Philadelphia Business Journal articles from August 1995

Philadelphia Business Journal archives from August 1995

Elcom founders' split over dispute. (Elcom Technologies Corp.)
August 25, 1995... MALVERN - Elcom Technologies Corp., considered a promising local emerging growth company, has been fractured in a bitter internal power struggle. Two principals of the company severed their ties in July after settling a lawsuit and are...

Penn-America bucks insurance industry trend. (Penn-America Group Inc.)
August 25, 1995... HATBORO - It's obvious when you see its offices that the Penn-America Group Inc. differs from other insurance companies. Located in the old Hatboro-Horsham High School, the place is filled with character - from the structure itself to the...

Site sale may tear Brooks Bros. (Brooks Brothers Inc.)
August 25, 1995... The fate of Philadelphia's Brooks Brothers may hinge on the outcome of an October sale scheduled for the building that has housed the clothing store for more than 20 years. The 195,000-square-foot Pennsylvania Building at 1500 Chestnut St.,...

What's in the cards for monetary transactions? (smart cards)
August 25, 1995... Reach into your wallet and pull out your plastic. Whether you're a savvy chief executive officer, a merchant or an average consumer, chances are good you won't be able to tell the off-line debit card from the on-line debit card, from the...

Pesticide regs bill could aid area imports. (pesticide regulations)
August 25, 1995... Relief may be on the horizon from regulations in the Clean Air Act that could otherwise affect the smooth flow of some of Philadelphia's major imports. The problem stems from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to ban the...

Rhone Poulenc Rorer will have to up Fisons offer, analysts say. (Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc.; Fisons PLC)
August 25, 1995... COLLEGEVILLE - Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc. officials want to avoid a bidding war for the British pharmaceutical company Fisons plc, a business it seeks to acquire in a hostile takeover to bolster its worldwide presence in the asthma and allergy...

ICG offers at-home ovulating timing test for Lassie. (International Canine Genetics Inc.'s Optimate timing test)
August 25, 1995... MALVERN - During an average lifetime, a female dog is fertile for two or three days during heat cycles that are separated by six to eight months. Add it all up and what you get is about a dozen opportunities for Lassie or Spot to produce a...

Merger craze is sweeping the region. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
August 18, 1995... The landscape of metropolitan Philadelphia's corporate community is changing at a pace that seems to be unprecedented. The region's largest and smallest companies have become players in the increasingly frantic mergers and acquisitions...

Miller Anderson is perfect fit for Wall Street firm. (Miller Anderson and Sherrerd LLP)(Finance & Insurance)
August 18, 1995... WEST CONSHOHOCKEN - Miller Anderson & Sherrerd LLP, which agreed to be acquired by Morgan Stanley Group Inc. June 29, sought the deal because the two firms are a "perfect match," according to Mama Whittington, a partner with the local...

Banks do battle for the middle market.(Finance & Insurance)
August 18, 1995... No middle child syndrome here. The middle market, long the bread and butter of regional banks, is enjoying an unrivaled popularity with financial institutions. By most definitions, middle-market companies are those with annual sales...

An interview with a Federal Reserve policy-maker. (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Edward G. Boehne)(Interview)
August 18, 1995... In January Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Edward G. Boehne begins a one-year term as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's policy-making body which, among other things, establishes the interest rate...

Peco Energy stirs things up with a daring maneuver. (a buyout offer from Peco Energy Co. to PP&L Resources Inc.)
August 18, 1995... After months of privately prodding the management of PP&L Resources Inc. to talk about a merger, Peco Energy Co. Chairman Joseph Paquette would wait no more. So in a decidedly public fashion Monday he sent PP&L Chairman William Hecht a...

Gensar plants new name in point-of-sale processing. (Gensar Holdings Inc.)(Finance & Insurance)
August 18, 1995... HUNTINGDON VALLEY - When Gensar Holdings Inc. was purchased by a former CoreStates Financial Corp executive in 1992, it appeared it would aggressively go after the automated teller machine market. After all, its president and chief executive...

Few local banks have followed Mellon's move into supermarkets. (Mellon Bank Corp.)(Finance & Insurance)
August 18, 1995... Mellon Bank Corp.'s agreement with Acme Markets to operate retail bank branches in Acme supermarkets in the Philadelphia area is being expanded into the South Jersey suburbs. In the last month, Mellon has opened two supermarket bank branches...

National health-care companies take aim at Phila. (Philadelphia)
August 18, 1995... National health-care companies are increasingly focusing their attention on the Philadelphia region, where the providers are highly fragmented and two companies dominate the insurance market. Many have already gained entrance through the...

No summer vacation for investment bankers. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
August 18, 1995... In an atmosphere of heightened merger and acquisition activity, local investment bankers are still seeing the big deals going to New York investment houses. But despite those transactions being primarily handled by Wall Street, local...

Potential for more bank mergers fuel rise in stocks.(Finance & Insurance)
August 18, 1995... While the trend toward consolidation continues in the banking industry more and more institutions and individual investors are buying bank stocks, pushing their value at or near 52-week highs. Even newly public savings and loans enjoy healthy...

Pennsylvania creates agencies to try to curb insurance fraud.(Finance & Insurance)
August 18, 1995... Battling a claims avalanche, Pennsylvania's insurance industry has thrown its support behind two new state authorities that are organizing a $12 million war on fraud. Last week, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office became a starting...

Survey shows venture activity rose in second quarter. (venture capital)(Finance & Insurance)
August 18, 1995... Coming off a meager first quarter, the Philadelphia-area venture capital market showed drastically increased investment activity in the second quarter, according to a survey conducted by Coopers & Lybrand LLP for the Philadelphia Business...

Stampede of media mergers precedes telecom deregulation.
August 18, 1995... Federal deregulation has fueled the consolidation of several industries during the past decade. This year, Congress has set its sights on the vast telecommunications industry and members expect to pass a bill that deregulates competition in...

Conrail thinks independence is the right track. (Conrail Inc.)
August 18, 1995... If investors' positive thinking would make it so, Philadelphia-based Conrail Inc. would most likely have been married to another large railroad by now. But it has not. And Conrail officials have held fast to their strategic plan released...

Real estate industry goes its own way with M&As. (merger and acquisitions)
August 18, 1995... Even the quirky, regional and entrepreneurial real estate industry is not immune to its share of mergers and acquisitions. True to form, however, the sector has its own unique way of going about it. Much of the acquisitions are on a different...

ITA launches business via space shuttle. (Instrumentation Technology Associates Inc.)
August 18, 1995... EXTON - John M. Cassanto is a man with a mission - actually two missions aboard the space shuttle Endeavour and the Meteor rocket. Each will carry into orbit precious pay-loads of experiments aimed at finding solutions to breast cancer and...

Re-engineering trend means explosive growth for consulting firm. (ICS Deloitte)
August 18, 1995... CHADDS FORD - German software developer SAP AG has enjoyed great success as a provider of standard business software applications. And as more and more companies adopt SAP systems, the need for comprehensive SAP consulting has grown as quickly...

Turbines could mean more area jobs. (Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s new gas turbine engine project could generate new jobs in Philadelphia, PA)
August 11, 1995... Westinghouse Electric Corp. is developing an advanced gas turbine engine for the next generation of U.S. Navy destroyers and the company plans to test and assemble it in Philadelphia. If the technology is as successful in everyday use as...

76ers are attempting to rebuild fan interest. (Philadelphia 76ers)
August 11, 1995... Swoosh! Nothing but net. It looks like there's going to be a basketball season after all. National Basketball Association players and team owners agreed this week to a six-year contract that, pending union approval, should guarantee that...

Temple, Geriatric Center affiliate. (Temple University Health System; Philadelphia Geriatric Center)
August 11, 1995... The Philadelphia Geriatric Center has signed an affiliation agreement with Temple University Health System under which the two organizations will work jointly in areas of geriatric care. Under the terms of the agreement, the Geriatric Center...

Advanta plans expansion with first outside CEO. (Alex W. Hart)
August 11, 1995... HORSHAM - Dennis Alter, a well-known tennis enthusiast, admits that since Alex W. "Pete" Hart has joined Advanta Corp. his backhand has gotten rusty. But that's a welcome trade off for the chairman and son of the founder of the consumer...

A new sheriff has ridden into the First Bank. (Carl A. Lingle, president of First Bank of Philadelphia)
August 11, 1995... He calls himself "a fat guy in Today's Man suits." In other words, says Carl A. Lingle, he is not your typical banker. In fact, he'd rather not be in banking at all. But a man who has demonstrated a knack for making profitable institutions...

U.S. Healthcare joins prudent buyer policy dispute.
August 11, 1995... HARRISBURG - U.S. Healthcare Inc. has filed a motion to intervene in a complaint filed against the region's largest health-care insurer. In June, Health Systems International Inc. and its Pennsylvania subsidiary filed a complaint with the...

American Travellers' offering caught in middle.
August 11, 1995... BENSALEM - American Travellers Corp. announced July 14 that they planned a $75 million convertible debt offering to do bigger and better things, but to do so they had to dilute earnings for 1995 and 1996. Analysts and A.M. Best Co., an...

Top-to-bottom overhaul under way for United Way. (United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania)
August 11, 1995... As the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania approaches its 75th anniversary, it faces declining support, ever-expanding demands to raise more dollars, pressure to substantially cut its own costs, increasing competition from other...

Main Line Health, Jefferson are looking to attract insurers. (Thomas Jefferson University Hospital)
August 11, 1995... Now that Radnor-based Main Line Health System and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have figured out how to align their hospitals, they are turning their attention to making their emerging integrated delivery system attractive to...

Nursing homes, hospitals at odds.(Industry Overview)
August 11, 1995... Projected 1995 Subacute Bed Need 1995 Subacute 1995 Total Patients Bed Need County 0-19 20-64 65+ 0-19 20+...

Home builders nail fewer buyers in a weak market. (Philadelphia, PA)(Real Estate Focus)
August 11, 1995... Michael and Crystal Garrett are house proud these days. You can tell by the way they smile in anticipation of lugging their belongings out of a one-bedroom apartment across town to their new townhome at 46th and Market streets. Or the way...

Costs, large inventory hurt apartment construction. (Philadelphia, PA)(Real Estate Focus)(Industry Overview)
August 11, 1995... While apartment construction appears to be up nationwide, here in the Philadelphia area it's been practically at a standstill for the last 15 years, according to area real estate professionals. Alan Domb, of Alan Domb Real Estate, which...

Another developer plans inner city supermarket. (John Silvestri mulls new retail project in Camden, PA)(Real Estate Focus)
August 11, 1995... CAMDEN - John Silvestri can't quite say why, but he's confident that development plans for new downtown retail stores will finally move from the pencil and paper to bricks and mortar. There have been other proposals for stores, offices and...

Fox seeks probe of Fannie Mae. (Rep. Jon D. Fox; Federal National Mortgage Association)
August 4, 1995... WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Jon D. Fox (R-Montgomery County) has asked two federal agencies to conduct separate investigations into actions by a government-chartered corporation that put a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., mortgage company out of business...

LCB superstores are leaving puritanism behind. (Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board)
August 4, 1995... You're planning your Labor Day weekend barbecue for 45 people and need to go shopping for summer libations. Some guests like beer, some like wine, some like frozen margaritas and some guzzle Diet Coke. And then there're those old college...

Paoli hospital praises program. (Paoli Memorial Hospital)
August 4, 1995... PAOLI - Workplace innovations by health-care providers have yielded mixed results in terms of employee satisfaction and costs savings, according to a new study by a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit economic think tank. Officials from one...

DRPA bond issue keeps getting bigger and bigger. (Delaware River Port Authority)
August 4, 1995... Call it the Delaware River Port Authority's incredible expanding bond issue. First, it was estimated at $200 million. Then $330 million. At latest count following an Aug. 2 DRPA board meeting, some members said they were considering a $500...

Fed switches sorting system from IBM to Unisys. (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's check processing system)
August 4, 1995... In the unglamorous, often underestimated but vital back-office operations of banking known as check processing, history was made this week in Philadelphia. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia completed conversion of its check-processing...

Software developers say CD-ROM's hot for now.(Telecommunications & Computers)
August 4, 1995... It's taken a decade, but CD-ROM is taking the computer industry by storm. Proponents say the technology will follow the path of its audio cousin, which after a slow start revolutionized the music business, driving sales of both music and...

With semiconductors booming, Kulicke & Soffa hits new heights. (Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc.)(Telecommunications & Computers)
August 4, 1995... WILLOW GROVE - Stockholders of Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. got to celebrate their good fortune July 31 with a 2-for-1 stock split. The stock, which traded at $12 per share just a year ago had risen to about $30 by April. And then, boosted...

Penn Capital banks on creating opportunities. (Penn Capital Management Company Inc.)
August 4, 1995... CHERRY HILL - Richard A. Hocker, founder and chairman of Covenant Bank in Haddonfield, said the opportunities in banking he enjoyed when he got his start have been stifled by high capital requirements and an overall "onerous" regulatory...

Unisys, Softmart will provide support for Windows 95. (Unisys Corp.; Softmart Inc.; Microsoft Corp.'s operating system)(Telecommunications & Computers) (Evaluation)
August 4, 1995... Even before they know what the questions are, two local companies are working on answers to technical queries that are expected as part of the Windows 95 tidal wave. Unisys Corp. of Blue Bell and Softmart Inc. of Exton have been called on to...

Systems integration firm attracts more than $1 million in capital. (Integrated Systems Consulting Group Inc.)(Telecommunications & Computers)
August 4, 1995... WAYNE - Safeguard Scientifics Inc. recently acquired a 32 percent stake in Integrated Systems Consulting Group Inc., a systems integration company that focuses on the pharmaceutical industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but...

Local Ben Franklin Center hires its first chief financial officer. (Ben Franklin Tecnology Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania)(Telecommunications & Computers)
August 4, 1995... When the Ben Franklin Partnership program started in Pennsylvania in the early '80s, things were pretty simple. The state supplied some funding to the four technology centers, which had to attract private matching funds. But in the last five...

Several nations rely on post banks. (postal savings banks)
August 4, 1995... Would you trust $2 billion to the post office? The Japanese do. An estimated 187 trillion yen is on deposit with Japan's national postal bank. And British, Italian, French, German and South African governments are among those providing both...

Oprah, feminists and the road not taken. (Oprah Winfrey Show; working women)
August 4, 1995... As soon as I received the request to be on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," I knew there was trouble. The working theme for the show was "Women and Work - How far have we come, how far do we need to go?" When I told an editor of the topic, she...

Minor league football storms into the region. (Philadelphia Storm)
August 4, 1995... NORRISTOWN - The minimum salary for veteran players in the National Football League this year is $178,000. That figure is $178,000 more than the entire 68-man roster of the Philadelphia Storm, the area's newest sports team. The Storm is...

Commissioners to business: don't stew, talk to us. (Montgomery County, Pennsylvania)
August 4, 1995... The recent announcements of the impending closings of the Montgomery County operations of Lockheed Martin Corp., Simpson Paper Co. and Ford Motor Co.'s electronics division have spurred a program of company visitations by the Montgomery County...