Business Journal-Portland articles from September 1997

Business Journal-Portland archives from September 1997

Exporting home sweet home. (Dessen Homes' prefabricated houses)
September 5, 1997... Dessen Homes seeks higher profile in Portland area From the frozen frontier of the Russian Far East to its own backyard in Southwest Washington, Dessen Homes Inc. is looking for ways to diversify its business. The Vancouver company has built...

Bad beef scare boosts sales of Gardenburger. (Wholesome and Hearty Foods Inc.)
September 5, 1997... Wholesome & Hearty Foods Inc., which produces and distributes Gardenburger and other meatless products, has seen sales soar in the wake of recent hamburger-safety scares. The phenomenon represents a victory of sorts for Wholesome & Hearty...

Downtown hot, new study says. (Portland, Oregon; Greenwich Group International LLC's report)
September 5, 1997... Downtown Portland continues to be a prime area of investment among U.S. cities primarily because it "embodies the essential attributes of the 24-hour city... vital to success," according to a report prepared by The Greenwich Group International...

Did Port conceal facts about doomed venture? (Port of Portland; Pacific Aircraft Maintenance Corp.)
September 5, 1997... Attorneys for the defendants in the Pamcorp lawsuit allege the Port of Portland didn't disclose key information relating to the venture's financial viability, which if known, might have changed their evaluation of the doomed project. Pacific...

Big land-use headaches land in Central Oregon. (Bend, Oregon)
September 5, 1997... Bend planners work to save the city that grew too fast Traffic on the main thoroughfares at times reaches gridlock proportions. Trees are being bulldozed to make way for strip malls. Home prices have jumped dramatically, forcing citizens of...

WTD to Wall Street: take another look. (WTD Industries Inc.'s stock)
September 5, 1997... Engel latest strategy seems to be working. But will lumber prices comply ? WTD Industries Inc. continues to crawl out of the deep hole it dug for itself six years ago. With another profitable quarter under its belt and a new product on the...

Theme park developers zero in on Troutdale location. (International Time Traveller Parks Inc.; Portland, Oregon)
September 5, 1997... Would-be developers of a $40 million theme park celebrating Northwest history now favor a Troutdale site for the 50-acre project. International Time Traveller Parks Inc., an arm of a British company that hopes to develop historical theme parks...

Power struggle sends Digimarc CEO out the door. (Hugh Mackworth)
September 5, 1997... Digimarc Inc., a Portland digital watermarking firm, ousted its chief executive officer Friday in a power struggle between the CEO and the board of directors. The dispute between the board and CEO Hugh Mackworth goes back several months and...

Boeing chips to play important role in trip to Mars.
September 5, 1997... The Boeing Co. will take its one of its first steps into interplanetary space in late 1999, when two Surveyor probes crash into the surface of Mars. Inside each probe will be three tiny Boeing-designed chips, now being tested. One will run the...

Northwest Natural Gas becomes NW Natural.
September 5, 1997... Deregulation of the state's utilities, and the competition that comes with it, will probably be good for utility customers. There is no doubt, however, that it is already doing wonders for marketing firms being hired by the utilities to elevate...

SEIU pickets expand into Vancouver. (Service Employees International Union Local 49)
September 5, 1997... Picketing Service Employees International Union Local 49 workers from Kaiser Permanente's hospital and clinics have expanded their reach to Vancouver. Kaiser service workers began picketing Southwest Washington Medical Center Sept. 3 because...

Diversity is key to Port of Olympia's revitalization.
September 5, 1997... After years of struggling to find a sense of direction, the Port of Olympia seems to have found four of them - and they're all working. Often derided in recent years as an outmoded and failing bastion of log exporting, the port is now becoming...

New container strategy targets Northwest ports. (Matson Navigation Co.'s new weekly sailing services)
September 5, 1997... Pacific Northwest container ports are being challenged by new coastal cargo services that threaten to bleed business away from the region to Southern California. Matson Navigation Co. has launched a weekly sailing connecting Los Angeles with...

Digitech moves north with focus on energy down south. (relocation from Portland, Oregon to Bothell)
September 5, 1997... An energy-services company majority-owned by Oregon's PacificCorp is moving its headquarters and 60 employees from Portland to Bothell. But even as Digitech Inc. heads north, it is focusing most of its attention to the south, on California's...

Housing Partners rides the learning curve. (low-income housing consultants)
September 5, 1997... For Kate Allen and Sharon Nielson, coordinating the myriad funding sources necessary for a low-income housing project is a lot like herding cats. It can be chaotic and they never count on it happening the same way twice. That said, Allen and...

Secret memo upbraids port, treasury. (Port of Oregon and Oregon State Treasury blamed for failure of Palmcorp joint venture)
September 12, 1997... A confidential state memo has surfaced in the Pamcorp lawsuit that suggests the Port of Portland and Oregon State Treasury share the blame for letting the failed venture move forward. The memo, written about two years ago by a state Department...

Digital future? Tek's there now. (new system developed by Tektronix Inc. can measure the quality of compressed digital video images)
September 12, 1997... Tektronix Inc. has taken the measure of television's future, and it's digital. The Wilsonville-based maker of test and measurement equipment, and printers and television production equipment, is now producing the first commercially available...

$600M deal puts lender on E. Coast. (joint venture between Southern Pacific Funding Corp. and Liberty Lending Corp.)
September 12, 1997... Continuing its string of alliances around the country, Southern Pacific Funding Corp. has teamed with Liberty Lending Corp. of Vienna, Va., to receive mortgage loans totaling $600 million. The agreement calls for Liberty to provide sub-prime,...

Our turn: OR Steel heads overseas. (Oregon Steel Mills opens new steel mill)
September 12, 1997... With a new $240 million manufacturing plant about to come on-line, Oregon Steel Mills Inc. is poised to more than double its steel production and increase its Asian and European export business. Ground was broken three years ago for the...

Bioject reversal depends on new strategy. (Bioject Medical Technologies Inc.)
September 12, 1997... Investors have faith in beleagured company despite many years of losses After 10 years of losses, you'd think investors in Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. might be losing patience. Not so, they said. The Portland maker of a patented,...

Why is Phil whining? (Phil Knight, chief executive officer of Nike Inc.)
September 12, 1997... Why is Phil Knight whining? Considering the numbers Nike Inc. just delivered to its shareholders, you'd think the company's chairman and CEO wouldn't be portraying himself and the company as victims. But in Nike's just-released annual...

Arrow agrees to sell assets to rival for $5.6 million. (Arrow Transportation Co. sold to Matlock Systems)
September 12, 1997... The assets of Arrow Transportation Co., a Portland-based trucking firm that filed Chapter 11 this summer, have been tentatively sold to a Delaware trucker for at least $5.6 million. Matlock Systems, a Delaware trucking firm, offered to buy...

Forum Properties bought by S. Carolina company. (Insignia Financial Group)
September 12, 1997... While other national companies fight for a larger share of the Northwest real estate services market by targeting Seattle, Insignia Financial Group played the contrarian. In the sixth year of a shopping spree to increase its presence in strong...

Marketing One goes after securities, annuities sales.
September 12, 1997... Marketing One is putting on a full-court press to market a Web service that aids bank representatives peddling securities and annuities. The effort represents a new step in Portland-based Marketing One's ongoing drive to meet changing...

Fujitsu doubles capacity with new facility. (Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc. opens new semiconductor plant in Gresham, OR)
September 12, 1997... Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc. thinks 64 - as in 64-megabit memory devices - is its winning number. In fact, the company is betting $1 billion on it. The company opened a 545,000-square-foot, $1 billion facility Wednesday in Gresham, where...

Law firm Lane Powell plans move to ODS Tower. (Lane, Powell, Spears, Lubersky)
September 12, 1997... Lane Powell Spears Lubersky, one of the largest law firms in the Northwest, has signed a 10-year, $15 million deal for three floors in the 24-story ODS Tower under construction in downtown Portland. The commitment brings the building's...

Washington Mutual sells insurance unit to Safeco.
September 12, 1997... Two Northwest financial powerhouses have teamed to grow their annuities businesses and, they expect, to improve their bottom line. Insurer Safeco Inc. in early September agreed to buy Washington Mutual Inc.'s insurance underwriting unit for...

Timberlands no longer critical to state's economy. (Oregon)(Industry Overview)
September 12, 1997... Oregon's vast timberlands have long sustained a sizable - and profitable - forest products industry. But the state's economy is no longer as dependent upon lumber as it once was. The Oregon Blue Book reported a total of 64,000 Oregonians...

Coffee People regroups after failures.
September 12, 1997... Coffee People Inc., reeling from huge second-quarter losses, has abandoned its ambitious expansion plans and made administrative cuts in an effort to return to its previously profitable ways. Coffee People reported a net loss of $6.1 million...

Port's 'dredgemaster' is great bargain. (Larry Patella, Port of Portland's navigation division)
September 12, 1997... Keeping the Columbia River shallow channel open to traffic consumes the Port of Portland's Larry Patella Where others see junk, Larry Patella sees a bargain. The former U.S. Navy ship's captain is an expert at keeping surplus equipment...

New electronic games company likes its chances.
September 12, 1997... egames claims it's the best online source around for electronic games. Competitors might dispute that, but the Beaverton startup is certainly the newest. Jenci Bergen, egames president and chief executive, officially launched the venture Sept....

Economizing State Farm reorganizes service centers. (State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.)
September 12, 1997... A large Oregon insurer is jumping on the consolidation bandwagon. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. plans to close and consolidate 17 service centers in its Northwest region, including seven in Oregon and six in Washington. State...

OGI Telecomm courting growth.(Company Profile)
September 12, 1997... OGI Telecomm has switches on its mind. The Beaverton-based telecommunications provider is making a multimillion dollar investment in switching technology in an effort to break past its roots as a communications provider for the Oregon Graduate...

Metro One Telecommunications Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
September 12, 1997... NASDAQ: MTON 8405 S.W. Nimbus Ave., Beaverton, Ore. 97008 Metro One Telecommunications Inc. is an independent developer and provider of enhanced directory assistance services for the wireless telecommunications industry. The company, founded...

Dan Wieden. (co-founder of Wieden and Kennedy Inc.)(Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards 1997)
September 12, 1997... Reluctant ad maverick says he's still learning Famous for bucking trends and shooting from the hip, Wieden & Kennedy Inc. has won hundreds of international advertising awards while turning the stuffy, top-down advertising world on its ear....

Judy MacDonald. (president of PrintPaks Inc.)(Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards 1997)
September 12, 1997... PrintPaks bursts out of the starting gate The first step on Judy MacDonald's road to success - and the hardest - was quitting her job. Fear has shut down plenty of brilliant business plans before they even got started, but it didn't stop...

John Harker. (chief executive officer of In Focus Systems Inc.)(Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards 1997)
September 12, 1997... In Focus CEO shows mettle From the cornfields of an Iowa farm to the plush boardrooms of IBM, former Navy jet fighter pilot John Harker has fought his share of battles. When In Focus Systems Inc. had its boat rocked by two tempests late last...

Jeffrey Jetton & Steven Wright. (president and vice-president of Card Capture Services Inc.)(Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards 1997)
September 12, 1997... CCS Express on fast track A few years ago, when banks were reluctant to provide automated-teller machines in locations that didn't meet high transaction volume requirements, Jeffrey Jetton and Steven Wright both saw a huge opportunity. First,...

Thomas Keffer. (chief executive officer of Rogue Wave Software Inc.)(Oregon Entrepreneurship Awards 1997)
September 12, 1997... Battling the behemoth Picture this scene out of "Road Warrior" and substitute Thomas Keffer, CEO of Rogue Wave Software, for Mel Gibson. Keffer is barreling down the road at breakneck speed in a homemade contraption that is spewing out dust...

Pressure politics alleged over boundary. (Urban Growth Boundary review process)
September 26, 1997... After investigating allegations of strong-arm tactics and creative numbers crunching by Metro planning staff, Metro auditor Alexis Dow said improvements are desperately needed in the Urban Growth Boundary review process. The auditor's report,...

Answering the critics. (Nike Inc.)
September 26, 1997... Nike new approach: Responding, not reacting Public relations problems are nothing new to Nike Inc. But it appears that the $9 billion apparel firm is beginning to handle attacks on its image differently than it has in the past. Now, Nike is...

Shakeups seen as accountants merge two firms. (Price Waterhouse; Coopers and Lybrand)
September 26, 1997... Accounting firms Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand claim no job losses will result from their planned merger, but industry observers believe the $12 billion deal will cause a shakeup at both firms. Expect departures among administrative...

Two area hospitals may be sold again. (Portland, Oregon)
September 26, 1997... A potential buyer is pouring over the books of Eastmoreland and Woodland Park hospitals as part of a larger acquisition from their parent company, the santa Barbara, Calif.-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. A decision on whether the local hospitals...

Macheezmo: escaping the mousetrap? (Macheezmo Mouse Restaurants Inc.)
September 26, 1997... Will revamped menu and severe cost-cutting save the healthy-Mexican chain? After serving up platter after platter of terrible numbers to investors, Macheezmo Mouse Restaurants Inc. needs to get its sales cooking, and fast. "Back in the...

Fred Meyer muscles into mail-order drug business. (Fred Meyer Inc.)
September 26, 1997... Fred Meyer Inc. has snapped up a handful of managers and employees who, until recently, operated a thriving mail-order drug business for Thrifty-Payless in Wilsonville. Fred Meyer's move means there will be another local player in the...

Nike entertains shareholders amid controversy. (Nike Inc.)
September 26, 1997... Another stock split isn't likely for Nike Inc. shareholders in the near future. Still, they didn't walk away from Monday's annual meeting unamused or empty-handed. There were sports stars. Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper of the WNBA's...

Pamcorp founder eludes state's investigators. (Kenneth E. Kelley; Pacific Aircraft Maintenance Corp.)
September 26, 1997... Kenneth E. Kelley, the aviation expert behind the disastrous Pamcorp deal, may be relaxing somewhere in California while his old partners squirm in a Portland courtroom. Kelley served as president and chief executive officer of Pacific...

Vancouver axle manufacturer moves into China. (KIC International Corp.)
September 26, 1997... KIC International Corp., a Vancouver company that boasts $40 million in annual sales, is rolling its truck-trailer axle business across Mexico and China. KIC plans to increase its wholesale distribution centers in Mexico from seven to 10...

Women want to control own economic destinies.
September 26, 1997... With the economy on the upswing, more women are leaving their corporate jobs to cash in on the boom. This is true particularly in the Pacific Northwest, where Portland and Vancouver represent the fastest-growing area for women-owned businesses...

Merger of accounting firms excites potential landlords. (Price Waterhouse; Coopers and Lybrand)
September 26, 1997... Landlords of downtown Portland office towers are drooling over the prospect of luring the combined Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand to their buildings. If the two global accounting firms complete their proposed merger as planned, the...

Kaiser ready to hire additional temp workers. (Kaiser Permanente)
September 26, 1997... Kaiser Permanente is poised to step up its hiring of temporary replacement workers to fill gaps created by the 2,000 striking service workers. The temporary workers are intended to replace some of the Kaiser managers, Kaiser workers from other...

Washington's unions are making a comeback.
September 26, 1997... Kim Dietrich never considered joining a union until she worked on the high seas. Dietrich, a biologist who monitors the catch on commercial fishing boats, saw employers whittle away at the pay and benefits for the estimated 400 observers in...

Seattle will get a new Sears home decor store. (Sears Roebuck and Co.)
September 26, 1997... Seattle is one of the roll-out markets for a new big-box concept that retail juggernaut Sears Roebuck & Co. plans to unveil in 1998. Home Solutions, the working name of the warehouse-size stores, will be a national home decor chain selling all...

Wife of convicted embezzler claims innocence. (Paul and Susan Perkins)
September 26, 1997... WASHINGTON - After Susan M. Perkins was named with her embezzler husband in a $1.1 million tax case, she asked to be declared an innocent spouse. The Portland woman filed a petition asking the U.S. Tax Court here to clear her of any...

Fewer small businesses turn to banks for cash.
September 26, 1997... WASHINGTON - Nearly one out of four small businesses still don't have computers, and bank loans are becoming increasingly unpopular among the nation's smaller firms, according to a new national survey. Little more than a third of the small...

Wolfenet set to tackle Portland ISP market. (Internet service provider)
September 26, 1997... Wolfenet, a Seattle Internet service provider which targets corporate clients, has marked the Portland market for expansion. The question is: Can an already crowded market support another ISP? George Twiss, Wolfenet's chief marketing officer,...

Fighting for her paralegal life. (Robin Smith)
September 26, 1997... Robin Smith has spent the last three years trying to overturn Oregon State Bar findings against her business First we kill all the lawyers," reads Robin Smith's shirt, white print: emblazoned on a black background. The shirt is a joke worn...

Legal People links temp lawyers with law firms.(Small Business)
September 26, 1997... David O'Brien worked as an attorney for two years before deciding it wasn't the life for him. The 30-year-old said he was disenchanted with the daily grind and didn't want to wake up one day with nothing to show for his work except the title...

Contract lawyers in demand - but firms must be cautious.
September 26, 1997... In the last few years, the way people perceive contract attorneys has changed. Many familiar with the legal profession believe temporary services will continue to grow. In the past, contract lawyers often were considered lower-class attorneys...