Pittsburgh Business Times articles from July 1997

Pittsburgh Business Times archives from July 1997

Planting their new plants in Pennsylvania; two new studies rank the state as tops in US manufacturing.(Industry Overview)
July 28, 1997... Pennsylvania might not be such a bad place to do business after all. Two recent studies show that, despite the perception that Pennsylvania manufacturing is stagnating, the industry is actually expanding in the commonwealth. One study even...

It was a big year for big companies; top 50 public companies report sales are up 15 percent.
July 28, 1997... DOWNTOWN - If the annual Business Times list of public companies is your measuring stick, the pace - and the wallets - of big business swelled in 1996. The new list of the region's largest public companies (see pages 18-19) is rife with...

Woodmont Corp. pursues land for Allegheny Valley retail site; Texas developer proposes $40 million center off Route 28.
July 28, 1997... HARMAR TOWNSHIP - Woodmont Corp., the Texas developer with shopping center projects in Cranberry and Robinson townships, is negotiating for 115 acres in the Allegheny Valley. W. Duff McCrady, who owns 350 acres at the northwest corner of the...

Will Home Depot try East Liberty?
July 28, 1997... EAST LIBERTY - Baby blue and white, the old Sears building stands silent here, surrounded by plastic cups, fast-food wrappers and shards of glass. The city of Pittsburgh wants nails, hammers and lumber in its place - a Home Depot superstore,...

The ones who get away: some of the best technology minds come out of local colleges. Why can't Pittsburgh companies keep them?
July 28, 1997... OAKLAND - Eric Boduch isn't from Pittsburgh. But when he graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1996, he wanted to stay here. So he sent his resume to several local technology companies in hopes of landing a job. The response? "None...

Small accounting firms Goff, Backa and Crawford, Ellenbogen merge; more unions of smaller firms are likely, due to client demands. (Goff, Backa, Alfera & Co.)
July 28, 1997... More unions of smaller firms are likely, due to client demands DOWNTOWN - Two small Pittsburgh-area accounting firms have merged in response to a tightening market and demands by clients for a larger, more specialized firm. Brentwood-based...

Philip Environmental buys engineering firm D&L Inc.; waste recycler expands, plans more local acquisitions.
July 28, 1997... DOWNTOWN - An Ontario-based company that set up its U.S. operations here July 3 is already making its presence felt. Philip Environmental Service Corp., a Hamilton, Ont.-based waste recycling firm, has purchased D&L Inc., a Downtown...

Heinz buys African firm, names head of weight watchers. (H.J. Heinz Co.)
July 28, 1997... DOWNTOWN - H.J. Heinz Co. built its southern Africa presence last week and, back on the home front, took another step toward revitalizing its lackluster Weight Watchers division. By acquiring Reckitt & Collman's diversified food business in...

Respironics is willing to spend big to protect patents; legal fights may cost medical products firm millions.
July 28, 1997... FOREST HILLS - Respironics Inc., the fast-growing maker of respiratory medical products, is going to the mat to protect its patents - and the battle will be expensive. On July 11, the publicly traded company filed suit in the U.S. District...

]Mid-year local TV ad sales pass $100 million mark; but gains are slight and real sales measure will come this fall.
July 28, 1997... Mid-year advertising sales at local television stations has topped $100 million, up 3 percent over the same period in 1996. But it's anyone's guess whether the stations can maintain this pace or top last year's estimated year-end ad sales...

Ridge asks state businesses to back his liquor sell-off; governor writes chambers to press privatization.
July 28, 1997... HARRISBURG - As the state legislature takes a summer break, Gov. Tom Ridge is knocking on doors in the business community, seeking support for privatization of the state liquor system. Earlier this month, Gov. Ridge, assisted by the...

Engineering a success: Bill Hakos could see the future of Centerline Engineering, even in the want ads.(Company Profile)
July 28, 1997... WEXFORD - In 1994, when Bill Hakos saw Lockwood Greene's newspaper ad seeking engineers, he thought he was in trouble again. Mr. Hakos, CEO of Centerline Engineering Corp., had just pulled the firm through an 18 month slump. The last thing he...

Conversion to digital TV will not be as easy as 1, 2, 3; new technology means new headaches.(Special Report: Technology Quarterly)
July 28, 1997... Television is going digital, on both local and national levels, and it's going to cost broadcasters a lot of money. But it's not just broadcasters - manufacturers and consumers will be shelling out big bucks as well. Television, as we know...

Automation attendants: robotics industry leaders take steps to keep companies from leaving the region.(Special Report: Technology Quarterly)
July 28, 1997... LAWRENCEVILLE - As a child growing up in southern Armstrong County, Craig Coulter watched his father, uncles, cousins and other relatives pour their lives into jobs at local steel mills. As a teen-ager, he watched as, one by one, they were...

Local firm gives bosses prying eyes; com.Policy cracks open employees' computers.(Special Report: Technology Quarterly)
July 28, 1997... GREEN TREE - It used to be that if a manager wanted to know what his employees were up to, he had to physically observe them. This is no longer the case. Executives can now monitor how workers spend their time without leaving their offices...

Industrial Scientific Corp. (OTC:ISCX). (proxy report excerpts)(Special Report: Technology Quarterly)(Company Profile)
July 28, 1997... Industrial Scientific Corp. in Oakdale designs, manufactures, sells and services products for detecting, measuring and monitoring a variety of gases including combustible and toxic gases as well as oxygen. Last year the company's sales...

Same law firm pursues FORE, other high-techs. (FORE Systems Inc.; Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach)
July 21, 1997... Millberg, Weiss specializes in shareholder lawsuits WARRENDALE - What do Silicon Graphics Inc., Adobe Systems Inc. and FORE Systems Inc. have in common? All are public companies that have watched their stock price rise sharply, then fall...

In culture we trust: the Cultural Trust strives for a true cultural center. But does its presence hamper its ultimate goal. (Pittsburgh Cultural Trust)
July 21, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Pittsburgh's Cultural District is a mixture of art and artifice. Like an actor at the Benedum Center or musician at Heinz Hall, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, architect of the 14-block district, has a flair for creativity and...

LTV doesn't want to sell its coke ovens. (LTV Steel Company Inc.)
July 21, 1997... Union hopes for buyer, but company isn't interested HAZELWOOD - Though workers want to keep the ovens at LTV Steel's Hazelwood Coke Works hot in the hopes that another company will buy the facility, LTV says it's not interested. No one had...

Revenue gap puts squeeze on hospitals. (Pennsylvania)
July 21, 1997... Two factors: Fewer patients, smaller insurance payments The financial pain of Pennsylvania hospitals is intensifying as their operating expenses rise faster than patient revenue. The state's 268 hospitals saw their net patient revenue rise...

Local exports up 'significantly' under NAFTA, new study claims. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
July 21, 1997... Others say impact isn't as clear as Allegheny Institute suggests GREEN TREE - Three years after implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the local impact of reduced trade tariffs for exports to Canada and Mexico is still...

Guatemalan freight rails take route through Pittsburgh.
July 21, 1997... Local rail management firm to run system there for 50 years GREEN TREE - When future historians track the history of the Guatemalan railroad, they'll have to visit Pittsburgh. That's because Railroad Development Corp., a Green Tree railway...

Clinton aims to increase contracts to small business.
July 21, 1997... Goal is to take more slices from $180 billion fed pie WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Clinton administration is ready to announce changes to the federal procurement system to help small businesses gain more contracting dollars. Steven Kelman,...

Secretary files sexual harassment lawsuit against USBANCORP Inc.
July 21, 1997... Woman claims bank fired her after she reported vice president DOWNTOWN - A former employee has sued USBANCORP Inc., the holding company of a suburban Pittsburgh bank, for sexual harassment and wrongful discharge. LeeAnn Rininger, a former...

Appeals court upholds patent decision; F.B. Leopold must shell out $1.7 million.
July 21, 1997... DOWNTOWN - A local water filtration company's attempt to enforce a patent - and avoid $1.7 million in legal fees - has failed in federal appeals court. The United States Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. has upheld a lower court decision...

Kvaerner has new name, new home and new market.
July 21, 1997... Engineering firm will venture overseas from new Strip offices DOWNTOWN - For Kvaerner Metals, the name, the game and the address are no longer the same. But the engineering is. The specialist in metals engineering, formerly known as Davy...

Dancing at the top. (Burson Marsteller managing director Laura Gongos)
July 21, 1997... Burson Marsteller's Laura Gongos is the only woman running a local ad agency DOWNTOWN - Officially, Laura Gongos, the highest-ranking woman in local advertising circles, is executive vice president and managing director of Burson Marsteller...

By any other name. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania developers)(Real Estate Quarterly)
July 21, 1997... Developers, businesses blur neighborhood boundaries in search of better image Mario Palombo has a case of address envy. His home town, O'Hara Township, wraps like a horseshoe around Fox Chapel, which happens to be its more affluent...

Glimcher drops bid to purchase Greengate Mall. (Glimcher Group Inc.)(Real Estate Quarterly)
July 21, 1997... Meanwhile, local ownership group waits in the wings GREENSBURG - Rob Glimcher has dropped his plan to purchase the Greengate Mall, a troubled retail property attracting plenty of window shoppers but no buyers. None yet, anyway. "We...

RIDC ponders Hill District for light industrial park. (Regional Industrial Development Corp.; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)(Real Estate Quarterly)
July 21, 1997... Community leaders join head of RIDC for tour of possible sites DOWNTOWN - Frank Brooks Robinson toured the Hill District in June, scouting for development opportunities amid the neighborhood's dilapidated buildings and vacant lots. Mr....

Boutiques win new life as contained units within shops. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)(Real Estate Quarterly)
July 21, 1997... Concept is less than a franchise, but more than mere line of goods MOUNT LEBANON - Since 1995, Venetia's Boutique, a seven-year-old clothing shop at the Galleria, has had a boutique of its own - Nicole Miller's. In the past, designer...

Battle of the megaplexes is coming soon to a theater location near you. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)(Real Estate Quarterly)
July 21, 1997... Big companies eye local market for massive movie Meccas A kid whines to his room because he can't see the movie over the basketball player in front of him. The slam dunk king stretches his legs - or tries to - and ends up having to extend...

SBA struggles to liquidate portfolio of collateral properties nationwide.(Real Estate Quarterly)
July 21, 1997... Some say sales are too low, others say they're too slow WASHINGTON. D.C. - Despite a healthy national economy, there are still too many failed businesses as far as the U.S. Small Business Administration is concerned. Because of that, the...

Occupancy rates in downtown area leave little room for new companies. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)(Real Estate Quarterly)(Directory)
July 21, 1997... However, the tight market is good news for landlords DOWNTOWN - Tenants in the city's largest office buildings are short on elbow room, according to the Business Times List of the 25 Largest Downtown Office Buildings. Five buildings on the...

Calgon Carbon Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 21, 1997... (NYSE: CCC) Calgon Carbon Corp., located in Robinson Township, is a producer of granular activated carbon as well as a producer, supplier and designer of technologies, products and services developed for the purification, separation and...

Physicians fear Highmark limit. (Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield's policy for including doctors in managed care networks)
July 14, 1997... Doctors troubled by changes in joining Highmark network DOWNTOWN - Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is rethinking how it admits doctors to its managed care networks - worrying doctors and hospitals concerned about being excluded. The...

Prevailing wage delays projects. (impact of Pennsylvania Gov Thomas Ridge's wage rate policy on construction job availability)
July 14, 1997... Fight over Gov. Ridge's plan leaves hundreds of jobs hanging HARRISBURG - A legal dispute over the Ridge administration's revamped prevailing wage rates has delayed the availability of at least 600 government construction jobs in the state,...

Ad agencies consider launching independent regional promotion. (advertising agencies in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia)
July 14, 1997... Self-funded effort could beat PRA campaign to the airwaves DOWNTOWN - A consortium of the region's largest advertising agencies will decide this week if it will mount a campaign to promote economic development in the region or compete...

Banking on themselves: minority community leaders create credit unions in areas where they believe bank service is lacking.
July 14, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Community leaders, representing areas of the city that are home to more than 10 percent of the city's residents - and nearly half of its minorities - believe banks aren't adequately serving them. So they're creating their own...

Westmoreland convention center on drawing board. (Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania)
July 14, 1997... County also considers creating a convention and visitors bureau GREENSBURG - Westmoreland County wants a convention center of its own. And a new visitors bureau, too. Together, the two would give the county "another piece of credibility,"...

Software seller Choice Technologies pursues uncommon public offering.
July 14, 1997... Company hopes to realize $5 million in Regulation A offer MONROEVILLE - Ray Brannon wanted to take his software company public. But few underwriters were willing to help. So he decided to do it himself. In January, the president and CEO...

Dravo will go its own way after sale talks fall apart. (Dravo Corp.)
July 14, 1997... Analysts say price differences killed deal for lime producer DOWNTOWN - The price wasn't right: the "for sale" sign has come down: and Dravo Corp. is now looking internally for growth. Executives of the natural resource company removed...

SafeGuard wants to Backup the retail software game. (SafeGuard Interactive Inc.)
July 14, 1997... Local firm enters retail market with its new software release ROSS TOWNSHIP- After two years of selling its data backup and recovery services on the Internet, SafeGuard Interactive Inc. is ready to take a shot at retail sales. The consumer...

Gauge maker BSI Instruments wins venture capital investments.
July 14, 1997... Backing of Birchmere fund and others to fuel new products ALIQUIPPA -A local technology firm will fuel the launch of a new product line with $1 million in venture capital and loans. BSI Instruments, an Aliquippa process control device...

Mr. Inside goes outside. (sales tax proposal by Allegheny Conference on Community Development Deputy Dir Harold Miller)
July 14, 1997... Can Harold Miller, policy wonk, become Harold Miller, tax salesman? DOWNTOWN - Harold Miller stands at the slide projector, brown hair parted left to right, tie knotted at the neck. His arm bears a microphone like a torch. Pie charts and...

Banks prepare themselves for millennium bug. (Year 2000 problem)
July 14, 1997... Financial institutions exposed both internally and externally The cashier runs your credit card through - once, twice, then types the number in by hand. He glares at you and says. "This card has expired." You look in confusion at the date....

Diversity vs. stability. (women and minorities in Pittsburgh community banks)
July 14, 1997... Can bank boards accurately serve the diverse needs of their communities while having few women and no minorities filling positions as directors? The term "community bank" implies that an institution works for its constituents-and keeps its...

Asset figures, bank sizes grow; top S&Ls are holding their own. (savings and loan associations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
July 14, 1997... Midlantic acquisition proves a boon to holdings at PNC In the financial world, the big get bigger... and so do the small. The big just get bigger faster. Big banks have been swallowing smaller ones for the last decade, and this year's...

PNC Bank Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 14, 1997... PNC Bank Corp., Downtown, is a financial services company that operates five lines of business: consumer banking, corporate banking, real estate banking, mortgage banking and asset management. Last year, the company earned $992 million on...

Priming the pump. (Small Business Administration in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)(Minority Business Times)
July 14, 1997... Despite federal cutbacks, government contract work can still help entrepreneurs build their customer networks. John Brown II doesn't want local businesses to need him. He wants them to learn to take care of themselves. As assistant...

Joint venture: the African-American Entrepreneur Forum is creating a close-knit group of businesses and resources.(Minority Business Times)
July 14, 1997... Justin Russell knows how to design sports apparel. And he knows how to get it into the hands of retailers who sell it. But he isn't too sure about taxes, bookkeeping, advertising and many of the routine tasks involved in running his business,...

Not fade away. (business related to late baseball legend Roberto Clemente)(Minority Business Times)
July 14, 1997... Roberto Clemente left us too soon, but a foundation and various enterprises have kept his legacy thriving. Nobody had any reason to suspect then that 1972 would be Roberto Clemente's final season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nor could they...

Developing for the long term. (real estate developer Milt Washington)(Minority Business Times)
July 14, 1997... Developer Milt Washington has quietly built a real estate empire that includes more than 1,500 residential units. He learned the business from his father, who ran a Philadelphia YMCA and managed an apartment building on the side. But Milt...

It's the square that doesn't draw squares. (Pittsburg Urban Magnet Project)
July 7, 1997... PUMP, city find success in [M.SUP.2] event for young professionals DOWNTOWN - Many doubted it could be done. But the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project is proving that young professionals can be drawn Downtown to socialize - and spend money....

Fifth Avenue retail scheme in the works; Chicago-based firm may build shops from Smithfield to Liberty. (Urban Retail Properties Co.)
July 7, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Chicago-based Urban Retail Properties Co. is piecing together a plan that would line dowdy Fifth Avenue with new retail shops. The project would link Kaufmann's and a new Lazarus department store to the lower part of Fifth Avenue,...

Steel trails Forbes' field. (Pittsburgh, PA's steel industry)(Industry Overview)
July 7, 1997... Forbes' 80th anniversary issue of July 7 compares American industry in 1917 with 1997 in "Steel vs. Silicon." The list of 100 top companies in various categories is a sad reminder of the status Pittsburgh has lost. In 1917, U.S. Steel Co....

FORE director's stock sell-off seems to contradict rumors of sale, merger; Francois Bitz earns $3 million on May sale of 200,000 shares. (FORE Systems Inc.)
July 7, 1997... WARRENDALE - The rumor has been flying for months: FORE Systems Inc. will merge with or be acquired by another networking firm. But a recent stock sale by one of the company's directors seems to suggest this isn't the case. In May,...

Pittsburgh region shakes its rust, ranks high in company formation.(Industry Overview)
July 7, 1997... Allegheny County is second-best in Pennsylvania statewide survey HARRISBURG - The Pittsburgh industrial region appears to have shed some of its rust. A new report on statewide industry trends shows that Pennsylvania gained 9,856 new...

Return to roots seems right at PDG Environmental. (PDG Environmental Inc.)
July 7, 1997... Company's first quarter marks third profitable quarter in a row MONROEVILLE - Last year, the wheels nearly came off at PDG Environmental Inc. But now the machine appears to be well-oiled and on its way to running smoothly again. The...

Alcoa, N.Y. law firm keep unique relationship alive. (LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae; Aluminum Company of America)
July 7, 1997... Flat-fee arrangement rare, but working well for Alcoa DOWNTOWN - In an agreement unusual for its size and particulars, Alcoa has committed to continuing to outsource all its litigation work to a New York City law firm on a flat-fee basis....

Building lesson plan at PNC; former teacher Susan Bohn scales heights in male-dominated banking bastion. (PNC Bank Corp. executive VP Susan Bohn)
July 7, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Although she has completed the transition from educator to bank executive, Susan Bohn's style still occasionally betrays her academic past. Once a high school and college instructor, Ms. Bohn, 52, is now executive vice president...

Berner president says listening eased transition; manufacturing company flourishes under her lead. (Berner International CEO, Georgia Berner)(Women in Business)
July 7, 1997... NEW CASTLE - Eleven years after moving into the male-dominated manufacturing business, Georgia Berner has turned a floundering company around by doing something stereotypically female. She sat back and listened - to her employees and...

Women are still moving up the corporate ladder, but they are taking new routes.(Women in Business)
July 7, 1997... If women still bang their heads against corporate Pittsburgh's glass ceiling, they are at least taking a wider range of routes to reach the upper echelons of the executive ranks. The Business Times informally surveyed the region's largest...

Area's women-owned businesses see growth in base of employment. (San Francisco Bay Area's women-owned businesses)(Women in Business)
July 7, 1997... List finds women-owned firms in every sector of business SHARPSBURG - There's good news from the region's 25 largest women-owned businesses. The operations featured on the annual Business Times list had a combined employment of 1,825, a...

Women's investment clubs provide members with education, support; trends spread nationally, inspired by Beardstown Ladies. (National Assn. of Investors Corp.)(Women in Business)
July 7, 1997... BUFFALO - When her husband passed away six years ago, Marilyn Rodems found herself faced with many additional tasks, including running her husband's distributing firm and handling investments. Investments were a mystery. She hired an...

L.B. Foster Co.(Proxy Corner Excerpts)
July 7, 1997... (OTC: FSTRA) L.B. Foster Co., in Green Tree, is a manufacturer, fabricator and distributor of tubular products, rail and track accessories, construction and highway products. The company's products serve the mass transit, infrastructure, and...