Houston Business Journal articles from July 1995

Houston Business Journal archives from July 1995

Corporate agility: next step past reengineering. (corporate agility in the chemical industry)
July 7, 1995... When Huntsman Corp. acquired Texaco Chemical Co. last year, the deal wasn't part of any long-range plan. The opportunity simply arose and Huntsman seized it, recalls Don Stanutz, senior vice president of Huntsman, a unit of the closely-held...

Rally's, Red Line slug it out. (case between Rally's Hamburgers and Red Line Burgers)
July 7, 1995... Once allies in the hotly competitive hamburger industry, San Antonio-based Red Line Burgers and Kentucky-based Rally's Hamburgers are now fighting it out in court. Rally's filed suit in U.S. District Court in Galveston, accusing Red Line of...

CoreStaff gobbles up another information technology firm. (CoreStaff Inc.'s acquisition of Cutler/William Inc.)
July 7, 1995... The goal is to be a billion-dollar player in the national staffing industry Houston-based CoreStaff Inc. wants to make its ranking as the Texas leader in temporary staffing services permanent. The company, with annualized sales at $400...

Comerica was attracted by QuestStar's status in small business lending arena. (Comerica Bank-Texas' acquisition of QuestStar Bank N.A.)
July 7, 1995... The extended courtship of Houston's QuestStar Bank by Comerica Bank-Texas ended last week when the two financial institutions reached a $25 million acquisition agreement. QuestStar, Houston's largest Small Business Administration lender, will...

Houston's Baltic International to control Latvian airline. (Baltic Internation USA Inc.'s contract with the Latvian government)
July 7, 1995... Privatization, expansion could improve company sagging stock price Houston-based Baltic International USA Inc. reached a deal this week with the Latvian government that will give the local company control of the entire Latvian international...

St. Luke's Hospital puts fresh spin on utilization management. (utilization management program at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas)(Quarterly Health Care Report)
July 7, 1995... Dr. David Pate is receiving less administrative-type telephone calls from insurance companies now than in the past, thanks to a newly-implemented program at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. A systemwide concept called "utilization management" was...

Allwaste Inc. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 7, 1995... NYSE ALW 5151 SAN FELIPE, SUITE 1600, HOUSTON 77056 (713) 623-8777 Allwaste Inc. is a Houston-based environmental company that provides specialized environmental and industrial services, container-cleaning capabilities and glass recycling to...

American Biomed replaces top execs; shakeup follows sale of core technology. (American BioMed Inc.)
July 14, 1995... American Biomed Inc. has replaced its top management in an attempt to turn around the company's fading fortunes. Steve Rash has been brought aboard as president, chief executive officer and director of the struggling medical device firm,...

Companies start over under new names. (Texan firms)
July 14, 1995... Don't look for Malvy Technology Inc. on the Nasdaq Stock Market. As of this month, the tiny Houston firm that once specialized in making auto security devices for the European market can now be found under a new name - and with an entirely...

Catalog firms go retail route to bag shoppers.
July 14, 1995... When she goes shopping, Jeanne Vernon likes to touch the merchandise. "I like to see what I'm buying up front," says Vernon, a 54-year-old office manager. "I want to see that it's the right color and right size and the right price." Then...

Houston heads Texas pack in public offerings. (initial public offerings)
July 14, 1995... For the first time in two years, Houston's public companies raised more money and completed more public offerings in one quarter than their counterparts in Dallas. The state overall joined a national trend toward more participation in the...

New ruling could save refineries millions in federal import duties; Amoco decision grants most plants special status as foreign trade zones. (Amoco Corp.)
July 14, 1995... Gulf Coast refineries stand to save millions of dollars in federal import duties by operating under new rules granting them special status as foreign trade zones. The new ruling was made by the Federal Trade Zones Board last March in response...

Taking the environment into aerospace. (Lockheed Environmental Systems and Technologies Co. CEO and Pres. Linda Marvin)
July 14, 1995... Linda Marvin overcame heavy resistance to crate an environmental subsidiary at Lockheed Martin. In the process, she cracked the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman president of an operating company for the aerospace giant. Linda Marvin...

Banks bring together trust, private banking operations.
July 14, 1995... Bankers see new relationship between services as way to compete Competition for wealth from mutual funds and brokerage firms has a number of local financial institutions changing the way they operate their trust and private banking departments....

Bank deals abound in merger mania; local activity mirrors U.S. trend.
July 21, 1995... As another wave of mergers and acquisitions sweeps through the U.S. banking market, local financial institutions are going with the tide. The market for banks has heated up in recent months as the industry struggles with too much capacity and...

Columbia will close hospital, build new one. (Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.)
July 21, 1995... After closing four local hospitals in less than a year, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. will shutter another facility. At the same time, the company is planning to build a new hospital in northwest Houston - across the street from Houston Northwest...

Small firm fights giant in phone feud. (Ergonomic Products Inc.; Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.)
July 21, 1995... After nearly a year of wrangling over a telephone number mixup, a small Houston company has sued manufacturing giant 3M Co. for damages caused by publishing the wrong toll-free number. Houston-based Ergonomic Products Inc. filed suit in a...

Mexican groups go on buying binge for local office buildings.
July 21, 1995... Two groups of wealthy Mexican industrialists are on a shopping spree in Houston. They have already spent an estimated $20 million to buy nearly 650,000 square feet of suburban office space in the past eight months, and their broker says they...

Engineer rising after rocky takeoff in aerospace sector. (Muniz Engineering Inc. owner Edelmiro Muniz)(Small Business Profile)(Company Profile)
July 21, 1995... Company: Muniz Engineering Inc. Business: Engineering and technical support for government and supporting industries. Founded: 1992. Employees: 75. Sales: $1.3 million. Background: When Edelmiro Muniz retired from the U.S. Air Force...

In a league of her own. (Oshman's Sporting Goods Inc. Chairman Marilyn Oshman)(Profile)
July 21, 1995... In 1993, business rookie Marilyn Oshman stepped up to the plate and took control of the slumping sporting goods chain founded by her father. Today, Oshman's Sporting Goods is moving up in the retail standings again. Four years ago, Marilyn...

How BFI beat the New York mob. (Browning-Ferris Industries Inc.; New York, New York's garbage collection market controlled by a 50-year-old cartel)
July 28, 1995... Browning-Ferris Industries blew into the Big Apple garbage business to find a tough market controlled by a 50-year-old cartel with a reputation for financial intimidation and physical force. Aided by a district attorney's investigation and a...

Expanding British software firm moves world headquarters here. (Learmonth Burchett Management Systems Inc.; Houston, Texas)
July 28, 1995... A British software company with a presence in Houston is moving its worldwide headquarters here, a company spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday. Learmonth Burchett Management Systems Inc. (LBMS) has more than doubled its leased office space in the...

Destec Energy to build power plant in first round of Taiwan privatization. (Destec Energy Inc.)
July 28, 1995... Destec Energy Inc., in partnership with a Taiwanese conglomerate, has won its bid to build a 450-megawatt power plant in Taiwan. Destec is the first American company to be awarded an independent power project from the Taiwanese Ministry of...