Business North Carolina articles from November 2008

Business North Carolina archives from November 2008

Born to run.(UPFRONT)
November 1, 2008... After my haircut, Hamp Dowdy would strop his razor--punctuated by a harrumph and spit of tobacco juice into his coffee can--and shave around my ears. Then he'd shake talc on a horsehair brush and swab my neck as if beating out a brushfire. My...

A dose of reality.(OVERTHERE)(pregnant women)(Editorial)
November 1, 2008... Shortly after Senior Editor Amanda Parry found out this spring that her husband's consulting firm was moving them back to England, she discovered she was pregnant. Now the most far-flung of our contributing editors, she reports and writes the...

Press the issue.(READERSWRITE)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... To columnist G.D. Gearino: I can understand some of why you came to the ridiculous opinion of journalism and journalists (Fine Print, August and October). Your writing is pedestrian and merely a clone of the foolish generalities repeated by...

See you later.(READERSWRITE)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... I enjoyed the cover story in the October issue on funeral director Mark Higgins and his operation. He reminds me of a funeral director in Macon, Ga., who liked to deliver his obits to the newspaper in person. He also signed his letters to...

No rest for wary.(READERSWRITE)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... As a former newspaper reporter and consumer of news, I find the Daily Digest on BusinessNC.com (Up Front, September) to be informative and helpful in gaining perspective on business news across the state. I realize this is not an easy endeavor...

Didn't say that.(READERSWRITE)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2008... When a friend told me about the article on The Ginn Co.'s Laurelmor development (cover story, August) and how I was quoted, he was half-laughing. "I knew right away, you never said these words," he stated. Shocked, I asked to see the article. I...

NC trend.(North Carolina)(Statistical table)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Latest Previous Previous % change month month year from last year EMPLOYMENT Employed (000s) 4,301.5 4,288.6 4,298.7 0.1 ...

Stock watch.(Statistical table)(Company rankings)
November 1, 2008... HIGHEST PRICE/EARNINGS RATIOS Company P/E 9/26/08 52-week range [ratio.sup.3] price Bank of the Carolinas 208.3 $6.25 ...

Economic outlook.(John Quinterno researcher at the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center)(Interview)
November 1, 2008... Tar Heels were no better off last year than at the start of the decade, according to the North Carolina Justice Center, a Raleigh nonprofit. Median household income stood about where it did in 2000. During that time, the percentage of residents...

When a big deal means little.(FINEPRINT)
November 1, 2008... I like to think of myself as an Average Joe Six-Pack, but I know that's not truly the case. I have a taste for decent red wines, I shop at Harry & David, and--God bless my conservative-leaning soul--I'm even an occasional guest on my local...

A big blow a-comin'.(CAPITALGOODS)
November 1, 2008... Disaster strikes. Everyone pays because of the failures of policymakers. Major companies go down the tubes. Middle-class workers mutter about a bailout of rich fat cats living the high life. The meltdown on Wall Street? No. Try a meltdown of...

Phil drake.(PERSONNELFILE)
November 1, 2008... Phil Drake vowed never to go into the tax business. His parents ran an accounting firm in Franklin, and he knew well the ravages of tax season. "I was what you would call a tax orphan," he jokes. Never say never. These days he is chairman and...

Christopher Hartnett.(PERSONNELFILE)
November 1, 2008... Christopher Hartnett doesn't take a thing for granted. In 2001, doctors said he might die after a bout with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis left his intestinal tract severely damaged. So the former stockbroker oversaw the merger of three...

Tom Jacobik.(PERSONNELFILE)(Google)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... As head of Google's new $600 million data center in Lenoir, Tom Jacobik is the local face for a faceless corporation that, depending on whom you ask, is either a kindly benefactor or a greedy behemoth. "There were a lot of expectations for this...

James Whitehurst.(PERSONNELFILE)
November 1, 2008... In January, James Whitehurst became president and CEO of Raleigh-based Red Hat Inc. The 41-year-old came to the software company, which sells and services the Linux open-source computer-operating system, from Delta Air Lines Inc., where he was...

Joan Myers.(PERSONNELFILE)
November 1, 2008... In 2007, Joan Myers left after nine years as president and CEO of the North Carolina Technology Association for a job at Cary-based SAS Institute, the world's largest private software company. Less than a year later, she changed jobs again,...

Too many ports in this storm.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... The way opponents tell it, a planned $2.3 billion international port in Southport would sell Wilmington down the river. Untrue, state port executives say. They insist that North Carolina's primary port is secure and that arguments to the...

New gold standard.(Eastern)(Golden LEAF Foundation )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... With $700 million to dole out, the world should beat a path to Golden LEAF's door. But Dan Gerlach, the new president of the Rocky Mount-based nonprofit, says he's not waiting to see who shows up. "We're going out and put some boots on the...

Working capital.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... EASTERN REGION Jobs: 1,073,522 YTD change: 16,627 Index: 112.4 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, July. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage...

Mount olive.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... Mount olive -- Triangle Suspension Systems will spend $6.2 million to open a factory next year. It will employ more than 100 within three years making heavy-duty truck-suspension springs. The DuBois, Pa.-based company will receive $100,000 in...

Maxton.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... Maxton -- Campbell Soup of Camden, N.J., will spend $16.3 million to expand its plant here, adding 50 jobs within three years for a total of 850. It will receive $150,000 in state incentives for the 4,000-square-foot expansion of its...

Whiteville.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... Whiteville -- Piramide Mexican Foods plans to open a 48,000-square-foot tortilla factory by early next year. The startup, which will receive nearly $31,000 in local incentives, initially will employ about 20.

Washington.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... Washington -- Filter maker Flanders will move its 100-employee corporate offices back from St. Petersburg, Fla., by the end of the year to cut costs. About half of its 1,200 North Carolina employees work here. It moved to Florida in 1998 after...

Goldsboro.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... Goldsboro -- Wayne Memorial Hospital raised rates 9.5%. In adopting a $195 million budget, up 3.7%, the board cited concerns over bad debt, increasing levels of charity care and smaller reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid.

Goldsboro.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... GOLDSBORO -- Cherry Hospital lost federal Medicaid and Medicare payments after regulators ruled that the state mental hospital is unsafe. The payments totaled about $800,000 a month. Investigators cited instances in which staff beat a patient...

Mount olive.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... MOUNT OLIVE -- Hilex Poly closed its plastic-bag plant, putting about 160 out of work. The Hartsville, S.C.-based company says sales have slowed because consumers are switching to reusable bags.

Fayetteville.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... FAYETTEVILLE -- MAP Communications planned to add 30 jobs at its call center by the end of October, bringing employment to about 35. The Chesapeake, Va.-based company handles calls for government agencies, nonprofits, health-care offices and...

Middlesex.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... MIDDLESEX -- Baltimore-based Fawn Plastics closed its plant, eliminating 46 jobs. It cited foreign competition. The auto-parts maker once employed about 800 here.

Jacksonville.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... JACKSONVILLE--State Board of Transportation member Louis Sewell resigned after questions were raised about road projects that benefited property that he and his son owned. Sewell's resignation letter says the road projects were needed but he...

Goldsboro.(Eastern)
November 1, 2008... GOLDSBORO -- AT&T will hire 50 more workers than planned at its customer-service center, giving it about 400 by the end of the year. The Bedminster, N.J.-based telecommunications company opened the center in April. For a daily roundup of...

Conventional wisdom says go for the geeks.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... Raleigh doesn't have Miami's sunshine and beaches, New York's cultural come-hithers or Las Vegas' glitzy casinos and shows. "We're not a glam city," says Roger Krupa, director of the Raleigh's new $221 million convention center. But it has...

Working capital.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... TRIANGLE REGION Jobs: 941,098 YTD change: 14, 175 Index: 114.1 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, July. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of...

A rainy day after Christmas.
November 1, 2008... A rainy day after Christmas began the recovery of Fails Lake, Raleigh's main water supply, from its lowest level since its dam was built in 1983. [FIGURE OMITTED]

Research triangle par.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- By the end of the year, phone maker Sony Ericsson will lay off more than half the 750 employees at its North American headquarters. The company, a joint venture of Japan-based Sony and Sweden's Ericsson, cited weak...

Chapel hill.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... CHAPEL HILL -- American Fibers and Yarns, which supplies dyed yarn for the automotive and home-furnishings industries, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying it owed as much as $50 million. It employed about 330, including about 25 at its...

Durham.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... DURHAM -- The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools approved the academic degrees of 25 graduates of an unauthorized satellite campus of N.C. Central University ("Educators Learn Tough Lesson," October). The students received degrees...

Durham.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... DURHAM -- TransEnterix hired Todd Pope, 43, former head of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Cordis, as its first CEO. Its 12 employees are developing a device that would reduce the number of incisions needed for abdominal surgery.

Morrisville.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... MORRISVILLE -- Harris Stratex Networks restated earnings, saying it had underreported losses by nearly $21 million during the past four years because of accounting errors. It supplies wireless communication systems for the military, emergency...

Morrisville.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... MORRISVILLE -- Clinipace, which makes data-management software for drug companies, doubled its staff to 24 and wants to add six more by January. Earlier this year, it raised $2.6 million in venture capital.

Chapel hill.(Triangle)(North Carolina State University)(Mary Easley)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... CHAPEL HILL -- The UNC Board of Governors agreed to let Mary Easley, wife of Gov. Mike Easley, keep her $170,000 salary--an 88% raise from her previous pay as a lecturer at N.C. State University. But she must raise a third of it herself, and...

Research triangle park.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Chris Viehbacher resigned as the top ex- ecutive at British drug maker Glaxo-SmithKline's U.S. headquarters here. Viehbacher, 48, starts Dec. 1 as CEO of rival drug maker Sanofi-Aventis of France.

Morrisville.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... Morrisville -- ChannelAdvisor, which designs software that allows companies to sell merchandise over the Internet, plans to cut 70 jobs to reduce expenses. That will leave it about 280 employees, more than half based here. The company hopes to...

Raleigh.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... Raleigh -- Capital Bank will acquire four Fayetteville branches from Atlanta-based Omni Financial Services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. CEO Grant Yarber says Capital wanted the branches, which will give it 31, because the Army plans...

Cary.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... Cary -- Data manager Consonus Technologies dropped plans for an initial public offering of stock. It cited poor market conditions.

Raleigh.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... Raleigh -- Inlet Technologies secured $10 million in venture capital. It makes software that improves online digital-video transmissions and plans to add 12 jobs, boosting its work force by a third. Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting is among...

Durham.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... Durham -- Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot bought Nekton Research for $10 million. The price could increase by $5 million if Nekton meets milestones. Nekton employs about 25 making robots that function underwater.

Raleigh.(Triangle)
November 1, 2008... Raleigh -- Red Hat, which sells and services the Linux computer-operating system, paid $107 million for Qumranet, an Israeli company that sells software that helps computer systems run multiple programs more efficiently.

Chapel hill.(Triangle)(QualSec Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Chapel hill -- QualSec, which is developing a sensor that sniffs out airborne pathogens and poisons, is moving here from North Logan, Utah. It employs four but plans to expand and says it likes the talent pool in the Triangle. For a daily...

Officials: deal still computes.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... Four years ago, Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines called Dell's decision to build a factory in Forsyth County a "special Christmas present"--one that the city, county and state promised to pay more than $300 million to get. Now it appears that...

Promises, promises.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... Talk about your degrees of separation. That's the problem Winston-Salem officials have now that Charlotte-based Wachovia is being sold. In 2001, Ken Thompson, CEO of what was then First Union, won support for his bank's acquisition of...

Working capital.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... TRIAD REGION Jobs: 767,831 YTD change: 2,874 Index: 100.5 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, July. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of the...

Kernersville.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... KERNERSVILLE -- BlueScope Steel North America, which makes prefabricated steel buildings, will shut down manufacturing here in December, eliminating 175 jobs. The Irving, Texas, company will keep about 100 employees who work in engineering and...

Greensboro.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... GREENSBORO -- St. Paul, Minn.-based Deluxe plans to close its factory here in the second half of 2009, putting 117 people out of work. It makes paper checks. The closing won't affect its 300-employee distribution center.

Elkin.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... ELKIN -- Yadkin Valley Financial will pay $92 million for Charlotte-based American Community Bancshares and its 13 branches. Its subsidiary American Community Bank, will keep its name.

Hamptonville.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... HAMPTONVILLE -- Lydall, which makes heat and sound filters for automobiles, will add 100 jobs by 2010, bringing employment to more than 350. It will consolidate production after closing a St. Johnsbury, Vt., plant that employed about 190.

High point.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... HIGH POINT -- Workers at Thomas Built Buses voted 770 to 377 against decertifying the United Auto Workers local. It has represented employees since 2005.

Winston-Salem.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM -- The Forsyth County Airport Commission will erect three buildings containing about 30 hangars at Smith Reynolds Airport. The project will cost about $2.8 million. Construction will begin in spring.

Greensboro.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... GREENSBORO -- The National Science Foundation designated N.C. A&T State University an engineering research center, granting it at least $18 million in the next five years. A&T will focus on metallic biomaterials, with research in biomedical...

Hanesbrands.(Triad)(Hanesbrands Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Winston-Salem -- based Hanesbrands plans to cut Tar Heel employment nearly 1,350 by mid-2009 as part of an overall reduction of 8,100 in the U.S., Mexico and Central America. About 5,000 workers will remain in North Carolina. As part of a...

Lexington.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... LEXINGTON -- Kathy Ireland Home by Martin will open an 80,000-square-foot East Coast distribution center this month. The San Diego-based furniture maker was not sure how many will work at the center, which likely will be managed by a third...

High point.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... HIGH POINT -- Emerson et Cie, which makes wood furniture, purchased Bentley Churchill, a privately held upholstery manufacturer based in Taylorsville. Terms were not disclosed. The purchase doubles Emerson's work force to nearly 40.

Winston-Salem.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... WINSTON-SALEM -- DataChambers planned to spend at least $600,000 to expand its 20,000-square-foot datastorage center by 25%. The company, which provides electronic-data backup for companies, says it probably won't add workers because of the...

Greensboro.(Triad)
November 1, 2008... GREENSBORO -- Unifi plans to sell a vacant 300,000-square-foot factory in Yadkinville for $7 million to an undisclosed buyer. The textile maker expects to net $5 million from the deal, which it hopes to close by the end of the year. It still...

Targacept.(Triad)(Clinical report)
November 1, 2008... Winston-Salem drug developer Targacept plans to continue work on a potential Alzheimer's drug despite inconclusive results from a clinical trial. TC-1734 performed no better than a placebo in the 12-week study of 567 patients, the company says....

Please pump up the volume.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... September ended in the Queen City with office towers fraught with fear and tempers flaring into fights at gasoline pumps. As the nation's financial crisis deepened and Wachovia Corp. careened toward the end of its independence, Charlotte...

Kind of a drag.(Charlotte)(Speedway Motorsports Inc. chief executive officer Bruton Smith )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Just when everybody thought Speedway Motorsports Inc.'s feud with local governments was history, they started fighting over the future. Little more than a year ago, Concord officials blocked construction of a drag strip next to Lowe's Motor...

Working capital.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE REGION Jobs: 1,053,494 YTD change: 6,631 Index: 109.5 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, July. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of...

Hickory.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... Hickory -- The Crawdads minor-league baseball team will become an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, ending a 10-year collaboration with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Terms of the two-year deal were not disclosed.

Charlotte.(REGIONALREPORT)
November 1, 2008... Charlotte -- The City Council approved $32 million more for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, under construction downtown. That raises the total to $195 million. About $17 million of the latest amount will be used for exhibits. The museum is scheduled...

Charlotte.(REGIONALREPORT)
November 1, 2008... Charlotte -- UNC Charlotte Chancellor Phil Dubois recommended to trustees that the school begin playing football in 2013-if fans raise $5 million in six months to help build a $45.3 million stadium. Trustees will consider the idea this month.

Kings mountain.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... Kings mountain -- Spectrum Yarns closed mills in its hometown and in Marion. About 115 lost jobs here, and about 85 were idled in Marion. It blamed the credit crunch.

Salisbury.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... Salisbury -- Winston-Salem-based Novant Health fired Chuck Elliott as CEO of Rowan Regional Medical Center. It didn't say why. He had been CEO since 2002. Jeff Lindsay, president of Presbyterian Hospital-Huntersville, will run both hospitals,...

Concord.(Charlotte)(Carolinas Medical Center)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Concord -- Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast asked state regulators to approve a $264.4 million project that would include an eight-floor patient tower. The hospital also wants to add a second story to its surgery center. The 218 beds in the...

Statesville.(Charlotte)(Kohler Co.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Statesville -- Kohler plans to close its Canac plant by the end of the year, putting more than 550 out of work. The company, based in the Wisconsin town of the same name, makes plumbing fixtures, furniture and other items. It is discontinuing...

Mooresville.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... Mooresville Lowe's -- plans to open fewer stores next year due to the weak housing market and national economy. It will launch 75 to 85 stores, compared with about 120 this year.

Charlotte.(REGIONALREPORT)
November 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Duke Energy and nuclear-engineering company Areva formed a joint venture to build U.S. power plants that will produce electricity by burning wood waste. Areva, based in Bethesda, Md., will design and build the plants. Duke will...

Hickory.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... HICKORY -- Turbotec will open a factory by January that will employ about 25. The Windsor, Conn.-based company makes heat tubing and other products.

Charlotte.(REGIONALREPORT)
November 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Curtiss-Wright Controls won an $80 million contract from Sweden-based Saab Aerostructures to build a system for opening cargo doors of Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Components will be made at its plant in Shelby, which employs about 400....

Hickory.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... HICKORY -- Texas-based Dean Foods plans to close its Pet Dairy ice-cream plant by late November. About 120 will lose jobs. The Dallas-based dairy processor and distributor is consolidating production at other factories.

Salisbury.(Charlotte)
November 1, 2008... SALISBURY -- Norandal USA cut 22 jobs at its plant here, leaving about 163 employees. The Franklin, Tenn.-based company, which manufactures aluminum foil for heating and air conditioning, blamed downturns in the housing and automotive markets.

Charlotte.(REGIONALREPORT)
November 1, 2008... CHARLOTTE -- Sencera International, which makes solar panels, secured $15.6 million from The Quercus Trust of Newport, Calif. It will use the money to start production of the panels next year at a plant it is building. Sencera employs 10 but...

Grandfather Mountain will be a state park.(Western)(Grandfather Mountain Inc.)
November 1, 2008... Grandfather Mountain won't become the Myrtle Beach of the west. That--the nightmare of many Tar Heels--seems to have been avoided after the state signed a $ 12 million pact to turn undeveloped parts of the attraction into a state park. The...

Economy chips away at dividend and stock split.(Bank of Granite)
November 1, 2008... Rivers will run uphill: Bank of Granite has suspended its dividend for the first time in 50 years. The real-estate bust is to blame, CEO Scott Anderson says. The bank posted a second-quarter loss of $3.4 million, due to $42 million in...

Working capital.(Western)
November 1, 2008... WESTERN REGION Jobs: 508,854 YTD change: 8,164 Index: 104.7 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Source: Employment Security Commission, July. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of...