Winston-Salem Journal articles from October 2006

Winston-Salem Journal archives from October 2006

VF Corp. eliminates 391 jobs.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 31--VF Corp., the world's largest marketer of jeans, is closing the door on major U.S. apparel production with yesterday's decision to shut down a laundry and finishing plant in Winston-Salem in March. ...

Money helps pay for tobacco group's worldwide marketing effort.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 31--For nearly 60 years, most Triad growers of flue-cured tobacco have supported committing a small part of their annual proceeds toward promoting their crop worldwide. But as an export-promotion...

Yadkin Valley Financial Corp. plans branch in Pfafftown.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 30--Yadkin Valley Financial Corp. has chosen Pfafftown as its entry into a highly competitive banking market in Forsyth County, the bank said yesterday. The bank, based in Elkin, said in its third-quarter...

Jobless rate drops as teachers get rehired.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 30--The rehiring of public-school teachers led to a drop in the Triad's unemployment rate in September, the second consecutive monthly drop, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported yesterday. The...

Winston-Salem Journal, N.C., retail notes column.(Column)
October 29, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 29--The Triad finally has a Coldwater Creek, REI and P.F. Chang's. The women's apparel retailer, the outdoor-retail cooperative and the Chinese bistro, respectively, recently opened at the Shops at Friendly...

Buena Vista Shop closing up shop.
October 27, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 27--Michael Day had hoped to keep his Winston-Salem business open for at least another five to 10 years, but reality stepped in. Buena Vista Shop on Stratford Road is closing its doors after 51 years. The...

Human-rights group says Bangladesh Hanesbrands supplier has used child labor.
October 27, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 27--A human-rights group made child-labor allegations yesterday against a Bangladesh apparel manufacturer that is a contract supplier to Hanesbrands Inc. and other U.S. and European companies. The National...

Surry plant brings jobs.
October 26, 2006... Byline: Sherry Youngquist Oct. 26--MOUNT AIRY -- CK Technologies, an automotive supplier to Volvo and Freightliner, has opened a plant near Mount Airy, an investment of $19 million that has brought 36 jobs and the promise of 20 to 50...

Reynolds American's profit increases 45 percent.
October 26, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 26--Increased sales of its premium cigarette brands and smokeless tobacco enabled Reynolds American Inc. to post a 45 percent increase in net income to $309 million in the third quarter, compared with the same...

Winston-Salem, N.C., bank expands into Asheville area.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 25--Southern Community Financial Corp. said yesterday that it is taking a major step toward establishing a statewide banking presence by opening a loan-production office in Asheville. The bank, based in...

Distribution centers will get plenty of attention when vacated, officials say.
October 24, 2006... Oct. 24--There's little chance that two major distribution centers being vacated by Hanesbrands Inc. early next year will collect cobwebs, economic developers and real-estate officials said yesterday. Hanesbrands said Thursday that it is...

Outdoor clothing retailer VF reports $198 million in earnings for third quarter.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 23--Consumer demand for outdoor clothing spurred VF Corp. to record net income of $198 million in the third quarter, the Greensboro apparel marketer reported yesterday. VF's net income rose 10 percent...

Asian direct-to-retail trend heightens the competition in furniture market.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 23--HIGH POINT -- Times are good for Fine Furniture Design & Marketing, which has been making and importing high-end furniture from China to the U.S. market for about five years. The manufacturer's...

Lumber company is moving.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 23--A Winston-Salem lumber company said yesterday that it is moving to Davie County to accelerate the expansion of its Internet business and to begin making its own high-end products. InternetLumber.com...

All linked up.
October 23, 2006... Byline: M. Paul Jackson Oct. 23--Wireless is becoming the way to go. Airline travelers sit in airports, hunched over laptop keyboards. Writers and college students surf online in coffeehouses. Laptop users check their e-mail on...

WFU leader says business good in Triad.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 19--Entrepreneurial activity in the Triad is healthy and growing, Stan Mandel said yesterday at the Piedmont Club. Mandel, the director of the Angell Center for Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University's...

Display company to expand in Forsyth.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 19--Access to the Triad's traditional manufacturing work force persuaded Exhibit Works to choose Forsyth County as the site for its East Coast operations. The company, based in Livonia, Mich., said...

Wake Forest University's money tactics lauded.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 19--A willingness to relentlessly pursue the world's best investment returns has won Wake Forest University a major money-management honor for its endowment fund. The university was named the Savviest...

Lead in Forsyth County, N.C., deposits market drops slightly for BB&T.
October 18, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 18--BB&T Corp. held on to the top share of the deposits market for Forsyth County for the sixth consecutive year, but its grip was loosened by a decision to manage fewer accounts at its home office. ...

Bank's net income up 13 percent.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 17--A fall-off in quarterly revenue at Wachovia Corp. dampened management's and investors' response to a 13 percent increase in net income for the third quarter. Its shares fell 2 percent, closing $1.22...

High point market gets under way.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 17--HIGH POINT -- The home-furnishings industry is banking more than ever on children and youths as the key to persuading consumers to spend more of their disposable income on furniture. Sales in the...

High Point Bank venturing outside.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 16--High Point Bank and Trust Co. is taking the first step outside Guilford County in its 101-year history by opening a branch next year in Kernersville. The bank, which has owned the top market share in...

Businesses can add benefits for employees.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 16--BB&T Corp. is expanding its reach in the health-insurance sector in a bid to gain deposits and further entrench individual and business customers within its financial network. The bank is offering...

Show time: Furniture exhibitors, buyers to converge on triad.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 16--HIGH POINT -- Bringing uniformity to the High Point Market is like trying to herd cats, furniture officials say only half in jest. Market officials typically can get the semiannual trade show started...

Innovation: construction shows many new features.
October 13, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 13--44th annual Parade of Homes will start Saturday, and homebuilders have new innovations and technologies to showcase. The parade is a marketing program sponsored by the Home Builders Association of...

Airport head for Piedmont Triad region in North Carolina criticizes Delta fares.
October 13, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 13--The chairman of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority fired off a strongly worded letter to Delta Air Lines Inc. yesterday, warning that the airline's high local fares are driving Triad passengers to...

Signs cloud expo start.
October 13, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 13--A cooling housing market and the furniture industry's continuing struggle to connect with consumers may cast a shadow over next week's High Point Market, according to a monthly analysis released yesterday....

Winston-Salem, N.C., company plans broadband wireless service.
October 13, 2006... Byline: M. Paul Jackson Oct. 13--Wireless broadband service in Winston-Salem has become a hot commodity. About four years ago, the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce installed a wireless Internet system on Fourth Street. Local...

North Carolina-based bank celebrates 100th birthday.
October 12, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 12--Bank of Granite Corp. turns 100 today, one of 11 banks based in North Carolina that has achieved that milestone. The bank, based in Granite Falls, will commemorate the accomplishment by burying a...

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco agrees to ban on fruit, candy, alcohol flavors.
October 12, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 12--R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. agreed yesterday to stop selling cigarettes marketed as having candy, fruit or alcoholic flavors in the United States in a settlement reached with the attorneys general of 40...

Greensboro, N.C., airport expansion will necessitate rerouting of traffic.
October 11, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 11--GREENSBORO -- Piedmont Triad International Airport will soon change the way that motorists enter and leave the airport. Traffic patterns at PTI are expected to change between mid-October and Thanksgiving....

Forsyth County, N.C., summit focuses on economic impact of early education.
October 11, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 11--Quality early education is not just a competitive advantage, it's a necessity in today's world. And you can quantify the return on investment, Bill Millett said yesterday before a group of 100 people at...

Nonprofit picks network installers for Forsyth County, N.C., Wi-Fi plan.
October 11, 2006... Byline: M. Paul Jackson Oct. 11--WinstonNet Inc., a nonprofit group in Winston-Salem, said yesterday that it has chosen three telecommunication companies to install a free wireless broadband network throughout Forsyth County. A...

Health-care officials call for changes in FDA drug regulation policies.
October 10, 2006... Byline: M. Paul Jackson Oct. 10--A physician at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center was one of five health-care officials who called yesterday for the federal government to change how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

Survey: Banks' spending on ads will drop this year.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 9--Financial institutions are expected to spend slightly less on marketing this year, according to a national survey of 168 banks. But Triad financial officials said that the increasingly competitive...

Shops and more shops: Hanes Mall Boulevard is nearing capacity.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 9--Move over big-box retailers. Upscale developments with a mix of retail and office are making their entrance on Hanes Mall Boulevard. These "open-air" developments, some promoted as having "lifestyle"...

Good work gets prize.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 6--When Dee Wood was a temporary employee in the mid-1980s, she decided that if she ever owned a staffing service, she would make employees feel important and valuable. "I didn't care if they were a person...

Reynolds American chief executive talks about achieving in business.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 3--Climbing the corporate ladder to the top rung requires more than just aptitude and attitude for women, Susan Ivey, the top executive at Reynolds American Inc., said yesterday. It also takes the...

Gas under $2 a gallon: Some stations selling regular unleaded for $1.99.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Fran Daniel Oct. 2--Regular unleaded gasoline has fallen below $2 a gallon at some gas stations in Winston-Salem. And that's attracting a lot of happy motorists. "It's been crazy," said Sarah Majerus, the manager of the...

Hanesbrands posts 48 percent increase in net income for past year.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 2--Hanesbrands Inc. posted a 48 percent increase in net income during its final fiscal year as part of Sara Lee Corp., the Winston-Salem company reported in a regulatory filing. Hanesbrands said late...

North Carolina laws aim at ID theft.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 2--North Carolina laws aimed at identity-theft prevention and government-security breaches will go into effect Sunday. One law requires local and state government agencies to tell consumers when their...

A wider swath: All kinds of homeowners affected.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Richard Craver Oct. 2--There are four houses in all, valued between $79,000 and $178,000. Each represents a piece of the American Dream. They are all up to be sold at foreclosure auctions Monday at the Forsyth County Hall of...

Faith in action: alternative retail.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Sherry Youngquist Oct. 2--MOUNT AIRY -- Brian and Kathy Brady said that it came as a nudge from God. More than a year ago, when Brian lost his management job at Starbucks, a friend suggested that the couple combine their...