Business Journal-Portland articles from February 1999

Business Journal-Portland archives from February 1999

E-commerce precedent set by court.
February 5, 1999... Although separated by thousands of miles, Millennium Music of Charleston, S.C., and Music Millennium of Portland have crossed paths once or twice in the past few years. Before the era of internet sales, they barely knew each other existed....

Labtec hopes merger will spur turnaround.(Labtec Enterprises Inc.)
February 5, 1999... As Labtec Enterprises Inc. approaches a crucial merger that will take the Vancouver company public, both partners are showing signs of strain. Labtec expects its board and shareholders of Lowell, Mass.-based Spacetec IMC Corp. to approve...

Oregon ranchers rope natural beef consumer.
February 5, 1999... It's branding time in Oregon's cattle country. These days, though, it's more about marketing than bawling calves, as a new breed of rancher tries to round up shoppers who've had it with hormone-saturated beef. Rather than selling generic...

Graphics firm finds a sugar daddy overseas.(Metheus Corp.)
February 5, 1999... A $700 million Belgium company has inked a deal to acquire Metheus Corp., a Beaverton company that specializes in high-resolution color computer graphics used in imaging devices for medical, air traffic control and military surveillance...

ThrustMaster stock dips after bad fourth quarter.(1998)
February 5, 1999... ThrustMaster Inc.'s internet-fueled Wall Street rocket ride didn't end this week, but it did lose some substantial altitude. The Hillsboro-based maker of video and computer game devices saw its stock fall nearly $4, or close to 25 percent,...

Wells calls on Street vet in its client service fight.(Wells Fargo Bank's appointment of Joe DeFur as head of Private Client Services)
February 5, 1999... Wells Fargo Bank has brought a former Wall Street executive to Portland to spearhead its battle against brokerages and insurers. Joe DeFur, whose past includes stints in New York with brokerages Lehman Brothers and Gruntal & Co., will lead...

Pay telephone 'ponzi' scheme reaches Oregon.(scam on investments in pay telephones)
February 5, 1999... An alleged multimillion-dollar scare involving a Chicago-based telephone company has Oregon securities regulators checking out some investment promoters here. Federal authorities claim that Scott Holmberg and Slobodan "Dan" Lunic defrauded...

Wall Street likes Mentor's latest performance, but not Sequent's.(Mentor Graphics Corp.; Sequent Computer Systems Inc.)
February 5, 1999... Mentor Graphics Corp. was the big winner in the latest earnings release sweepstake. The Wilsonville maker of electronic design automation software saw its stock shoot to a 52-week high following strong fourth-quarter revenue numbers. Wall...

Sharon Allen.(Deloitte & Touche LLP's office managing partner for Portland, Oregon and Boise, Idaho)
February 5, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Sharon Allen Organization: Deloitte & Touche LLP Title: Office managing partner for Portland and Boise What we do: Provide accounting and auditing, tax, management consulting and specialized services...

Waiting for the next boom: Hoffman Construction thinks locally, plays globally.
February 5, 1999... When Hoffman Construction Co. landed its first Intel job in 1990, company executives were unprepared for the wave of high-technology contracts that followed. The work repositioned the company as a premier builder in the industry. "Guys...

Motivated by creativity.(Magaurn Video Production)
February 5, 1999... Ah, the full-circle of it all. For the past 26 years, Michael Magaurn the businessman has painstakingly pushed and pulled his creation, Magaurn Video Production, into becoming one of Portland's most successful full-service production companies....

Oregonian drops Cole, dons Coates.(newspaper The Oregonian's contract with Cole & Weber Advertising; Terry Coates Creative Services)
February 12, 1999... Terry Coates Creative Services will take over where Cole & Weber Advertising left off. Earlier this week, the one-man advertising agency beat out three others for The Oregonian account. Coates' competition included Cole & Weber, a $100...

Wall Street overlooks banks' performances.(Oregon banks)
February 12, 1999... Oregon banks generally posted strong numbers for the fourth quarter of 1998, though their share prices continue to languish. Five of the six independent Oregon banks regularly tracked by Pacific Crest Securities announced earnings that meet...

Rebuilding clients' trust rebuilds Howard S. Wright.(Howard S. Wright Construction)
February 12, 1999... The 1990s have been dizzying for Brad Nydahl, the Portland-based president and CEO of Seattle-based Howard S. Wright Construction. A rainmaker at Baugh Construction's Portland office throughout the 1980s, Nydahl was hired away in 1990 by...

King abdicates Legacy's throne, but leaves healthy system behind.(John King; Legacy Health System)
February 12, 1999... When John King took the helm at Legacy Health System in 1991, the health system was still struggling to define itself in the wake of the 1989 merger that created it. It was also a fiscal mess. But as the 60-year-old CEO leaves his post this...

Port finds old-growth beams worth millions.(Port of Portland)
February 12, 1999... Work crews dismantling several obsolete warehouses at the Port of Portland have found treasure in an odd form: massive beams cut from old-growth Douglas firs. More than $1 million worth of lumber is expected to be recovered during the...

Rebounding board sales boost Praegitzer stock.(Praegitzer Industries)
February 12, 1999... Praegitzer Industries Inc. posted better than expected revenue and earnings per share in the second quarter of fiscal 1999, and one influential analyst has raised his rating and earnings estimates for the current fiscal year. John McManus,...

WebTrends' IPO gamble has internet safety net.(initial public offering)
February 12, 1999... When WebTrends Corp. enters the public market soon it will have some negatives to overcome, namely its small size and a lack of operating history and name familiarity. On the positive side, it has been profitable for three years and it has...

Staking out market share: Security Bank likes to take a piece of some very local action.(Corporate Strategies)
February 12, 1999... Three years ago, it was clear to the directors of Security Bank Holding Co. that their one subsidiary, Security Bank, had saturated its home market of Coos County. Growth would have to come elsewhere. But how? Open up Security Bank branches...

Blitz complex going on the market.(Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co.)
February 19, 1999... John Stroh III, the president of The Stroh Cos. Inc., was due to arrive in Portland late this week in a visit that could set in motion sweeping changes along West Burnside. The company owns the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co. complex, which...

Hotel owners to bite tax bullet for OCC.(Oregon Convention Center)
February 19, 1999... Local hotel owners have agreed to accept a substantial hike in Multnomah County's hotel and motel tax as the primary funding tool for expanding the Oregon Convention Center. The agreement represents a major breakthrough for local officials...

Hales wants Nike to place 'Swoosh Tower' downtown.(Portland City Commissioner Charlie Hales)
February 19, 1999... Portland City Commissioner Charlie Hales will issue a friendly challenge to Nike founder Phil Knight Friday afternoon: Build "Swoosh Tower" in downtown Portland. The request will come during Hales' noon City Club speech, during which he...

Intel has eyes on Southwest just in case taxes aren't cut.
February 19, 1999... Intel Corp. won't use the word threat. But the state's largest manufacturing employer is clearly not bluffing when it says a failure to receive tax breaks in Oregon will result in investments going elsewhere. "Those are your words, not...

Pacific One Bank changes name, adds assets, thanks to BancWest.(Bank of the West)
February 19, 1999... Oregonians trying to track the continually changing bank names in their neighborhoods have gained a new one, called Bank of the West. The name now adorns the 40 Pacific Northwest bank branches formerly known as Pacific One Bank. But with...

Million-dollar account makes Coates happy.(Terry Coates Creative Services)
February 19, 1999... Terry Coates Creative Services landed a nameplate account last week that will substantially boost its billings. The one-man ad agency beat out three other major players vying for The Oregonian account, including Cole & Weber, the $106...

Goodmans purchase old West One Bank building.
February 19, 1999... The Goodman family this week became sole owner of the largest single redevelopment site in downtown Portland. Downtown Development Group, the umbrella company for all of the Goodmans' parking and office holdings, acquired the former West...

Port gives OK for channel-deepening planning.(Port of Portland)
February 19, 1999... Port of Portland commissioners have approved cost-sharing agreements that will initiate $2.4 million worth of preconstruction planning needed for the Columbia River channel-deepening project. The recent agreements strike an accord among the...

Defendants in GST suit decide to get legal, too.(GST Telecommunications Inc.)
February 19, 1999... The individual defendants and the corporation targeted by a lawsuit brought by GST Telecommunications Inc. are firing back. The individuals, who are former and current directors and officers of GST, have filed a legal action in British...

Single, but willing to wed.(NW Natural)
February 19, 1999... Dick Reiten has NW Natural ready for an uncertain future NW Natural is charting a strategically astute course that plays both to what it wants to accomplish and what it might not be able to avoid. Publicly, and by all accounts...

Knoll knows its niche.(Knoll and Co. Inc.)
February 19, 1999... Knoll and Co. isn't afraid to make some changes, but the vintage creative shop definitely knows its strengths. Bob Knoll, president of Knoll and Co. Inc., knows the secret of successful niche marketing, and it's kept his creative shop...

Residential shake-out accelerates.(Equity Group Inc. buys Trendsetters Industries Inc.)
February 26, 1999... In its continuing mission to be a survivor of the Great Consolidation, The Equity Group Inc. Realtors has purchased another residential real estate firm. This week's purchase of Beaverton-based Trendsetters Industries Inc. is The Equity...

G.I. Joe's prepared to capture IPO market.(initial public offering)
February 26, 1999... After waiting six months for the IPO market to rev up, G.I. Joe's Inc. plans to conduct its initial public offering in the first week of March, according to co-underwriter Black & Co. The IPO is designed to generate gross proceeds of $20...

Juicy Golden State creates power trader's paradise.(deregulation of California's power market creates opportunities for Enron Capital & Trade Resources)
February 26, 1999... In April 1998, the state of California wrapped up some three years' worth of work needed to deregulate its power industries. Until then, the Portland office of Enron Capital & Trade Resources, Enron Corp.'s energy marketing and trading...

It's Omega time for Alpha as Nike discontinues ads.(Nike Inc.'s Alpha Project)
February 26, 1999... So far, it seems the hype surrounding Nike Inc.'s Alpha Project has not lived up to marketing hopes. "Patell's Odditie's Shop" will shutter its doors indefinitely at the end of the month. The much-ballyhooed, roughly $30 million campaign...

Marsee Baking may bankroll its expansion by going public in '99.
February 26, 1999... Operating under a new chief executive, retail bakery chain Marsee Baking may go public this year. The company needs to obtain several million dollars to finance expansion over the next two to three years, said Ray Lindstrom, who slipped...

Failed merger proves painful for Summit.(Summit Design Inc.'s failed merger with OrCAD)
February 26, 1999... Larry Gerhard, Summit Design Inc.'s chief executive, didn't .kid himself about who would suffer the most if the Summit-OrCAD merger fell apart. "I always knew that if anything happened with the merger that we were at greater risk," Gerhard...

Erratic market pulls down Portland's 98 IPOs.(initial public offerings)
February 26, 1999... Local companies that went public last year had the misfortune of hitting the street just before a severe market correction. Then they could only look on as small-cap stocks lagged the broader market's recovery. Either that, or those local...

FirstLink changes tack after getting $35 million.(FirstLink Communications Inc.)
February 26, 1999... Local investment firm Peregrine Capital Inc. has agreed to back fledgling telecommunications company FirstLink Communications Inc. with funds totaling $35 million, the companies said. The agreement marks a major change in plans for...

ODOT says state highway bill would cause chaos.(Oregon Department of Transportation)
February 26, 1999... Backers of Senate Bill 86 say approval would protect property owners from the Oregon Department of Transportation's red tape, but opponents say it threatens to undermine safety and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. The bill now moving...

Blitz doomed by land prices, industry trends.(Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co.)
February 26, 1999... Don't expect to see beer brewed in the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co.'s vats once The Stroh Brewery Co. disposes of the plant sometime this year. Interviews with local brewers and former Blitz-Weinhard executives indicate the odds are stacked...

Merger turmoil won't stop Labtec, says new boss.
February 26, 1999... Labtec Inc. acquired products, not a company, when it merged with Spacetec IMC Corp. earlier this month. Vancouver-based Labtec is gutting Spacetec in an effort to trim up to $1 million from its bottom line. Bob Wick, Labtec's chief...

Building toward success.(Jewett-Cameron Trading Co. Ltd.)
February 26, 1999... Jewett-Cameron keeps up with building materials heavyweights From its 40,000-square-foot distribution center and corporate headquarters in North Plains, Jewett-Cameron Trading Co. Ltd. has carved out a niche among the giants in the building...