The Business Journal-Milwaukee articles from June 1998

The Business Journal-Milwaukee archives from June 1998

Banks, credit unions PAC up. (increased allocations to political action committees of banks and credit unions)(includes related article on the endorsement of the Wisconsin Credit Union League to Sen Russ Feingold)
June 26, 1998... Banks and credit unions are lobbing more money into political action committees this year with hopes of affecting legislation that could change the financial industry. The increased allocations to PACs are prompted by proposed legislation...

Mall for sale. (Loomis Centre shopping mall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
June 26, 1998... Loomis Centre, a 272,000-square-foot shopping mall on South 27th Street in Milwaukee, is for sale. The mall, which has been on the market since April, is listed for $8 million, said one retail restate source, who asked not to be identified....

Opened gifts. (bill introduced by Rep Paul Gillmor requiring public companies to disclose details of charitable contributions)
June 26, 1998... Bill would require disclosure of charitable giving Milwaukee-area public companies are questioning the wisdom of a bill in Congress that would require them to disclose how much money they give to charities. The businesses contend that the...

Union may withdraw backing for WCTC training program. (Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council; Waukesha County Technical College)
June 26, 1998... Caught in a turf war between two technical colleges, Lyle Balistreri, president of Milwaukee Building & Construction Trades Council, said he may withdraw his endorsement of Waukesha County Technical College's controversial plan to start a...

Partners boost Wellington Properties' holdings. (Wellington Properties Trust)
June 26, 1998... The portfolio of Wellington Properties Trust jumped sixfold June 10, when the Brookfield real estate investment trust added three Minneapolis partners and their property holdings. Wellington, which owns about $27 million in apartment...

MMSD renews commitment to hire minorities and women. (Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District)
June 26, 1998... It is not going to be easy, but the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is beefing up its commitment to hiring minorities and women by joining the Milwaukee Employer Accords program. When MMSD handed over the operation of its plants and...

With power problems everywhere, Omnion picks up the load. (Omnion Power Engineering Corp's PQ2000 Power Protection System)
June 26, 1998... The rise of the microprocessor and the deregulation of the electricity industry have created an opportunity Hans Meyer aims to exploit. Meyer is president of Omnion Power Engineering Corp., a small East Troy company that recently introduced...

Middleton firm dominates theater lighting. (Electronic Theatre Controls Inc)
June 26, 1998... Products appear on stage and television; newer units 'wow' the industry with efficiency Dick Titus finds it hard to keep his eye on the performers when he's watching "The Academy Awards" program, "The Tonight Show" or "The Late Show with...

Taking the sting out of shots. (PowderJect Pharmaceuticals PLC's $300-million contract with Glaxo Wellcome PLC to supply needle-free injector)
June 26, 1998... Madison's PowderJect perfects 'needle-free' vaccines in $300 million deal A stock analyst needs to know how a product works if he is going to understand the company that makes it. That's why Robin Gilbert had an anesthetic administered to...

Black on black. (interview with executive director of festival firm Summerfest Bo Black)(Interview)
June 19, 1998... The woman behind Summerfest reaches a crossroads As Be Black pauses for an interview over lunch, the executive director of Summerfest is trying to balance several plates at once. She's one day away from hosting the Harley-Davidson Inc. 95th...

Breweries near pension agreement. (Pabst Brewing Co and Miller Brewing Co)
June 19, 1998... Pabst Brewing Co. and Miller Brewing Co. are close to an agreement that could resolve a lawsuit claiming Pabst must pay more than $39 million into a pension fund for brewery workers. "We've pretty much reached an agreement," said William...

School choice advocates turn watchful eyes to regulation. (Milwaukee business groups' support of the school choice program)
June 19, 1998... Milwaukee business groups in favor of school choice say their work has only begun now that the state Supreme Court has ruled the program is constitutional. Expansion of the school choice program has been the top priority on the education...

Baird takes two more floors at Firstar Center. (investment consulting firm Robert W. Baird and Co's plan to lease two floors at Firstar Center)
June 19, 1998... Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. is about to amend its lease at the Firstar Center, taking an additional 35,000 square feet, in a move that could push downtown rental rates higher and fuel new development. As a result of Baird's expansion,...

Firstar seeks more revenue with purchase of Cargill. (investment holding firm Firstar Corp acquires Cargill Leasing Corp)
June 19, 1998... When Firstar Corp. announced its purchase of Cargill Leasing, Minnetonka, Minn., some banking observers were left wondering how the leasing operation fit into the Milwaukee bank holding company's plans. Leasing companies have traditionally...

WEPCO seeks approval for new nuclear storage casks. (Wisconsin Electric Power Co)
June 19, 1998... With images of a May 1996 explosion fresh in the minds of its nuclear power critics, Wisconsin Electric Power Co. (WEPCO) is anxious to obtain regulatory approval to build new nuclear waste containers at its Point Beach Nuclear Plant. WEPCO...

Franklin Business Park lands another jewel. (printing firm Troyk Screen Printing Corp to build a facility in Franklin Business Park)
June 19, 1998... A West Milwaukee printing company is the latest firm to join the parade of businesses setting up shop in the Franklin Business Park, a 420-acre tax incremental financing district that has thundered past every benchmark developers set for it....

UWM reaches out to the real world. (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's employee-training and professional development programs)
June 19, 1998... The College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is taking college-credit courses into the workplace. The outreach efforts are new for the college, which - by its associate dean's admission - has been stuck in an...

Electric customers prepare for sags, swells and power outages. (Tower Automotive Inc's usage of electric controller J.T. Packard and Associates Inc's uninterruptible power systems)
June 19, 1998... If you want to give Dan Kopp a headache, mess with his electricity. Clean, reliable power is essential to Kopp's peace of mind because computers and microprocessors run the show at Milwaukee's Tower Automotive Inc. plant, where he is an...

Building owners seek advice of signage designers early on. (standards and usage of advertising signs)
June 19, 1998... Evidence that a sign is not just something tacked onto a building once it is finished can be found in Bonnie Pawelski's job title. She is a graphics and signage designer at Kahler Slater, a Milwaukee architecture firm. As such, Pawelski's job...

Marshall Field's building nears sale. (purchase of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin building by Ivory Tusk LLC)
June 12, 1998... Cost of renovating downtown landmark could top $50 million Within the next 50 days, a team of Milwaukee-area development firms will complete its acquisition of the Marshall Field's building, bringing the eventual makeover of the downtown...

AAL to form trust company. (Aid Association for Lutherans)
June 12, 1998... Appleton insurer could offer bank-like services Aid Association for Lutherans in Appleton will become the first fraternal benefits society to receive a savings and loan charter, if regulatory approval goes as planned. With banking powers,...

$32 million retirement community planned. (in Ozaukee County, Milwaukee)
June 12, 1998... Milwaukee Protestant Home is shopping for property in Ozaukee County to develop a $32 million retirement community, offering a range of services to elderly residents. The 114-year-old, independent, nonprofit nursing home also plans a $10...

Women, minorities find rough roads to owning businesses in Milwaukee. (Wisconsin)
June 12, 1998... Beer, bowling and, of course, rumbling muscle bikes made Milwaukee famous. However, the four-county metropolitan area is developing an infamous side. Of the major metro areas in America's so-called frostbelt, Milwaukee is the least...

The Lamb's touch. (profile of Case Corp. president Steve Lamb)
June 12, 1998... Army background helped executive turn around Cases European operations As president and chid operating officer of Case Corp., Steve Lamb oversees a business that is anything but simple. The farm and construction-equipment maker is a...

Marquette Medical looks home: medical equipment maker targets growing outpatient market. (Marquette Medical Systems Inc.)
June 12, 1998... For most of its 33-year history, Marquette Medical Systems Inc. has catered mainly to the hospital market. That is changing. In the past few years, the Milwaukee medical-equipment maker has made several moves to expand its reach into doctors'...

State Financial pursues an Illinois strategy with Home Bancorp. purchase. (State Financial Services Corp.)
June 12, 1998... Unable to find large acquisitions with solid growth potential in southeastern Wisconsin, State Financial Services Corp., Hales Corners, has turned south of the border. State Financial is expected to close its acquisition of Home Bancorp. in...

Ready the champagne and balloons for the Midwest Express Center. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based building project)
June 12, 1998... It's on time, at budget and pretty as a picture postcard. It's a building for the ages, a gateway to a reinvigorated downtown. It s an economic engine, driving new development and the jobs that come with it. It's hotel nights and tourist...

Clock distributor provides timely earnings for Bando. (License Products Inc.; Bando McGlocklin Capital Corp.)
June 12, 1998... License Products Inc., a New Berlin designer, manufacturer and distributor of retail gift items, is poised to make a profit for the first time since it was taken over by a creditor in 1993. The company, which designs clocks and has them made...

The safety dance. (industrial safety)
June 12, 1998... Companies use incentives to promote safety The weather determines when, if and how the employees at Great Lakes Roofing Corp. perform their jobs. After all, the weather can create imminent dangers for professional roofers. Sun can cause...

Labor pains for Future 50. (employment in Milwaukee, WI's top 50 companies)
June 5, 1998... Amid the construction dust and echoing thud of hammers at his 3rd Ward headquarters, Robert Kraft calmly recounts the quick ascension his firm has experienced in the past two years. Electronic Printing Systems is a direct mail print...

Police freeze bank accounts of former Excalibur executive. (Florence County, WI, Sheriff Dept; former Excalibur Automobile Corp. sales executive Scott Yadro)
June 5, 1998... The Florence County Sheriffs Department has frozen two bank accounts belonging to a former business associate of Excalibur Automobile Corp. who is suspected of arranging more than $100,000 in illegal wire transfers into the accounts. Scott...

Racial income gap widens to a chasm. (Milwaukee, WI)
June 5, 1998... If you've seen the shuttered factories and storefronts, the disheveled homes and the desperate faces in Milwaukee's central city neighborhoods and think they're alarming, wait until you see the numbers. Black median family income in...

Textron claims vandalism, harassment by union members. (Textron Turf Care and Specialty Products files case against United Auto Workers members)
June 5, 1998... The National Labor Relations Board is investigating charges that striking workers at Textron Turf Care & Specialty Products have illegally harassed visitors and damaged property outside the Racine plant's gates. Picketing members of the...

HMO consolidation could weaken competition in Milwaukee. (health maintenance organization United Healthcare Corp's pending acquisition of Humana Inc.)
June 5, 1998... United Healthcare Corp.'s pending acquisition of Humana Inc. will weaken the clout of Milwaukee-area doctors and hospitals in negotiating with HMOs, which could trigger further consolidation among local health care providers, industry...

PrimeCare, Family HMO post losses. (health maintenance organizations PrimeCare Health Plan Inc. and Family Health Plan Cooperative incur losses in 1st qtr 1998)
June 5, 1998... Three of the four biggest health maintenance organizations in Milwaukee lost money and membership in first-quarter 1998. PrimeCare Health Plan Inc., the largest HMO in Wisconsin, had a loss of $1.2 million and membership fell 2.5 percent to...

Crossmark Graphics to move printing quarters. (printing firm buys building in Milwaukee, WI)
June 5, 1998... The New Berlin printing firm snapped up what until recently had been the Milwaukee outpost of Deluxe Check Printers Inc. at 16100 W. Overland Drive. In about two months, Crossmark Graphics, 11 years old and growing, will move to new quarters...

Brookfield business park attracts three more companies. (Pillar Industries and Salto Inc./Mary Linsmeier Schools partnership to build facilities in Brookfield, WI)
June 5, 1998... A heating equipment manufacturer, a gymnastics/dance school for children and a child care center are in line to become the newest residents of Gateway West Commerce Center, Siepmann Realty Corp.'s successful Brookfield business park. City of...

Cleary Gull adjusts to acquisition by Boston firm. (Cleary Gull Reiland and McDevitt Inc.; Freedom Securities Inc.)
June 5, 1998... Boston-based Freedom Securities Inc. has completed its initial public stock sale and used some of the proceeds - specifically shares of stock - to purchase Cleary Gull Reiland & McDevitt Inc., Milwaukee. At the time of the acquisition early...

Roll out the barrels. (Wisconsin Brewing Co.)
June 5, 1998... Wisconsin Brewing Co. still trying to rebound from last year's flood Until the rain fell on June 20, 1997, Wisconsin Brewing Co. had been gearing up for its most important season ever. Summer 1997 was supposed to be the first full summer...