St. Louis Business Journal articles from January 1996

St. Louis Business Journal archives from January 1996

Sigma closes in on Laclede Town; chemical maker plots new headquarters on 14-acre site. (Sigma-Aldrich Corp.)
January 1, 1996... A city committee reviewing plans for Laclede Town will recommend that part of the redevelopment include a new headquarters for Sigma-Aldrich Corp. Sigma would construct two buildings on 14 acres at the northwest corner of Laclede and North...

Henges peddles 2 of his companies; Creve Coeur Camera going to employees. (Henges Associates Inc.; Creve Coeur Camera and Video)
January 1, 1996... Henges Associates Inc., a contracting and manufacturing firm in Maryland-Heights, has changed owners. Ronald E. Henges, who founded Henges Associates in 1967 and was chairman, president and chief executive officer, sold the company, effective...

Bowman hopes to copy River Bend success. (Jim Bowman, president of the River Bend Growth Association)
January 1, 1996... Development job lures president back to home town In the fall of 1994, Jim Bowman walked into a local farmer's muddy field wearing a suit and good shoes to talk business. The farmer's son-in-law climbed down from his tractor and at fast was...

'96 managed care: fewer mergers, more risk. (health-care services)
January 1, 1996... More St. Louisans will embrace managed care in 1996. But that increase in demand doesn't mean the companies delivering those health-care services will see their profits grow at a proportional rate. In fact, managed care companies are taking...

Economic forecast: service industries continue to drive region's growth.(Industry Overview)
January 1, 1996... Despite slower U.S. economic growth, employment in the St. Louis area is expected to grow more in 1996 than in 1995. That's the prediction of Stephen J. Taylor, chief economist for the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association. The...

Dealing the cards: Gateway Group gets $90 million in loans to fund buy. (Gateway Acquisition Group buys St. Louis Cardinals and Busch Stadium)
January 8, 1996... The new owners of the St. Louis Cardinals are financing about $90 million of the $150 million purchase price, according to people familiar with the deal. Gateway Acquisition Group, which includes Southwest Bank Chairman Andrew "Drew" Baur,...

Tapping a trend: Signature Beer rides micro brew wave. (Signature Beer Co.)(Company Profile)
January 8, 1996... The Signature Beer Co. 2737 Hereford St. St. Louis, Mo. 63139 Business Activity: Signature Beer Co. is a distributor of American-made micro brewed beers. It also contracts the brewing of beer sold under its own labels. Signature distributes 40...

Intravia helps clients guard against information pirates. (Allied Intelligence Inc. president Michael Intravia; preventing industrial espionage)(includes related article)
January 8, 1996... Michael Intravia is in the business of keeping corporate secrets, and for him, business is booming. Intravia is the founder, owner and president of Allied Intelligence Inc. in St. Charles, a firm that nabs information pirates and advises...

Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
January 8, 1996... Richard A. Pearce Chief executive officer and president Ralcorp Holdings Inc. is a major producer of ready-to-eat and hot breakfast cereals, snacks, baby food, crackers and cookies, and is the largest operator of ski resorts in the United...

St. Louis couples see shades of green. (Bruce and Kim Olson and Doug and Linda Von Allmen to receive millions from the sale of Sunsations Sunglass Co.)
January 15, 1996... Olsons, Von Allmens eye $50 million from Sunglass Hut stock deal For Brace and Kim Olson and Doug and Linda Von Allmen, the future's so bright they've gotta wear shades. The couples, who are partners in Group One Capital, owned sunglasses...

Did weak shoe sales cost Clark job? (Maxine Clark, vice-president of Payless ShoeSource Inc.)
January 15, 1996... Poor sales at Payless ShoeSource likely played a part in the departure of Maxine Clark, according to industry analysts and retailers. Clark held the No. 2 slot at Payless, the nation's largest chain of self-service shoe stores. "Maxine was...

Kiel Partners must complete Opera House. (Kiel Center Partners L.P.; Kiel Opera House)
January 15, 1996... Kiel Center Partners are required to complete Kiel Opera House, according to the St. Louis city counselor's office. A memo to Alderman Daniel McGuire from Associate City Counselor Francis Oates says the Land Clearance for Redevelopment...

MOSERS offered $25 million for 11 properties. (Missouri State Employees' Retirement System)
January 15, 1996... The Boston pension adviser, T.A. Associates Realty, is once again bringing its millions to the St. Louis real estate market. This time the pension fund is bidding an estimated $25 million for a package of industrial real estate properties owned...

Kellwood dresses up with Nautica shirt licensing deal. (Kellwood Co.; Nautica Apparel Inc.)
January 15, 1996... Kellwood Co., the St. Louis-based marketer, merchandiser and manufacturer of apparel, has buttoned down a licensing agreement to produce men' dress shirts under the prestigious Nautica name. With the agreement, Kellwood's Smart Shirts Ltd....

CPI, MetroTix foresee increased sales on Web. (CPI Corp; Metropolitan Tickets Inc.; World Wide Web)(The Information Superhighway)(Company Profile)
January 15, 1996... Ask retail analysts when shopping via the World Wide Web will catch on and the answer invariably is not anytime soon. Shopping, they argue, is still about touching and feeling and trying the goods. "I don't see it as an important contributor to...

Rose, Image Soup among firms designing home pages. (Rose Design Inc.; Image Soup Inc.)(The Information Superhighway)(Company Profile)
January 15, 1996... So you're a small business but want to look big with your own home page on the Internet? No problem, said Michael Anderson, president of The Pinpoint Cos., his home-based operation. Just be prepared to spend plenty of time and/or money....

Koplar subsidiary making strides in interactive TV. (Koplar Communications Inc.; Interactive Systems Inc.)(The Information Superhighway)(Company Profile)
January 15, 1996... A little-publicized subsidiary of Koplar Communications Inc., operator of local television station KPLR-TV, Channel 11, is making waves in interactive communications. The company, Interactive Systems Inc. in Beaverton, Ore., was born almost a...

Virtual money. (electronic banking services at Mark Twain Bancshares Inc.)(The Information Superhighway)
January 15, 1996... Mark Twain first with electronic accounts for on-line purchasing Frank Trotter doesn't reach for his wallet when buying jewelry, china or computer software. He reaches for his computer instead. Trotter, vice president at Mark Twain Bancshares...

Laser Vision, EyeShapers plan west county laser centers. (Laser Vision Centers Inc. and EyeShapers Laser Center of St. Louis to open new clinics in St. Louis County, MO)
January 15, 1996... Two competing firms have set their sights on opening excimer laser centers in west St. Louis County. Laser Vision Centers Inc. plans to set up a center in leased space near Interstate 270 and Olive Street Road, said Robert May, vice chairman...

Corbin's classics. (Ketrina Limited Inc.)(Company Profile)
January 15, 1996... Backyard chef takes marinade to market Ketrina Ltd. Inc. P.O. Box 150023 St. Louis, Mo. 63113 Business Activity: Ketrina Ltd. is the corporate name for Corbin's Classic Marinade products developed by Leon Corbin and manufactured at Arcobasso...

Ralston Purina Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
January 15, 1996... William P. Stiritz Chairman, president and chief executive officer Ralston Purina Co. is the world's largest producer of dry dog foods and dry and soft-moist cat foods marketed under the Purina brand name; the world's largest maker of dry cell...

Bell Telephone, Telecom merging. (merger between SBC Communications' Southwestern Bell Telecom division and Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.)
January 22, 1996... SBC Communications is combining its Southwestern Bell Telecom division with Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. in a cost-saving move that is expected to mean the loss of hundreds of jobs in the St. Louis area. Some of the losses, however, could...

RehabCare notches deal with Columbia/HCA. (RehabCare Group; Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.)
January 22, 1996... With the signing of a contract with the largest for-profit health-care system in the nation, RehabCare Group of Clayton is poised to grow revenue up to 25% a year for the next few years. James M. Usdan, president and chief executive officer...

Medve Group builds portfolio to $100 million-plus.(Real Estate)
January 22, 1996... The new year finds Elaine and Jakob Medve happily ensconced in their new dream office, complete with three conference rooms, a restaurant-style employee dining room and a high-tech resource room. Last May, The Medve Group acquired the...

Commerce eyes three cities in Illinois for expansion. (Commerce Bancshares)
January 22, 1996... Commerce Bancshares is looking to expand in three Illinois markets in the coming year. David W. Kemper, chairman and chief executive officer, told the St. Louis Business Journal that he is targeting Champaign, Springfield and Decatur as...

Urban renewal. (Pyramid Construction Inc.)(Real Estate)
January 22, 1996... Craig Heller and John Steffen are doing what most of their colleagues aren't - building homes in the city. Their formula is simple. Find a good neighborhood and improve it by building new and rehabbed homes. Since starting their city...

Value Line analyst says G.D. Searle wooing suitors. (planned sale of G.D. Searle & Co.)
January 22, 1996... Monsanto Co. is courting several suitors for G. D. Searle & Co., its pharmaceutical division, according to an analyst who follows the company. "There are several potential buyers, but none of them have stepped forward to do anything...

Early to rise regimen aided Alberici's climb in building. (J.S. Alberici Constructions Co. Inc. chairman Gabriel J. Alberici)
January 22, 1996... Pity the interior designer who once told Gabe Alberici he couldn't lay bright red carpet in his office. "She told me, `Mr. Alberici, I'm afraid you'll never be completely happy with a different color (than red),'" Alberici recalled...

Family matters. (Schnuck Markets Inc.)
January 22, 1996... Don Schnuck, the late patriarch of Schnuck Markets Inc., forewarned his children not to count on jobs at the family business. "Our parents brought us up to prepare ourselves as if the company wasn't going to be there," said Scott Schnuck,...

Office, industrial markets soar while retail slumps. (St. Louis, Missouri real estate markets)(Real Estate)
January 22, 1996... The office and industrial real estate markets are expected to continue to strengthen this year, and the residential market should improve slightly while the retail market will likely continue to struggle in 1996, according to several area real...

Sisters turn $5 into $1 billion health network. (SSM Health Care System)
January 22, 1996... It was the midst of a smallpox epidemic in 1872 when the founder of the Sisters of St. Mary and four other sisters arrived in St. Louis from Germany. They had only $5, could not speak English and had no formal health care skills. But the...

Trammell's 'lease audits' help office tenants cut rent. (Trammell Crow Co.)(Real Estate)
January 22, 1996... Few in the real estate business hear the term "lease audit." But Trammell Crow Co. is setting about to change that, claiming it can show office tenants how landlords are overcharging them. The national real estate firm said it already is...

Duke leads pack of outside investors buying into area. (Duke Realty Investments)(Real Estate)
January 22, 1996... St. Louis' real estate market, dogged for years by the lack of aggressive industry players, has taken life in the past two years as out-of-town investors move in to snap up some of the area's time real estate. One of the most active...

Rolling along. (Van Pak Corp.)(Company Profile)
January 22, 1996... Business Activity: Van Pak Corp. manufactures conveyors, electrical control systems and specialty machinery for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and consumer products industries. The conveyors carry cans, bottles and small, individual...

Office space a seller's market, say brokers. (St. Louis, Missouri real estate market)(Real Estate)
January 22, 1996... The market for office space in the St. Louis area has become considerably tighter over t e last year, giving landlords, especially those in the suburbs, the upper hand in most lease negotiations. However, there are several steps the...

Bondex, Carboline rev up RPM's sales to a billion.
January 22, 1996... Bondex and Carboline are two St. Louis-based companies that helped RPM, a public company in Cleveland, grow 25% to $1 billion in sales last year. Carboline annually makes and sells more than $100 million worth of protective coatings for...

Signs rev up Grimco's sales. (Grimco Inc.)(Company Profile)
January 29, 1996... Once a small company that stamped out police badges, Grimco Inc. has grown into a $12 million sign manufacturer under the leadership of a former bank loan officer. About 17 years ago, Grimco Chief Executive Robert Hummert worked for the former...

Zoltek invests $5 million, hoping to cut fiber costs. (Zoltek Companies Inc.)
January 29, 1996... St. Louis-based Zoltek Cos. Inc. is investing up to $5 million in its newly acquired Hungarian plant to help bring down to Earth the space-age costs of carbon fiber. Incredibly strong and incredibly lightweight, carbon fiber is also incredibly...

D&K's Armstrong confident company can reach $1 billion. (D and K Wholesale Drug Inc. President and CEO J. Hord Armstrong III)
January 29, 1996... Footsteps are being heard throughout the wholesale pharmaceutical industry as national players snatch up regional players to improve their market share. Clayton-based D&K Wholesale Drug Inc. is certain to be noticed, pharmaceutical industry...

Spartech Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
January 29, 1996... Bradley B. Buechler President and chief executive officer Spartech makes engineered thermoplastic materials and polymeric compounds for a wide range of manufacturing customers who use the products for packaging, sign and advertising, automotive...