary Jim Fain, NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick and racing great Richard Petty--will give advice on expanding the...

UNC Health Care.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CHAPEL HILL -- UNC Health Care is eliminating about 200 positions, about 3% of its budgeted work force. About 40 people will lose their jobs by the end of June but will be offered other jobs in the system. The rest of the positions are vacant....

Voyager Pharmaceutical.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... RALEIGH -- Voyager Pharmaceutical raised $16 million from investors. Since its founding, Voyager has raised about $40 million. It is conducting clinical trials on a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Progress Energy.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... RALEIGH -- Progress Energy agreed to sell its Progress Rail Services subsidiary for $405 million to J.P. Morgan Chase. Proceeds will be used to pay debt. The deal is expected to reduce earnings per share--$3.13 in 2004--by 19 cents in 2005 and...

Symyx Technologies, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of research instruments.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Symyx Technologies, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of research instruments, agreed to buy Synthematix for $13 million. Synthematix, a four-year-old technology startup, developed software that allows scientists to...

IBM.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Rusine Mitchell-Sinclair replaced Barry Eveland as IBM's top executive in the state. She is the first woman to hold the job in North Carolina, where the Armonk, N.Y.-based computer maker employs about 13,500. That figure likely will drop after...

Furniture keeps sitting down on the jobs.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Triad continues to lose furniture-manufacturing jobs. Lexington Home Brands laid off 65 in early March. CEO Bob Stec blamed foreign competition. About 390 still work at Plant No. 2 in Linwood, the company's largest factory. Among the...

Ameri-Kart.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... REIDSVILLE -- Ameri-Kart, a Bristol, Ind.-based maker of plastic products--including dashboards, trash-collection carts and storage tanks--is spending $2 million over three years to expand its factory here. The 70 hires will bring employment to...

Avgol America.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... MOCKSVILLE -- Avgol America, which makes nonwoven textiles used in disposable diapers and other products, is spending $27 million to expand its factory here, adding 40 jobs during the next three years and boosting employment to 140. The...

Royal Cake.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... WINSTON-SALEM -- Royal Cake filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It owes its 20 largest creditors more than $1.7 million. The company, which had sales of $25 million in 2004, makes cookies, cereal bars and other baked goods for its own...

Gerard's Bakery.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... MOUNT AIRY -- Longmont, Colo.-based Gerard's Bakery plans to open a $7.5 million operation in January and create 108 jobs by 2008. The company is part of Mount View Harvest Cooperative, a Colorado wheat farmers' cooperative, and bakes products...

Fiskars Brands.(TRIAD)(Gingher)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... GREENSBORO -- Fiskars Brands, a Madison, Wis.-based maker of scissors and gardening tools, bought Gingher, which makes scissors for crafts and sewing, and plans to keep its 25 employees. Terms were not disclosed. Fiskars Brands is part of...

Carolina Logistics Services.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... WINSTON-SALEM -- Carolina Logistics Services, which handles returned merchandise, bought Dallas-based competitor USF Processors. Terms were not released. President Mark Doughton says the acquisition will open markets for his company.

TransTech Pharma.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... HIGH POINT -- TransTech Pharma, which is trying to develop treatments for Alzheimer's disease, blood clots and other maladies, is teaming with New York-based Siga Technologies to develop treatments for epidemics that could be triggered by...

Piedmont Triad Research Park.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... WINSTON-SALEM -- Piedmont Triad Research Park, part of Wake Forest University Health Services, received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Agency. It will use the money to build and resurface roads in the park.

BB & T.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... WINSTON-SALEM -- Chris Henson, 43, will replace Scott Reed as BB & T's chief financial officer July 1. Reed, 56, has held the job since 1981.

Bank of the Carolinas.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... KING -- Mocksville-based Bank of the Carolinas planned to open its first Stokes County branch here by the end of April. It will compete with Lexington State Bank, BB & T, First Citizens, Wachovia and Southern Community Bank.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... WINSTON-SALEM -- Production and maintenance workers at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, part of Reynolds American, rejected representation by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers by a vote of 1,185 to 618.

Dell.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Dell, a Round Rock, Texas-based computer maker, picked Travis Simpson to run the factory it plans to build in Winston-Salem. The new vice president for manufacturing operations was vice president of the company's corporate-business group sales...

Iredell looks good under micro scope.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Iredell County, which includes Statesville and Mooresville, is the nation's top micropolitan statistical area for new corporate buildings and expansions, according to Site Selection magazine. The region reported 24 projects in 2004. The U.S....

Horizon Lines.(CHARLOTTE)
May 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- Shipping giant Horizon Lines filed for a $287.5 million initial public offering of stock. Proceeds would redeem preferred stock, pay dividends to shareholders and pay debt. The company made $13.5 million on revenue of $980 million...

American & Efird.(CHARLOTTE)(company sales and earnings)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- Thread manufacturer American & Efird bought Ludlow, Mass.-based Ludlow Textiles, which makes thread and yarn. Terms weren't disclosed. American & Efird reported sales of $296 million in fiscal 2004. Ludlow had sales of $13 million....

Chelsea Therapeutics.(CHARLOTTE)(reverse mergers)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- Chelsea Therapeutics, which is developing treatments for arthritis and other ailments, went public through a reverse merger with Littleton, Colo.-based Ivory Capital. By doing so, Chelsea broadened its investor base and created a...

Wachovia Championship.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- The city will play host to the Wachovia Championship golf tournament through 2010 because of a four-year contract extension by the title sponsor, the PGA Tour and Champions for Education, the foundation that runs the tournament....

Ameritex Technologies.(CHARLOTTE)(plans to hire )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... HICKORY -- Bradenton, Fla.-based Ameritex Technologies plans to hire 40 workers for a factory it will open here in June. The plant will make canvas boat covers and could employ as many as 200 in two years.

Burnham Holdings.(CHARLOTTE)(buildings and facilities)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... NORWOOD -- A subsidiary of Lancaster, Pa.-based Burnham Holdings plans to spend $6.5 million to refurbish a plant here. Burnham, one of the nation's largest makers of boilers, furnaces and air-conditioning systems, will employ 50 and make...

Southern Shavings.(CHARLOTTE)(buildings and facilities)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CHERRYVILLE -- Southern Shavings, which makes bedding materials for horses and other animals, will invest $1 million to overhaul a factory here and will hire 15. The company plans to move from Harrisburg and open the plant this summer.

Metromedia International Group.(CHARLOTTE)(acquires stake)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- Metromedia International Group, which owns interests in communications businesses in Russia and the country of Georgia, agreed to sell its 71% stake in ZAO PeterStar, a telephone company in St. Petersburg, Russia, to three other...

Allvac Metals.(CHARLOTTE)(business expansion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... MONROE -- Allvac Metals, part of Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Technologies, will spend $33 million on a two-phase expansion here and add 20 jobs--boosting its employment in Union County to 900. The first phase should be done by October. The plant...

Lincoln Health System.(CHARLOTTE)(renovate Lincoln Medical Center)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... LINCOLNTON -- Lincoln Health System will spend $26 million to renovate Lincoln Medical Center, including its obstetrics and emergency departments, and add rooms for overnight patient stays. The hospital opened in 1969. The project will expand...

Charlotte Center City Partners.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- Michael Smith replaced Tim Newman as president of Charlotte Center City Partners, a downtown booster organization. Smith was chief financial officer of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Newman is CEO of the Charlotte Regional...

Summit Properties.(CHARLOTTE)(IRT Property Co. mergers)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Houston-based Camden Property Trust bought Charlotte-based Summit Properties for $1.9 billion. Most of Summit's approximately 400 employees kept their jobs, but 49--most of whom worked at its former headquarters--were laid off Camden owns and...

State going wild is assign of Progress.(WESTERN)(Progress Energy)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... When Raleigh-based Progress Energy offered to sell 2,600 acres of wilderness near Asheville for $10.2 million, the state decided it was too good to pass up--even though nobody is sure how it will be used. Most of the money came from the state...

Western Carolina University.(WESTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... CULLLOWHEE -- Western Carolina University bought 344 adjoining acres for $2.9 million to develop research and academic buildings, businesses and housing. Private developers will do portions of the project, and university officials already have...

UNC Asheville.(WESTERN)(University of North Carolina)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ASHEVILLE -- UNC Asheville administrators are trying to raise $5 million from private sources to build a convocation center, which could seat 3,000 to 5,000 people at events such as basketball games and graduations. The school's 40-year-old...

Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.(WESTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... DILLSBORO -- The Federal Railroad Administration will lend Great Smoky Mountains Railroad $7.5 million to replace rails, crossties and other equipment. The line operates as a tourist attraction between here, Bryson City and Nantahala Gorge. It...

Alcoa Power Generating.(WESTERN)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... ROBBINSVILLE -- The N.C. Property Tax Commission, which settles tax disputes, gave Graham County a boost by valuing property owned by Alcoa Power Generating at $150 million, more than three times its previous appraisal. Alcoa will have to pay...

Suits send hospitals down tobacco road.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
May 1, 2005... Hospital administrators concede their billing system is sick. But they don't think the way to treat it is by a trial lawyer administering the legal equivalent of an eyes-wide-open colonoscopy. Gary Jackson has sued Carolinas Medical Center in...

Dead-end drugs show side effects.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
May 1, 2005... GlaxoSmithKline might have thought it was immune. The drug maker recently played bystander as several Research Triangle Park neighbors took a licking. First, tests indicated Inspire Pharmaceuticals' new ocular lubricant was no more a sight for...

BofA finds it pays to scuttle scandals.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)(Bank of America Corp.)
May 1, 2005... Imagine that your bank had paid more than $1.1 billion to make two legal cases go away in the past couple of months. And fessed up to losing credit-card data for up to 1.2 million customers. You might think twice about doing business with it....

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 1, 2005... Mike Coltrane, CEO, CT Communications Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West by Stephen A. Ambrose [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Lewis and Clark expedition made such an impact on the...

Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders into Insiders.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 1, 2005... Art Pope, president, Variety Wholesalers Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders into Insiders by Tom A. Coburn and John Hart [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Written by a dentist who was a congressman in the class of '94, it's...

The Coming Collapse of China.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 1, 2005... Andy Warlick, CEO, Parkdale Mills The Coming Collapse of China by Gordon Chang [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's interesting because it talks about China's structural problems. It's about the meshing of a communist system with free...

Is [??][love]NC OK?(TATTLE TALES)(New York. Department of Economic Development)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Is [??][love]NC OK?: He changed the lettering, the colors and the heart, but Michael Stewart's I[love]NC logo still ran afoul of the New York State Department of Economic Development, which owns the trademark for I[love]NY and is trying to...

TechNOTpolis.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... TechNOTpolis: Charlotte ranked not only below the Triangle but also Asheville and the Triad on Popular Science magazine's list of the nation's top "technopolises." At No. 90, it did rank two spots above Waco, Texas.

Coming attraction.(TATTLE TALES)(Unilin Flooring)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Coming attraction: Hoping to hire 130 workers for the factory it plans to open in Thomasville this summer, Unilin Flooring is running ads during previews at Greensboro and High Point cinemas.

Heeling feeling.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Heeling feeling: Mike McCracken decided that his Tar Heel Moments, which sells lithographs of famous moments in UNC Chapel Hill sports, will no longer accept American Express cards because one of its ads features Duke basketball coach Mike...

Outing the word.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Outing the word: Rocky Mount-based Original Log Cabin Homes launched Log Homes for Us to sell log-home kits to gays and lesbians. National Sales Director Justin Porter says the venture has gotten great response from its advertising--none of...

Rotor ruder.(TATTLE TALES)
May 1, 2005... Rotor ruder: Complaining that a helicopter carrying sightseeers flies over her house in Jackson County every five minutes, 84-year-old Nellie Lambert had this to say about the court that refused to ground it: "If that darn judge had come here...

Chip shape.(TATTLE TALES)(Bassett Furniture Industries Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Chip shape: Bassett Furniture Industries canceled a poker tournament at the spring International Home Furnishings Market in High Point because it would have violated state gambling laws--even though play money would have been used. The big...

Tacky cabs.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Tacky cabs: Next year, Charlotte will ban taxis older than seven years. Officials say it will park dirty, dented, dangerous cabs. Critics say it also will curb 90% of the city fleet. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Data bits.(Crimes against property)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Edgecombe County's rate of crimes against property was more than twice the state's in 2003. Crimes per 10,000 people Edgecombe 1,198.8 Vance 779.5 Durham 662.4...

Figuratively speaking.
May 1, 2005... * Number of employees the federal Securities and Exchange Commission added from December 2002 to November 2004: 1,070. Of securities-law-violation tips the SEC fields daily: 1,000. * Percentage of computer viruses that were spread by e-mail...

She has a clear picture of new sports network.(PEOPLE)(Naomi Travers, Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television)(Biography)
May 1, 2005... Naomi Travers will tell you she's a daddy's girl. As an only child, she spent a lot of time with both parents. But she gets her analytical bent from her father, who was a weapons specialist in the U.S. Secret Service in Washington, D.C. He's...

His is another kind of financial forecast.(PEOPLE)
May 1, 2005... Some might think, after nine years as a risk analyst and hedge-fund manager, Jayant Khadilkar would want a job with a little more precision to it. Something so he wouldn't always feel like he was milking a white cow in a blizzard. Engineering,...

Scientist wants ideas to collide with need.(PEOPLE)(Phil Sanger, Western Carolina University Center for Adaptive Devices)
May 1, 2005... For Phil Sanger, it's not enough to engineer better products for hurt or handicapped people. The director of Western Carolina University's Center for Adaptive Devices hopes he can help create jobs. So far, the center's five students and five...

Speaker refuses to fold on video poker; Critics claim they know the reason legislation to ban the machines gets stuck: the pot calls the nettle Black.(CAPITAL)
May 1, 2005... There are rites of spring in Raleigh. Every other year when the General Assembly convenes for its long session, the Senate passes a bill outlawing video poker and sends it to the House. And waits. And waits. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This...

Even winners are losers with nonrevenue sports.(SPORTS SECTION)
May 1, 2005... The name never has been quite accurate. Nonrevenue sports--the ones at colleges and universities that aren't football and men's basketball--usually have generated some money, just not very much. At most places, football and basketball pay the...

The fixer: it's a key job in all mills. How Joe Gorga does it in his could help save an industry. He mends and melds parts of Burlington Industries and Cone Mills to find ways American textiles can keep up--and running.(FEATURE)(International Textile Group Inc.)(Interview)(Biography)
May 1, 2005... When Joe Gorga was growing up in Paterson, N.J., his father managed a plant that supplied fabric to clothing makers in New York City's garment district. The boy started work there at 13, sweeping floors. Later, he began delivering samples to...

Home office: landing a headquarters brings bragging rights, but few recruits play hero the way homegrown corporations do.(Cover Story)
May 1, 2005... A pianist, one of the hallmarks of Nordstrom department stores, plays Debussy's Clair de Lune, but shoppers accustomed to silk-glove treatment barely notice. The concierge at the plush Park Hotel occasionally suggests to guests that they might...

The business North Carolina golf getaway.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION: GOLF)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... 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. Affordable price and moderate...

The hull truth: born of a mill owner's frustration, Hatteras Yachts builds boats for those willing to pay millions for rugged luxury.(PICTURE THIS)
May 1, 2005... New Bern-based Hatteras Yachts began with a frustrated fisherman, an experimental powerboat and a dare. Forty-six years later, it employs about 1,000 people. The company won't disclose annual sales, saying only that they exceed $100 million,...

Estate tacks: planning sails you through the legal maze.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2005... With President George W. Bush back in the White House and Republicans holding a majority in the House and the Senate, are the days of the estate tax numbered? The topic has become charged with emotion, often along political lines. The stakes...

Bricks & motor.
May 1, 2005... Demolish it, they said after one of Thalian Hall's walls toppled in the 1930s. But the Wilmington opera house, built by slaves and freedmen in 1858, was spared. Its $5 million restoration was finished in 1990. Now the fat lady sings without...