St. Louis Business Journal articles from September 1998

St. Louis Business Journal archives from September 1998

BJC turmoil forced Brown out. (Fred Brown resigns as president of BJC Health System)
September 7, 1998... Pressure from the BJC Health System board of directors prompted Fred Brown to step down as president and chief executive of the system. Brown said the announcement that he would resign to focus on national health issues as chairman of the...

Mills lands $33 million. (amount that Berg Electronics Corp. CEO James Mills will get after company is sold to Framatome Connectors)
September 7, 1998... Berg Electronics receive seven bids for company James Mills, chairman and chief executive officer of Berg Electronics Corp., will get $33 million for his stake in the company when it is sold to the French firm Framatome Connectors...

Pauli appeals ruling. (Pauli and Company Inc.)
September 7, 1998... A $1.1 million judgment and an additional $650,000 in punitive damages have been levied against Pauli & Co. and one of its former stockbrokers. John "Jack" Kenny. The ruling by the National Association of Security Dealers came after a client,...

Riddell Footwear takes big step with new home.
September 7, 1998... Riddell Footwear, the latest acquisition of Enterprise Capital Group, is moving into a new space in Maryland Heights and has big plans to expand its product line. Riddell Footwear will move from a temporary home in West Port to a...

David McCay making room for Williams at Jefferson Savings. (Joe Williams, chief operating officer of Jefferson Savings and Loan Assn.)
September 7, 1998... David McCay, chairman, president and chief executive of Jefferson Savings Bancorp Inc., is stepping back from day-to-day operations and will focus on acquisitions, according to people familiar with the bank. Joe Williams, president and chief...

Dallas distributor likely buyer for Griesedieck Imports. (Glazer Wholesale Distributors)
September 7, 1998... Griesedieck Imports, a 35-year-old specialty wine and beer wholesaler, has been negotiating with possible purchasers. The likely buyer is Glazer Wholesale Distributors of Dallas, according to people familiar with the talks. Griesdiecke...

King, Koster leave law firm to join Blumenfeld. (attorneys John King and Robert Koster to join Blumenfeld, Kaplan & Sandweiss law firm)
September 7, 1998... Real estate attorney John King, who has handled some of the largest rezonings in St. Louis County, is joining the Blumenfeld, Kaplan & Sandweiss law firm. The change officially takes place Oct. 1, and will mark the end of the seven-attorney...

Wiegmann's sales reach a cool $20 million. (mechanical contractor Wiegmann and Associates Inc.)(Company Profile)
September 7, 1998... Business activity: Wiegmann & Associates Inc., in today's vernacular, is a "cool" company. Engaged primarily in the air conditioning of commercial and industrial buildings, Wiegmann has been growing at a whirlwind pace since its founding by...

Home Savings lays off 344. (closure of Home Savings of America after the sale of its parent company H.F. Ahmanson and Co to Washington Mutual Inc.)
September 14, 1998... A mega-merger in the financial services industry will cost the St. Louis area 344 jobs by early next year. Washington Mutual Inc. officials say they will close the Home Savings of America office in Earth City within six months after Washington...

Cowle switches tracks. (growth of Eric Cowle's Quelle Quiche frozen food business)
September 14, 1998... Former MetroLink planner reheats Quelle Quiche Eric Cowle was an improbable for the Quelle Quiche brand - so unlikely that the former owners initially did not take him seriously. That's because Cowle, 36, did not have a background in the food...

Mike Clark sells share of Clayco. (Clayco Construction Co.)
September 14, 1998... Mike Clark sold his 50 percent share in Clayco Construction Co. to his brother, Bob Clark, and four of the company's key managers. The deal, which closed Sept. 4, gives Bob Clark about 60 percent of the company's stock. The management team owns...

$50 million development. (office and retail project joint venture in St. Clair County, Missouri between Miles Properties and Shelton Development Co.)
September 14, 1998... Office, retail project planned for St. Clair County Miles Properties and Shelton Development Co. are teaming up on a $50 million office and retail project at the new Interstate 64 interchange planned for St. Clair County. The I-64...

Sigma-Aldrich computer system should reduce costs.
September 14, 1998... First phase to cost more than $20 million Sigma-Aldrich Corp., the chemicals and metals giant, is expected to greatly improve efficiency with a cutting-edge computer system that will integrate order entry, distribution, financial reporting and...

Picturesque works 24 hours on $18 McGwire T-shirts. (Picturesque Graphics; Mark McGwire)
September 14, 1998... For Picturesque Graphics, Mark McGwire's record-breaking homer has meant working around the clock to meet demand for the locker room T-shirts worn by the Cardinals and the slugger after Tuesday's game. Fans have been clamoring for the shirt,...

BJC, HealthSouth partner on rehab center. (BJC Health System; HealthSouth Rehabilitation Corp.)
September 14, 1998... $24 million hospital to feature 80 beds BJC Health System and HealthSouth Corp. are planning a $24.4 million rehabilitation hospital near the Washington University Medical School campus. According to a letter of intent received by the...

Mrkaceks land $26 million with air charter company. (Rick and Susie Mrkacek, owners of Premier Air Center Inc.)(Company Profile)
September 14, 1998... Business activity: To get their feet back on the ground, Rick and Susie Mrkacek started an air charter company. The Mrkaceks, who met while they were working as corporate pilots, decided they were tired of living out of suitcases but wanted to...

Taylor, Liddy stock up. (Andrew Taylor buys stocks of Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. and Richard Liddy buys stocks of Reinsurance Group of America)
September 21, 1998... While many stock market investors were running for the exits in August, Andrew Taylor and Richard Liddy were plunking down about $200,000 each for stock in Anheuser-Busch and Reinsurance Group of America, respectively. Indeed, a band of local...

Barnes-Jewish posts healthiest profit. (hospital)
September 21, 1998... With the help of a booming stock market, 28 hospitals on the Missouri side of the St. Louis metro area posted combined net income of more than $278 million in 1997, a 24 percent gain from the previous year. The hospitals' combined revenue...

Lender charges more as losses mount at Edison. (Edison Brothers Stores Inc. amends loan agreement with Congress Financial Corp. amd CIT Group/Business Credit Inc.)
September 21, 1998... At a time when many national retailers finally cashed in on the strong U.S. economy, Edison Brothers Stores Inc. continues to struggle. The St. Louis-based apparel and footwear specialty retailer lost $37.2 million, or $3.46 a share, for the 26...

Hannegan family invests $3 million in new bank. (Frontenac Bank)
September 21, 1998... Kresko, Hammond, Thomas, Hughes and Davis also invest St. Charles attorney John Hannegan and two family members will own about 48 percent of the stock in the proposed Frontenac Bank. Hannegan, who recently retired from Thompson Coburn, is...

Unity Motion to hit the airwaves despite lack of high-definition TVs. (television broadcasting company)
September 21, 1998... Unity Motion will begin broadcasting high-definition television 24 hours a day Sept. 26. But the company doesn't have any subscribers because equipment for receiving its programming is not yet available. High-definition TV offers a much higher...

Castle building: Julie Cusumano constructs $3 million contracting firm. (Castle Contracting)
September 21, 1998... Business activity: Castle Contracting is digging into the region's big construction projects. The company primarily does excavation and concrete work for electrical and mechanical contractors. "We're starting to do more work for general...

Siboney Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
September 21, 1998... Timothy J. Tegeler Chairman, president and chief executive officer Siboney Corp. produces and sells educational software and related materials and owns interests in several natural resource properties. The company's Gamco subsidiary develops...

$100 million Chesterfield office park. (St Louis, Missouri)(includes related article on Sach Properties' real estate plans)
September 28, 1998... Alvin Vitt has assembled almost 35 acres on the Highway 40 corridor in Chesterfield where he plans to develop a $100 million office park. Vitt, president of Alvin D. Vitt & Co., is looking for large tenants to occupy the four mid-rise office...

Getting out the vote for moats. (casino lobbying in Missouri)
September 28, 1998... Casinos playing all the cards to register voters Missouri casinos aren't taking any chances in the upcoming election, registering thousands to vote and spending in the seven figures to be sure boats in moats don't sink. Thousands of people...

Wikoff buys 11 Clark gas stations. (Clark Refining and Marketing Inc)
September 28, 1998... Darryl Wikoff, the former president of Dierbergs Markets Inc., is adding high-octane retail experience to his resume. Wikoff heads a family business that took over 11 gasoline and convenience stores in the St. Louis area that had been owned by...

Novelly, Cusumano acquire option on Overland building. (Tony Novelly; John Cusumano)
September 28, 1998... A partnership led by Tony Novelly and John Cusumano has an option to buy a 281,000-square-foot building on 23 acres in Overland for $3.55 million. The property, at 1525 Woodson Road, is adjacent to an 80-acre site Sansone Group Inc. and THF...

HMOs hire Geile-Rexford, Waylon to doctor imiage. (Geile-Rexford Creative Associates for Health Partners of the Midwest; Waylon Ad)
September 28, 1998... For some time, health maintenance organizations have been criticized for caring more about profits than people. Now at least two advertising campaigns are coming out of St. Louis to combat that image and portray HMOs as sensitive caregivers....

Ozzie's Wizard Motorsports slow in getting up to speed. (Ozzie Smith)
September 28, 1998... Ozzie Smith's Wizard Motorsports, which struck out in attracting enough corporate sponsorship to make this year's NASCAR Winston Cup series, is talking money with Charles Bidwill III. Wizard Motorsports - which was formed last year in a...

Hubble refocuses Angelica, cleans up balance sheet. (Don Hubble; Angelica Corp)
September 28, 1998... Don Hubble, chairman, president and chief executive at Angelica Corp., is turning the laundry and uniform business inside out in an effort to improve financial performance. Hubble was brought in Jan. 1, after Angelica posted several years of...

Barnes-Jewish, Wash U., Tenet to spend $8 million on heart projects. (Barnes-Jewish Hospital; Washington University School of Medicine; Tenet Healthcare Corp)
September 28, 1998... Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine plan to spend $6.9 million to consolidate several services for heart patients in west St. Louis County. Separately, Tenet Healthcare Corp. wants to spend $1.7 million to...