St. Louis Business Journal articles from April 2000

St. Louis Business Journal archives from April 2000

Big pay hikes for Monsanto execs.
April 3, 2000... Needleman profits on Celebrex's success Philip Needleman, the Monsanto Co. scientist who discovered the hot-selling arthritis drug Celebrex, received a 38 percent increase in his pay package in 1999 and became the No. 2 executive on...

Ailing HMOs.(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Five lose money; United Healthcare doubles profit St. Louis health maintenance organizations suffered another rough year in 1999, with five of the 10 plans that operate here posting net losses. Officials with many of the plans say they...

WorkNet considers IPO.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The WorkNet Communications Inc. board could decide in mid-April to pursue a public stock offering, sources close to the company said. The Clayton telecommunications firm, launched in 1996, has been interviewing investment banking firms and...

$50 million retirement center planned.
April 3, 2000... Two local investors are planning to build a $50 million luxury retirement complex on the southwest corner of Olive Boulevard and Interstate 270 in Creve Coeur. The partners, Charles Deutsch and Paul Zemitzsch, plan to present their...

Barking up the right tree.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Mark-Green and Chris Carl are preparing for an August launch of Campusdog.com a college life Web site that, is expected to reach up to 15 million students at 1,300 campuses. Carl, 27, the president of the firm, previously worked for computer...

Family ties.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Joe Shaughnessy has handed off the day-to-day responsibilities of running BSI Constructors to his son, Paul Shaughnessy. The younger Shaughnessy, who is 38, was named president and chief operating officer March 18. Joe Shaughnessy, 64, will...

Head of the class.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Benjamin Ola. Akande is the new academic dean of Webster University's School of Business and Technology. The school offers undergraduate and graduate programs with more than 10,000 students worldwide. Akande comes to Webster from Wayland...

Black & white.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... White House/Black Market will open its first St. Louis store at the Saint Louis Galleria in late spring. The Baltimore-based retail chain sells only white or black clothing and accessories for women.

Clayton conundrum.(plan for hotel and office space at Forsyth and Brentwood still in the works)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Although The Michelson Organization missed a deadline to name the hotel chain it plans to include in its proposed development at Forsyth and Brentwood, the city of Clayton has not killed the project, Mayor Frank Kenney said The Board of...

Cross-state move.(Nooney Realty Trust to change name to Maxus Realty Trust Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Nooney Realty Trust, now under control of investors in Kansas City, plans to change its name to Maxus Realty Trust Inc. The company also lists a Kansas City address as its head-quarters in a preliminary proxy statement filed March 21. The...

Play ball.(Cleveland and St. Louis have the most avid baseball fans)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... A new study snows St. Louis has more avid baseball fans than any city in the United States except for Cleveland. The study, by New York-based Scarborough Sports Marketing, found 31 percent of adults in St. Louis have a "high level of interest"...

Sweet treats.(Marty's Baking expands and offers breakfast and lunch)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The coffee shop at Marty's Baking at 1858 Russell Blvd. is now serving breakfast and lunch six days a week. Heartland Bank provided financing that allowed owner Marty Kaplan and his silent partner Bob Duffy to expand from a mostly wholesale...

In the spotlight.(BJC Health System's Fred Brown wins gold metal award from American College of Healthcare Executives)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Fred Brown, vice chairman and former president and chief executive of BJC Health System, has won the Gold Medal Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives. It's the highest honor bestowed by the organization.

Partners start $100 million Adagio venture capital fund.(Adagio Capital Parters starts new fund targeting urban and minority business)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Executives with the Civic Ventures fund, which invests in new minority businesses, have secured 10 percent of the $100 million they expect to raise for a new venture fund. "The trend is for funds to get above $50 million to create viable...

Greensfelder Hemker expands Illinois office with defectors from Thompson Coburn.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale's Belleville office nearly doubled recently with the addition of eight lawyers who defected from Thompson Coburn's Belleville office. The move boosted Greensfelder's Belleville practice to 15 attorneys and left...

President Casinos seeks buyer for Davenport boat.(floating casino in Davenport, Iowa)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Proceeds would help pay down $100 million debt President Casinos Inc. wants to sell its Davenport, Iowa, casino to help cover interest payments on $100 million in outstanding debt. If the President Riverboat Casino in Davenport is sold,...

Corrections.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Nooter Corp. Joe Stricker is president of St. Louis Metallizing Co., a subsidiary of Nooter Corp. The name of the president was incorrect in the 150 Largest Privately Held Companies special section in the March 27 issue. Liebe...

Harrah's to spend $3 million to convert Players Casino.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Now that Harrahs' has acquired Players, the parent company plans to spend nearly $3 million to revamp the local gambling complex the two casinos have shared since 1997. The changes will occur from April through June, said spokeswoman Jana...

$80 million development planned at Page and 1-270.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Eckelkamp Office Developments LLC and Kelley Real Estate Advisors Inc. are planning an $80 million to $85 million office development at Page Avenue and Interstate 270. Plans approved by the city call for two 200,000-square-foot buildings...

Bellefontaine Neighbors seeks developer.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... City officials in Bellefontaine Neighbors have assembled 214 acres at Highway 367 and Interstate 270 and are looking for a developer. The land, which is owned by the State Office of Administration, the Missouri Housing and Transportation...

Viasystems IPO does well; Sigma will sell B-Line.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Viasystems Group Inc.'s initial public offering was priced at $21 a share, higher than the $16 to $19 Wall Street had predicted. The high-tech manufacturing services business already had filed its plan to go public with a 44 million shares....

Sigma-Aldrich Corp.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Chemical company Sigma-Aldrich Corp. announced it has reached agreement to sell its Highland-based B-Line Systems division to Cooper Industries Inc. for $425 million. B-Line manufactures and markets metal products for housing computers in a...

Monsanto Co.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Monsanto Co. said it agreed to sell its NutraSweet ingredient business, whose products are used in diet sodas and low-calorie foods, to private equity firm J.W. Childs Equity Partners II LP for $440 million. Monsanto is also selling its...

Solutia Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Specialty chemical company Solutia Inc. said it acquired AMCIS AG, a Swiss company that makes active ingredients used by pharmaceutical companies for clinical trials. Terms of the deal were not disclosed: AMCIS had 1999 revenue of about $10...

Washington University School of Medicine.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Washington University School of Medicine predicts a working draft of the human genome will be completed in June. Wash. U. is a major partner in the international consortium working on the Human Genome Project and is responsible for deciphering...

A.G. Edwards. Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... For the fifth consecutive year, A.G. Edwards. Inc. announced it had record revenue and net earnings. For the fiscal year that ended Feb. 29, unaudited net earnings were a record $383 million, compared to $292 million last fiscal year, an...

Reliv International Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Reliv International Inc., a manufacturer and network marketer of nutritional supplements and other food technology products, reported net 1999 loss of $1.4 million compared to net income of $1.56 million in 1998. The St. Louis-based company...

Engineered Support Systems Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Engineered Support Systems Inc. announced it received a $2.1 million cost-plus, fixed-fee contract from the U.S. Army for the development of prototypes for the 100 and 200-kilowatt Tactical Quiet Generators that are to replace the U.S....

Mallinckrodt Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Health-care products maker Mallinckrodt Inc. said the Food and Drug Administration cleared for marketing two treatment devices for sleep apnea, or interrupted breathing during sleep. The St. Louis-based company said it can now sell its...

SellMeat.com.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... SellMeat.com, a business-to-business Web site for the meat and poultry industry, announced a partnership with St. Louis-based Influence, an e-business incubator. Influence will provide technical development and support of the SellMeat's Web...

Unigraphics Solutions Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Unigraphics Solutions Inc. signed a contract worth more than $500,000 to provide its iMan data-management software to Martin-Baker Aircraft, a London-based manufacturer of aircraft safety systems. St. Louis-based Unigraphics, a developer of...

Community banks net income up 12%.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Nationally, bank profits gain 15.8%, record for eighth straight year Community banks in St. Louis and St. Louis County failed to keep pace with income gains at banks nationwide in 1999. Twenty-eight community banks in St. Louis and St....

Forest Park, St. Mary's name new administrators.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Two of the largest hospitals in the St. Louis area have new administrators at the helm. John Sanders, 47, a veteran of Tenet Healthcare Corp. was named chief executive of Tenet's Forest Park Hospital, while Kenneth Lukhard, 47, was...

Neidorff's Centene expands into Farmington with claims center.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Nearly three years after relocating its corporate headquarters to Clayton, Centene Corp. will open a claims processing center in Farmington, Mo. Centene, a managed health-care company serving Medicaid recipients in Indiana, Texas and...

Medical People.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Civic leader Jerry Ritter was elected president of the Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Board of Governors. Also elected officers of the board for 2000 were: Walter Galvin, senior vice president-finance and chief financial officer, Emerson...

Ross Cagan.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Ross Cagan, assistant professor of molecular biology and pharmacology, has received a five-year, $1.1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study genes involved in two cancer syndromes.

Dr. Kerry Kornfeld.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Dr. Kerry Kornfeld, assistant professor of molecular biology and pharmacology, has received a five-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the molecular signals that determine the fates of developing cells.

Dr. Robert Schmidt.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Dr. Robert Schmidt, professor of pathology, has been honored for his contributions to the understanding of diabetes by receiving MERIT status for his latest grant, which is $1.5 million over five years from the National Institute of Health....

William Frazer III.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... William Frazer III, professor of bio chemistry and molecular biophysics and of cell biology and physiology, has received a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute for research on angiogenesis or bold vessel formation.

Epworth Children & Family Services.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Epworth Children & Family Services, which helps youth with emotional and behavioral challenges by providing emergency shelter, treatment and counseling, has received the following grants in recent months: Missouri Housing Trust Fund, $66,000;...

The Melanoma Center of St. Louis.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The Melanoma Center of St. Louis was selected as an affiliate institution of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group through the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The trauma center level 1 verification at Barnes-Jewish Hospital has been renewed by the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the the American College of Surgeons.

Drs. Diane Newton.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Drs. Diane Newton and Benjamin Clemens will open a new chiropractic and acupuncture clinic at 4211 Bayless in the Marian Heights Plaza.

AmeriNet.(contract with Mallinckrodt)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... AmeriNet and Mallinckrodt signed a three-year agreement to include Mallinckrodt's anesthesia, pulse oximetry and ventilation products in the Phase II rollout of AmeriNet's Clinical Services Program for cardiovascular service.

Protocol Systems Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... AmeriNet also signed a two-year contract with Protocol Systems Inc. for the portable patient monitoring category of AmeriNet's Cardiovascular Clinical Service Program. The contract features a discount incentive on Protocol products and services...

Finkenkeller steps down from CFO post at RehabCare Group.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... RehabCare Group Inc. is searching for a new chief financial officer, after John Finkenkeller announced plans to leave the company. Finkenkeller, 47, said he wants to emphasize personal and family interests. He said he would stay at...

Rowans ride technology wave.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Three divisions had more than $6 million in revenue in 1999 Business Activity: As the technology industry has evolved, so has the Rowan family's business. Brothers Edward and Jay Rowan and their wives Debbie and Terry have transformed...

Practical solutions.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... What strategies should a company consider concerning workplace violence? We advise employers to enact policies that allow an employee to discuss work-related problems with a supervisor or administrator. This serves the dual purpose of...

Wash U. Seniors create Web link for businesses, clients.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Three Washington University seniors have launched a Web site that matches businesses with potential customers free of charge. Carlos Fearn, from Huntsville, Ala.; William Pan from Shanghai, China, and Ke Huang, from Bejing, China, came...

Christine Hancock.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Christine Hancock is doing what comes naturally. In August, Hancock, who has been in the hair products and salon business for more than 21 years, opened Naturally Pure, a hair salon for men and women featuring only Aveda hair products, a...

Is your office big enough for its own file server?
April 3, 2000... You know your company is growing when you need to install a "real" computer file server instead of having a spare desktop computer serve as the repository for your company's files and applications. Instead of having your staff access the...

You can't always tell wine selection by the ZIP code.
April 3, 2000... Faust's Table, a column that takes a look at the finer things in life, debuts with this issue. Supermarkets and fine wines use to be an oxymoron. I still buy most of my wine at wine shops, but I am continually amazed at how far...

Summer programs allow students to test interests.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Participation in unusual summer opportunities may not guarantee admission to a college of choice, but it certainly won't be detrimental and it may make your child a more interesting, capable and well-rounded individual. The range of summer...

Words and mental health.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Starting with this issue, Alfred Fleishman's Common Sense Communications will appear only in the first issue of each month. There are a lot of questions raised about the effect of words on the nervous system. The questions are raised...

LARGEST ADVERTISING AGENCIES.
April 3, 2000... LARGEST ADVERTISING AGENCIES (RANKED BY 1999 GROSS REVENUE) Company (rank last year) address phone/fax ...

LARGEST PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCIES.
April 3, 2000... LARGEST PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCIES (RANKED BY 1999 ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RELATIONS REVENUE) Company address (rank last year) phone/fax ...

Businesses to fight ergonomics regulations in court.
April 3, 2000... Rep. Cass Ballenger, R-N.C., did not need a lobbyist to convince him that OSHA's proposed ergonomics regulation would hurt small businesses. "As a small manufacturer myself, I can understand the problems and costs small manufacturers will...

PEOPLE.(executive appointments)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Advertising Adamson has appointed Anne Carr graphic design/production artist and Jill Feldman media planner/buyer. Accounting Anthony Smith has joned the tax staff of Kerber Eck & Braeckel as a preparer. Donna Cunningham has...

Retail occupancy almost "too good," Ciapciak says.(retail occupancy rates are tight and rents are increasing in the St. Louis area)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The booming economy brought only a handful of new-to-the-market retailers to the St. Louis area last year, but it bumped up rents 3 percent to 5 percent and boosted retail occupancy rates close to 96 percent. "It's almost too good," said...

McCarthy gets $7 million Carlo Foundation contract.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... McCarthy is overseeing two new projects for The Cane Foundation of Urbana, Ill., a $5.3 million ambulatory surgicenter in Danville, and a $1.7 million services center in Urbana. Last summer, McCarthy also completed the Forum at Cane, a $9.6...

Culling some buildings could jump start downtown.
April 3, 2000... There's nothing wrong with the downtown business district that a wrecking ball couldn't fix, say some local real estate executives and building owners. Empty, crumbling structures, such as the Paul Brown, Syndicate Trust/Century or Arcade...

Sansone, others track real estate market with CoStar.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Gary Parker, director of industrial sales at Sansone Group, estimates that he makes 60 percent of his income by using databases from CoStar, a company that collects and sells commercial real estate information to help brokers stay on top of the...

At home.(the homes of St. Louis area architects)
April 3, 2000... Local architects share home expansion plans Local architects frequently use their design skills, vision and patience to create their ideal home or tweak an existing residence. "A lot of architects buy older homes and re-do them," said...

Location, amenities are in attracting workers.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... There was a time in corporate America when a good location meant a building close to top managers' homes. But for companies concerned about attracting and retaining top employees today, the work space should be viewed as a crucial factor...

Now that Clayton's building, it waits for tenants to come.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Even Clayton's city administrator is wondering how long the building boom can last. "We expect there will be an ebb as these things get absorbed," said Scott Randall. The municipality of 14,000 residents has seven major projects underway....

SCI Engineering approved to control wetlands areas.(wins contract in wetland area with plans to restore wetlands in other areas)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Developing projects on wetlands in Missouri once was an arduous and expensive task. But since November, it has gotten easier. SCI Engineering Inc. of St. Peters recently received approval from the Mitigation Bank Review Team to control...

Home builders head west, south with new projects.(St. Louis developers seek undeveloped land)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... St. Louis' largest home builders are learning one simple lesson about their business, and they are applying that lesson more and more and farther and farther beyond West County. "All areas of St. Louis County are pretty well developed...

Women's hospital among health projects under way.(Women's Hospital Center in Chesterfield)
April 3, 2000... Owners and operators of the $33.6 million Women's Hospital Center in Chesterfield expect to choose a general contractor for the project in early April. The hospital is one of a handful of major health-care construction projects that are...

Mindlin helps with development of new HealthCare Village concept.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Architect Michael Mindlin of Suttle Mindlin Architects in Clayton is one of the key players in what he contends will be the health-care design of the future. Mindlin is a development partner in The HealthCare Village, a concept that puts...

Westin 'show rooms' give taste of what's to come.(new Westin hotel at Spruce and 8th Street in St. Louis)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... As the Cupples Station warehouses are transformed into the Westin Hotel, construction workers scrub century-old grime off the red bricks, install interior aluminum posts and frame the expansive arched windows. Work goes at a frantic pace...

Nooter Corp., Keenan to develop site off Broadway.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Location, price, and tax incentives are the lures that developers hope will bring manufacturers back into the city at the new Broadway Commerce Center. Demolition will begin in April at the site, just east of Broadway between Park and...

Home owners seek quiet, sport of golf communities.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Demand remains strong in St. Louis, elsewhere The popularity of golf communities continues to be strong in the St. Louis region, particularly in areas such as the Metro East and St. Charles County, where an abundant supply of land has...

Page Avenue Extension sparks new development.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... While the Page Avenue Extension is designed to ease traffic across the Missouri-River and through the metropolitan area, sources say it will also bring an increase in land values and will spark redevelopment in West Port. A good portion of...

Murray Co. catches wave of radio design projects.(radio broadcast facilities' design and construction)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The St. Louis office of the Murray Co. is helping change the appearance and function of radio broadcast facilities nationwide. Murray, a design/construction firm, is "merging different cultures" as broadcast operations consolidate, said...

Richards' added kiln helps ensure steady brick supply.
April 3, 2000... As the home building industry cranks up for what's expected to be another banner year in the St. Louis area, the supply of appears adequate to meet continuing strong demand for bricks. Richards Brick Co., based in Edwardsville, has added a...

HOK Studio E wins award for Seattle Aquarium exhibit.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... An exhibit created by HOK Studio E designers for the Seattle Aquarium recently received the 1999 Munson Aquatic Conservation Exhibitry Award from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. The $1.4 million, 4,500-square-foot exhibit, Sound...

Aquaport family.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Aquaport family aquatics center in Maryland Heights has been honored in a national design competition sponsored by Metal Architecture magazine.

Coidwell Banker Commercial American Spectrum.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Coidwell Banker Commercial American Spectrum was named 1999 Management Company of the Year by the ARM committee of the St. Louis chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management.

Ross & Baruzzini Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Ross & Baruzzini Inc. received a fis cal 2000 project award for excellence in engineering from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for work at the Pere Marquette Visitor Center.

The St. Louis Chapter.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The St. Louis Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services named the following winners in its 1999 Marketing Awards Program. The program recognizes outstanding marketing vehicles submitted by architectural, design, engineering,...

Jones Co.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The Jones Co. was honored by the National Sales & Marketing Council and The Whirlpool Corp. with the Nationals 2000 Regional Award for its "Nantucket" display model in The Lakes at Sheffield Forest. Nantucket was judged "Best Detached Home...

Westminster Academy adds gym, classrooms to campus.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Westminster Christian Academy has built a 40,000-square-foot, two-story gymnasium/science addition and a 14,000-square-foot, two-story classroom addition at its Creve Coeur campus. The $8 million project was designed by architect Paul Otto...

For area craftspersons, beauty' is in the details.
April 3, 2000... Sharon Von Senden's creatures have crawled over 11,000 square feet in the City Museum, and their creator figures they have at least 8,000 more to go. The birds, octopi and other members of the menagerie make their way around corners and up...

Buyers assistance plans plentiful and successful.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Even though mortgage rates have inched up gradually in the past two years, home buying assistance programs are available in abundance to help new buyers over the down payment and closing cost hurdles. Some of these programs have been in...