St. Louis Business Journal articles from May 1997

St. Louis Business Journal archives from May 1997

Star-studded Planet Hollywood to surface on Laclede's Landing. (Planet Hollywood International Inc.; Laclede's Landing Redevelopment Corp.)
May 5, 1997... St. Louis is about to discover a new planet. The movie-themed restaurant/retail chain Planet Hollywood is coming to Laclede's Landing. Parent company Planet Hollywood International Inc. has signed a lease with Levee House Partnership, a local...

Precision Fountains, AeroTech outgrow incubator programs. (Precision Fountains and Lighting; AeroTech Service Group)
May 5, 1997... Emerging St. Louis area companies such as AeroTech Service Group and Precision Fountains and Lighting have flourished after getting started in small business incubators. George Brill, 33, founded AeroTech in 1991 with $3,000 out of his own...

Drury eyes Fur Exchange; convention hotel in question. (Charles Drury plans to buy demolished International Fur Exchange building)
May 19, 1997... The city's pursuit of a 1,000-room convention center hotel took an interesting detour this week on talk that a prime downtown block was under consideration for a boutique hotel. Speculation that hotelier Charles Drury is eyeing the partially...

Hiring boom swells law firms' ranks. (Husch & Eppenberger hires new lawyers for expansion in St. Louis, MO)
May 19, 1997... Husch & Eppenberger's strategy to expand its Midwest law practice by luring clients from pricier East and West Coast legal markets is paying off. It's paying off so well the firm with 157 attorneys is hiring 19 new lawyers, eight of them to...

$300 million Whittaker project: 1,800 homes, $5 million golf course in St. Charles County development. (Whittaker Homes' residential housing project in St. Charles County, MO)
May 19, 1997... Whittaker Homes is building a $300 million residential development in St. Charles County that will include 1,800 homes, a $5 million championship golf course and amenities ranging from theme swimming pools to nature trails. Bob Whittaker,...

Jennings shatters Civic Progress' glass ceiling. (Karen Jennings becomes a member of Civic Progress Inc.)
May 19, 1997... St. Louis' premiere good old boys club, Civic Progress Inc., is about to go co-ed. Karen Jennings, president of Southwestern Bell-Missouri, has been elected to the exclusive group made up of 31 top executives of St. Louis' largest companies....

What a gas: Bi-State, MacDonnell among firms leading drive toward compressed natural gas use. (Bi-State Development Agency; McDonnell Douglas forklifts)(Energy and the Environment)
May 19, 1997... What do drivers of Bi-State buses, state motorist assist vehicles and McDonnell Douglas forklifts all have in common? They're among a growing number of transportation operators in the St. Louis area saying "fill it up" with compressed natural...

Two firms share $3 million contract to rehab embassies. (Environmental Control and Abatement Inc.; Corvera Abatement Technologies)(Energy and the Environment)
May 19, 1997... Two St. Louis environmental firms have brought new meaning to the term hazardous duty pay. The two companies, Environmental Control & Abatement Inc. and Corvera Abatement Technologies, are working together to remove hazardous materials in some...

Chrysler ups Ram production by 12,000, adds 400 workers. (Chrysler Corp.'s St. Louis North Truck Assembly Plant increases production of Dodge Ram pickups)
May 19, 1997... It's full speed ahead for Chrysler Corp.'s St. Louis North Truck Assembly Plant. Chrysler said the Fenton plant will turn out an additional 12,000 Dodge Ram pickup trucks each year, including a new model, the Dodge Ram Quad Cab, which has four...

Cambridge Engineering learns lesson, plans $3 million addition. (Cambridge Engineering Inc.)
May 19, 1997... The city of Chesterfield has given the go-ahead to Cambridge Engineering Inc. for a 53,000-square-foot addition to its factory and warehouse. Cambridge will spend $3 million on the expansion, hire 20 people, and hopes to have systems in...

High court ruling means insurers have to pay cleanup costs. (Missouri Supreme Court requires insurance firms to shoulder costs of pollution cleanups)(Energy and the Environment)
May 19, 1997... Missouri insurers have lost a big club in their fight to avoid huge pollution cleanup costs. That follows a Missouri Supreme Court decision last month that such costs are "damages" within the meaning of insurance policies. The state high court...

Sale of Petrolite could net Hatfield $8.1 million. (Paul Hatfield receives share for sale of Petrolite Corp.)
May 19, 1997... Paul Hatfield, having engineered a turnaround at specialty chemical maker Petrolite Corp., stands to be richly regarded. The 60-year-old Hatfield holds unexercised options on 220,000 Petrolite shares that he can cash in for $8.1 million when...

U.E. favors gradual move to open electric competition. (Union Electric Co.)(Energy and the Environment)
May 19, 1997... By the turn of the century, long-established, state-regulated electric utility providers in Missouri, Illinois and possibly the entire United States will likely be faced with a choice: Learn to compete in an open, deregulated market, or face...

Sale of Metropolitan Square could bring in $170 million. (Metropolitan Life Insurance Inc. sells building)
May 19, 1997... During the past year, household names like Aetna, CIGNA, Metropolitan Life and Prudential have sold or listed more than one-third of a billion dollars worth of real estate in metro St. Louis. The latest building listed for sale, Metropolitan...

Illinova gets jump on deregulation. (Illinova Energy Partners Inc.)(Energy and the Environment)
May 19, 1997... A relatively new branch of an old Illinois company is betting that Missouri electricity and natural-gas users are eager to save money on their utility bills - even before deregulation of the electricity industry. "We're very unique in that...

Fisher promoted to regional post by Oppenheimer & Co. (Richard Fischer becomes regional managing director)
May 19, 1997... Richard Fisher is stepping aside as manager of Oppenheimer & Co.'s St. Louis office to become regional managing director for the mid-size Wall Street securities firm. Fisher's promotion is part of a national restructuring into three operating...

Symphony tops list of nonprofits getting arts commission grants. (Regional Arts Commission awards 10 grants to St. Louis Symphony Orchestra)
May 19, 1997... The Regional Arts Commission has awarded grants totaling $2.75 million to 188 nonprofit arts and cultural institutions for the 1997-98 fiscal year. There were few changes in the pecking order of the largest grant recipients. The Center of...

Who gets that $4 when you buy a beer at the ballpark? (St. Louis, MO's sales tax for beer)
May 19, 1997... You can nudge Ozzie out the door. You can ask for tax money to help pay for a new stadium. But when you raise the price of beer, well, that means war. Among the many changes at Busch Stadium this year, beer prices have gone up across the...

McKee's group renovates Central Hardware for C-K. (C-K Welding Supply renovates Central Hardware store)
May 19, 1997... The former Central Hardware site in south St. Louis will be resurrected as part of a $5 million renovation project for C-K Welding Supply. C-K plans to move its headquarters to the building at 5811 Manchester Road within five months, said Tom...

Ozone cleanup estimated to cost nearly $17 billion.(Energy and the Environment)
May 19, 1997... The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed two new regulations for ozone and particulate matter that would tighten up air quality standards in St. Louis and around the country. The cost of meeting the new regulations, which would be borne...

Turnaround expert Brouster says he's taken the last turn. (Thomas Brouser)
May 19, 1997... Thomas Brouster says he's turned around his last bank. Brouster, 52, is a career bank fix-it man who has restored to profitability 14 troubled banks, mostly in the St. Louis area, since 1977. But he said he's reached the end of the line with...

EPA holding top executives increasingly responsible. (EPA enforces environmental codes to business decision makers)(Energy and the Environment)
May 19, 1997... U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials are increasing their efforts and working with federal prosecutors to see that business decision makers carry the responsibility when their companies are found in violation of environmental codes....

Alexian Brothers joining Unity. (Alexian Brothers Hospital merges with Unity Health System)
May 19, 1997... The Sisters are taking on a Brother in the latest consolidation in the hospital industry. Alexian Brothers Hospital is joining the Unity Health System, a member of the Sisters of Mercy Health System-St. Louis. Alexian has been one of only a...

Joint venture nails together managed care resources for doctors. (Saint Louis Management Group and Missouri State Medical Services form Physicians Resources Network LLC)
May 19, 1997... A St. Louis firm that provides management services for physicians and a statewide physicians organization are putting together a toolbox of resources for doctors dealing with managed care issues. Physicians Resources Network LLC (PRN) is a...

Crown eyes expansion with doctor network. (Crown Optical expands The First Look Plan)
May 19, 1997... Crown Optical plans to expand outside metro St. Louis with about 35 new sites by contracting with independent eye doctors. The independents will be part of a regional managed care network for vision care, said Matt Matthews, president of the...

Stockells split firm, offer employees stock options. (Stockell Information Systems Inc.)
May 19, 1997... Two brothers who run Stockell Information Systems Inc. are, you might say, parting company. No, Charles and Richard Stockell haven't stopped getting along, they are just splitting their Chesterfield-based company so they can offer key...

Filling the cracks: Munsch paves way to $4 million in sales. (St. Louis Paving Co. President Paul Munsch)
May 19, 1997... Business activity: St. Louis Paving Co. is involved in asphalt repair, construction and renovation of parking lots, roadways and tennis courts, focusing on the existing market rather than new construction. Ancillary services include seal...

Eight Missouri banks get preferred lender status from SBA. (Small Business Administration)
May 19, 1997... Eight Missouri banks have been granted preferred lender status by the St. Louis office of the Small Business Administration. The banks are Bank of Washington, Washington; Boatmen's Bank of Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau; The Boatmen's Bank of...

Chilean ambassador to headline trade week. (Honorable John Biehl chosen as luncheon speaker at the World Trade Week seminar)
May 19, 1997... The Honorable John Biehl, Chilean ambassador to the United States, will be the keynote luncheon speaker at World Trade Week's feature seminar, "Chile: A Partner for Trade." The full-day seminar will be held Tuesday, May 20, at the Adam's Mark...

Training firm in Troy caters to small companies. (Cooper Management Training & Consulting)
May 19, 1997... In this day of training and teaching team building in the workplace, there is one woman who is reaching out to small companies, and she's doing it in a small town. Gina Bueneman-Cooper, who has been training business people for 5 years, is...

Senate seeks to defer electronic filing of payroll taxes.
May 19, 1997... WASHINGTON - A little-known provision in the government's supplemental appropriations bill could once again defer the electronic filing of payroll taxes by an estimated 1.2 million small businesses. The U.S. Senate added a clause to the...

Books or bucks? (professional baseball; college education)
May 26, 1997... For prep stars, it's turning pro or college Everybody wants a piece of Alvin Morrow. His mom fields calls from scouts and agents around the clock. His teachers ask him for autographs. And this past Wednesday, he met with a representative...

Chicago real estate firm courts Nooney Krombach. (Grubb & Ellis Co.)
May 26, 1997... St. Louis' second-largest real estate firm, Nooney Krombach, has caught the fancy of Grubb & Ellis Co. of Chicago, according to area real estate executives. For the right deal, Nooney Krombach would consider a merger or acquisition, said Peter...

Edison proposal: good guys or opportunists? (Edison Brothers Stores Inc.)
May 26, 1997... A last-minute proposal made public a week ago by the founding family of bankrupt Edison Brothers Stores has sent shareholders to their calculators, analysts to their rolodexes, and tongues all over town wagging. At a bankruptcy court hearing...

A-B targets Miami with new import. (Anheuser-Busch Cos.)
May 26, 1997... South Florida is the latest target for Anheuser-Busch Cos.' specialty beers. Last month the brewery unveiled its import, Rio Cristal, from the Antarctica brewery in Rio de Janeiro. Anheuser-Busch struck a marketing arrangement with the...

Bi-State candidates: Willis, Campion, Svetanics, Roach. (candidates to head Bi-State Development Agency)
May 26, 1997... The list of candidates to head the Bi-State Development Agency has been narrowed to eight, with half apparently from the St. Louis area. The local candidates, according to sources close to the search process, include Steve Willis, who has held...

Analyst report: overhaul money managers. (St. Louis Public School Retirement System)
May 26, 1997... The stock holdings of the $613 million St. Louis Public School Retirement System "significantly underperformed" the S&P 500 during the past 12 months and have trailed the index for the past three years, according to the latest report from the...

Johnstons make pitch with more sports-travel packages. (Sante Travel's new division)
May 26, 1997... Sante Travel carves out niche with new division; revenue hits $2.5 million in '96 Business activity: For the last 70 years, Sante Travel has provided customized travel packages for individual, family and group vacations. The company is...

Unemployment bill top business legislative success. (Missouri)(Small Business)
May 26, 1997... Business organizations in Missouri are unanimous in what they see as the key issue to come out of the just-completed session. of the state legislature - House Bill 472 Unemployment Compensation. "It was the centerpiece issue," said Chris Long,...

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 26, 1997... Ludger H. Vlefhues Chief executive officer MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. manufactures silicon waters. The company operates manufacturing facilities directly or through joint ventures in China, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and...