St. Louis Business Journal articles from June 1997

St. Louis Business Journal archives from June 1997

Baur seeks partner for Maryville. (Baur Properties seeks funding for Maryville Centre development)
June 2, 1997... Sale of $100 million Centre an option Edward "Tee" Baur and Birch Mullins said they have recruited Prudential Securities in New York to find a partner to help them fund the next phase of development at Maryville Centre. Real estate sources,...

Allegiant races toward deposits of $500 million. (Allegiant Bancorp Inc.)
June 2, 1997... Like Rams lineman Orlando Pace plowing through a defensive line, Allegiant Bancorp Inc. is pushing its way to the top echelon of St. Louis financial institutions. Allegiant expects to have $530 million in deposits and to become the area's 11th...

Allied buys Streater for $46 million. (Allied Industrial Group Inc.; Streater Inc.)
June 2, 1997... Talk about a comeback: just six years ago, William Cooper was being hounded by lawsuits from the creditors of the failed law firm he had recently left. Now, the Clayton-based investment company he heads, Allied Industrial Group Inc., is snapping...

Woo blasts newspapers for using consultants. (William Woo, former editor of St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
June 2, 1997... Nine months after his ouster at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, former editor William Woo is lambasting newspapers for listening more to consultants and other outsiders than to their own editors. Woo also said there is no way metropolitan dailies,...

City, state swallow taxes to keep Tums plant here. (St. Louis, Missouri; SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare's plant)
June 2, 1997... SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare has scrapped plans to move its downtown Tums plant to South Carolina and instead will spend $9 million on renovations. State and local economic development officials persuaded the company to remain at its...

St. Louis 10th most affordable place to live, survey says. (nationwide study of 99 largest metropolitan areas)
June 2, 1997... If you want to make your money stretch as far as you can, the Midwest and the West are good places to be. A nationwide study of the 99 largest metropolitan areas in the country shows cities in Colorado and Wisconsin hold the top five spots for...

'Survival of the fittest.' (Misco Shawnee's change of product line)(Small Business)(Company Profile)
June 2, 1997... Misco Shawnee covers $58 million worth of floors, sees competition shrinking Business activity: Misco Shawnee is a wholesale floor covering distributor located in Earth City. The company is in the midst of changing its major product line from...

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 2, 1997... Carl T. Cori Chairman and chief executive officer Sigma-Aldrich Corp. is a provider of strategic research chemicals and a metal manufacturer. The company's chemical products are used for life science research and analysis and purification,...

Novus hatches 900-acre project; $485 million development to create 15,000 jobs. (Novus International Inc.)
June 9, 1997... A 900-acre animal research farm in O'Fallon, Mo., is on its way to becoming a $485 million development. When completed, more than 2 million square feet of commercial space, some 1,500 residential units and 15,000 new jobs are expected to be...

Gephardt's dream team. (House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt's advisers)
June 9, 1997... Schicker, Polizzi, Rogers, Aboussie among confidants Before House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt made headlines by attacking U.S. trade policy toward China, he picked up the phone and talked it over with his longtime friend and mentor, former...

Cards' owners $75 million up - on paper. (St. Louis Cardinals)
June 9, 1997... How many investors can boast a 50 percent return on their portfolio in the last 14 months? William DeWitt Jr., Fred Hanser and Drew Baur can. The St. Louis Cardinals franchise is worth $22 million more than it was this time last year,...

Techno town: computer companies dominate fastest-growing private firms list. (St. Louis, MO)
June 9, 1997... Four years ago, Maryville Data Systems was just an idea. Now the company, headed by Joseph Blomker, is atop the list of St. Louis' fastest-growing private companies. The computer networking firm has achieved a three-year revenue growth rate of...

Blomker leads Maryville Data to top of fastest-growing list. (Joseph Blomker, founder and pres. of Maryville Data Systems Inc.)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Joseph Blomker was president of Stout Marketing in 1993 when a group of local investors offered to put up $469,000 for him to start a new technology company. Blomker agreed, and Maryville Data Systems Inc. was founded in January 1994. Three...

O'Fallon, Chesterfield vie for pro basketball team. (O'Fallon and Chesterfield, MO)
June 9, 1997... St. Louis is no stranger to the idea of franchise free agency. After all, it was only two years ago that this city rallied to lure the Rams from Los Angeles. Now it's Chesterfield and O'Fallon, two of St. Louis' fastest-growing suburbs,...

Reichert's graphics firm has 720% growth. (Rich Reichert; Desktop Graphics Systems Inc.)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Hot off the Desktop Starting out as a hobby of Rich Reichert's in 1991, Desktop Graphics Systems Inc. (DGS) experienced a 720 percent positive change in revenue between 1994 and 1996. But it wasn't an easy ride to the top for the 31-year-old...

Shareholder activists attack Angelica Corp., gain support.
June 9, 1997... St. Louis-based Angelica Corp. is under attack from its shareholders spurred on by investor-rights activist William Steiner. Steiner, of Great Neck, N.Y., is cofounder of the Investor Rights Association of America. He is known for filing...

Horizons getting brighter as firm grows 584.5% since '94. (Horizons Computer Learning Center)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... After months of unemployment, Tom Wilkerson thought his dreams were about to come true. He had quit his job and finally scraped together enough money to buy the franchise he had been eying. But for the first six months he owned his New...

Short-sellers gobble up 29% of Zoltek's available shares. (Zoltek Companies Inc.)
June 9, 1997... An unusually high number of investors are betting against Zoltek Cos. Inc. From April 15 to May 15, the short interest in Zoltek's stock rose from 2.6 million shares to 3.1 million, the largest one-month increase in company history. Shares of...

Technology Applications hits $11.9 million revenue.(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... In 1992 Brent Hyde took his pension and buyout from Southwestern Bell and went home to start a business. "I had a business plan," he said. "I didn't have any products or any customers." Today Hyde is president of Technology Applications...

Hughes rides home-building wave in St. Charles County. (T.R. Hughes Inc.)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Thomas R. Hughes is no stranger to risk. After all, he spent 21 years with the city of St. Charles Police Department as a patrolman, detective and community relations officer. His sleepless nights really began, however, during his first year as...

Insight scopes new space to handle 30% yearly growth. (Insight Technology Group)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Insight Technology Group, a St. Louis-based software consulting company, is gearing up for its next phase of growth. The company, which specializes in object-oriented consulting and training, is developing its own library of software...

$150,000, positive thought launched DMCI. (Data Management Consultants Inc.)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... When entrepreneur Jake Amir reflects on his life, he singles out two major influences: the Israeli military and his father. The former taught him the power of positive thinking. His father, a pioneer in the Israeli aircraft industry, showed him...

Steward connects up with Southwestern Bell, Lucent. (David Steward, pres. and CEO of World Wide Technology Inc.; Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.; Lucent Technologies)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Founded in 1990 with four employees and help from a Small Business Administration loan, World Wide Technology Inc. boasted 130 employees and $82 million in revenue in 1996. The company had a revenue increase of more than 382 percent from 1994...

TWA wins rounds in fight with Icahn. (Trans World Airlines; Carl Icahn)
June 9, 1997... Trans World Airlines recently won a pair of little-noted but important legal battles in its war with Carl Icahn over a 1995 agreement which gave Icahn the right to sell discounted TWA tickets. As part of one lawsuit, a St. Louis circuit court...

Gittemeier building $4.4 million business. (John Gittemeier Jr., founder of John Gittemeier Jr. Construction Company Inc.)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... For the first two years, John Gittemeier Jr. wasn't sure his construction company was going to make it. Cash flow is the biggest problem facing any small business starting out, especially one in the construction industry. Trying to pay...

Schilling powers Solutech to $6.5 million in revenue in '96. (Randy Schilling, founder and pres. of Solutech)(Special Section: Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Randy Schilling, president of Solutech credits his father-in law and Bill Gates, his longtime role model, for where he stands today. Schilling started Solutech, his dream since college, in 1992 with capital of just $5,000 and encouragement from...

Companion pulls in $1.5 million making hand-crafted breads. (Companion Baking Co.)(Small Business)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Business activity: Companion Baking Co. in south St. Louis has brought back what many consider a lost art - baking hand-crafted European breads in a time-consuming manner in French stone hearth ovens. From its 14,000-square-foot bake house,...

Illinois groups glad education tax flunked.(Small Business)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Illinois business groups are generally pleased with the recently completed legislative session - as much for what was not done as for what was. "It went better than it could have gone," said David Voepel, director of the National Federation of...

Esco Electronics Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 9, 1997... Dennis J. Moore Chairman, president and chief executive officer Esco Electronics Corp. is a holding company for the following businesses: Systems & Electronics Inc., Rantec Microwave & Electronics Inc., PTI Technologies Inc., Distribution...

Helping minority business has 'ripple effect.' (NationsBank Chmn. Andrew Craig speech)(Transcript)
June 9, 1997... The following is a speech given by NationsBank Chairman Andrew Craig at a luncheon celebrating the 12th Annual Minority Business Opportunity Fair June 4. Development of successful minority businesses is one of the most critical opportunities...

Duke buys Perkinson; acquisition gives REIT a lock on Earth City. (real estate investment trusts)
June 16, 1997... Duke Realty Investments plans to build on its stronghold in Earth City by acquiring Perkinson Realty Group. The acquisition will give the Indianapolis-based real estate investment trust a lock on most future development in the Earth City area,...

NationsBank's top salesman.
June 16, 1997... David Darnell's official title is president of NationsBank Midwest. His unofficial job - and the way he thinks of himself - is top salesman for the bank. Darnell frankly admits he'd rather be out every day with customers than sitting in his...

Harmon, Obata, Kemper heed father's advice.
June 16, 1997... When the fathers of successful St. Louisans talk, their children listen. They might not always heed their fathers' words - at least not right away - but they do listen. Some advice is practical. Mayor Clarence Harmon's dad told him to be...

Pep Boys to put charge in auto parts market here; to open 20-25 stores.
June 16, 1997... To open 20-25 stores The local automotive market is about to get a jump start. Pep Boys - which claims to be the largest auto parts and repair chain in the United States - is coming to the St. Louis metropolitan market with as many as 20 to...

Threat of lawsuits hang over convention center.
June 16, 1997... A long and politically bumpy road to a St Charles County Convention Center is likely moving a step closer - to another bump in the road. After nine years of planning, the $53 million project now faces the threat of lawsuits. In April, St....

O'Fallon, St. Charles County benefit from MEMC growth. (MEMC Electronic Materials Inc.)
June 16, 1997... One of the world's largest manufacturers of silicon wafers is close to completing an expansion at its O'Fallon facility, and it could mean big business for St. Charles County. So far, MEMC Electronic Materials Inc.'s investment totals $200...

2 religious orders, DePaul plan nursing, retirement community.
June 16, 1997... In an unusual joint effort, two St. Louis religious orders are developing a multimillion-dollar nursing home and retirement community on the DePaul Health Center campus in north St. Louis County. By the end of 1998, the group plans to have...

Gashouse gang; environmental laws add fuel to Husky Corp.'s revenue.
June 16, 1997... Business activity: Next time you pump gasoline at a service station, look at the nozzle for the hose and see if there is a picture of a dog on the pump. If there is, then the equipment was made by Husky Corp., a family-owned company based in...

Schnucks eyes expansion. (Schnucks Markets Inc.)
June 23, 1997... Family not interested in selling out Two years after its mega-acquisition of National Super Markets, the family-run Schnuck Markets is again at a crossroads. In recent weeks, at industry conferences and in supermarket back rooms, speculation...

Kerckhoff farms golf course. (golf course development at the Pevely Farm in St. Louis, MO)
June 23, 1997... Historic Pevely Farm is being transformed into a $6 million public golf course. Arthur Kerckhoff, whose family founded the Pevely Dairy Co. here 110 years ago and has owned the property in southwestern St. Louis; County since 1922, will lease...

Perkinsons plan Ozark project. (Dale and Lorraine Perkinson's planned residential development at the Lake of the Ozarks in St. Louis, MO)
June 23, 1997... Although Dale and Lorraine Perkinson plan to sell the majority of their Earth City property to Duke Realty Investments, the couple will retain ownership of the Perkinson Realty Group and continue to own and lease buildings. The Perkinsons also...

Beil takes reins at HitCom. (appointment of Scott Beil as chairman and CEO of HitCom Corp.)
June 23, 1997... Scott Beil, head of Edwardsville-based One Plus Marketing Inc., has taken over as chairman and chief executive of HitCom Corp. Beil, 28, replaces founder Anthony Hitt, 33, who has left the struggling public company he founded in 1993. Also gone...

Heartland creating niche with merchant banking. (Heartland Bank's acquisition of OmniCard Inc.)
June 23, 1997... In the increasingly competitive arena of community banking, Heartland Bank wants to claim a little credit. Heartland paid $1 million for a 50 percent stake in OmniCard Inc., a Mexico, Mo., firm that provides credit card processing services to...

Jack Taylor and Andrew Taylor, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. (recipients of 'St. Louis Business Journal's' 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year award)
June 23, 1997... Jack Taylor spent World War II in the pilot's seat of an F-6F Hellcat fighter plane. Today, Taylor's Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the largest car rental company in the country, and together with his son Andrew, the Taylors are the 1997 Master...

Barry Babcok, Howard Wood and Jerald Kent, Charter Communications. (recipients of 'St. Louis Business Journal's' 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year award)
June 23, 1997... In the midst of heavy regulation and low sales in the cable industry, Barry Babcock, Jerry Kent and Howard Wood decided to take a chance. They watched as their former employer, Cencom Cable Associates, was bought by Crown Media in 1991. Two...

NationsBank may hike fees for charities, personal trusts.
June 23, 1997... Fee hikes could be in store for some charitable and personal trusts in the St. Louis area, as NationsBank Corp., the market leader, appears poised to review its pricing in the next few months. V. Raymond Stranghoener, market executive for...

Timothy Boyle, City Property Co. (recipient of the 'St. Louis Business Journal's' 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year award)
June 23, 1997... When Timothy Boyle drove down Grand Boulevard in the 1980s, the area was underdeveloped. The nearby communities of Tower Grove East and Tower Grove Heights were filled with middle and upper income families that had no place to shop. Five...

William Mattson and William Jack, The Mattson Jack Group. (recipients of the 'St. Louis Business Journal's' 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year award)
June 23, 1997... In 1986, William Mattson and William Jack took their early retirement packages from Monsanto Co. and started their own pharmaceutical consulting company, The Mattson Jack Group. At first, things were difficult. There was an unspoken perception...

Larry Vander Maten, Rosewood Care Centers. (recipient of the 'St. Louis Business Journal's' 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year award)
June 23, 1997... Developing nursing homes in the United States today is not an easy task. But with 11 nursing homes completed to date, Larry Vander Maten's Rosewood Care Centers has found a way to succeed in the complex industry. A University of Iowa graduate,...

Laser Vision sees profits ahead after changing strategy. (Laser Vision Centers Inc.)
June 23, 1997... A tumultuous year in the excimer laser industry could mean boom times ahead for Laser Vision Centers Inc. The company, which supplies excimer lasers to eye surgeons who use the equipment to correct nearsightedness, has outlasted several...

David Caito, Triad Manufacturing Inc. (recipient of the 'St. Louis Business Journal's' 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year award)
June 23, 1997... With little entrepreneurial experience, one year of college, and a pool of personal savings, David Caito joined with former co-worker Mike McCormick to open Triad Manufacturing Inc. in 1991. They worked without salary for six months, personally...

Randall Schilling, Solutech Inc. (recipient of the 'St. Louis Business Journal's' 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year award)
June 23, 1997... Randall Schilling is no stranger to the limelight. He was a finalist for Entrepreneur Of The Year in 1996, and his five-year-old company is one of the 10 fastest-growing privately held companies in St. Louis. St. Charles-based Solutech inc....

Extra Clean. (ABBCO Service Corp.)
June 23, 1997... ABBCO sweeps up $4 million revenue, plans to triple in size Business activity: ABBCO Service Corp. provides building maintenance for its office and industrial clients. Services include cleaning of carpet, fabric, blinds, walls, windows,...

Connelly benefits, President Casinos deeper in debt. (John Connelly; President Casinos Inc.)
June 23, 1997... The past three and a half years have been anything but smooth sailing for President Casinos Inc. Like many other pioneers in the riverboat gaming industry, President's earnings have diminished and its stock price has plummeted. Since October...

Monsanto's Shapiro tops in pay. (Monsanto Co. Chairman and CEO Robert B. Shapiro)
June 30, 1997... Stiritz at $2.8 million, Busch at $2.5 million With more than $3 million in 1996 compensation, Monsanto's Robert Shapiro leapfrogged over Charles Knight, William Stiritz and Harry Stonecipher to land at the top of the list of highest paid...

Union Station switches track. (St. Louis Union Station, St. Louis, Missouri)
June 30, 1997... Seeks larger tenants to bring fresh look St. Louis Union Station is looking for a new lineup of restaurants and stores to freshen up the 12-year-old downtown mall. By 1998, the mall wants to add at least two national attractions, Hard Rock...

Kaiser's latest legal trouble. (Basic Network founder David Kaiser charged with auto theft)
June 30, 1997... A little more than a year ago, David A. Kaiser was running Basic Network Inc., designing Internet sites for area firms, including KMOX Radio and Schnuck Markets Inc. Kaiser, a tireless promoter and founder of Basic Network, built it into one...

3 institutional investors take 14% in TWA. (Trans World Airlines)
June 30, 1997... Despite its many woes - or perhaps because of them - Trans World Airlines has attracted the interest of some major investors. Three big institutional investment managers - Wellington Management Co. LLP, Elliott Associates LP, and Dimensional...

Mercantile sells bonds to pay for Roosevelt purchase. (Mercantile Bancorporation acquisition of Roosevelt Financial Group)
June 30, 1997... It took only a day for Mercantile Bancorporation to find investors willing to lend it $500 million to help pay for the purchase of Roosevelt Financial Group. Mercantile began offering a series of notes on June 11, and they were sold out by the...

St. Charles studying legal options to fight airport plan. (St. Charles, MO; Lambert-St. Louis International Airport)
June 30, 1997... The St. Charles City Council, up in arms about expansion plans for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, is discussing its legal options with a Chicago lawyer who specializes in litigation about noise and other airport problems. Although...

Cards want Jocketty to stay; he likely will - for a price. (Cardinal's General Manager Walt Jocketty)
June 30, 1997... Cardinals co-owner Fred Hanser said the team will do everything it can to bring back general manager Walt Jocketty, whose contract expires at the end of the season. Jocketty is in the final year of a three-year deal that reportedly pays him...

Yawitz: businesses fear state law may boost health costs. (Missouri Merchants and Manufacturer's Association's Sheelah Yawitz)
June 30, 1997... Mark Johnston, the governmental affairs counsel for Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield, summed up Missouri's new law regulating managed care companies: "We see a lot of dead trees to meet these requirements." Only late in the legislative cycle...

Cannon, HOK, McCarthy lead on health-care projects. (six of St. Louis architectural firms including Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum are among top 177 firms nationwide)
June 30, 1997... HBE, Christner and Wischmeyer also make list The number of health-care construction projects completed dropped again last year, but the downturn caused by managed care seems to be coming to a close. Modern Healthcare magazine's 1997...

Village people. (Insbrook Corp.)(Company Profile)
June 30, 1997... Business Activity: The Village of Innsbrook, which was started as a weekend getaway and vacation resort, has grown into a community that includes homes for permanent residents, as well as chalets for vacationers, an 18-hole public golf course and...