The Business Journal-Milwaukee articles from August 1998

The Business Journal-Milwaukee archives from August 1998

New banking rules favor local lending. (Milwaukee, WI)
August 28, 1998... Tim Bailey knows TCF National Bank Wisconsin is investing plenty of its money in loans to Milwaukee-area residents and business. But Bailey, who is president and chief executive officer of TCF's Wisconsin business, worries regulators won't...

Overtime and job anxiety for GM's Delphi workers. (General Motors Corp workers at two Oak Creek, WI-based Delphi plants worried over impact Delphi parts unit spinoff will have on jobs)
August 28, 1998... Employees at two Delphi Automotive Systems plants in Oak Creek are working overtime to make up for production lost during the General Motors Corp. strike this summer. Yet many workers there are feeling as insecure as ever. Delphi workers...

Combo crazy: professional services struggle to keep up with merger activity.
August 28, 1998... As a mergers-and-acquisitions attorney for Foley & Lardner, Steve Barth is used to putting in long hours at the office, but this is getting ridiculous. "It's been nuts," Barth said. "There are the eight-day weeks and the 30-hour days, and...

Spurned by Clinton, Badgercare seeks support in Congress. (Pres Bill Clinton; Wisconsin's proposed health insurance plan for the state's working poor)
August 28, 1998... As Gov. Tommy Thompson celebrates the one-year anniversary of Wisconsin's welfare-to-work program, state officials are scrambling to save BadgerCare, the proposed health insurance plan for the state's working poor. Republican state Rep. John...

Davis Cup tourney to showcase Arena to event promoters. (US Davis Cup semifinal tennis matches scheduled at newly redecorated Milwaukee, WI-based Arena)
August 28, 1998... The Arena, part of downtown Milwaukee's Wisconsin Center District, recently received a $10 million facelift, including refurbished seats and a gleaming scoreboard complete with video replays. Now all it needs are events. Richard Geyer, the...

WEPCO hires a pro to extinguish PR fires. (Wisconsin Electric Power Co Communications and Community Relations VP Rick White)
August 28, 1998... Colleagues describe Rick White as a friendly bear of a man, Smokey not Yogi. Wisconsin Electric Power Co. brought White to Milwaukee from Carolina Power & Light Co. (CPL), Raleigh, N.C, to put out fires. White's title is vice president of...

Trucking company is Taylor Made. (transportation/expedited freight firm Taylor Made Express Inc.)(Company Profile)
August 28, 1998... UPS strike helped Cudahy firm expand service When Timothy McDonald was 20 years old, the tracking industry seemed like the right place to be. He knew the work was sometimes demanding, but the pay was decent, and he could have the independence...

Harley in talks with Austrian firm. (Harley-Davidson Inc. to buy stake in KTM Motorrad Holdings AG)
August 21, 1998... Harley-Davidson Inc. and Austrian motorcycle maker KTM Motorrad Holdings A.G. are in talks that may lead to Harley buying a stake in KTM. Linking up with KTM wood be a good move, analysts said, because it wood strengthen Harley's hand in...

Power play: Wisconsin Energy faces new competition from Illinois. (acquisition of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. by CalEnergy Corp.)
August 21, 1998... A Nebraska company's proposed purchase of an Iowa utility creates new pressure for Wisconsin Energy Corp. to acquire or be acquired. CalEnergy Corp. of Omaha agreed Aug. 12 to acquire MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. of Des Moines for $3.97...

Bucyrus CEO to resign. (mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus International Inc.'s Willard Hildebrand)
August 21, 1998... Almost a year after being taken private by a leveraged-buyout firm, Bucyrus International Inc. is searching for anew chief executive and coping with the Asian economic crisis. The South Milwaukee manufacturer remains strong financially,...

Brokers, mutual funds gear up to sell against NML agents. (entry of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. into the investment business when it buys Frank Russell Co.)
August 21, 1998... With its agreement to buy Frank Russell Co. on Aug. 10, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. did more than jump headlong into the investment business - it established itself overnight as a competitor with local mutual fund families and...

The cable guy: entrepreneur risked everything to start World Class company. (Jim Lindenberg; World Class Wire and Cable Inc.)
August 21, 1998... Jim Lindenberg is modest when describing the financial risk he took in 1994 to establish World Class Wire & Cable Inc. in West Allis. He can be proud now. World Class Wire & Cable, a manufacturer and exporter of electrical wire, cable and...

Ag tourism: growth-friendly in Wisconsin. (agricultural tourism)
August 21, 1998... Mention the "independent family farm," and most people recall the negatives: woes over corporate agglomeration, increasing costs of agriculture and ever-dwindling numbers of folks willing to do the rigorous work of farming. Now, redefine...

The road goes on forever: Highway 41 motels learn to survive 32 years after I-94 stole their business.
August 21, 1998... They were listed in brochures as motor courts, advertised "connecting baths" and "air-cooled units," and gave travelers a decent night's stay for as little as five bucks. Nowadays, many of the motels that popped up along South 27th Street in...

Hotels hold off on rate increases. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
August 21, 1998... Hotels await convention turnouts before boosting rates For downtown Milwaukee hotel operators, the opening of the Midwest Express Center has taught them a simple lesson of economics: supply and demand. The new convention center has created...

Hotels market, adapt to business clientele: corporate emphasis assumes families will visit. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
August 21, 1998... Corporate emphasis assumes families will visit During summer months, when Milwaukee's festival season is in full swing, leisure travelers flock to the city's hotels for the weekends. But with the influx of business travelers lured to...

Star Banc to replace 20 top Firstar executives.
August 14, 1998... At least 20 of the highest-ranking executives at Firstar Corp. have been notified they will lose their jobs following the company's acquisition by Star Banc Corp., Cincinnati, in November. Star and Milwaukee-based Firstar have chosen 36...

ALS expands into new services. (Alternative Living Services Inc. will diversify into pharmacy supply business through joint venture with Omnicare Inc.)
August 14, 1998... Alternative Living Services Inc. of Brookfield, the nation's largest operator of assisted living residences for the elderly, is branching into the pharmacy supply business through a new joint venture with Omnicare Inc., the nation's leading...

Black buying power on the rise.
August 14, 1998... National television and print ads increasingly are targeting black shoppers, and for good reason. Major U.S. consumer products companies understand that black consumers are a rapidly expanding part of the marketplace. The purchasing power of...

Cashing out: market for new ATMs reaches saturation. (automated teller machines)
August 14, 1998... With banks and automated teller machine operators setting up about 100 new cash dispensers in Wisconsin every, month, signs of saturation are beginning to show. The most striking sign is the rapid decline in the average number of monthly...

Slowdown aside, major manufacturers post earnings gains. (Milwaukee, WS-based top public companies)
August 14, 1998... The Milwaukee area's top public companies continued to buck the national earnings trend in the second quarter. While corporate America struggled to eke out single-digit profit gains in the quarter, most of the top firms here cruised along as...

Corrections, year 2000 fix take toll on county budget. (Milwaukee County expects spending increases to address computer date transition problem)
August 14, 1998... It's still very early in the development of Milwaukee County's 1999 budget, but supervisors already are bracing for spending increases associated with the criminal justice system and computer equipment to correct Year 2000 problems....

National HMO agency denies accreditation for Family Health Plan Cooperative. (health maintenance organization)
August 14, 1998... Family Health Plan Cooperative, a West Allis-based HMO, has been denied accreditation by the National Committee on Quality Assurance, a nonprofit group that reviews the quality of HMO plans. Family Health Plan spokesman Phil Dougherty said...

Doctors still concerned about HMO consolidations. (southeastern Wisconsin health maintenance organizations)
August 14, 1998... The mega merger of two giant HMO companies may be off, but representatives of one local physicians group say the state attorney general should take a close look at the consolidation of southeastern Wisconsin's health care industry anyway....

Mayors unite to tackle stormwater problems. (southeastern Wisconsin community leaders to pool resources to tackle stormwater and floodwater problems)
August 14, 1998... Mayors and village presidents from 10 southeastern Wisconsin communities are uniting to tackle stormwater problems that affect each of their jurisdictions. The chief elected officials have formed a coalition called Southeastern Municipal...

Mason Wells acquires Pittsburgh mortgage services firm. (Mason Wells Leveraged Buyout Fund I pays $10 million for majority interest in General American Corp.)
August 14, 1998... The Mason Wells Leveraged Buyout Fund I, Milwaukee, said it paid more than $10 million for a majority stake in General American Corp., a mortgage services company in Pittsburgh. The purchase gives Mason Wells Private Equity, which manages the...