The Business Journal-Milwaukee articles from May 1996

The Business Journal-Milwaukee archives from May 1996

Banc One, credit unions sign contracts with TYME competitor. (Wisconsin Credit Union League; Electronic Payment Services Inc.)
May 25, 1996... Banc One Corp. and the Wisconsin Credit Union League signed agreements with Electronic Payment Services Inc., based in Delaware, to process automated teller machine transactions, posing a threat to the dominant ATM network in Wisconsin, TYME...

Former Harnischfeger unit handling material success. (HK Systems Inc.)(Company Profile)
May 25, 1996... Two and a half years after becoming an independent company, HK Systems Inc. of New Berlin is looking toward new computer software products and international markets for future growth in the automated material handling industry. Acquisitions...

MGIC. (MGIC Investment Corp.)(Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 25, 1996... NEW YORK - MGIC MGIC Investment Corp. is a holding company through which Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. and other subsidiaries provide mortgage insurance. MGIC became a publicly held company in August 1991. MGIC employs 975 people. Its...

A strong Fort Howard chips away at mountain of debt. (Fort Howard Corp.)(includes related article on antitrust suit)(Focus on Business in Green Bay/Fox Valley)
May 25, 1996... Fort Howard Corp. took a big step to reduce its debt this month by issuing 10 million shares of new stock, but the paper products company still has a mountain of debt. Still, those familiar with the Green Bay company applaud the move. "It...

Uncertain future for two Kimberly-Clark plants.(Focus on Business in Green Bay/Fox Valley)
May 25, 1996... Job growth, confidence in company mean Fox Valley community isn't sweating K-C decision Employees of the two Kimberly-Clark Corp. plants in Neenah, which are on a possible closure list, are still waiting to hear their fate, but community...

Chicago firm to buy Case parts plant. (Case Corp., First Industrial Realty Trust Inc.)
May 18, 1996... A Chicago real estate investment trust said it is acquiring the Case Corp. parts distribution facility in Mount Pleasant for "somewhat less" than $12 million. First Industrial Realty Trust Inc., which expects to complete the purchase in...

After being rebuffed in Brookfield, Florida firm plans residence hotel in Wauwatosa. (Extended Stay America Inc., Wisconsin)
May 18, 1996... A Florida company plans to build an extended-stay hotel for budget-minded business travelers in Wauwatosa, after having its plans to construct a similar project in the town of Brookfield thwarted. Extended Stay America Inc., Fort Lauderdale,...

First Financial to set up national credit card bank. (First Financial Corp.)
May 18, 1996... First Financial Corp. has applied for a national bank charter for its credit card business that would allow it to charge higher interest rates and card-related fees, a move the Stevens Point-based thrift said could boost credit card revenue by...

Wisconsin Energy Corporation. (Proxy Report Excerpts)
May 18, 1996... NEW YORK - WEC Wisconsin Energy Corp. is a holding company that operates the state's largest electric utility and a major natural gas utility. The utilities served 955,616 electric customers and 357,030 natural gas customers at the end of...

Quietly cleaning up other people's hazardous messes. (Superior Special Services Inc.)
May 18, 1996... Superior Special Services, which cleaned up Weyauwega train wreck, dominates state hazardous spill cleanups When a train wreck disgorged hazardous chemicals and threatened to blow up the city of Weyauwega early March 4, a little-publicized...

WEPCO's Link: a man with a passion for producing energy. (Wisconsin Electric Power Co.'s vice president of nuclear power operations Robert Link)
May 18, 1996... As a scientifically inclined high school student, it was probably only natural that Robert Link grew up wanting to be like his father. "He was an imposing figure for a bunch of reasons," said Link of his father, one of a group of engineers...

Acquisition program puts Superior on growth track. (Superior Services Inc.)
May 18, 1996... The company that handled the Weyauwega cleanup is part of Superior Services Inc., West Allis, which in a very short time has become a major player in the solid waste industry. Superior Services was formed in 1992 in a merger of 22 independent...

Time Warner wraps cable deal with 13 suburbs. (Time Warner Communications; Milwaukee, WI, suburbs)
May 11, 1996... Time Warner Communications agreed to provide 13 Milwaukee suburbs with expanded cable TV, computer and possibly telephone service, the first such contracts for the company in Wisconsin in the new era of cable television-local telephone service...

Naming rights pact sought for Wisconsin Center. (Wisconsin Center District)
May 11, 1996... The Wisconsin Center District and Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau hope to generate $10 million to $15 million in revenue by selling the naming rights to Milwaukee's new convention center. If a sponsor is found, it would mark...

State economy shows signs of slowing. (Wisconsin)
May 11, 1996... While the Midwest may be more susceptible to accelerating inflation rates than the rest of the country, excessive inflationary pressures on the regional economy have been largely absent and economists aren't concerned that inflation will pounce...

Going for broke: risks, rewards in selling to troubled firms. (Kenrich Industrial Inc.)
May 11, 1996... Risks, rewards in selling to troubled firms Name some of the biggest manufacturers to file for bankruptcy recently and Kenrich Industrial Inc. will likely emerge as a supplier. Ladish Co., Bucyrus-Erie Co., Quality Aluminum Casting Co.,...

MMSD wins latest round in 'sewer wars,' talks to resume. (Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District)
May 11, 1996... A Republican Party effort to place the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District under the regulatory control of the state Public Service Commission failed when two GOP state senators broke ranks and opposed the legislation. The death of...

ProStaff to supply all temporary help for Strong. (ProStaff Personnel Inc.; Strong Capital Management Inc.)
May 11, 1996... ProStaff, the Milwaukee temporary help services company, has signed a one-year contract to provide all temporary employees to Strong Capital Management Inc., the rapidly growing Menomonee Falls-based investment firm. The agreement, reached...

Gasoline price hikes flowing to shippers' bottom line.
May 11, 1996... Transportation companies, primarily trucking firms, are gradually passing along this spring's higher fuel prices to shippers of goods. By late this summer, those increases could show up in more costly consumer and manufactured products....

Legislator says he'll continue 'drive-through delivery' fight. (Rep. Sheldon Wasserman)
May 11, 1996... The lawmaker pushing the so-called "drive-through delivery" bill through the state Legislature vowed to try and drive the bill through again during the next legislative session, despite the fact that it died in the Senate May 8. "On day one...

Aurora pushes into Illinois. (Aurora Health Care of Milwaukee)
May 4, 1996... Aurora Health Care of Milwaukee is moving south of the Wisconsin-Illinois border, forming an alliance with Advocate Health Care, one of the largest health care systems in the Chicago area. The agreement marks the first time Aurora, one of the...

Minimum wage, maximum dilemma. (negative effects of minimum reform on small business)
May 4, 1996... John Almond, manager of Mother's Food Market, said he may have to work an extra 15 to 20 hours a week and let go at least one of his seven employees if Congress approves a minimum wage hike this year. Three of his part-time workers, including...

Commercial property values rise.
May 4, 1996... Commercial property assessments in Milwaukee rose 7 percent during the past biennium, nearly double the 3.7 percent rate of growth reflected in the 1994 revaluation. With few exceptions, percentage increases in this year's assessments were...

Creditors' protest pushes retailer into Chapter 7. (liquidation of Everything's A Dollar Inc.)
May 4, 1996... The Chapter 11 reorganizations of Everything's A Dollar Inc., a deep-discount retail chain and its parent company, Value Merchants Inc., were converted to Chapter 7 liquidation after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee and an unsecured creditors'...

Journal Sentinel circulation plummets after first year after merger. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper)
May 4, 1996... In the first year after the merger of Milwaukee's two daily newspapers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's daily circulation dropped nearly 25 percent from the combined circulation of its predecessor publications. But a spokesman for the...

Network to boost independent physicians' business. (Oconomowoc Physicians Network)
May 4, 1996... A group of independent physicians in the Oconomowoc area has formed a network to negotiate contracts with managed care organizations. Oconomowoc Physicians Network was created in April with assistance from Memorial Hospital at Oconomowoc and...

Teams, Warner hope sports cable network can win new fans. (Milwaukee Brewers and the Milwaukee Bucks; Wisconsin Sports Network; Warner Cable Communications Inc.)
May 4, 1996... Everyone involved with the new Wisconsin Sports Network has high hopes for its potential to generate cash, but, for now, no one is making much money on the fledgling cable network for Milwaukee-area teams. However, short-term financial gains...

Acquisitions help St. Francis build commercial loan business. (St. Francis Capital Corp.)
May 4, 1996... Kewaskum-based Bank Wisconsin plans to spend an undisclosed amount to open four Milwaukee-area branches as part of a plan by its parent company, St. Francis Capital Corp., a St. Francis thrift, to build its commercial lending business. On...