The Business Journal-Milwaukee articles from July 1998

The Business Journal-Milwaukee archives from July 1998

Deluxe may lose largest client. (Deluxe Electronic Payment Systems Corp.)
July 31, 1998... Deluxe Electronic Payment Systems, New Berlin, is working to save a relationship with its largest client, Star System Inc., an electronic funds transfer network in San Diego. Deluxe provides the electronic switching of money for transactions...

IRS taps Pabst. (Pabst Brewing Co.)
July 31, 1998... The estate that owns Pabst Brewing Co. is fighting a claim by the Internal Revenue Service that it understated its tax bill by more than $210 million. The IRS and the estate of Lydia Kalmanovitz disagree over whether the estate can claim a...

In the ballpark. (construction of baseball stadium in Milwaukee, WI)
July 31, 1998... Miller Park on budget - so far For the moment, Milwaukee has what Phoenix, Seattle, Anaheim, Calif., and St. Petersburg, Fla., covet - a baseball stadium that is scheduled for completion on budget. The expected price tag for Miller Park is...

WEPCO considers costly relicense for nuclear plant. (Wisconsin Electric Power Co.)
July 31, 1998... Wisconsin Electric Power Co. is mulling its energy options and conducting equipment tests to determine whether to spend millions of dollars to extend operating licenses for Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant. WEPCO technicians are evaluating...

Local bookstores get a run from Borders. (Borders Books and Music)
July 31, 1998... Audubon Court Books Ltd., a popular north shore bookstore, may face a new and rocky chapter in its history from a national book superstore opening across the street. The Fox Point Village Board approved a conditional use permit July 14 for...

Flight plan. (growth of Tracer Corp.)
July 31, 1998... Unreceptive boss was catalyst for Tracer Corp.'s takeoff Bill Morales started Tracer Corp. five years ago selling airplane parts out of a barn in Waukesha County. In a year, he had built up the company's sales to $1.1 million. Today,...

Milwaukee majors in minors. (minor league sports teams in Milwaukee, WI)
July 31, 1998... Minor league teams thrive in the shadow of Brewers, Bucks and Packers Don't tell Chris Vallozzi his Milwaukee Mustangs are a minor league team, or play a second-tier sport. "Minor league" teams don't draw 12,000 fans per game or secure...

New golf courses drain business from older links. (Milwaukee, WI)
July 31, 1998... The Milwaukee-area golf course market is tightening up, and that may put course operators' profits in the rough. Demand remains strong for the sport and new courses have continued to open. But the gap between supply and demand has been...

Pursuing the professional 'power workout.' (fitness and health programs for professionals)(includes related article on fitness programs offered by hospitals)
July 31, 1998... Few programs geared toward executives; but options are available Firstar Bank Milwaukee vice president Travers Price was giving a demonstration of a stationary bike fitness program when a Marine tried one of the machines and started pedaling....

WEPCO readies for $80 million computer switch. (Wisconsin Electric Power Co.)
July 24, 1998... Wisconsin Electric Power Co. is installing an $80 million management information system that promises to improve its handling of emergency outages, customer service connections and billings. A 20-year-old mainframe computing system now in...

Milwaukee retools: spending on machinery up 20 percent. (manufacturing firms in Wisconsin)(Industry Overview)
July 24, 1998... The largest manufacturers in the Milwaukee area continued to pour money into capital investments in 1997, although an uncertain economic picture could curb future spending on new factory equipment. The area's 25 largest industrial employers...

Grunau unveils plans for hospital campus. (plans of Gary Grunau, president of Grunau Project Development Inc., for the Sinai Samaritan Medical Center west campus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
July 24, 1998... The Sinai Samaritan Medical Center west campus would be converted into a combination of residential, health care and office space under a proposed reuse of the property unveiled by a Milwaukee developer. "Everyone wants to see something...

Marriott hotel chain seeks Brookfield reentry. (building construction of Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites in Wisconsin)
July 24, 1998... After only a seven-month absence, the Marriott hotel chain is pursuing a way to reenter the Brookfield market. A national hotel development firm is working with a local real estate company to put a 315-room Marriott with 14,000 square feet of...

HMOs want more money from state Medicaid program. (health maintenance organizations of Wisconsin)
July 24, 1998... Reimbursement rates frozen for two years Citing rising medical costs and sicker patients, Wisconsin HMOs want more money to participate in the state's Medicaid-HMO pro-gram. "Clearly, we've entered into a difficult era in the state's...

M and I to anchor Ameritech King Commerce Center. (bank branch to be opened by Marshall and Ilsley Corp. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
July 24, 1998... Marshall & Ilsley Corp. will open a bank branch in the remodeled Ameritech King Commerce Center - centerpiece of the Historic King Drive Cluster Development Project - becoming the building's first anchor tenant. The Milwaukee bank holding...

EPA to inspect plants for air compliance. (Clean Air Act enforcement of Environmental Protection Agency in southeastern Wisconsin)
July 24, 1998... Targets southeast Wisconsin after DNR actions 'lag' The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a Clean Air Act enforcement initiative in southeastern Wisconsin that will include unannounced visits to factories. The initiative, which...

Toxic spill case may force businesses underground. (impact of the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on penalties for hazardous chemical dumping on land)
July 24, 1998... WMC may push for limits on DNR fines in old dump cases Companies responsible for polluting land in Wisconsin may be less likely to admit their responsibility in the wake of a ruling by the state Supreme Court, said business attorneys and the...

Ford sued over lease fees. (Ford Motor Credit Co)
July 17, 1998... Three Wisconsin plaintiffs have filed a class action lawsuit against Ford Motor Credit Co., charging the company illegally hid fees from automobile lease negotiations. If successful, the lawsuit could cost Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford Motor...

Dean checks out Milwaukee. (Dean Health Plan Inc's agreement with Aurora Health Care Inc and Advanced Health Network)
July 17, 1998... HMO in talks with Aurora, doctors group Dean Health Plan Inc. of Madison, one of the largest HMOs in Wisconsin, is negotiating with Aurora Health Care and Advanced Health Network to bring a new HMO product to Milwaukee in early 1999. An...

Port Washington's facelift continues. (PW Investment LLC's purchase of a 55-acre lot in the Port Washington Industrial Park)
July 17, 1998... PW Investment LLC, a company headed by Milwaukee's Paul Weise Real Estate Corp., snapped up a 55-acre parcel in the Port Washington Industrial Park July 15 with plans to develop as many as five buildings in what it is calling the Bywater...

Question of medical ethics spur growth for Milwaukee network. (Wisconsin Ethics Committee Network to change name to Midwest Ethics Committee Network)
July 17, 1998... A Milwaukee-based network that helps health care providers handle issues of medical ethics is expanding beyond Wisconsin's boundaries. Wisconsin Ethics Committee Network has added hospitals, nursing homes and other medical-care providers in...

Wisconsin Gas plucks outsider to lead marketing and planning. (Robert Puissant's appointment as head of Wisconsin Gas Co's marketing and planning division)
July 17, 1998... Thanks to the pending deregulation of energy utilities, some electric and natural gas companies are thinking about bringing in executives from non-energy businesses to invigorate their marketing and planning departments. Milwaukee's...

Community Health Plan seeks Medicare HMO plan. (health maintenance organization)
July 17, 1998... Community Health Plan Inc. may soon be the next HMO to offer a health plan to Medicare beneficiaries in the Milwaukee area. The Milwaukee-area health maintenance organization, which is affiliated with Covenant Healthcare System Inc. and...

Career development: Rich Tennessen leaves Hunzinger to join Eppstein Uhen. (Eppstein Uhen Architects)
July 17, 1998... In 1907, Picasso's "Les Demoiselles Avignon" sparked the cubist movement, the stock market crashed and the Chicago Cubs won the first of two consecutive World Series. It also was the year two prominent metro Milwaukee companies - Hunzinger...

Strong rapped for closing Small Cap Fund. (Strong Capital Management Inc's acquisition of Small Cap Fund)
July 17, 1998... Strong Capital Management Inc. is drawing heat from financial advisers for its decision to merge its Small Cap Fund into the $1.7 billion Strong Growth Fund. With $133 million in assets, the Small Cap Fund was a laggard that never produced...

Blueprints for expansion. (Blueprints Inc's management strategy)
July 17, 1998... West Allis company survives chaos from rapid growth Some companies seem destined to expand. Others seem to have expansion thrust upon them. Perhaps the latter best applies to Blueprints Inc. In October 1997, Blueprints Inc. already was...

Prentiss quits Milwaukee. (Prentiss Properties Limited Inc.)
July 10, 1998... Dallas REIT to sell 21 area industrial properties Barely five years after entering the Milwaukee-area market, Prentiss Properties is packing its bags, preparing to put up for sale its entire portfolio of metro area industrial properties,...

Business lending up.
July 10, 1998... Expansions, mergers fuel business borrowing Mike Miller has seen all sorts of business expansion in the last year. He has watched clients open new locations, buy large pieces of equipment and expand their product offerings. Miller, senior...

Truck traffic up, but crashes decline. (Milwaukee-area highways)
July 10, 1998... The public outcry over unsafe semi-trucks on Milwaukee-area highways reached a zenith June 24, when a tanker from Indiana carrying 10,000 gallons of ammonium nitrate crashed into an on-ramp wall. The accident choked off traffic on northbound...

Trammell Crow hopes to grow in Milwaukee with Faison acquisition. (Trammell Crow Co. and Faison & Associates Inc.)
July 10, 1998... As separate companies, Trammell Crow Co. and Faison & Associates Inc. each have cast tall shadows over the metro Milwaukee real estate market, particularly in the property management field. By combining forces, they have all the makings of a...

Industrial property market remains hot. (Wisconsin-area)
July 10, 1998... Southeastern Wisconsin's industrial property tax base continued to grow at a strong pace in the past year, fueled by investments in new plants and equipment by area manufacturers. Industrial property assessments in the six southeastern...

Bigger was better for area mutual fund managers. (Milwaukee-area)
July 10, 1998... The second quarter was a good time for mutual fund money managers who stuck with large U.S. companies boasting proven track records and solid growth potential. Those who pursued small- or mid-cap investments, or took a value approach looking...

Area auto suppliers keep on trucking during GM strike. (General Motors Corp.)
July 10, 1998... Milwaukee-area automobile parts suppliers will have a ready excuse if their second-quarter profits fall short of expectations: the strikes at General Motors Corp. Johnson Controls Inc. already has alerted investors that the United Auto...

Valley vision: light industrial, specialty retail. (blueprint for development of Menomonee River Valley in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
July 10, 1998... City plan provides blueprint for development City of Milwaukee officials' vision for a revitalized Menomonee River Valley calls for light industrial and mixed-use developments that will bring more visitors and more jobs to the valley - a plan...

Metcalfe Park gets $7.6 million center.
July 3, 1998... The Milwaukee Department of City Development, Milwaukee Public Schools and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee are teaming up on a $7.6 million project that promises to jump-start one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. Plans call...

Stars align: Firstar gains in acquisition by Star Banc.
July 3, 1998... To its bank customers and the public, Firstar Corp.'s acquisition by Star Banc Corp., Cincinnati, for $7.2 billion in stock, will barely be apparent. Firstar will keep its name, and the corporate headquarters for the bank holding company...

Rockwell eyes Europe: Glore looks overseas to expand automation business. (Rockwell International Corp.'s president and chief operating officer Jodie Glore)
July 3, 1998... Jodie Glore will assume a bigger profile in a smaller company when Rockwell International Corp. completes a major restructuring and spins off its struggling semiconductor business. It's not as if Glore doesn't get enough attention from...

Norwegian company picks Racine for manufacturing plant. (Norske Skog Flooring Inc., Racine, Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
July 3, 1998... The U.S. subsidiary of a Norwegian floor covering manufacturer mobilized its contractors July 2 to start construction of the 110,000-square-foot first phase of a major manufacturing plant in Racine's Stephen F. Olsen Industrial Park. The...

Heinn/Trend, Reindl to expand at Square D plant. (Reindl Bindery Co.; Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
July 3, 1998... Employees at Heinn/Trend Corp. may feel a bit like a family of five that has just moved from a crowded two-bedroom bungalow into a spacious East Side Victorian. The 130 or so workers are getting used to their big new digs at the former...

Carpet chronicles: floor covering business adapts to changing styles. (Milwaukee, WI-based Factory Outlet Carpets)
July 3, 1998... One way to trace the history of Jeff Bernstein's three-decade career in carpet sales is by color and style. He entered the business in the 1970s, when cheaply made, wall-to-wall shag carpeting in gaudy shades of gold, avocado green or hot...

Companies form network with no strings attached: members gain referrals from breakaway business group.
July 3, 1998... Some small-business owners are finding that it's not always what you know, but who knows about you. Just Referrals focuses solely on landing referrals for its 20-member group, made up of comprising small-business owners and a few...

Ganton founder sues claiming power grab. (Ganton Technologies Inc.'s former president Ram Thukkaram)
July 3, 1998... But new owner says Thukkaram firing based on poor results Ram Thukkaram, who was fired as president and chief executive officer of Ganton Technologies Inc. last December, has sued the Sturtevant manufacturer, charging that its majority owners...

Feel-good for Racine: sustainable Racine tackles future with idealism.
July 3, 1998... The agenda of the community group Sustainable Racine reads like the lyrics to the mid-1980s feel-good pop song "We Are the World." In Sustainable Racine, all the children are safe and well-adjusted; the housing is clean and' affordable;...

Dairyland races Waukegan to casino status: struggling track seeks commercial development on site. (Kenosha, WI-based Dairyland Greyhound Park; Waukegan, Illinois)
July 3, 1998... While Kenosha government officials review a proposal to convert Dairyland Greyhound Park into a casino, the Kenosha dog track's proponents cast a wary eye south to a planned casino in Waukegan, Ill., that may leave the starting gate first....