Business Journal-Portland articles from April 1998

Business Journal-Portland archives from April 1998

Regent finds money pipeline in California. (Regent Assisted Living forms partnership with LTC Properties Inc.)
April 3, 1998... Portland's Regent Assisted Living Inc. has forged a partnership with a Southern California REIT by procuring $10.5 million in financing and by selling 10 of its assisted living centers for $66 million. Under a deal completed March 31, LTC...

Sequent, Digital join forces to battle computer colossals. (Sequent Computer Systems; Digital Equipment Corp.)(includes related article on UNIX and Windows NT)
April 3, 1998... Sequent Computer Systems Inc. has found a powerful ally in its battle to move from second-tier player to mainstream contender in the corporate computer world. The Beaverton-based computer maker has announced a strategic alliance and original...

Swoosh shows signs of age as Nike tries to be hip again.
April 3, 1998... It's not as if Nike officials are saying, "So long Swoosh." The message is more like, "Give it a rest." For a while, Nike advertisements closed with the Swoosh exclusively. Now numerous commercials are signed off with Nike in script, and the...

Mergers, acquisitions dominate real estate market. (Portland, OR)(Industry Overview)
April 3, 1998... The game is residential real estate. The field is greater Portland. The race is for market share. The players are companies big and small, local and not, some trying to hold on, others trying to pass. The ball? The small, independent real...

What can Killinger do to top Ahmanson deal? (Kerry Killinger, chief executive officer of Washington Mutual Inc.)
April 3, 1998... Washington Mutual Inc.'s surprise announcement that it will buy H.F. Ahmanson & Co. was still reverberating when the next question inevitably popped up: What does Washington Mutual CEO Kerry Killinger do for an encore? The $10 billion...

Stock up after lock-up. (Il Fornaio America Corp.)
April 3, 1998... Il Fornaio restaurant shares cooking on Wall Street The last few years have been good ones for the Il Fornaio restaurant group. Good enough to convince chairman and CEO Larry Mindel to ramp up his expansion strategy and go public. That's why...

In Focus strategy of divide and conquer isn't perfect. (In Focus Systems Inc.)
April 3, 1998... Is In Focus Systems Inc.'s strategy flawed? Some people who follow the projection display device industry think so, while others argue that the strategy is sound and will just take a while to yield impressive results. In Focus' strategy is...

A ship of fools. (Churchill Cos.)
April 3, 1998... A legacy of failed investments sinks Churchill Cos. Two years after Churchill Cos. Inc. went belly up, federal prosecutors are picking over its bones and questioning whether a group of business people crossed the line into white-collar crime....

Tadema's tangled affairs delay bankruptcy process. (Clifford Tadema, former chief executive officer of Churchill Cos.)
April 3, 1998... As creditors grow weary of waiting, trustee alleges that assets have been concealed or transferred to avoid payment Embroiled in a lawsuit that it ultimately lost, Churchill Cos. Inc.'s days were numbered in 1995. What would later attract the...

Churchill principals called smooth-talkers. (Cliff Tadema and Steven Reimer, former executives of Churchill Cos.)
April 3, 1998... When the going gets tough, Clifford Tadema goes "Aw, shucks." That's the way Portland attorney Gary Blacklidge describes Tadema. As the lawyer for the trustee in the Churchill Cos. Inc. bankruptcy case, Blacklidge questioned Tadema, the...

Tech firms' slump: how serious a slide? (Portland, Oregon's technology sector)
April 10, 1998... The Portland area's technology sector is slowing, industry executives here agree. But no one is yet uttering the dreaded "R" word - recession. Industry growth in the quarters ahead, measured both in terms of employment and revenue, will be...

Hippie days just a memory at sizzling Saturday Market. (largest open-air crafts market in continuous operation Portland Saturday Market to celebrate 25th anniversary in 1998)
April 10, 1998... Mike Kelley was fresh out of college and unemployed in 1974, the year the Portland Saturday Market started. He lived in Salem and made spoon rings on the side to sell. He thought he might have better luck hawking them here, so he joined the...

Dump-drilling entrepreneur turns methane into money. (Ash Grove Cement Co gets methane gas for production from landfill in Portland, Oregon)
April 10, 1998... Rotting garbage is fueling a solid business at the Port of Portland's Rivergate Industrial District. Ash Grove Cement Co. has invested more than $2 million in a system to transport methane gas from the nearby St. John's landfill to its...

City still looking to locate automated parking. (Portland Development Commission searching for users of automated parking systems among property owners)
April 10, 1998... The city is on the hunt for another "guinea pig." After failing to convince Fox Tower developer Tom Moyer that fully automated parking is reliable, the Portland Development Commission is soliciting other downtown property owners on the idea. If...

Starbucks betting its future in supermarket sales. (Starbucks Coffee Co includes Portland in supermarket sales drive)
April 10, 1998... Starbucks Coffee Co. begins its push into supermarkets April 13 when the first phase of a new distribution strategy unfolds. The Seattle-based specialty coffee giant will sell six blends, including a newly created Light Note variety, in major...

Imagina creates mass with new Internet company. (Imagina Inc's new subsidiary Imagina Internet Solutions)
April 10, 1998... Imagina Internet Solutions formally announced its formation Tuesday in a move its former parent, Imagina Inc., said will benefit both companies. The spin-off of Imagina's internet service provider business into an independent wholly owned...

Rice-caking Gardenburger: marketing whiz Hubbard is transforming the veggie vendor. (Gardenburger's CEO Lyle Hubbard)(Company Profile)
April 10, 1998... When Lyle Hubbard became Gardenburger's chief executive officer two years ago, he vowed to increase Gardenburger's distribution and build more name recognition for its products. Now, he's pulled off a $15 million private placement designed to do...

Goulter on fast track with incontinence device. (Goulter Medical's new male incontinence management product)
April 10, 1998... Goulter Medical has a product that it is confident will find rapid acceptance in a $500 million market with some 4 million potential users. And that's just for starters. The Portland-based medical device company makes a male incontinence...

World grain glut hurting Oregon farmers.
April 17, 1998... Sluggish demand and low prices for Northwest grain are raising concerns from rural Oregon to the Portland harbor. For farmers and grain exporters, the law of supply and demand has reaped a meager harvest this year. Industry sources say economic...

Debt, bad decisions bring Atlas to knees. (Atlas Telecom)
April 17, 1998... Atlas Telecom appears to be in the final throes of a short, but furious, death spiral. "It took 10 years to build this business up to where it was, and a year to destroy it," commented one former Atlas executive. This source, like others, said...

Steeper HMO losses signal insurer rate hikes in 1998. (health maintenance organizations)
April 17, 1998... Insurance agent Bill Paulbitski dreads telling clients about the price hikes they'll get this year in response to overwhelming losses reported by Oregon health insurers. It doesn't really matter what type of insurance they have, or which...

State, county legal services pool resources in effort to help more. (Oregon Legal Services' merger with Multnomah County Legal Aid)
April 17, 1998... Oregon Legal Services and Multnomah County Legal Aid will merge by June 1 in an attempt to decrease funding competition and increase efficiency. The two groups, totaling about 130 employees, now provide access to justice for about 72 percent...

Kona, Portland Brewing sign mutual aid pact. (Kona Brewing Co; Portland Brewing Co)
April 17, 1998... Hawaii's Kona Brewing Co. is among five beer companies that have decided to expand by tapping into Portland Brewing Co.'s local brewery. About 6,000 cases of Kona beer a month will be produced at Portland Brewing and shipped across the Pacific...

Executive profile: Gun Denhart. (Founder and Chairperson of Hanna Andersson Corp)
April 17, 1998... Name: Gun Denhart Organization: Hanna Andersson Corporation Title: Founder and Chair Education: Equivalent of an MBA from the Lund School of Business Residence: Portland BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY Essential Business Philosophy: I really believe in...

Presentation made easy. (ITT Technical Institute's Geographical Information System)
April 17, 1998... A software program called GIS can build fabulous presentation in far less time than it takes to make mediocre ones. Accessing data for strategic planning and business presentations has historically been a fairly time-consuming process. Using...

Corporate park rises in Hillsboro. (CarrAmerica Realty Corp's development of Sunset Corporate Park)
April 17, 1998... Washington D.C.-based CarrAmerica Realty Corp. will begin development next month on the site of a 32.2-acre filbert orchard it purchased last year in Hillsboro adjacent to Sunset Highway and Intel Ronler Acres. Sunset Corporate Park, as it was...

Saxer bets future on Nor'Wester relaunch.(Saxer Brewing Co.; beer)
April 24, 1998... Steve Goebel, president of Lake Oswego's Saxer Brewing Co., is about to take the plunge. Goebel is betting his brewing company on a marketing campaign that pitches Nor'Wester beer - a brand he only recently acquired - as a uniquely Oregon...

Was Atlas zapped by CEO spending?(Atlas Telecom Inc. CEO Ray Zapp)
April 24, 1998... Atlas Telecom Inc., a once promising telecommunications company, appears to be collapsing quickly. And the founder and CEO may be one of the main reasons. Portland-based Atlas Telecom's fortunes seem to have dimmed after founder and chief...

Legacy hitting critical mass with facility consolidation.(Legacy's Emanuel Hospital and Medical Center)
April 24, 1998... Dr. Lutz Kiesow and Casey Bush chuckle when they recall bringing pigs in for research studies at Legacy's Emanuel Hospital and Medical Center. They used back elevators and routes well away from patient areas. But they couldn't eliminate...

NationsBank taking charge in merger with BankAmerica.
April 24, 1998... With the acquisition of BankAmerica Corp., NationsBank CEO Hugh McColl Jr. has finally realized his manifest destiny, a decade-long quest to build a coast-to-coast bank. BankAmerica's April 13 announcement that it will join with...

NW banks participate in nationwide runup.(Northwestern states)
April 24, 1998... As if to punctuate the dramatic megamergers dotting the banking industry, the region's banks are reporting sterling first-quarter results. Riding a strong economy as well as the merger wave, banks large and small turned the usually placid...

CFI's software revisions point to a rosier future.(CFI ProServices Inc.)
April 24, 1998... Product reformulations complete, CFI ProServices Inc. is off to the races. The Portland maker of software for banks beat analysts' earnings estimates for two consecutive quarters, propelling a resurgence in the company's common stock....

Port ponders polluted site.(Port of Vancouver)
April 24, 1998... Swan Manufacturing Inc.'s factory closed long ago. But 34 years later, the chemicals it apparently left behind are causing environmental troubles in Southwest Washington. The company's former site in Vancouver, purchased by the Port of...

Wood products business undercut by soft prices.(Northwestern States)
April 24, 1998... Northwest wood-products companies are contending with a glut of lumber after too many North American mills tried to sell too many two-by-fours. Some Northwest companies have curtailed production, cut costs and, in a few cases, permanently...

Thomson, Intel's Mr. Outside in Oregon, to retire.(Intel Corp.'s Oregon site manager Keith Thomson)
April 24, 1998... Intel Corp. is changing the guard in Oregon. James Johnson, a 24-year Intel veteran, will replace Keith Thomson as Oregon site manager June 1. Thomson, who is retiring after 4 years in his current role, will assist with the transition for a...

The long road back: Mentor Graphics is determined to recapture its glory days.
April 24, 1998... Mentor Graphics Corp. won the first round in the electronic design automation (EDA) fight, then badly lost the second round. Now, Mentor thinks it's ready to pummel the opposition in the third round. That had better be the case. The...

Internet breeds start-ups.(Small Business)(small businesses exploit Internet's growth)
April 24, 1998... Like every other promising new medium, the internet has attracted its own brand of get-rich-quick schemes. "No bull! Earn $200,000 a year doing internet commerce from your home. No investment necessary!" But beyond the hype and snake-oil...

Legacy lab: balancing act on three.(Legacy's Emanuel Hospital and Medical Center)
April 24, 1998... To show off Legacy's new research center, Casey Bush, executive secretary of regulatory affairs for the center, begins the tour with the still mostly vacant fourth floor he calls "expansion space." One of the in-use labs is a tissue culture lab...