St. Louis Business Journal articles from June 1999

St. Louis Business Journal archives from June 1999

Clayton feels assessment hike.(assessment results highlight increasing commercial property market in Clayton and St. Louis County, Missouri)
June 7, 1999... Office properties in Clayton and along the Highway 40 corridor are being assessed at a higher rate thanks to the active real estate market the past two years. Preliminary numbers from the St. Louis County assessor's office indicate the...

$35 million in self-storage.(Cornerstone Development Corp opens new facility in Bridgeton, Missouri)
June 7, 1999... An underserved market has prompted a Dallas-based company to invest about $35 million in nine new self-storage centers in the St. Louis area. Cornerstone Development Corp. opened its first self-storage Center in the St. Louis area June 2...

Sinclair, Suntrup: economy driving auto sales.(sales of modern cars up in St. Louis, Missouri)
June 7, 1999... Dave Sinclair Ford isn't having trouble selling 2000 model-year Ford Thunderbirds, sight unseen and price unknown. The Volkswagen Beetle routinely sells for more than the list price at Suntrup Nissan Volkswagen. More women than ever...

Engelbreit draws plans for 20 stores.(Mary Engelbreit Co plans to construct retail center in St. Louis, Missouri)
June 7, 1999... The Queen of Cute is going "Minnesota Nice" with plans to open a store in the Mall of America in Minneapolis, The Mary Engelbreit Co. is negotiating with the nation's largest retail and entertainment complex for 1,700 square feet of space...

Daugherty plugs into contract with A-B worth $40 million.(Daugherty Systems pens a multi-million advertising contract with Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.)
June 7, 1999... Daugherty Systems has signed a contract with Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. worth $40 million to $50 million over the next four years, plus talking frogs. Frank and Louie, the TV frogs that start in the Budweiser ads, come along with the deal....

Shareholder files suit to block Emerson purchase.(Emerson Electric Co charged over the acquisition of Daniel Industries Inc)
June 7, 1999... Acquisition of Daniel Industries set to close June 15 Emerson Electric Co. faces a lawsuit over its proposed $457 million purchase of Daniel Industries Inc. One of the Houston company's shareholders is seeking to block the deal. The...

Griswolds drive medical services firm to $13 million.(LPG Group launches transportation service for medical patients)
June 7, 1999... LPG Group is in the fast lane in the medical services industry. The Lake Saint Louis-based firm, launched four years ago to provide transportation to St. Louis area Medicaid recipients, has expanded its operations to four states and...

Minister finds another path to enlightenment.(Lutheran minister Gary Behm finds success in manufacturing antique lighting fixtures dating from 1860 to 1930)
June 7, 1999... St. Louis Antique Lighting becomes a fixture in his life Business activity: Gary Behm has spent much of his life lighting up people's lives. For 23 years, Behm, an ordained Lutheran minister, helped families through Lutheran Family &...

Community banks blossom as big banks become giants.(St. Louis, Missouri)
June 7, 1999... Community banks remain a strong force in the St. Louis area, despite the presence of mega-banks such as Bank of America (formerly NationsBank) and Union Planters. At least a half-dozen community banks have opened in the past three years or...

Kempers, Dierberg grow regional powerhouses.(Commerce Bancshares Pres David Kemper, First Bank-Missouri Chmn James Dierberg)
June 7, 1999... Commercial lending, money management and expanding retail facilities are driving the growth of the larger Missouri-based banks. Commerce Bancshares continues to see double-digit growth in those three areas. Commerce, with $11.5 billion in...

Convention hotel deal near: Stifel lead underwriter on bonds for $244 million package.(Stifel Nicolaus & Co.)
June 14, 1999... Financing for the downtown St. Louis convention hotel is coming together, with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. stepping in as lead underwriter on an estimated $49 million to $52 million in tax increment financing bonds to finance the project. A room...

Edward Jones signs lease for $60 million.(building leased by Edward Jones in St. Louis, Missouri)
June 14, 1999... Edward Jones has found a home for some of the 900 additional employees it plans to hire in St. Louis over the next few years. The St. Louis-based brokerage company has leased a 220,000-square-foot building at Maryville Centre from Duke...

New face of dermatology.(Dr. Lawrence Samuels' line of skin care products sold in St. Louis, Missouri)
June 14, 1999... Samuels at forefront of trend to sell own line of products Dr. Lawrence Samuels is ready for his close-up. Three years ago, the dermatologist launched his own line of skin-care products after becoming dissatisfied with those he sold in...

Brooks capitalizes on ties with launch of Gabriel firm.(Robert Brooks' launching of Gabriel Communications Inc. based in St. Louis, Missouri)
June 14, 1999... It might have been divine intervention that brought Robert Brooks out of retirement in Longboat Key, Fla., to start his third telecommunications company. Early last year, Archbishop Justin Rigali and Brooks' colleague Jerry Howe began...

Bryan Cave will pay its freshman lawyers $74,000.(starting salaries offered by the Bryan Cave law firm)
June 14, 1999... For the fourth time in the 1990s, Bryan Cave has raised the starting salaries for its freshman lawyers - this time to $74,000. While the $4,000 increase is the smallest of the four increases this decade, it comes a year after Bryan Cave -...

Digital Financial Network helps banks catch eye of customers.(digital screens for advertising)
June 14, 1999... Jim Kueneke wants to turn waiting time into selling time for banks and credit unions. Kueneke, president of Digital Financial Network in west St. Louis County, has begun marketing high-tech displays advertising a financial institution's...

Ernst & Young's Havel finds move here a breeze.(employee relocation policy and services of Ernst and Young as exemplified through its St. Louis, Missouri managing partner, James Havel)
June 14, 1999... Jim Havel got a boost from his real estate agent, Tina Niemann, and an Ernst & Young personal counselor to help with his move to St. Louis. Havel, Ernst & Young's new managing partner in St. Louis, is making his fourth relocation in 24...

Temporary housing firms help road warriors settle in.(corporate housing specialists based in St. Louis, Missouri)
June 14, 1999... Companies that relocate employees often turn to corporate housing specialists, who help make the move seamless by providing temporary quarters with all the comforts of home. "I actually had somebody who wanted to have their Christmas tree...

Pace helps Stifel avoid service lapse during move.(real estate advisory service provided by Pace Corporate Services to the relocation plans of Stifel Nicolaus and Co.)
June 14, 1999... When Stifel Nicolaus & Co. started looking for a new headquarters in January 1998, the brokerage firm knew it wanted a location that would boost its presence in downtown St. Louis. "That was number one - the name recognition on the...

Missouri's largest programs to encourage relocation.(corporate and business relocations)
June 14, 1999... Program: Business Facility Tax Credit Program Purpose: Help new or existing businesses expand in Missouri. How it works: Businesses get state income tax credits based on how many jobs they create or the amount of new investment. ...

Siboney Corp.(Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 14, 1999... Timothy J. Tegeler Chairman, president and chief executive officer Siboney Corp. publishes and distributes educational software through its Siboney Learning Group Division and Gamco Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary. The company...

Arena site lures first tenant.(Balke Properties is close to signing a leasing contract with Protein Technologies Inc)
June 21, 1999... Protein Technologies International could be the first tenant at the Highlands at Forest Park, the new business park Balke Properties is developing on the former Arena site. Protein Technologies is close to signing a lease worth $40 million...

Merc employees can bank on severance.(Mercantile Bancorporation assures severance pay for employees)
June 21, 1999... Every Mercantile Bancorporation worker who loses his or her job in the pending buyout by Firstar Corp. is guaranteed at least four weeks of severance pay. under a severance package put together by the banks. The most senior executives at...

Edison saves family firm from extinction.(shoe manufacturer Peter Edison attempts to save Edison Brothers Stores Inc)
June 21, 1999... Peter Edison doesn't look like a white knight. Dressed casually in chinos and a dark cotton shirt, the affable president and chief executive of Weiss & Neuman Shoe Co. is about as unassuming an individual as one is likely to encounter, right...

Brown's Fromm pumps up Naturalizer shoe brand.(CEO Ronald Fromm launches new brand to target young customers)
June 21, 1999... With his first annual meeting and solid first-quarter results behind him, Brown Shoe's chairman and chief executive Ronald Fromm is laying the groundwork for the school season and beyond. In the coming months, Brown Shoe Co. will unveil a...

Dash Multi-Corp. pays $4.7 million for rubber firm.
June 21, 1999... Dash Multi-Corp. Inc. has wrapped up its $4.7 million purchase of R-B Rubber Products Inc., a publicly held, McMinnville, Ore.-based firm that recycles old tires into robber matting. The purchase gives Dash - a holding company for 11 firms...

Novelly prepares takeover of Crown Central Petroleum.(Apex Oil Co head Paul A. Novelly increases shares in Crown Central)
June 21, 1999... Could Paul A. "Tony" Novelly be preparing a hostile move against Baltimore-based Crown Central Petroleum Corp.? Novelly, head of Clayton-based Apex Oil Co., recently increased his stake in Crown Central Petroleum from 9.3 percent to 11...

Rawlings in play.(Hillerich and Bradsby Co eyes merger with Rawlings Sporting Goods)
June 21, 1999... Louisville Slugger is considering going to bat for troubled Rawlings Sporting Goods. The bat manufacturer is exploring a possible merger or acquisition deal with Rawlings, which is known for its baseball equipment, said Jack Hillerich, who...

Prop Source, Cine Services set new stage with merger.
June 21, 1999... Two local firms that serve the video production and photography industries have merged to form a company offering props, lighting design and equipment rental. Richard Benach merged his Prop Source, which he said owns "tens of thousands" of...

Jewish Center for Aged to raze home, build new.
June 21, 1999... After years of planning, Jewish Center for Aged is ready to move forward with a $31.6 million project to raze its existing nursing home and build a new home. JCA will build a 189,950-square-foot facility on land it owns just east of its...

Delta Dental piles up 80,000 claims for a $7 million backlog.
June 21, 1999... Delta Dental of Missouri, the state's largest dental plan, hasn't paid claims to some dentists since April as it works out kinks in its new computer system. Delta has a backlog of about 80,000 claims for roughly $7 million, said Pain...

Healthy growth.(Inman Clean Inc benefits from founder Bart Inman's efficient management)
June 21, 1999... Inman Clean doubles revenue, sweeping its way to $5.8 million Business activity: Bart Inman was sitting in the airport, waiting while his flight was delayed. He noticed five or six people standing around in their blue cleaning uniforms....

Marcus tops venture capital.(Larry Marcus of Peak Media Holdings)
June 28, 1999... Larry Marcus knows what it takes to lure venture capital. Marcus' new broadcasting company, Peak Media Holdings, received the largest share of venture capital funding in the state - $12 million of the $17 million in venture capital that...

Knight, Busch climb ladder; Nos. 2, 3 in pay after Mallinckrodt's Larkin.(Emerson Electric Co. CEO Charles Knight; Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc. Chmn. August Busch III; C. Raymond Larkin)
June 28, 1999... Hefty bonuses have pushed business powerhouses Charles Knight and August Busch III to near the top of the St. Louis Business Journal's list of 100 highest-paid public company executives. Only C. Raymond Larkin, former executive vice...

Lauer finds toys in Haystack.(Dan Lauer's founding of Haystack Toys Inc.)
June 28, 1999... Toymaker phenom Dan Lauer has another bright idea for the toy industry. He wants to turn it on its ear. The creator of Waterbabies - the second-largest and longest-selling doll of the decade - has formed Haystack Toys Inc., a company that...

McLeod invests $30 million; telecom company plans to hire 250 people.(McLeod USA)
June 28, 1999... Telecommunications company McLeod USA is investing $30 million in the St. Louis region in an effort to attract more customers and broaden its offerings of products and services. As part of its expansion, the company expects to add 250 jobs here...

Boyle, O'Bryant buy, wire building for $3 million.(real estate developers Tim Boyle and Terry O'Bryant)
June 28, 1999... Since buying the Dickmann Building on South Grand Boulevard on June 10, St. Louis real estate developers Tim Boyle and Terry O'Bryant have been busy. Since the deal closed, the partners have had the 30,000-square-foot building wired for...

MCI WorldCom hires Dallas company.(Dallas, TX-based Amend Group)
June 28, 1999... To look at possibilities for building it acquired in Brooks Fiber deal With its new campus in St. Charles County under construction, MCI WorldCom has hired the Dallas-based Amend Group to determine what to do with the building it acquired...

Missouri receives less than 1 percent of venture funds.
June 28, 1999... Missouri is in the slow lane among fast-track venture capitalists. The state drew just four-tenths of a percent of the $4.3 billion in venture capital placed during the first quarter of 1999, according to the MoneyTree Survey. ...

Seidenfeld is 4th Blue Cross medical chief in 3 years.(John Seidenfeld; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri)
June 28, 1999... Blue Cross and .Blue Shield of Missouri has a new medical director. Dr. John Seidenfeld took over June 15, becoming the hold the post three years. Seidenfeld replaced Dr. David Williams, who left in March after about eight months on...

Biomedical Systems to deliver on $5 million pact.(contract with Hands-Lifecare)
June 28, 1999... Biomedical Systems Corp. expects up to $5 million in revenue over the next three to five years from a new contract to provide services for pregnant women in Brazil and surrounding countries. Under the contract, Maryland Heights-based...

Studio Works produces $3 million in revenue for Schuberts, Green, LeRoi.(Craig Schuberts, Rick Green, Chuck LeRoi)
June 28, 1999... Business activity: Building client relationships is something the four principals in Studio Works Inc. maintain is one of the company's highest goals. But those relationships go a lot father than most. Studio Works' principals take some of...

Tripos Inc.(Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 28, 1999... John P. McAlister III President and chief executive officer Tripos Inc. is a research company specializing in molecular informatics. Tripos supplies software, research services and compound libraries to the pharmaceutical biotechnology and...