Houston Business Journal articles from May 1995

Houston Business Journal archives from May 1995

Medical firm joins parade to Wall Street. (Physicians Resource Group Inc.)
May 12, 1995... Physician group second to file IPO in past month Another Houston-based medical management company has decided to test the public sector for financing. Physicians Resource Group Inc. has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for...

Power printer broadens base with three new acquisitions. (Consolidated Graphics Inc.)
May 12, 1995... In less than a week, Houston-based Consolidated Graphics Inc. has made moves to solidify its hold on the local market, to round out its position in Texas and to expand the company's reach into a profitable new niche. Last week, Consolidated...

Engineering firms hiring hundreds. (Houston, Texas)
May 12, 1995... Brown & Root will add 200 to local work force Houston-area engineering firms are engaged in a wave of hiring that hasn't been seen in the industry for several years. Brown & Root Inc., for example, is expanding its engineering work force by...

Haute designer clashes with 'knock-offs' in handbag tiff. (Judith Leiber Inc.; J. Tiras Classic Handbags Inc.)
May 12, 1995... Judith Leiber Inc., a New York maker of designer handbags, is suing Houston-based J. Tiras Classic Handbags Inc. in hopes the local company will knock off creating "knock-offs" of Leiber's well-known upscale products. The Houston firm has also...

Coastal reaches agreement with partners to develop power plant project in China. (Coastal Corp.)
May 12, 1995... Facility one of the first to get funding Houston-based The Coastal Corp. and two Chinese companies completed a joint-venture contract last week to build, own and operate a power plant in China. The plant at Wuxi City, about 80 miles...

Fiscal woes force American BioMed to sell prized OmniCath technology. (American BioMed Inc.)
May 12, 1995... Cash infusion required to keep company solvent Ailing American BioMed Inc. is selling off its core technologies in order to remain solvent, company officials say. The Woodlands-based biotech firm recently received $2 million from United...

Munching microbes: Florida biotech firm gets expansion bug in Houston. (Environmental Biotech Inc.; Texas)
May 12, 1995... A Sarasota, Fla.-based biotech company with an appetite for expansion is letting loose grease-munching microbes all over Houston. Environmental Biotech Inc., which already operates one local office, plans to open four more Houston-area offices...

Da Vinci Scientific files public offering to raise capital for acquisitions. (Da Vinci Medical Inc.)
May 12, 1995... A local medical firm plans to offer about a third of its stock to the public in order to finance an aggressive acquisition campaign in the uncertain business of health care. DaVinci Scientific Corp. filed with the Securities and Exchange...

HL&P move creates space in office sector. (Houston Lighting and Power Co.'s relocation)
May 12, 1995... As work continues to transform the 1100 Milam building into Houston Industries Plaza, hundreds of Houston Lighting & Power Co. employees in the hinterlands are preparing for their big move downtown. Some 900 employees in at least three office...

Dowell unveils new fracturing technique to cut costs in oil patch. (Dowell Schlumberger Inc.)
May 12, 1995... Roger Card, a research chemist with the Dowell division of Schlumberger Cos., has created a new fracturing method that promises to save money for oil and gas producers. Earlier this month, Houston-based Dowell released "Propnet," a new...

Bridging the gap between architects and engineers. (Walter P. Moore and Associates Chmn. Walter P. Moore Jr.)(Company Profile)
May 12, 1995... Walter P. Moore Jr. has spent three decades building landmark projects. Now he faces the challenging task of bringing two professions together. Walter P. Moore Jr. has come full circle in the structural engineering world. The man whose firm...

Houston metropolitan region maintains rapid growth rate. (Texas; population growth)
May 12, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria region was one of the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan areas during the first five years of the decade. The eight-county Houston area gained 9.9 percent population during the...

Mail processing firm bounces back from bankruptcy to win Blue Chip. (Lonestar Southwest Inc.; Blue Chip Enterprise Award)
May 12, 1995... Company: Lonestar Southwest Inc. Business: Presort mailing processor. Founded: 1985. Employees: 70. Sales: $2.8 million in 1994. Background: Three years ago, Michael Myers' attempt to be on the cutting edge of the mail sorting business nearly...

Swift Energy Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 12, 1995... NYSE, Pacific SFY 16825 NORTHCHASE DRIVE, SUITE 400, HOUSTON 77060-9968 (713) 874-2700 Swift Energy Co. is a natural resource company engaged in the exploration, development, acquisition and production of oil and gas properties. Total...

Superstore corridor: busy highway intersection attracts growing bevy of 'big-box' retailers. (Houston, Texas)
May 19, 1995... So much construction is under way around the intersection of FM 1960 and the Tomball Parkway that it's difficult to tell where the highway work ends and the retail explosion begins. In the past 24 months, a bevy of projects totalling nearly...

Conroe minus one hospital after merger. (Conroe, Texas)
May 19, 1995... Two Conroe hospitals formerly owned by HealthTrust Inc. and now part of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.'s vast hospital empire, have decided to merge. Doctors Hospital, built in 1974, will close June 16 and combine most of its employees and...

Utility rate checker lights up way to lower electricity bills. (RateCheckers)
May 19, 1995... Commercial firms don't have to wait for the Texas Legislature to deregulate electric utilities in order to lower their bills. Substantial savings can be had just for the asking, says Alan Foley, who helps commercial utility customers find ways...

CRSS sold to Belgian utility. (CRSS Inc.; American Tractebel Corp.)
May 19, 1995... Citing a need for a partner with deep pockets. Houston-based electric and thermal power producer CRSS Inc. has been sold to a Belgian-based utility for $205.9 million. The deal with American Tractebel Corp., a subsidiary of Brussels-based...

Texas Legislature calling new signals in sports stadium game.
May 19, 1995... A pair of bills under consideration in the Texas Legislature could breathe new life into a matter presumed dead last fall - a new domed stadium complex for Houston. In trying to drum up support for a new downtown stadium at this time last...

Sterling takes advantage of tax breaks, picks Metroplex for distribution center. (Sterling Electronics Corp.)
May 19, 1995... Move will cause layoffs in Houston The potential to save $1 million a year in inventory taxes is luring Houston-based Sterling Electronics Corp. to locate a new main distribution facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Jack Killoren,...

Snapping up profits: financial picture improves for public photo-booth firm. (Irata Inc.)
May 19, 1995... Irata Inc., the computerized photo-booth company that went public last year, has passed the break-even point and will be able to build profits as it adds locations, company officials say. Houston-based Irata last week reported third-quarter...

American Ecology gets boost in bid to operate California waste site. (American Ecology Corp.)
May 19, 1995... Positive report raises hopes for $75 million project Houston-based American Ecology Corp. is one step closer to receiving final permission for operating a low-level radioactive waste site in California. A positive site evaluation, released...

Allwaste Environmental acquires firms in Washington, Minnesota. (Allwaste Enviironmental Services Inc.)
May 19, 1995... Company changes focus after shedding glass division Allwaste Environmental Services Inc., a division of Houston-based Allwaste Inc., has acquired two environmental remediation companies with combined revenues of $2.3 million. The...

Houston investment banking firm to merge with California company. (McFarland, Grossman and Co.; JB Oxford Holdings Inc.)
May 19, 1995... McFarland, Grossman & Co. has agreed to a merger that will make the Houston investment banking firm an immediate player in the business of underwriting public offerings. JB Oxford Holdings Inc., a California brokerage and clearing service, has...

Salesman finds right chemistry in switch to solvents business. (Southwest Solvents and Chemicals)(Company Profile)
May 19, 1995... Company: Southwest Solvents & Chemicals. Business: Independent chemical distributor. Founded: 1970. Employees: 110. Sales: $50 million. Background: J.M. Clepper's willingness to leave a comfortable, stable job in exchange for 20 percent ownership...

Family business survives shock to the system. (Warren Electric Co.)
May 19, 1995... Cheryl Thompson set off legal sparks to gain control of her father's company. Now she's in charge of one of the country's biggest electrical suppliers. More than three years have passed since the end of the lawsuit that almost cost Cheryl...

Houston-area inventors make major contribution to flow of U.S. patents.
May 19, 1995... Those who think America has lost its Yankee ingenuity should just ask the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which issued patents for 107,030 inventions and original designs in 1993. That works out to more than 2,000 patents each week, ranging...

Attorneys confront adversity in changing face of legal industry.(Focus On: Law)(Panel Discussion)
May 19, 1995... Legal industry professionals are in a transition period on myriad different fronts. How they react to the changes put before them could determine how well they are able to survive. Law firms and attorneys are searching for ways to adapt to...

Regulatory questions raised as jury forecasting industry soars.
May 19, 1995... Houston attorneys are increasingly turning to jury forecasting companies to help them win cases or avoid trials, but concern about the need for regulation in this infant industry is beginning to surface. Robert Gordon, founder of the...

Law firms which change with the times will survive, prosper.
May 19, 1995... A transition in the Houston legal scene that began in the late 1980s is still being played out today. In the past 10 years, some of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the city unraveled; some are now extinct. This sometimes chaotic...

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 19, 1995... NYSE COG 15375 MEMORIAL DRIVE, HOUSTON 77079 (713) 589-4600 Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. is a large domestic natural gas producer and marketer. Total shares of common stock outstanding as of March 20, 1995 22,773,505 Stock...

Continental shares rise as insiders buy. (Continental Airlines Inc.)
May 26, 1995... Officers, directors invest $3.6 million in airline's stock A soaring stock price at Continental Airlines Inc. has insiders scrambling to cash in on the company's predicted profitability in the coming quarters. Since the end of April,...

Chronicle hits advertisers with 38 percent rate hike. (Houston Chronicle)
May 26, 1995... It didn't take the Houston Chronicle long to raise the ante on advertising rates after buying and closing The Houston Post. Within two weeks of the Post's demise, the winner of the city's daily newspaper war sent out letters to advertisers...

Carillon center sold to foreign investor group. (retail center)
May 26, 1995... After being on and off the market for years, the Carillon Village retail center in far west Houston has been sold to a group of foreign investors. Sopros Investments Corp., a division of Richfield Investment Corp., purchased the center at...

Memorial/Sisters of Charity plan new outpatient center. (Memorial/Sisters of Charity Health Network)
May 26, 1995... The Memorial/Sisters of Charity Health Network will begin construction this year on a multimillion-dollar ambulatory care center near FM 1960 and U.S. Highway 290. Dan S. Wilford, president of the Memorial Healthcare System, says tentative...

Houston's Lawrence Ilfrey agency sold to expanding San Antonio insurance firm. (Lawrence Ilfrey and Co.; Texas Insurance Agency Inc.)
May 26, 1995... San Antonio's largest independent insurance agency has taken a step toward becoming a leading player in the Houston insurance market. Texas Insurance Agency Inc. has acquired Houston-based Lawrence Ilfrey & Co., which wrote more than $12...

Sale, renovation of Greenspoint project indicates continued resurgence in area. (Oaks of Greenspoint apartments)
May 26, 1995... The new owners of the Oaks of Greenspoint apartments are betting that renovations to the 384-unit complex will carry the area's economic resurgence from the commercial arena into the residential sector. Glen C. Ruffner of Sigma Financial Group...

Oil's history will repeat itself. (interview with investment banker Matthew Simmons)(Interview)
May 26, 1995... Investment banker Matthew Simmons says world demand is rising faster than the industry's capacity to keep up By the year 2000, and possibly as early as this summer, "the lines" - the ones that caused a catastrophe 15 years ago when they moved...

Architectural niches thriving in wake of 1980s real estate bust.
May 26, 1995... When Houston's commercial real estate market took a nose dive in the 1980s, local architects like Frank Douglas learned a lesson in flexibility. The architectural firm of Douglas/Gallagher began feeling the effects of the real estate downturn...

Apartment construction slows as investors explore other markets. (Houston, Texas)
May 26, 1995... Real estate developers, lenders and analysts expect apartment construction in Houston to slow next year. Although such talk raises questions of market saturation, most industry insiders say nothing could be farther from the truth. "It's just...

Local industrial market bustles, shows no signals of slowdown. (Houston, Texas; real estate market)
May 26, 1995... Despite some of the recent hype, Houston's industrial real estate market continues to be one of big deals and small trends. Most local brokers can point to the notable deals in the last year. At least nine build-to-suits for major companies...

Survey. (relocation of office tenants from cities into the suburbs)
May 26, 1995... Do you think the majority of the relocation of office tenants out of downtown and other cities and into the suburbs is over, or will it continue? Bruce Williams project manager, Vantage Houston Inc. Over the past couple of years, the premise...

Tetra Technologies Inc. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 26, 1995... NASDAQ/NMS TTRA 25025 I-45 NORTH, THE WOODLANDS 77380 (713) 367-1983 TETRA Technologies Inc. is a specialty inorganic chemical company selling products, services and process technologies to a variety of markets, including oil and gas,...