The Business Journal-Milwaukee articles from January 1999

The Business Journal-Milwaukee archives from January 1999

Allen-Edmonds launches women's shoe line.
January 29, 1999... Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corp. is stepping into the world of women's shoes with a new line of eight classically styled fiats and a strategy to market them. The Port Washington company's new line for women hits Wisconsin specialty retailers and...

Offices planned for Allis-Chalmer's shop.
January 29, 1999... One of the original Allis-Chalmers Corp. buildings in West Allis is about to hit the real estate market as 100,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of service center space, all under the name of the Summit Center. ...

Only blue skies locally.(bright prospects for Wisconsin small businesses)
January 29, 1999... Small-businesses owners in southeastern Wisconsin aren't letting any doom-and-gloom national forecasts darken their outlooks for 1999. Rosa Canfora's bakery on Milwaukee's south side is doing five times more business today than two years...

New future: Tannery developers turn sights on former knitting factory.(Brill Bros Inc property renovated by Mitchell B. VanDyke LLC)
January 29, 1999... Peter Moede, one of the developers of The Tannery office complex of renovated buildings in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood, has begun renovations of the former Brill Bros. Inc. property in the same area. Moede and his partners...

BadgerCare is uncharted territory for state's businesses and HMOs.(Wisconsin; health maintenance organizations)
January 29, 1999... Milwaukee-area HMO executives enthusiastically endorsed BadgerCare this week, but whether their own companies actually will participate in the program is another matter. Meanwhile, others are concerned that small-business owners will be...

An investment style with Merit.(interview with Steve Nichols and Bill Warnke of Merit Investment Group Ltd)(Interview)
January 29, 1999... Firm invests money the way entrepreneurs run businesses Ask Steve Nichols and Bill Warnke of Merit Investment Group Ltd. what separates their investment philosophy from others, and you'll get a simple answer: common sense. Don't...

WSA Engineered Systems tries to survive Asian crisis.
January 29, 1999... Kaveh Someah believes that reports of his company's death were greatly exaggerated. On Oct. 26, the firm that Someah now owns, WSA Engineered Systems, notified its employees that it was closing, putting about 45 people out of work. Pat...

Holden steps down as Heritage Mutual Insurance CEO.(John Holden)
January 29, 1999... After nearly 30 years as chairman and chief executive officer of Heritage Mutual Insurance Co. Sheboygan, John Holden has relinquished day-to-day control of the organization. Holden will remain as chairman, but Ben Salzmann was named his...

Judge dismisses lawsuit against Ford Motor Credit.
January 29, 1999... A class action lawsuit by Wisconsin residents to get back lease fees from Ford Motor Credit Co. has been dismissed, but lawyers plan to take another shot at the leasing company. A Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge threw out the lawsuit...

New insurance plan should help minority firms bid on MMSD projects.(Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's owner controlled insurance program)
January 29, 1999... The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District commission has approved a five-year contract with J&H Marsh & McLennan Inc. to administer an owner-controlled insurance program for the district. MMSD expects to save up to $3.8 million by...

Economic indicators explain Milwaukee's optimism.
January 29, 1999... Several economic factors are fueling the optimism of small-business owners in the Milwaukee area. While small businesses around the nation are reducing their capital spending and trimming back expansion and marketing plans, Milwaukee-area...

M&I Data keeps growing with acquisition.(M and I Data Services acquires Moneyline Express)
January 22, 1999... M&I Data Services hopes its acquisition of an Internet banking service will help perpetuate the 20 percent growth rate it has maintained every year for the last decade. The Brown Deer processing subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Marshall &...

Troubled IRS office has a new leader.(Glenda Pappillion-Davis named as district director for the IRS' Midwest District Office)
January 22, 1999... New Milwaukee director won't be pushover Glenda Pappillion-Davis has witnessed the seedy side of the Internal Revenue Service, both as an African-American woman working her way through the ranks and as a special agent in the storied...

Harley puts clamps on porn industry.(Harley-Davidson Inc.)
January 22, 1999... Harley-Davidson Inc., which recently settled a trademark lawsuit against one X-rated video maker, is investigating another porn peddler that owns such tires as "Harley Girls" and "Backdoor to Harleywood." The sexually explicit movies,...

Haase's mantra: diversify.(Wisconsin Gas Co.'s president and CEO Bronson Haase)(Interview)
January 22, 1999... Wisconsin Gas executive seeks new markets for growth There was no mystery behind Wicor Inc.'s decision a year ago to name Bronson Haase president and chief executive officer of Wisconsin Gas Co. and its two nonregulated businesses - Wicor...

Wisconsin continues to lag behind in procuring federal dollars.
January 22, 1999... Wisconsin's eight largest metropolitan areas have abysmal records for securing funds and grants from the federal government. Madison, thanks to the research strength of the University of Wisconsin, is the state's only shining star for...

Soika tries to revive Criticare Systems.(president and CEO Emil Soika)(Company Profile)
January 22, 1999... Shortly after taking over as president and chief executive officer of Criticare Systems Inc., Emil Soika decided he would hold a meeting once a month with all the company's employees to update them on Criticare's financial performance and...

Ganton settles lawsuit with former executive.(Ganton Technologies Inc.; former president and CEO Ram Thukkaram)
January 22, 1999... Ganton Technologies Inc. has settled a lawsuit filed against it by former president and chief executive officer Ram Thukkaram, who was fired by the company in late 1997. Thukkaram sued the Sturtevant manufacturer in Cook County (Ill.)...

Anchor Bancorp hopes to prove skeptics wrong.
January 22, 1999... When Bill Klein saw the stock price on Anchor BanCorp, a Madison thrift, run up at the end of the year, he figured investors were expecting the institution to be part of an acquisition. He also figured those investors thought Anchor would be...

Eagle Technology soars with competent temp workers.(Eagle Technology Group Inc.)(Company Profile)
January 22, 1999... When Ray Holden was a "jobber," as he refers to his days as a contract engineer, he often got bored working the same job month after month. "Designing pistons is really interesting at first," said Holden, chief executive. officer of...

Challenging Ameritech: AT&T, McLeod bring big resources to local phone race.(McLeodUSA Inc.)
January 22, 1999... A couple of the heavy hitters in the local phone business are moving into the metro Milwaukee market this year, and they promise to provide stiffer competition to Ameritech Corp. for business customers. Two telecommunications firms bought...

Business pumps more money into research.(Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based companies)
January 15, 1999... Several years ago, Brady Corp. set a goal to spur innovation: It wanted a quarter of its sales to come from products introduced in the past three years. To get there, the company opened a research and development center in Singapore last...

Wisconsin's wealthy growing in number.
January 15, 1999... If you have a rich uncle and aunt in the Milwaukee area, chances are their ZIP code is 53122, 53092, 53045, 53217 or 53097. Those are the five metropolitan Milwaukee ZIP codes with the highest concentrations of households earning more...

NBA lockout will hurt Bradley Center; Milwaukee Bucks' home posted $2.25 million loss in fiscal 1998.
January 15, 1999... Outwardly, the Bradley Center's 1998 financial statement looks no different than the nine that preceded it: The arena lost $2.25 million in fiscal 1998, which ended June 30, 1998. But beneath the red ink are numbers that sports financing...

Hospitals hold the line on rate increases in 1999.(Wisconsin hospitals maintain prices)
January 15, 1999... Wisconsin hospitals raised their prices an average of 5.64 percent in 1998 and are keeping a lid on price increases in 1999. Hospital prices effective Jan. 1 rose an average 5.15 percent, according to the Wisconsin Office of Health Care...

Utilities seek greater regulatory freedom as Duke Energy subsidiary enters Wisconsin.(arrival of DukeSolutions Inc could lead to revision of state's Public Utility Holding Company Act)
January 15, 1999... An agreement between an out-of-state energy company and Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI) could be the catalyst for a revision of Wisconsin's Public Utility Holding Company Act. WPPI has a contract with DukeSolutions Inc. of Charlotte,...

Strong fourth quarter carried many mutual funds.(fourth quarter 1998 performance of Milwaukee-based mutual funds)
January 15, 1999... To look at the year-end performance of Milwaukee-area mutual fund families, it would be difficult to tell that the stock market dropped more than 500 points in one day at the end of August and suffered through a miserable September. ...

Artisan Partners reaches mutual fund crossroads.(milestones in 1998)
January 15, 1999... Artisan Partners Inc. reached several milestones at the end of 1998. For starters, its International Fund manager, Mark Yokey, was chosen as the best stock picker in his sector by Morningstar, a mutual fund rating group. Yokey's...

Amcast Automotive plant faces Cedarburg noise violations.(Cedarburg, Wisconsin)
January 15, 1999... Officials at the Amcast Automotive plant in Cedarburg say they're taking steps to reduce noise levels at their factory, but they may be running out of time. The city of Cedarburg has cited Amcast for violating the city noise ordinance...

Selling Milwaukee: local businesses play vital role in attracting conventions.
January 15, 1999... When Jack Chaisson of the Public Risk Management Association was brought to Milwaukee recently by the Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau, he was hesitant about the whole thing. After all, he was pretty set on Nashville as the site...

Natural selection: soft-drink maker Black Bear Beverages survives by adapting to market changes.
January 15, 1999... Over the years, the small, independent softdrink company has gone the way of the milkman and the full-service gas station. Black Bear Beverages Inc. has bucked that trend. The 79-year-old St. Francis company, maker of funky flavors like...

National Guardian acquires Delaware company.(National Guardian Life Insurance Co to buy Allnation Life Insurance Co)
January 15, 1999... In what has become an aggressive growth strategy to gain access to customers in states stretching to the Eastern Seaboard, National Guardian Life Insurance Co., Madison, has agreed to buy Allnation Life Insurance Co. in Wilmington, Del. ...

Raising a stink in the valley: city, WEPCO, Anamax clash over rezoning plan.(rezoning in Menomonee River Valley opposed by Darling International Inc, Anamax Corp and Wisconsin Electric Power Co)
January 8, 1999... Six months ago, the proposed rezoning of a parcel of land bordering the Menomonee River, Menomonee Canal and interstate 94 seemed to be a simple first step in the planned redevelopment of the Menomonee River Valley. Instead, the proposal...

Owners pledge to control odors at tallow plant.(Anamax Corp)
January 8, 1999... Over the years, the Milwaukee Tallow rendering plant has earned a reputation for spewing some of the foulest odors in the Menomonee River Valley. Michael Langenhorst hopes to change that. Langenhorst is the president of Anamax Corp., the...

Big Dig's big deal.(Bolton Corp's new excavation system)
January 8, 1999... Boston underground project a showcase for Bolton's innovative excavation system Edward Bolton works in the trenches - literally. It's a nerve-racking, treacherous business, and he is committed to making it easier for all contractors who...

Federal nuclear waste site still many years away.(Wisconsin Electric Power Co's Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant)
January 8, 1999... Officials at Wisconsin Electric Power Co.'s Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant are taking a wait-and-see attitude over a tentative thumbs-up given to a national nuclear waste dump in the Nevada desert. Just before Christmas, the U.S....

Cleary Gull bet on small-cap rebound with public offerings.(Cleary Gull and Reiland Inc)
January 8, 1999... When the bottom fell out of the market for small-company stocks in late August, Milwaukee broker Cleary Gull& Reiland Inc. saw an opportunity. While other investment bankers were backing away, Cleary began cherry-picking the best small...

Collect call: agency succeeds at buying, collecting other firms' debts.(Professional Placement Services)
January 8, 1999... Like many entrepreneurs, Craig Johnson was a corporate executive for many years, always taking note of what business practices worked and which ones he would change if he ran the company himself. Eventually, he quit his job as operations...

Turnaround on the Lake.(Landmark on the Lake apartments to be renovated by W and M Properties Inc)
January 8, 1999... New owner renovates east side high rise, commits to long run Just seven years after opening, thee Landmark on the Lake high-rise apartments are getting a makeover by a real estate company that specializes in troubled properties. With...

Old-generation shopping centers getting rehabs.(Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
January 8, 1999... Developers rejuvenating post-war malls A 48-year-old shopping center may be pretty tired-looking, but the fact that it's in an ideal location, location, location justifies saving it. Southgate Mall Shopping Center, 3333 S. 27th St.,...

An idea marriage: Wolfe helps developers bring retail spaces bliss.(Oh! Monah Design owner and designer Gary Wolfe)(Company Profile)
January 8, 1999... The flooring in Mimma's Cafe was created with spare change from Gary Wolfe's pockets. Wolfe, the interior space designer of the restaurant on Milwaukee's Brady Street, didn't pay for the floor, but he did toss coins from his pockets to...

Stock market tumult trashes real estate prices.(Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
January 8, 1999... Deals killed at closing; traditional lenders step in Commercial real estate in the Milwaukee area today isn't worth what it was six months ago. In fact, from August through September 1998, real estate prices plummeted between 5 and...

Suburbs stay hot for 1999.(real estate industry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)(Industry Overview)
January 1, 1999... Office, industrial parks filling fast; downtown lags Ask any real estate broker or developer in the Milwaukee area where the action is and they'll tell you the same thing: suburban industrial parks. More specifically, the business...

Optimism lifts Firstar's stock, earnings outlook.(Firstar Corp)
January 1, 1999... Firstar Corp. finds itself in a position it hasn't been lately - on the buy lists of money managers. At least four firms are telling clients to buy shares of Firstar. One has even picked it among the 12 best stocks in the country. A...

Cooper Power awaits word on cutbacks.(personnel cuts at Cooper Power Systems Div of Cooper Industries Inc)
January 1, 1999... A recent decision by Cooper Industries Inc. to cut 1,000 jobs and close more than a dozen factories could affect the company's Waukesha-based Cooper Power Systems division. Cooper Industries, however, has yet to decide where it will make...

Financing divisions pump new revenue for manufacturers.(financing divisions formed by Case Corp, Harley-Davidson Inc and Snap-on Inc)
January 1, 1999... Old-line manufacturing companies such as Case Corp., Harley-Davidson Inc. and Snap-on Inc. are finding new revenue by establishing their own financing divisions. The Milwaukee-area manufacturers are using the financial divisions to...

Labor shortage slows Milwaukee's job growth.(Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
January 1, 1999... There's no reason to be alarmed, say economists, but the Milwaukee labor market's private-sector job growth rate lags the national average. Of the top 100 labor markets in the nation, Milwaukee ranked 63rd overall with a modest 1.9...

Employee files racial discrimination suit against Denny's restaurant in Racine.
January 1, 1999... A former employee of a Denny's restaurant in Racine is suing the restaurant in federal court for racial discrimination. The former employee, Martin Ellis, alleges that Denny's managers allowed racially offensive material to be posted on...

Milwaukee Boiler still seeking buyer.
January 1, 1999... A year after filing a Chapter 11 reorganization petition, Milwaukee Boiler Manufacturing Co. will seek a bankruptcy judge's approval of its reorganization plan Feb. 17. Richard Stevens, Milwaukee Boiler's president, aims to sell the...

UAW seeks common ground with Delphi.(United Auto Workers in negotiation with Delphi Automotive Systems Corp)
January 1, 1999... Ever since executives at General Motors Corp. began talking about spinning off the company's Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. auto-parts subsidiary, United Auto Workers union officials have objected to the move, arguing it would lead to lower...

Y2K OK: Information Solutions helps small firms handle technology problems.
January 1, 1999... Thanks to Information Solutions Inc., a network solutions firm in Milwaukee, the year 2000 is no longer an impending doom for the 45 employees of Interplan Office Pavilion, Milwaukee. "At this point, we're only worried about the microwave...

Ocean Spray launches Fleet from Kenosha.(juice product of Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc manufactured at its Kenosha, Wisconsin, plant)
January 1, 1999... Wellfleet Farms is first venture into 100 percent juice When Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. decided to pursue perhaps its most rapid new product launch ever, it tapped its Kenosha plant for the challenge. With the launch of five new...

IFX puts the 'Jurassic' in marketing, trade shows.(marketing firm IFX Productions)
January 1, 1999... American Medical Systems needed to breath life into its latest surgical device, but standard trade show brochures and displays were too dull and didn't tell the whole story. The Minneapolis company called on Racine's IFX Productions to...