Houston Business Journal articles from February 1996

Houston Business Journal archives from February 1996

Battle looming for cellular customers. (new companies in Houston, Texas cellular market)(includes related articles)
February 23, 1996... Three more companies entering Houston market this year Seven different cellular phone companies will be hawking their wares in Houston by the end of this year. But customers who expect the competition to bring a dramatic drop in prices may be...

Houston ripe for major move by Mellon Mortgage. (Texas; Mellon Mortgage Co.)
February 23, 1996... Pittsburgh firm shops for 200,000 square feet Mellon Mortgage Co. is considering consolidating three of its offices in Houston and is shopping the local office market for more than 200,000 square feet of space, according to real estate...

WRT Energy: former high-flier flies for Chapter 11. (WRT Energy Corp.)
February 23, 1996... Plagued by a continuing cash crunch and a faltering stock price. WRT Energy Corp. filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last week in a Louisiana federal court. The bankruptcy filing caps a year of troubles for The Woodlands-based company that...

Body of work secures future for illustrator. (Blausen Medical Communications founder Bruce Blausen)(Focus on: Printing & Graphics)
February 23, 1996... When Dr. Red Duke asked Bruce Blausen if he knew how to operate a $110,000 computer graphics system at The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, Blausen's reply was, "Sure." In truth, Blausen needed a job, and he had no idea...

Harbor Financial Group will acquire San Francisco mortgage service firm. (Harbor Financial Mortgage Corp.; Hamilton Financial Services Corp.)
February 23, 1996... Deal will boost Harbor's loan servicing portfolio to almost $4 million Harbor Financial Group Inc. will more than double its mortgage banking operations with the acquisition of a San Francisco mortgage company. Founded in 1983, Harbor...

Staubach Cos. buying land for 2 AutoNation used car dealerships.
February 23, 1996... A Dallas-based real estate company is accelerating the spread of trendy used car superstores in Houston. The Staubach Cos. has deals working on two separate tracts of land for AutoNation, a pioneer in the emerging industry for this new type...

On-demand digital printing opens new business options. (includes related article)(Focus on: Printing & Graphics)
February 23, 1996... The buzzwords in the digital publishing industry today are print-on-demand. To business owners, on-demand means getting the documents they need when and where they want them. "People have a color copier mentality," says Art Howard, president...

Computer company going public by acquiring Dallas restaurant firm. (Citadel Computer Systems Inc.; LoneStar Hospitality Corp.)
February 23, 1996... Houston investor Gilbert Gertner is taking his computer security firm public through the acquisition of a Dallas restaurant company. As part of a deal announced last week, Gerther's Citadel Computer Systems Inc. will merge with LoneStar...

Unconventional builder. (Duddlesten owner Wayne Duddlesten)(Company Profile)
February 23, 1996... Wayne Duddlesten's business ventures have ranged from real estate to public relations to professional basketball. His plans to build a $155 million hotel next to downtown's George R. Brown Convention Center, his biggest challenge yet, now place...

Masters of disaster. (Evans American Corp.)
February 23, 1996... The Evans American Corp. came to Houston after Hurricane Alicia. Company employees now travel the world to help victims rebuild from catastrophes. Brothers Nelson and Winston Bean have been dealing with major catastrophes for years. In fact,...

Browning-Ferries Industries Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
February 23, 1996... NYSE, Chicago, Pacific, International Stock Exchange of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland Ltd. BFI 757 N. ELDRIDGE, HOUSTON 77253 (713) 870-8100 Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. is one of the largest publicly-held companies whose...

New bank aims for Asian business. (Southwest National Bank of Houston, Texas)
February 16, 1996... Group seeks first federal charter since 1987 A group of Asian and American investors is seeking Houston's first national bank charter in nearly a decade. With an eye on blossoming retail operations up and down West Bellaire Boulevard, as...

GTE Mobilnet consolidates, adds 400 jobs. (GTE Mobilnet Inc.)
February 16, 1996... GTE Mobilnet has decided to consolidate a customer service call center in Houston and to hire more than 400 people to staff it in the next three years. Atlanta-based GTE Mobilnet, which already employs about 166 people in a facility on...

Legal maneuvers. (Co-Counsel Inc.)
February 16, 1996... Lisa Turano had no trouble taking her legal temp firm public. But the Co-Counsel founder soon discovered just how deceptive the stock market can be. Going public was a breeze for Co-Counsel Inc. It was only after the offering that the...

Atwood Oceanics Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)
February 16, 1996... NASDAQ/NMS ATWD 15835 PARK TEN PLACE D DRIVE, HOUSTON 77084 (713) 492-2929 Atwood Oceanics Inc. is engaged in the business of international off-shore drilling of exploratory and developmental oil and gas wells and related support,...

Convention centers spring up in suburbs. (convention center projects in the Baytown and Sugar Land suburbs of Houston, Texas)
February 9, 1996... Baytown, Sugar Land launch projects as Houston approves new/hotel plan As plans for Houston's convention center hotel begin to materialize, the suburban cities of Baytown and Sugar Land are booking some reservations of their own. The two...

Dallas telecom company calls on Houston. (Excel Telecommunications Inc.'s planned customer call center in Houston, Texas)
February 9, 1996... Excel Communications center could create 650 new jobs A Dallas-based long-distance reseller is looking to open a customer call center in Houston that could employ more than 650 people. Excel Telecommunications Inc., a subsidiary of Excel...

Pumping wine. (Pheasant Ridge Winery)
February 9, 1996... Oil veterans trade gushers for grapes Instead of dry holes, veteran Houston oilman Bill Gipson now worries about unseasonable freezes in West Texas. The past president of Pogo Producing Co. and former executive vice president of Pennzoil...

County forms HMO in race for Medicaid. (Harris County Hospital District in Texas; health maintenance organization)
February 9, 1996... The Harris County Hospital District is making plans to launch a health maintenance organization in anticipation of the state's switch to Medicaid managed care. By forming the HMO, the district hopes to become one of two or three...

Hutcheson & Grundy talking merger with Dallas law firm. (Jenkens & Gilchrist)
February 9, 1996... Jenkens & Gilchrist joins Big D parade in Houston As Jenkens & Gilchrist finalizes a deal to merge with a San Antonio partnership, the Dallas law firm is now negotiating a similar deal with Houston's Hutcheson & Grundy. Officials at...

Continental Emsco of Garland moving headquarters to Houston.
February 9, 1996... Relocation could create 130 new jobs A Garland-based oilfield services company is relocating its headquarters to Houston, bringing as many as 130 new jobs here. Continental Emsco Co. has signed a long-term lease for 35,000 square feet of...

Texoil looks for fresh capital to ease strain on cash flow.
February 9, 1996... Texoil Inc., a Houston-based energy exploration and production firm, appears to be looking for merger partners as exploration operations continue to strain the company's cash reserves. On Monday, the publicly held firm announced the formation...

Head rider on the Houston rodeo range. (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo general manager Dan Gattis)
February 9, 1996... Dan Gattis wears a lot of hats as general manager for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He's roped George Strait, wrangled with ticket scalpers and is now steering the big show toward another record year in revenues. When the Houston...

Bob Hawthorne has big plans for small generators. (Power Strategic L.L.C. president and founder)
February 9, 1996... At the moment, Bob Hawthorne's ideas are bigger than his company. But if the market for small generators to produce electricity on the site of individual businesses continues to develop, then the size of his business may soon catch up....

Be careful to get latest software updates for new PCI PowerMacs.
February 9, 1996... We want to share some of our pain with you today, that you might be spared some of the same. Recently, we acquired our first so-called PCI Power Macintosh and were thrilled to be dancing on the cutting edge of computer technology for once....

Japanese statesman sowed seeds of rice industry in Houston area. (Seito Saibara)
February 9, 1996... Harris County produces more than $4 million in rice annually. But when rice farming was introduced into the area at the turn of the century, it was considered an experimental venture. And farmers in the forefront of the experiment were new...

City schools, hotels and football teams. (city government involvement in schools districts and hotel and football team management)
February 9, 1996... A few years back, when Oilers owner Bud Adams was threatening to take his football circus to another town, then-City Controller George Greanias suggested that the city might consider purchasing the team and placing it under public ownership. It...

Third phone plan offers option to 'donut' and 'hole.' (alternative to the proposed 10-digit dialing scheme in Houston, Texas)
February 9, 1996... There is much recent interest among the public and press regarding 10-digit dialing. Some are surprised by the proposed plan, but Southwestern Bell announced the overlay in 1994. Only because it is being "contested" by Bell's competitors,...

Chevrolet Camaro: the ideal auto for swimming with sharks.
February 9, 1996... You may have seen golfing great Greg "The Shark" Norman on TV ads, touting the wonders of Chevrolet's Suburban sport utility vehicle. It seems Norman owns a couple of the vehicles and approached Chevrolet about the idea of becoming a...