Business North Carolina articles from November 2004

Business North Carolina archives from November 2004

Poker faces.(UP FRONT)(Bob Dylan)
November 1, 2004... Bob Dylan, that most sphinxlike and enigmatic of performers, has assumed and discarded numerous guises during his long career. He learned that lesson early. In Chronicles: Volume One, the memoir Simon & Schuster published in October, he writes...

Trend.(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Latest Previous Previous % change month month year from last ...

Veritas about vino in North Carolina.(ECONOMIC OUTLOOK)(Interview)
November 1, 2004... The number of wineries in North Carolina has grown 62% since 2000 to 34, with 10 more expected to open within a year, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture. Still, Ian Taplin says, the state's wine industry has far to go before it can...

West reopens in new Kinston plant.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... After spending about $30 million on a building and equipment, Lionville, Pa.-based West Pharmaceutical resumed operations in Kinston, where an explosion and fire in January 2003 destroyed the company's previous plant. Six employees died, and...

Ritz-Craft.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ROCKINGHAM -- Ritz-Craft, based in Mifflinburg, Pa., will begin construction here in December of a $10 million, 150,000-square-foot factory to build housing. It will open in August 2005 and employ about 250.

Southport Boat Works.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... LELAND -- Southport Boat Works invested about $5.8 million to outfit its headquarters and manufacturing plant and begin production of fiberglass sport-fishing boats. The startup, which moved into a 52,000-square-foot building, employs about 50...

Ampack.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... LUMBERTON -- Ampack received about $6 million in contracts from the U.S. Army to make up to 10 million sandbags here. The company hired 25 workers to handle production, bringing employment to about 50.

Frank Door.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... NEWPORT -- Frank Door, which makes cold-storage doors for food and drug makers and other users, opened a 40,000-square-foot plant here that employs 48. The company moved its headquarters from New York in 2000. Owner Terry Frank says the...

Seamist Properties.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... FAYETTEVILLE -- Wilmington developer Seamist Properties bought two buildings downtown and will demolish one to make way for a 20,000-square-foot Social Security office. The $1.5 million project will be completed by spring 2005. The second...

Jones County.(EASTERN)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... TRENTON -- Jones County, which owns the former Trenton Apparel building here, evicted ACT Manufacturing, which made insulated building panels, after it failed to pay its rent. Severn-based Meherrin Agricultural and Chemical, which makes and...

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

Cree shareholder suit gets a red light.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Durham-based Cree, which makes light-emitting diodes and semiconductors, swept away the last of a series of legal challenges from a co-founder, groups of shareholders and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Eric Hunter, brother of...

BioMerieux.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... DURHAM -- French medical-device maker bioMerieux replaced U.S. CEO Philippe Sans with Eric Bouvet after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made public an inspection critical of quality-control measures at the company's plant here. The plant,...

Red Hat.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... RALEIGH -- Red Hat, which sells and services the Linux computer operating system, hired Charles Peters Jr. as chief financial officer. He replaces Kevin Thompson, who resigned in June, just before the company announced it was restating earnings...

Good Hope Hospital.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ERWIN -- The state Division of Facility Services again denied Good Hope Hospital permission to build a for-profit, $33 million, 46-bed hospital in Lillington. The hospital would replace the 91-year-old building here. The state rejected Good...

Aeolus Pharmaceuticals.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Drug maker Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, formerly Incara Pharmaceuticals, won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin clinical trials on its drug to treat Lou Gehrig's disease.

N.C. State University.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... RALEIGH -- N.C. State University named David Winwood director of its Centennial Campus, a cooperative effort between university, government and corporate researchers to commercialize new technology. He was associate vice president for knowledge...

Trimeris.(TRIANGLE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Steven Skolsky replaced founder Dani Bolognesi (cover story, July 2003) as CEO of Trimeris. Bolognesi will remain with the Durham-based drug maker as vice chairman and chief scientific officer. Trimeris' only product is its AIDS treatment,...

Natural Resources Conservation Service.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... GREENSBORO -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service opened one of its three national technology centers here to provide scientific and technological support for its conservation activities. It eventually...

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... MCLEANSVILLE -- General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, part of Falls Church, Va.-based defense contractor General Dynamics, will cut up to 56 jobs here by June 2005, leaving at least 189. Most who will lose jobs are engineers and...

Nicole Shades.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... GREENSBORO -- Nicole Shades, a maker of lampshades, will close its factory here in November and lay off 19. It is part of Ellwood City, Pa.-based Emess Design Group.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... GREENSBORO -- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers sold a Dalton, Ga., shopping center for $11.5 million--a loss of $3.6 million. About 20% of it was vacant, compared with about 4% in Tanger's entire portfolio. It was generating $154 a year in sales...

Steven D. Bell & Co.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... GREENSBORO -- Steven D. Bell & Co., which manages a property portfolio valued at more than $1.5 billion, sold apartment complexes in Tennessee and Florida on behalf of its investor groups for more than $60 million.

Forsyth Medical Center.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Forsyth Medical Center, part of Winston-Salem-based Novant Health, won approval from the state Department of Health and Human Services for a $67 million expansion. The project will add 114 acute-care beds, giving it 751 and bringing the total...

Board lights up Reynolds execs' lives.(TRIAD)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Reynolds American's board gave six top executives about $10 million in benefits as part of a long-term incentive plan. The so-called "performance shares" are cash payments based on the company's stock price. They will vest over the next three...

Airline taxis into bankruptcy--again.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US Airways Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years. The Arlington, Va.-based airline's largest hub is at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. It has about 7,400 North Carolina employees--about 75%...

Charlotte Regional Partnership.(CHARLOTTE)(retirement)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CHARLOTTE -- Michael Almond, president and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, will retire in April. Almond, 55, joined the partnership in 1999. The nonprofit promotes economic development in 12 North Carolina counties and four South...

Aftermarket Technology.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... GASTONIA -- CRS, a division of Westmont, Ill.-based Aftermarket Technology, closed its 165,000-square-foot factory here and laid off about 200. It rebuilt transmissions for automakers but recently lost a contract with General Motors.

Presbyterian Healthcare.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... HUNTERSVILLE -- Charlotte-based Presbyterian Healthcare, part of Winston-Salem-based Novant Health, will open a $56 million, 50-bed hospital here in November. Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville will offer outpatient services and employ about...

IBM.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CHARLOTTE -- Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM agreed to buy Venetica, which makes software that allows computer programs and operating systems to communicate with each other. Founded in 1993, Venetica employs 55 here, all of whom will remain. Terms were...

Burris Manufacturing.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ALBEMARLE -- Burris Manufacturing, which makes sheets, pillowcases and drapes, moved from a 14,000-square-foot factory in Norwood to a 76,000-square-foot factory here. The company employs 18 and plans to add at least 20 jobs during the next...

Novare Group.(CHARLOTTE)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Atlanta developer Novare Group will build a 35-story, 390-unit condominium tower in downtown Charlotte. The condos will average about 900 square feet. Prices will start at about $170,000 for a one-bedroom condo and $250,000 for a two-bedroom...

Renovation will round out Pack Square.(WESTERN)(downtown Asheville mall to be renovated)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Asheville's downtown Pack Square and its local-government plaza will undergo a $12.6 million renovation, to be completed in 2007. A $4 million federal grant brought funding to about $7 million, which the private Pack Square Conservancy says...

Grace here and Valdese General.(WESTERN)(two hospitals to renovate and expand)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... MORGANTON -- Two Blue Ridge HealthCare hospitals--Grace here and Valdese General--will undergo about $75 million in expansions and renovations. Both are affiliated with Charlotte-based Carolinas HealthCare. The upgrades are intended to stem the...

Mission Health.(WESTERN)(appointment)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ASHEVILLE -- Joseph Damore, 51, was named president and chief executive officer of Mission Health, an 800-bed health-care system that operates under the name Mission Hospitals. He will succeed Robert Burgin, who will retire Dec. 1 after 23...

Eaton.(WESTERN)(Three companies have announced plans to create 53 jobs in Rutherfordton)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... RUTHERFORDTON -- Three companies have announced plans to create 53 jobs here. Cleveland-based Eaton, which makes hydraulic hose here, plans a $2.2 million expansion that will create 18 jobs. It employs 175. Spartanburg, S.C.-based Reeves will...

Having some funds over the boardwalk.(TAR HEEL TATTLER, Carolina Beach)
November 1, 2004... The boards are long gone from Carolina Beach's boardwalk. It's just three blocks of oceanfront bars, restaurants, arcades and surf shops connected by concrete walkways. The name has stuck, though, and so have its businesses and fans. Now, they...

Hard feelings could split software maker.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
November 1, 2004... It's the classic love pentagon--man, woman, their company, another woman and her husband. A year after Jill and Clark Maurer divorced, she says, he helped the other woman take her job. Not only that, she claims, the other couple all along only...

Moore County towns are running out gas.(TAR HEEL TATTLER, gas stations)
November 1, 2004... Aberdeen officials gave a simple reason in September for rejecting a developer's plans for two gas stations: They didn't meet city ordinances. But the bigger picture is not that simple, which explains why the city spent two months changing its...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2004... The North Carolina 100 chart, compiled by Grant Thornton LLP, in the October issue incorrectly reported Transportation Insight LLC's number of employees. It had 41.

Gentleman Revolutionary: Gouverneur Morris, the Rake Who Wrote the Constitution.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Marc Basnight, president pro tempore, N.C. Senate Gentleman Revolutionary: Gouverneur Morris, the Rake Who Wrote the Constitution by Richard Brookhiser [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] He did the preamble of the Constitution. Some call him the...

King of Capital.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Douglas Breeden, dean, Fuqua School of Business King of Capital by Amey Stone and Mike Brewster [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I have always been impressed with Sandy Weill's abilities to build and turn around the profits of banking...

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Don Kirkman, CEO, Piedmont Triad Partnership Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] My wife, Freda, grew up in Raleigh and knew one of Sedaris' sisters. He comfortably mixes humor and poignancy...

Scratch that.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Scratch that: Though one way the Charlotte Bobcats aim to win fans is by behaving better than the Hornets (cover story, October), they won't pray before they play. The Hornets, who moved to New Orleans two years ago, remain the only National...

Bottom lined.(TATTLE TALES)(Dairiair LLC)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Bottom lined: Greenville-based Dairiair LLC, started by a nursing student and her engineer husband, created a line of charcoal-filter seat cushions. A quarter of GasBGon sales are overseas to Japan and other countries with fiber-rich diets.

Hot sellers.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Hot sellers: Workers at Laneventure Furniture's Conover distribution center got sick of their work--literally: nausea, burning eyes, irritated skin, difficulty breathing. Turned out the truck they were unloading had carried a shipment of hot...

Ton of bull.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Ton of bull: To commemorate its Bull City nickname, Durham is putting a 2,000-pound statue of the beast in Center City Plaza. It's cast of bronze, not brass, so nobody will have to bring it in on bitterly cold nights.

Now they probably shop there.(TATTLE TALES)
November 1, 2004... Now they probably shop there: Charlotte's Levine family of Family Dollar fame slipped off Forbes' latest list of billion-aires. Its fortune, pegged at $1.2 billion last year, is down to a mere $840 million, the magazine estimates.

Interstate commerce.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Interstate commerce: On the map, Henry County, Va., lies just above Rockingham County, N.C. If Henry County voters approve it, Virginia's only horse-racing track wants to open an off-track-betting parlor just north of the state line. It's for...

Improve his odds.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Improve his odds: That's OK with state Sen. David Weinstein, a Robeson County Democrat who plans to introduce a bill to allow parimutuel betting for the Stoneybrook Steeplechase at Carolina Horse Park in Hoke County. The OTB parlor might prove...

You can bet on it.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... You can bet on it: The Eastern Band of Cherokee was among eight tribes the new National Museum of the American Indian asked to name 10 events that define who they are today. On its list, along with the Trail of Tears and creation of the first...

Data bits.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Transylvania County's average SAT score ranked 54th of 100 in 1994. The state's top 10 this year: 1 Orange 1140 2 Transylvania 1073 3 Wake 1067 4 Buncombe 1062 5 Henderson 1059 6 Watauga...

Figuratively speaking.(TATTLE TALES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... * Number of vacation days that will be forfeited by American workers in 2004: 415 million. Average number they will forfeit: 3. Average number forfeited in 2003: 2. Average number of vacation days taken in 2003: 12.4. * Percentage of...

Resort boss always finds a fairway to make a living.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2004... After more than 30 years in golf, Donald Padgett II landed a job that fits him to a tee. In July, he became president of Pinehurst Resort, site of eight championship golf courses--including Pinehurst No. 2, the site of the 1999 and 2005 U.S....

He wins when folks pedal with DeFeet.(PEOPLE, Shane Cooper )(Biography)
November 1, 2004... Nine years after he started Hildebran-based DeFeet International Inc., Shane Cooper watched his 25,000-square-foot apparel factory burn. The fire broke out Oct. 20, 2001, when a fluorescent-light ballast overheated and exploded. "It's hard to...

Making waves gets him a license to reel.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2004... Growing up on False River Lake, near Baton Rouge, La., Will Morgan learned to fish as soon as he was big enough to hold a rod and reel. Back in the bayous, the fish were "so thick you could walk on 'em." He's not hearing that from North...

Tar Heel stock watch.(MONEY MATTERS)(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Top 10 large-cap stocks 3-month 1-year 52-week Company change (1) change range Cree 30.3% 49.4% $16.00-30.48 The...

20,000 leagues under the fees.(SPORTS SECTION)
November 1, 2004... Adult recreational sports leagues are booming in North Carolina. Wilmington's recreation division added 23 teams for fall softball this year, bringing its total to 95. Elsewhere, rec leagues have been set up for flag football, basketball,...

Sunken treasure: a Wilmington company gets top dollar for centuries-old wood it salvages from the bottom of the Cape Fear River.(FEATURE)(Cape Fear Riverwood Corp.)
November 1, 2004... On a sultry August day, Pete DeVita and his colleagues down sandwiches and salads under the awning of a restaurant along Wilmington's waterfront. Here they can keep an eye on procurement for their company's production line. They're probably the...

You bet your life: an addiction to gambling makes major losers of some Tar Heel CEOs--and their companies.(chief executive officers)
November 1, 2004... Carl Mosack slams the door of his car and walks to his office at Conbraco Industries Inc. in Matthews. The reflection in the black-tinted windows shows a man with thinning white hair, still fit but starting to show the wear of his nearly 70...

Meeting & convention guide.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Life's too short not to visit! It's the perfect time of year to head to the coast and stay with us at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort. Here you will enjoy our seaside lobby lounge, meeting spaces, high-speed wireless Internet access,...

Going commercial: some say unlocking the amount of business loans credit unions can make could kill community banks.(FEATURE)(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... Tamara Short Weightman was sure there was a better way to run a portrait studio. As the proud mother of a 16-month-old boy, she had been to several in Raleigh. None got it quite right. They were too expensive, for example, or produced lame...

Bank & thrust: building the world's most powerful jet engine is a big job in Durham.(PICTURE THIS)
November 1, 2004... Marrying might and mystery, jet engines are equal parts brawn and beauty, their sculpted compressor blades resembling chambered nautilus or flower petals. At the GE Transportation-Aircraft Engines plant in Durham, the line between art and...

Bricks & mortar.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Capitol in Raleigh cost $532,682, more than three times the state's yearly general income when it was completed in 1840. All state government dwelt beneath its dome until 1888, and the legislature met there till 1963. The three-story Greek...