Business Journal-Portland articles from June 1998

Business Journal-Portland archives from June 1998

Dairy cows no longer holy in Oregon. (includes related article on the food processing industry)
June 5, 1998... First it was old-growth logging and salmon fishing. Now, some worry that dairy farms could become the next vanishing icon of Western Oregon. Gov. John Kitzhaber has created a 12-member dairy task force to examine the mounting pressures on the...

Bankruptcy judge shuts down Atlas. (Atlas Telecom Inc.)
June 5, 1998... U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Elizabeth Perris hammered the final nail into Atlas Telecom Inc.'s coffin on Wednesday. The judge denied Atlas' interim motion to use cash collateral to continue operations of the company's fax services business...

Local cash infusion aids Clarity Visual Systems.
June 5, 1998... The future just got brighter for Clarity Visual Systems Inc., a Wilsonville company that makes large-screen digital displays for advertising. In two related actions, the company issued preferred stock that generated $3.5 million in capital....

Oh, and, by the way, did we collect the $50 for the gig? (Portland, Oregon-based rock band, Thrillbilly)
June 5, 1998... Not every band is anti-everything like say, Nirvana, which shunned the corporate community, rejected business and social responsibilities that came with success and, ultimately, self-destructed. Portland's Thrillbilly is a perfect example. Here...

Straw men fear loss of Japan niche. (Oregon-based grass seed growers)
June 5, 1998... After reports surfaced that U.S. straw might harm Japanese cattle, Oregon State University veterinarians have stepped in to avert a crisis that threatens a lucrative market for Oregon grass seed growers. The problem arose when a popular...

Jantzen Beach warehouse complex sold for $7.6M.
June 5, 1998... Spending just less than half of the $15.8 million gained from selling four downtown office buildings, a Melvin Mark partnership has acquired a 226,000-square-foot warehouse complex near Jantzen Beach Shopping Center. The purchase of Hayden...

Body shop owner wins SBA award for approach. (Laurie Carlson, owner of Lukas Auto Painting and Repair)
June 5, 1998... It's Small Business Week in America, and Laurie Carlson is one happy small-business owner. She has been named Oregon Small Businessperson of the Year by the Small Business Administration of the Pacific Northwest, and has spent this week in...

The fall of Atlas. (Atlas Telecom Inc.)
June 5, 1998... Founder Ray Zapp, former managers clash over failure Ray Zapp began to suspect something was wrong with Atlas Telecom Inc. in mid-1996. Zapp, the founder and chief executive officer of the company now in bankruptcy court, said he was having...

Playing the infill game. (real estate development in Portland, Oregon)(Focus on Real Estate)
June 5, 1998... Portland draws attention for its success in squeezing new development into nooks and crannies and curbing expansion to suburbs Developer Barry Menashe was just spreading the wealth last year when he picked Sienna Architects to design a retail...

Teaching others to get along. (Conflict Strategies, consultancy on preventing workplace violence)
June 5, 1998... Conflict Strategies is a company paid to prevent violence by teaching people how fairness and equity fit into the workplace. Workplace violence was ranked as the top concern of businesses for the third straight year in the Pinkerton Security...

$17M Rivergate project moves forward. (Port of Portland's Rivergate Industrial District)
June 12, 1998... A deal that could strengthen the region's position as a hub for international trade is coming together at the Port of Portland's Rivergate Industrial District. T.M. Lee Development Co. of Seattle wants to build one of the largest distribution...

ThrustMaster says more losses loom.
June 12, 1998... ThrustMaster Inc. needs to cut costs, said its chief executive officer, and the cost-cutting measures under consideration include layoffs. Stephen Aanderud, ThrustMaster chief executive officer, said he couldn't talk about any definitive plans...

Local equipment renters sell out to roll-up artists.
June 12, 1998... Like bulldozers running amuck. out-of-state companies that rent construction equipment are frantically scooping up Pacific Northwest competitors in quests to erect national chains. The latest push came June 8 when consolidator United Rental...

Decline forces Klamath health insurer into Regence's empire. (Klamath Medical Service Bureau; Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon)
June 12, 1998... Klamath Medical Service Bureau's bottom line had been shrinking since 1993, but when the company was hit with nearly $1.4 million in losses in 1997, it decided to cut bait. The Klamath Falls-based KMSB, a nonprofit insurer started in 1939,...

Bechtel changes vision for airport's light-rail center. (Bechtel Enterprises Inc.; Portland airport)
June 12, 1998... Bechtel Enterprises Inc.'s vision for Portland International Center has gotten more ambitious and expensive. The company, part of the San Francisco-based Bechtel Group Inc., has abandoned its original industrial park plans for Portland...

Creditors ponder their next moves against Atlas. (Atlas Telecom Inc.)
June 12, 1998... It's all over but the liquidating and, possibly, the litigating, as Atlas Telecom Inc. was finally laid to rest this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Federal Judge Elizabeth Perris granted secured creditor John Gray relief from the stay that was...

Building material firm set to expand in Portland. (Building Materials Holding Corp.; Oregon)
June 12, 1998... Building Materials Holding Corp. hopes the Portland-area housing market continues to be hot. The public company's wholly owned subsidiary BMC West Corp. has signed an agreement on an 18.8-acre tract of land in Portland to build a full-service...

Business networking company continues to grow. (Business Network International)
June 12, 1998... Every business could use more referrals, but few business people have a systematic way of getting them. Ivan Misner is on a mission to change all that. Misner is the founder of Business Network International, an organization whose sole purpose...

Call it 'creative boldness'; Creative Media Development aimed high right from the start.(Corporate Strategies)
June 12, 1998... Creative Media Development aimed high right from the start Be focused. Be clear. Serve a singular market. In a word, specialize. It was the mantra of many a successful business in 1978, and it was completely ignored by Doug Crane when he...

Rockies getting short end of Civic Stadium stick? (Portland Rockies baseball team)(includes related article on decline in attendance at Rockies games due to rains)
June 19, 1998... Planned improvements to Civic Stadium promise to benefit the Portland Rockies, but only up to a point. A $45 million package of stadium upgrades endorsed by the Metro Exposition-Recreation Commission would naturally enhance games and...

Squeeze TV ready to invade Mt. Tabor Theater and Pub. (television program; Portland, OR)
June 19, 1998... You just never know with Joe Gingerella and his half-hour Squeeze TV show. One week it's MxPx and the Chauffeur, a band, and BMX, the sport. The next it's KISS, the long-tongued rock group, and flaming couch races, also a sport. But it's all...

Santa Clara, Portland eye Oakland A's. (Oakland Athletics baseball team)
June 19, 1998... The Oakland A's aren't talking, but it appears increasingly likely that the team will exercise an escape clause in its Oakland Coliseum lease and attempt to relocate to another venue. With the July 1 deadline looming, at least two other...

James snares coveted 1-205 plots for projects. (commercial real estate developer John James)
June 19, 1998... After three years of red tape, commercial developer John James has carved out one of the best pieces of property left on Airport Way - right next to Interstate-205. He is developing 284,000 square feet of office-industrial flex space designed...

CART's merchandising movement is gaining speed. (Championship Auto Racing Teams)
June 19, 1998... When engines rev June 21 for the Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200, organizers will have their eye on cash registers as well as on the race track. The Portland event kicks off a new marketing experiment for Championship Auto Racing Teams, the...

Hanover Partners buy in to metal manufacturer.
June 19, 1998... Hanover Partners Inc. of Portland and Denver-based Rocky Mountain Capital Partners LLP have jointly purchased Diversified Metal Products Inc., an Englewood, Colo.-based manufacturer of sheet metal products. Hanover Partners is an equity sponsor...

Warta's GST retirement a big surprise to many. (GST Telecommunications Chmn and CEO John Warta)
June 19, 1998... John Warta decided it's now time to stop and smell the roses. The chairman and chief executive officer of GST Telecommunications Inc. announced Monday that he is retiring after spending 12 years in the competitive local exchange carrier businesS....

State investigates Tigard group for securities fraud. (Tigard, OR; Private Legacy Trust Co. and Fidelity International Bank)
June 19, 1998... A Tigard group, touting investments in an offshore bank, is being investigated by state security regulators about its selling of securities to investors. David Tatman, an enforcement officer with the state securities division, said his office...

Imagina bulks up with e-mail software purchase.
June 19, 1998... Imagina Inc., a local internet software developer, has given itself another product to promote and added to its executive team by acquiring a small San Diego company. The company is NotifyMail Software and its eponymous product, and the new...

Mill race with a new tack. (Quality Veneer and Lumber Inc.)
June 19, 1998... Quality Veneer moves quickly to buy up Northwest lumber mills A new Seattle company that is buying independent mills is the wood products industry's biggest manufacturing start-up in the Northwest in more than a decade. Quality Veneer &...

Bio-tech start-ups get shot in the arm. (Portland Development Commission finances a $50,000 study on expansion of Oregon Biotechnology Innovation Center for biotechnology start-up companies)
June 26, 1998... The Portland Development Commission financed a $50,000 study to see if it's feasible to more than triple the size of the Oregon Biotechnology Innovation Center in downtown Portland and give biotech start-ups a significant boost. A new, larger...

Hotel developers push ahead despite sinking occupancy rate.
June 26, 1998... We are to a point in the hotel game where there will be winners and losers, not just big winners and small winners. Supply has been sprinting all over the metro area, and demand, the distance runner, is failing way behind. Analysts and...

Gas from landfill trash will fire up local cement kilns. (EPA, Ash Grove Cement Co and Palmer Capital Co finalize deal for Ash Grove Cement to tap methane gas for cement kilns from St Johns Landfill, Portland, Oregon)
June 26, 1998... Metro, Ash Grove Cement Co., Palmer Capital Corp. and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been getting down and dirty against global warming in recent months. This week, they made it official. After serving as the Portland area's...

Software developer releases product after year of testing. (public defender case management software developer Keypoint to release its Case-in-point '98 product)
June 26, 1998... KeyPoint is ready to leave the relatively safe harbor of product testing and embark on the rougher seas of mass marketing. The Southwest Portland developer of case management software for public defenders announced this week the general release...

Carrier Services captures top spot on list. (pre-paid calling card company Carrier Services Inc is Portland, Oregon's fastest-growing private company)
June 26, 1998... Carrier Services Inc.'s days of obscurity are numbered. The little-known downtown Portland firm is this year's fastest-growing private company. The company posted modest revenue of $1.1 million in 1996, exploded to $8.5 million last year and...

Oregon Chai steeps in profits, recognition. (tea 'latte' maker Oregon Chai Inc earns $2.7 million in revenues for 1997 from $1 million plus in 1996)(Company Profile)
June 26, 1998... A recent episode of "Beverly Hills 90210" made Heather Howitt's day. One of the cast brought another a steaming mug, and said. "Here. Try this. It's chat. I drink it all the time." "All of a sudden," said Howitt, founder and president of...

Good Earth products growing too fast to chill out. (Mark Belles' Good Earth Products Inc's revenues reaches $1.1 million in 1997 from $320,000 in 1995)(Company Profile)
June 26, 1998... It all started with Fruti Bars. Mark Belles knew an opportunity when he saw one. After four years as a research analyst with Capital Consultants, the Portland native was hungry for his own business. When he saw a couple guys selling Fruit Bars...

West Hills keeping up with buyer's appetites. (West Hills Development experience 377% growth with $13 million in revenues for 1995 and $62.1 million for 1997)(Company Profile)
June 26, 1998... West Hills Development doesn't top the list of fastest-growing private companies in Oregon. but it laps the field in terms of revenue. During the past three years, West Hills experienced 377 percent growth, with revenues of $62 million last...

WebTrends Corp keeping tabs on websites. (WebTrends Corp earns $4.10 million in revenues for 1997 from $0.6 million in 1995)(Company Profile)
June 26, 1998... Eli Shapira and Glen Boyd know all about the volatility of the software industry. The co-founders of WebTrends Corp. were both employees of Central Point Software, one of Portland's most promising high-tech companies of the late 1980s and early...