St. Louis Business Journal articles from November 1996

St. Louis Business Journal archives from November 1996

DHL could land at Mid-America Airport. (DHL Airways Inc.)
November 25, 1996... Mid-America Airport in St. Clair County made the cut as one of six sites the world's largest international air express service is considering for its hub operations. DHL Worldwide Express, known as the Federal Express of Europe, has 19 hubs...

Paragon puts $40 million of real estate on the block. (Paragon Group Inc.)
November 25, 1996... The Paragon Group is creating a flurry of activity in St. Louis as the publicly traded real estate investment trust pares down its portfolio of properties. The Dallas-based company is selling about $40 million worth of St. Louis apartment,...

Multiplex revenue shoots up to $30 million. (Multiplex Company Inc.)
November 25, 1996... 'Bar guns,' beer dispensers and overseas markets fire sales growth Business Activity: Multiplex makes beverage dispensing equipment and water treatment systems for the foodservice industry, with customers throughout the United States and in...

Furniture Brands International Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
November 25, 1996... Richard B. Loynd Chairman and chief executive officer Furniture Brands International Inc. (formerly known as Interco) is a major manufacturer of residential furniture under brand names Broyhill, Lane and Thomasville. The company reported a...

Sverdrup cans King, others in shake-up. (Kyle King)
November 18, 1996... Sverdrup Corp. is shortening the reach of its real estate arm and cutting loose the operation's director of development. Five key professionals at Sverdrup Investments Inc., including director of development Kyle King, will lose their jobs by...

Stiritz rolling in Interstate dough. (William Stiritz; Interstate Bakeries Corp.)
November 18, 1996... William Stiritz, chairman and chief executive officer of Ralston Purina Co., has been quietly stockpiling a chunk of Interstate Bakeries Corp. stock. Since Kansas City, Mo.-based Interstate agreed to buy Ralston's baking subsidiary...

Wool leads shareholders' group investing $2 million. (Marvin Wool, CEO of Allegiant Bancorp Inc.)
November 18, 1996... Marvin Wool, chairman and chief executive officer of Allegiant Bancorp Inc., is investing an additional $615,000 in the bank. Wool is the bank's single largest shareholder with ownership of nearly 16 percent of the bank's outstanding stock...

Rosewood looks for 66% growth in its nursing homes. (Rosewood Care Centers)
November 18, 1996... Rosewood Care Centers - a $28 million operator of skilled nursing homes in Illinois - is contemplating plans to expand all of its existing facilities. The company, whose corporate offices are located in Maryland Heights, operates six skilled...

Service Excellence shops its way to $500,000.
November 18, 1996... Bikshorn clues clients into service with the help of secret shoppers Business Activity: Service Excellence Group is a home-based, woman-owned business that provides secret shoppers, consultation on customer service and training for employees....

Imperial Baking closing closing, laying off 65 employees.
November 18, 1996... Imperial Baking Co. will close next month leaving its 65 employees without jobs. Officials of Consolidated Biscuit Co., a McComb, Ohio-based firm that owns Imperial, did not return phone calls seeking comment. But in a letter to the Missouri...

'Hot doughnuts now': Krispy Kreme to open 5 stores here.
November 18, 1996... Krispy Kreme doughnuts, legendary in their native South and now all the rage in New York City, are coming to St. Louis. Entrepreneur Eric Sigurdson and partner Ken Marino are planning to open five Krispy Kreme stores in the St. Louis area...

Mallinckrodt Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
November 18, 1996... C. Ray Holman Chairman and chief executive officer Mallinckrodt Inc. is an international growth company serving specialty markets in human healthcare and chemicals. The company is a major producer of pain relief pharmaceuticals, diagnostic...

$80 million development near airport: Balke plots 300-acre industrial park. (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport; Balke Properties)
November 11, 1996... Balke Properties is launching plans for a 300-acre industrial park in Hazelwood that could be worth up to $80 million. The initial area being developed, called Lambert Corporate Center, is located at the northwest corner of Missouri Bottom...

TBWA unraveling - 4 top executives out. (TBWA Chiat/Day St. Louis)
November 11, 1996... Four key executives exited TBWA Chiat/Day St. Louis - the agency that developed the Boat men's Guy advertising campaign - in the past two weeks. The advertising agency, one of St. Louis' largest, fired its top official, chief executive and...

Hot seat: CWE Bank stockholders, board at odds. (Central West End Bank; appointment of David Stoecker on board of directors)
November 11, 1996... Stockholders in the Central West End Bank said no to David Stoecker holding a seat on their board of directors. But Stoecker, the bank's new chief executive officer, is on the board anyway. And he's not just a board member. He's chairman....

Hello, Southwestern Bell? AT&T on the other line. (marketing for regional dominance)
November 11, 1996... The battle for regional dominance between Southwestern Bell and AT&T is being orchestrated from St. Louis with the companies positioning new top executives to wage the marketing war. Two months ago, long-distance giant AT&T brought in Randy...

Help wanted: search is on for qualified employees.(Special Section: Small-Business Survival Guide)
November 11, 1996... With unemployment at near-record lows, businesses of all sizes are finding it hard to get qualified workers. "It really is across the board, from entry-level positions all the way through upper management positions," said labor analyst Russ...

Want to see Big 12 game? How about paying $9,000. (Big 12 Conference Football Championship game)
November 11, 1996... College football fans are being asked to pay between $9,000 and $36,000 for prime seating for the Big 12 Conference Football Championship game. The game's local organizing committee, which includes the St. Louis Convention and Visitors...

Borrower blunder No. 1: asking for too much money.(Special Section: Small-Business Survival Guide)
November 11, 1996... "Do your homework" is the most frequently heard advice from lenders to small-business owners who are seeking money for their companies. Lenders say business owners should know how much money they need to borrow and be prepared to spell out...

Analysts: Christmas make or break time for Venture. (Venture Stores Inc.)
November 11, 1996... It's been a tough autumn for Venture Stores Inc., the O'Fallon-based chain of 113 family stores. In September, Moody's Investor Service cut Venture's debt ratings because of lower than expected sales. Now the company is reporting that sales...

Franchises: 8 million jobs, sales nearing $1 trillion. (includes tips on choosing a franchise)(Special Section: Small-Business Survival Guide)
November 11, 1996... Five years ago, Scott Berry was looking to get out of the shoe business. Out of curiosity, he responded to an advertisement from Play it Again Sports, a national company that was seeking a local franchisee. Less than a year later, Berry...

Billing blues: CompreHealth, accountants offer ways to persuade clients to pay. (CompreHealth Inc.)(Special Section: Small-Business Survival Guide)
November 11, 1996... Every business knows the problem. The small or even medium-sized vendor completes a job, turns in a service or makes a delivery - then waits. And waits. And waits. Meanwhile, the contracting firm stretches out the bill beyond 30 days to...

MCI to begin cellular service here in 30 days. (MCI Communications Corp.; St. Louis, MO)
November 11, 1996... MCI Communications Corp. will be the first telephone company to compete with Southwestern Bell and Ameritech in the St. Louis wireless market. MCI plans to introduce cellular service within the next 30 days as part of a package of services...

Vietnamese businessman raises $7,800 from family. (restaurateur Can Tho)(Special Section: Small-Business Survival Guide)
November 11, 1996... When it comes to getting money for a small minority business, entrepreneurs should look homeward for an angel. For any business enterprise, raising capital is the chief concern and the most difficult. But instead of going directly to a bank,...

Money doesn't always buy a winner. (baseball clubs)
November 11, 1996... The New York Yankees' recent World Series title may lead owners of professional sports teams down a dangerous road. George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees, poured $66.6 million into his team's payroll and was rewarded with a World Series...

Four failures and $400,000 get Webster Group started. (Webster Group International)(Special Section: Small-Business Survival Guide)
November 11, 1996... St. Louis area entrepreneurs start up hundreds of new enterprises every year that do everything from wholesale specialized steel products to making packing materials out of recycled paper. If there's one thing they all share in common, it's...

Illinois-American Water to build $52 million plant.
November 11, 1996... A new $52 million water treatment plant is in the pipeline for Godfrey, Ill. Illinois-American Water Co., a subsidiary of New Jersey-based American Water Works Co. Inc., is replacing its 100-year-old water plant which, ironically, sometimes...

Kwame saves $68,000 by outsourcing accounting. (Kwame Building Group)(Special Section: Small-Business Survival Guide)
November 11, 1996... Following the lead of larger companies in this era of downsizing and cost cutting, many St. Louis firms with revenue of up to $50 million are using outside consultants to handle tasks once performed exclusively in-house. While some functions...

Lake St. Louis couple provides wheels for Medicaid patients. (Medical Transportation Management Inc. founders Lynn and Peg Griswold)
November 11, 1996... Managed health care for Medicaid recipients is the Vehicle driving the growth of Medical Transportation Management Inc. The Lake St. Louis-based company arranges medical transportation for thousands of Medicaid recipients in managed care...

Gateway Purchasing targets HMO financial reports. (Gateway Purchasing Association; health maintenance organization)
November 11, 1996... St. Louis' largest health-care purchasing cooperative wants to pin down managed care companies on how they report their financial results. The Gateway Purchasing Association is looking for more uniformity in the way health maintenance...

NFIB casts wary eye as Democrats take Illinois House. (National Federation of Independent Business-Illinois)
November 11, 1996... Leaders of Illinois business organizations say it will be a few months before they know how the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives will handle issues of concern to their members. But Sally Jackson, president and chief...

Lawrence Fabric Structures to sew up $4 million in sales.(Small Business)(Company Profile)
November 11, 1996... Business Activity: Spurred on by a doubling in sales and employees in the past four years, Lawrence Fabric Structures Inc. moved into a 68,000-square-foot office/plant in Kirkwood in late September espousing the theme, "if you build it, they...

Victory for Missouri. (defeat of proposal to increase minimum wage)(Editorial)
November 11, 1996... The defeat of Proposition A on Missouri's ballot was a resounding victory for the entire region. The proposal would have increased the state's minimum wage to $6.25 an hour - the highest in the nation. And it would only go up from there,...

Mercantile on the prowl for more acquisitions. (interview with Mercantile Bancorporation Inc. Chairman and CEO Thomas Jacobsen)(Interview)
November 11, 1996... Following the Oct. 28 announcement that Mercantile Bancorporation was buying Mark Twain Bancshares in an $855 million deal, Thomas Jacobsen, chairman and chief executive officer of Mercantile, talked about the acquisition, his company and St....

Law firms, A-B top political givers.
November 4, 1996... Civic Progress members back Kelly A high-powered downtown law firm heads the list of contributors to Gov. Mel Carnahan's re-election campaign. Thirty-five Thompson Coburn attorneys have contributed a total of $14,500 to Carnahan's campaign...

$2.3 million budget, staff of 15 for St. Louis 2004. (improvement project for the St. Louis region)
November 4, 1996... St. Louis 2004, an eight-year improvement project for the St. Louis region, is gearing up with a full-time staff of 15 people and a $2.3 million annual operating budget. The private initiative is being chaired by former U.S. Sen. John C....

Behind-the-scenes look at Mercantile-Mark Twain deal. (merger between Mercantile Bancorp Inc. and Mark Twain Bancshares Inc.)
November 4, 1996... Siteman to remain powerhouse Alvin Siteman, the powerbroker who helped bring Mercantile Bancorporation and Mark Twain Bancshares together, will continue to exert a major influence as chairman of Mercantile's largest bank and as the holding...

Caterers see growing appetite for their services at home.
November 4, 1996... An improving economy and growth in dual-income families are feeding a growing trend in business entertaining - catered private dinner parties at home. Richard Nix Jr., president of The Butler's Pantry, said home catering is up about 50...

Enterprise Bank directors to put $1.2 million in IPO: stock sale funds to be used for expansion in St. Charles County, Sunset Hills.
November 4, 1996... A dozen directors of Enterprise Bank and its parent company, Enterbank Holdings, are expected to put up $1.2 million toward the bank's expansion plans, or 40 percent of the minimum the bank hopes to raise through an initial public offering of...

All aboard: St. Louis Car Co. takes business meetings for a ride on the rails.
November 4, 1996... Companies looking for an unusual spot to entertain clients, reward employees or hold business meetings are climbing aboard RailCruise America's six luxury railroad cars. Traveling by rail provides businesses with a unique opportunity to...

Wedding lady gets Ritz marriages off without hitch. (Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, Missouri wedding manager Jacki Tomljenovic)
November 4, 1996... Never mind that Jacki Tomljenovic eloped in Las Vegas. At The Ritz-Carlton St. Louis, Tomljenovic is the "Wedding Lady," the person who will handle everything from wedding announcements to the farewell brunch. Tomljenovic, in catering at The...

Banks open in retirement homes to tap new customers. (Magna Group Inc.; Heartland Bank)
November 4, 1996... Alliances with several area retirement homes are allowing Magna Group Inc. and Heartland Bank to tap into a lucrative market - senior citizens with disposable income available for investment. Both the retirement homes and the financial...

Primerica, Big 12 to buoy city's convention business. (Primerica Financial Services annual convention; Big 12 Championship football game; St. Louis, Missouri)
November 4, 1996... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission is counting on a last-minute sales blitz to make 1997 a strong year for conventions. "If you asked us six months ago, we would have told you that 1997 would be down...

Allied turns overseas to offset weak domestic market. (Allied Healthcare Products Inc.)
November 4, 1996... After a year of disappointing earnings, James Janning, the president and chief executive officer of Allied Healthcare Products Inc., is sounding a cautiously optimistic note about the company's future. Janning said recent acquisitions and...

Nixdorff Krein scores big with NBA hoops; cousins guide 140-year-old firm to rack up $11 million in revenue. (Nixdorff Krein Industries Inc.)
November 4, 1996... EMERGING COMPANIES Nixdorff Krein Industries Inc. 760 Office Parkway St. Louis, Mo. 63141 Business activity: Nixdorff Krein Industries Inc., a fourth-generation family business that now specializes in manufacturing athletic equipment, has...

Bank mergers have competitors turning up ad volume.
November 4, 1996... First Banks Inc. is about to unleash a radio and print campaign: "Not for sale by owner." In September Southwest Bank and UMB Financial Corp. unveiled similar ads taking aim at North Carolina-based NationsBank after it announced plans to...