ColoradoBiz articles from September 2008

ColoradoBiz archives from September 2008

CU's new president has money on his mind.(COTE'S)(University of Colorado's Bruce Benson )
September 1, 2008... The announcement last spring that oil and gas industry magnate Bruce Benson was the next president of the University of Colorado was met with disdain in some circles. Hey, this guy doesn't have research experience, some academics cried....

Bring more to the table than your product: if you don't, you will be spouting statistics and testimonials like most other poor salespeople.(MANAGEMENT)(Viewpoint essay)
September 1, 2008... You walk into a room full of people you have never met before to have a meeting about something you are all concerned about. It could be anything from business to a homeowners meeting. Suppose it lasts an hour or so. By the time everyone...

What next year holds for Colorado: slow job growth.(ECONOMIST)
September 1, 2008... Every July for the past 30 years I've buried myself in my office to prepare the economic forecast released the Tuesday after Labor Day. For the next six weeks I would sort through the data, mull basic laws of economics that I learned in...

Business needs to be a watchdog for school reform.(GUEST)
September 1, 2008... During the Public Education & Business Coalition's 25th Anniversary luncheon last April, Joe Blake, president of the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, succinctly summarized the key lessons business can offer public education. "Business...

On ColoradoBiz TV; Sunflower chief finds good timing leads to serious growth.(Interview)
September 1, 2008... With the costs of energy and commodities driving up grocery prices, being positioned as a discount store is a good place to be. Mike Gilliland, founder and CEO of Sunflower Farmers Market, chalks it up to good timing. The privately held...

Correction.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2008... In the August story on the 2008 Best Companies to Work for in Colorado, a section about Boulder-based Aztek Networks contained incorrect information. Some of the material was inadvertently compiled from one of the other companies. The corrected...

Peach crop plump, sweet--and pricey.([AGRICULTURE])(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Colorado's peach crop took its time this year, with fruit growing plump and flavorful thanks to an unusually long, cool spring. Although fruit is ripening 10 to 14 days later than normal, growers say the crop is one of the best in years....

[On the record].
September 1, 2008... "THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THE PRICE POINT WILL BE THERE FOR THE LARGER SHARE OF THE POPULATION. I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO FINALLY GET TO THAT PRICE POINT WHERE I CAN AFFORD IT. THAT'S GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.... SPACE IS STILL A RELATIVELY HOSTILE...

2008 top company finalists; What's it take to become a top company?(COLORADO'S MOST COMPETITIVE BUSINESS AWARD)
September 1, 2008... Pretty much everything you should aspire to be as a business enterprise. Top Company is Colorado's most competitive business awards program, judged on the basis of financial performance, operational excellence and community involvement....

[By the numbers].(contract between Alliance for Sustainable Energy and Department of Energy)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... $340 million. Annual value of a five-year contract signed by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. The consortium includes five national and...

CSU launches environmental school to push research and jobs.([EDUCATION])(Colorado State University)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Colorado State University is upping the ante on its campaign to become known as a "green" university by creating a school focused on the environment that will drive research and prepare students for the work force. The School of Global...

Nanotechnology will mean big business for renewable energy.([ENERGY])(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Al Gore has thrown down a challenge to the American public: Produce 100 percent of the country's electricity from clean, carbon-free sources within 10 years. In July, Colorado hosted the first Nano Renewable Energy Summit, where...

Mercy Housing CEO shepherds Denver nonprofit's growth to 19,100 affordable units nationwide.(SISTER LILLIAN MURPHY)
September 1, 2008... Sister Lillian Murphy will never forget the mother of four who fled to Decatur Place, an affordable housing development in Denver operated by Mercy Housing. "She told me, 'I finally left the night he put a gun to my head right, in front of...

Dairy's battle reflects conflicting views on organic: 'Locavore' movement gains ground.([PLANET-PROFIT REPORT] ORGANICS VS. LOCAL)
September 1, 2008... FORTY MILES NORTH OF DENVER where residential real estate has yet to completely overrun agriculture, Mark Retzloff shows a visitor around his 400-acre Platteville facility. It's the hub of Aurora Organic Dairy's operations even though only...

Colorado not ready to crack down on carbon: the Ritter administration is watching--but not joining--a regional cap-and-trade plan.([PLANET-PROFIT REPORT] CURBING CARBON)
September 1, 2008... THE MARKET-BASED CAP-AND-TRADE mechanism for reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions is coming rapidly--perhaps as soon as 2012 in the West. Colorado is on the sidelines, taking notes. Despite the campaign of Gov. Bill...

Guaranteed Recycling Xperts Inc.(SPOTLIGHT)(Greenovation Award )
September 1, 2008... SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES: Guaranteed Recycling Xperts Inc. saves between 900,000 and 1 million pounds of electronics waste a month from being dumped into U.S. landfills and hazardous waste facilities. The company takes everything from old...

We are not in climate crisis.(GUEST)
September 1, 2008... Implementation of the cap-and-trade carbon dioxide policies presently before Congress on greenhouse gas reductions would lead to a substantial slowdown in the world's economic development and, at the same time, have no significant impact on the...

Top 250 private companies.(Company rankings)
September 1, 2008... Last year, Englewood-based engineering giant CH2M Hill took over the No. 1 spot in ColoradoBiz magazine's Top 250 Private Companies ranking when former No. 1 Swift & Co. was bought by South American meat processor, JBS S.A. CH2M Hill retains...

Workplace wellness surge: health-care costs spur companies to invest in preventive programs, lifestyle guidance.
September 1, 2008... When the clock strikes 8 a.m. for employees, of PCL Construction Enterprises, don't expect to find them huddled around the coffee and doughnuts in the break room. Instead, the company's 165 full-time Denver employees start their day with a...

Health clubs pumped up by wellness trend.([CORPORATE WELLNESS])
September 1, 2008... As employers grow increasingly interested in employee waistlines, health clubs across Colorado are rolling out the red carpet for Corporate America, offering group discounts, free club newsletters, wellness and nutrition courses, and even...

All hopped up but still a ways to grow: surging sales in Colorado's beer industry tempered by price spikes for ingredients.(VINE)(Industry overview)
September 1, 2008... Last year, Colorado's breweries faced a unique situation. Big brewers merged, craft brewery sales surged, but ingredients--from malts to hops to glass for the bottles--went through the roof. Colorado ranks first in the country in overall...

Rooms with vineyard views: new hotel aims to boost Western Slope wine tourism.
September 1, 2008... RISING FROM THE VINEYARDS of Palisade is something as important to the Western Slope wine industry as grapes--a new $8 million hotel designed for guests who want to savor wine country around the clock. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Wine...

Growing west: Greeley stretches toward Loveland, dusts off downtown as residential lags.(WHO OWNS)
September 1, 2008... "Go West young man, and grow up with the country," newspaper editor and Greeley, Colo., namesake Horace Greeley is alleged to have said. That's exactly what Greeley has been doing - moving west. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The city's...

South Pacific voyages hooked Boulder director on outdoor markets.(small)
September 1, 2008... Mark Menagh was first drawn to outdoor produce markets about 15 years ago after he sold his interest in two California medical-device startups and spent the next 10 years sailing the South Pacific. "If you wanted to find out what was going...

Company Collective Intellect Inc.(TECH STARTUP)(Company overview)
September 1, 2008... INITIAL LIGHT BULB: Co-founders Tim Wolters and Don Springer, now Collective Intellect's chief technical officer and chief executive officer, respectively, have an entrepreneurial history together, previously starting Dante Software in Boulder...

Ashley Eyre bracelets.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... A couple of years ago, CU alumnus Ashley Eyre, then taking classes on metal shop and welding, made a bracelet by flattening a piece of scrap aluminum, rolling it and drilling a series of holes in it. One led to another, then another, then...

American soda machines.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)
September 1, 2008... Damon Carson has been in the "nostalgia restoration" business for three decades, but just expanded his focus from kiddie rides to soda machines this year. "This is a whole new area of restoration for us," he says. "We can customize soda...

Muchote tequila.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)
September 1, 2008... Fraternal twins Dave and Will Elger were born in Mexico City and lived there for their first nine years before their hotel-manager father got a job in Crested Butte and took the family north. Later both twins got into the liquor industry in...

Jazzamp.(COLORADO COOL STUFF)
September 1, 2008... After a self-employed career in telecom equipment and thoroughbred-racing databases, the "happily retired" Bud Henriksen returned to his earlier love of playing jazz guitar. One problem: "I couldn't buy an amplifier that sounded worth a damn,"...

Coaching the coaches.(SPORTS)(Tom Van Buskirk)
September 1, 2008... The right engine was surging, and the little fixed-wing was in trouble. Somewhere just below the gathering storm clouds the Colorado Rocky Mountains jutted into the sky like gray guardians, daring the airplane to just try it, to get just close...

A fair price.(RUNDLES)(Viewpoint essay)
September 1, 2008... My family and I stopped into one of those video game stores so my son could buy something for his Wii, and the clerk offered us a $14.95 membership that could be used for discounts throughout the year. "It'll pay for itself in no time," the...