Pittsburgh Business Times articles from September 1991

Pittsburgh Business Times archives from September 1991

PPG downsizing glass unit, blames real estate slump. (PPG Industries Inc.)
September 23, 1991... The slumping commercial real estate market is causing headaches for PPG Industries Inc., which has responded with personnel cuts at its architectural glass plant in Ford City. PPG's reduction in manpower is viewed by industry analysts as an...

Integra to merge trust units into single, $6 billion entity. (Integra Financial Corp.)
September 23, 1991... Nationally chartered trust to be first in commonwealth Integra Financial Corp. plans to consolidate its banks' trust departments under one holding company subsidiary, the first such trust unit in Pittsburgh and perhaps the first such...

Pgh. Brewing Co. sale may be near. (Pittsburgh Brewing Co.)
September 23, 1991... Union/management team says it could prevail in two weeks Eight months after the first rumblings surfaced that the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. was up for sale -- and five months after brewery officials acknowledged that the owner was fielding...

Stations cast out musical formats, call higher power. (WWCS-AM, WEZE-FM adopt religious programming)
September 23, 1991... WWCS-AM and WEZE-FM to adopt religious programming Two Pittsburgh radio stations, anxious to improve their financial situations, are switching to religious formats. WWCS-AM 540 changed from classical music to Christian music, talk and...

Baker aims for the cutting edge. (Michael Baker Corp.'s acquisition of Mellon Stuart Co.)
September 23, 1991... Deal with Mellon Stuart offers new synergy, and the strategy has caught Wall Street's eye When Michael Baker Corp. acquired most of the assets of troubled Pittsburgh construction giant Mellon Stuart Co. earlier this month, many saw it...

Trinity shutters Butler County railcar facility. (Trinity Industries Inc.)
September 23, 1991... Trinity Industries Inc., the nation's leading producer of railcars, plans to temporarily close its Butler County repair facilities and lay off 72 employees. Dean Phelps, vice president of Trinity Industries, based in Dallas, said the...

Westinghouse Credit pair unveils first 'blue book' for railcars. (Westinghouse Credit Corp. executives Robert Blankemeyer and John Masquelier produce the Railcar Value Guide)
September 23, 1991... Pssst. Wanna buy a 1969 boxcar? That'll be $6,989. How about a 1990 rebuilt refrigerator car? Takes $19,680. Railcar valuations used to be a crap shoot. Now, industry can pluck market prices from the "Railcar Value Guide." Just produced by...

Local credit union executives split over insurance-premium hike.
September 23, 1991... Call it a classic case of mixed feelings. Members of Western Pennsylvania's federally insured credit unions now can rest a bit easier knowing that the National Credit Union Administration, or NCUA, has just voted to pad the coffers of its...

Aim Telephones grappling with debt defaults, liens filed by state. (Aim Telephones Inc.; Pennsylvania)
September 23, 1991... Aim Telephones Inc., the New Jersey telecommunications company that acquired Pittsburgh-based Gray Communications Inc. four years ago, is struggling to overcome a mountain of delinquent debt obligations, weak sales and, now, two costly liens...

Highly leveraged Intelligent Information skids into Chapter 11. (Intelligent Information Systems Inc.)
September 23, 1991... Chalk up another one for the leveraged-buyout bust of the 1980s. When local high-tech entrepreneur Larry Geisel left his position as president of Carnegie Group Inc. four years ago, the leveraged-buyout craze of the 1980s swept him into full...

Health providers, auto insurers ready to do battle in Harrisburg. (Pennsylvania's auto insurance law concerning medical cost containment)
September 23, 1991... Welcome to the Pennsylvania auto insurance wars, part two. The regulatory review process begins Sept. 24 in Harrisburg on a medical cost containment provision in Act 6 -- the state's auto insurance law -- and the insurance industry and health...

Canadian outpost completes airport job, leaves town. (Prestressed Systems Inc.; Greater Pittsburg International Airport)
September 23, 1991... Prestressed Systems Inc., a Canadian firm that manufactured columns and pillars used in the construction of the new terminal at the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, has been unsuccessful in securing additional business and is closing...

Booksellers read city as profitable market for rare, used products. (used books trade flourishes)
September 23, 1991... John Schulman, who sold rare and used books for several years from his private library at home, recently decided to open his own bookstore to capture a growing used-book market in Pittsburgh. Schulman, who opened Caliban Book Shop on Craig...

Federated's tax-free money funds are storming the market. (Federated Investors)(Financial Services) (company profile)
September 23, 1991... 'We have to go where the demand is' When Pennsylvania's legislature raised the state income tax in July, most folks complained. But not Federated Investors. The 36-year-old, Pittsburgh-based mutual fund company figures higher taxes only...

Sacking Aunt Susie: Buccino's turnarounds are strong medicine. (Buccino and Associates Inc., crisis management experts)
September 23, 1991... About three months ago, local crisis management expert Tom Flickinger was dispatched to Buffalo for an engagement at a printing firm in trouble. He flew up there on a Wednesday and found managers in a panic because payday was just two days away...

Wean Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (company profile)
September 23, 1991... NYSE: WID THE BUSINESS Wean Inc. is a holding company which operates through four subsidiaries including Wean Industries, Berkeley-Davis Inc., Stedman Machine Co. Inc., and Wean Canada Ltd. Wean Industries markets, designs and...

Charles Francik.
September 23, 1991... Charles Francik has been named chief executive officer for Pittsburgh Corning Corp. upon the retirement of John Baldwin, who joined the company as president in 1978. Francik, formerly vice president of operations, now is responsible for all...

Elizabeth Allen.
September 23, 1991... Elizabeth Allen and Christine Piatt have been promoted to partner at Ernst & Young. Piatt, who was named a partner in the audit department, joined the CPA firm in 1976 following graduation from Penn State. Her professional expertise is in...

BT Financial Corp.
September 23, 1991... BT Financial Corp. confirmed that Johnstown Bank and Trust Co., its largest affiliate, has purchased certain assets and liabilities of Peoples Federal Savings Bank of New Kensington from the Resolution Trust Corp. The purchase includes all five...

Mercury Stainless Corp.
September 23, 1991... Mercury Stainless Corp.'s chairman and chief executive officer, Thomas Graham, announced the company would change its name to Washington Steel Corp., effective Oct. 1. Graham also said the company headquarters will be moved from Wheeling, Ill.,...

Intelcom Support Services Inc.
September 23, 1991... Intelcom Support Services Inc. has been awarded a $420,000, three-year contract to provide operations and maintenance services for the telephone system at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. Intelcom is a subsidiary of Michael Baker Corp....

Vortec Corp.
September 23, 1991... Vortec Corp. has been awarded a $4 million contract by the U.S. Department of Energy to complete the development of an advanced, multi-fuel-capable, combustion and melting system which recycles various hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.

Consolidated Natural Gas Co.
September 23, 1991... Consolidated Natural Gas Co. declared a quarterly dividend of 47 cents a share, payable Nov. 15 to shareholders of record Oct. 15.

H.J. Heinz Co.
September 23, 1991... H.J. Heinz Co. declared a quarterly dividend increase of 12.5 percent, to 27 cents a share, payable Oct. 10 to shareholders of record Sept. 23.

F.N.B. Corp.
September 23, 1991... F.N.B. Corp. of Hermitage declared a quarterly dividend of 7 cents a share, payable Sept. 15 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 10.

H.J. Heinz Co.
September 23, 1991... H.J. Heinz Co. posted a 78 percent jump in net income to $254 million, or 95 cents a share, for the fiscal first quarter ended July 31. Sales slipped 3.8 percent, to $1.5 billion, for the period. Results included a $221 million gain on the sale...

Megabucks airport needs a new logo - done pro bono. (new logo for Greater Pittsburgh International Airport)
September 16, 1991... Megabucks airport needs a new logo -- done pro bono "Whipping off" logos should be easy, aviation official says As the new Midfield Terminal at the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport goes up, everyone from the general...

TCI plans to add Penn Access to stable of fiber-optic subs. (Tele-Communications Inc.'s new subsidiary)
September 16, 1991... TCI plans to add Penn Access to stable of fiber-optic subs Deal would give Penn Access backing of Denver cable giant Penn Access Corp., which operates a small fiber-optics telecommunications network in Pittsburgh, is wrapping up a...

Ohio executives plot new airport, but GPIA scoffs. (David Brennan and group)(Greater Pittsburgh International Airport)
September 16, 1991... Ohio executives plot new airport, but GPIA scoffs A group of influential Ohio businessmen is drawing up plans to build a huge cargo airport in Ravenna, Ohio, to serve as a transport point for goods manufactured throughout the region,...

KNC chomps at bit to market nuclear-fuel casks. (signs marketing and engineering agreement with British Steel plc)
September 16, 1991... KNC chomps at bit to market nuclear-fuel casks KNC Inc., a little-known Pittsburgh-based engineering firm, elbowed its way into the spotlight last week, when it signed an agreement with British Steel plc to exclusively market and engineer...

Hornfeck to move. (Hornfeck Engineering Inc.)
September 16, 1991... Hornfeck to move Hornfeck Engineering Inc. is getting out of town at the end of the month. The firm, which lists billings of $1.4 million and has 20 employees, is moving from the Commonwealth Building on Fourth Avenue, Downtown, to...

WPTT's quick switch to 24-hour Home Shopping won't last long. (WPTT-TV Channel 22; Home Shopping Network)
September 16, 1991... WPTT's quick switch to 24-hour Home Shopping won't last long Owner Eddie Edwards says new programs to debut soon Local television critics last week had a field day lambasting WPTT-TV Channel 22's decision to air the Home Shopping...

Electric utilities' bond ratings buoyed by financial progress. (Duquesne Light Co.; Pennsylvania Power Co.; West Penn Power Co.)
September 16, 1991... Electric utilities' bond ratings buoyed by financial progress The rocky road for electric utilities Duquesne Light Co. and Pennsylvania Power Co. ended with completion of nuclear plants and some improvement in industrial sales, and the...

'Any institution should be allowed to fail if it's poorly managed.' Regional Fed chief Lee Hoskins tackles Congress and the future of banking in an exclusive interview. (Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president) (Interview)
September 16, 1991... |Any institution should be allowed to fail if it's poorly managed' Regional Fed chief Lee Hoskins tackles Congress and the future of banking in an exclusive interview Pittsburgh's chief bank regulator, Lee Hoskins, is a free-marketeer...

Lowering of gas transportation limit will help small businesses.
September 16, 1991... Lowering of gas transportation limit will help small businesses A Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ruling -- now under review by the state legislature -- will allow schools, apartment buildings, condominiums and other businesses to...

Cyclops Industries Inc. (Proxy Reort Excerpts) (company profile)
September 16, 1991... Cyclops Industries Inc. NYSE: CYC The Business Cyclops Industries is engaged in the production and sale of steel and steel-fabricated products and products for industrial and commercial consumption. The company was formed June 30,...

Darryl Mills. (Engineering)
September 16, 1991... Darryl Mills has joined Chester Environmental Group as chief financial officer. Mills will oversee all financial aspects of the company's business, including all financial reporting, accounting and payroll, business planning, tax issues and...

Francis Finley Jr. (Health Care)
September 16, 1991... Francis Finley Jr. has been promoted to vice president/chief financial oficer at D.T. Watson Rehabilitation Hospital. Recently retired, Finley came to D.T. Watson as chief financial officer following 28 years experience at PPG Industries Inc.

Joseph M. Coogle Jr. (Professional Services)
September 16, 1991... Joseph M. Coogle Jr. has been named president of Leadtime Inc. Before establishing his own management consultancy in January, Coogle spent 25 years with Ketchum Communications Inc. in Pittsburgh and New York City. Leadtime is a management...

Jeffrey Pollock and Jeffrey Morella. (Law)
September 16, 1991... Attorneys Jeffrey Pollock and Jeffrey Morella have teamed up to form Pollock & Morella, P.C. -- The Signature Legal Group. The new firm is located along Perry Highway. Morella previously worked as an associate at the law firm of Gefsky &...

David Baney. (Printing/Graphics)
September 16, 1991... David Baney has been named president of Ad Graphic Inc., a Pittsburgh-based silk screen and process printer. Baney was sales manager prior to the promotion.

Ketchum Advertising. (Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 16, 1991... Ketchum Advertising; New Account: Nationwide Insurance, worth $11 million

Bynums Advertising Service. (Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 16, 1991... Bynums Advertising Service; New Account: Prissy's Nanny and Domestic Service Inc.

Integra Marketing Group. (Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 16, 1991... Integra Marketing Group; New Account: Medic Rescue

Blattner/Brunner Inc. (Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 16, 1991... Blattner/Brunner Inc.; New Account: Physicians Weight Loss Centers of America Inc., worth $4 million to $6 million

Right Management Consultants Inc. (Contract)
September 16, 1991... Right Management Consultants Inc. has signed an agreement with Resource Consultants Inc. to provide career transition counseling for the U.S. Army. Counseling services will be provided at 54 sites in the United States and...

Penn Traffic Co. (Earnings)
September 16, 1991... Penn Traffic Co. posted a loss of $2.9 million, or 48 cents a share, for the fiscal quarter ended Aug. 3, compared with a loss of $6.9 million, or $1.25 a share, the year earlier. In the first fiscal half year, the company lost...

CFC Financial Services Inc. (Business Notes)
September 16, 1991... CFC Financial Services Inc., a Louisville, Ky.-based subsidiary of PNC Financial Corp., announced it has entered into a credit card processing agreement with National Bancard Corp., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Under the terms of...

Equitable Resources Inc. (Business Notes)
September 16, 1991... Equitable Resources Inc. announced that its energy resource segment has entered into an agreement to purchase for $64 million substantially all the Rocky Mountain oil and gas properties of Maxus Exploration Co., a ...

Titan Software Corp. (Business Notes)
September 16, 1991... Titan Software Corp. has signed an agreement with C. Itoh Systems Development International Inc., that will give CISD exclusive rights to market Titan's Total Maintenance System software and support services throughout...

Failed thrift assets now overseen by former executives. (Resolution Trust Corporation's field site managers)
September 9, 1991... Failed thrift assets now overseen by former executives RTC field managers include ex-Concord VP, among others Taxpayers can rest assured that the men hired by the Resolution Trust Corp. to run or resolve Pennsylvania's dozen failed...

Equibank sells $109 million mortgage package to public.
September 9, 1991... Equibank sells $109 million mortgage package to public Bank's first such offering draws praise from analysts Taking an important turnaround step, Equibank is offering $109 million in secondary mortgage-backed securities to the...

Warehouse war cry. (newly-formed Pennsylvania Commercial Distribution Association lobbies for exemption from sales tax)
September 9, 1991... Warehouse war cry Genco Distribution leads storage-industry group in battle to escape clutches of state's sales tax A group of Pennsylvania warehousing firms, fearing that a provision in the state's new tax law will leave them at a...

Oops: new state budget didn't tax electric utilities. (provisions on increased taxation for electric utilities inadvertently omitted in Pennsylvania's budget)
September 9, 1991... Oops: New state budget didn't tax electric utilities Legislators' error could cost state $70 million in revenue HARRISBURG -- Mistakes happen. But it's not often that one adds up to $70 million in lost revenue for state...

Industrial leasing agents ready for good times. (increased leasing of industrial space in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania )
September 9, 1991... Industrial leasing agents ready for good times For a city weary of bad news in its industrial sector, here's a bright spot: For the past 18 months, despite a national recession, the trend in leasing of industrial space consistently has been...

Tartan gets funding. (line of credit established with Pittsburgh National Bank)
September 9, 1991... Tartan gets funding Tartan Inc. said it has established a line of credit with Pittsburgh National Bank to develop a new manufacturing technology that will allow the company to produce its line of cross-compilers more quickly than it can...

TCI, cable lobby gear up to fight state's latest regulation efforts. (Telecommunications Inc.; Pennsylvania Cable Television Association)
September 9, 1991... TCI, cable lobby gear up to fight state's latest regulation efforts The local cable television industry, still licking its political wounds after losing its tax battle with the state legislature in July, has had to regroup and rev up its...

Formtek bolts direct-sales arena to focus on systems integration. (turning diverse hardware, software and other components into customized systems)
September 9, 1991... Formtek bolts direct-sales arena to focus on systems integration Formtek Inc. apparently doesn't see much future in direct sales. At least that is largely the message being conveyed via a major restructuring at the Greentree-based company....

Kossman files for zoning variance to build Greentree inn expansion. (Kossman Development Co.; Best Western Parkway Center Inn)
September 9, 1991... Kossman files for zoning variance to build Greentree inn expansion Kossman Development Co. has presented plans to the Greentree Borough Zoning Hearing Board for approval of variances to develop a 128-room, eight-floor expansion of the Best...

Mystery company tantalizes developers with $25 million project. (yet-to-be-named company plans to develop a manufacturing facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
September 9, 1991... Mystery company tantalizes developers with $25 million project A large, yet-to-be-named manufacturing company is looking for 15 to 35 acres of property to develop a $25 million office, research-and-development and manufacturing facility --...

Retailers use back-to-school revenue as first step out of recession. (fall back-to-school shopping season)
September 9, 1991... Retailers use back-to-school revenue as first step out of recession After possibly one of the worst years in retail sales in the nation's history, retailers in recent weeks have started to replenish their pockets with increased sales. ...

Legal administrator Bly gambles all on shared offices for lawyers. (Thomas Bly forms Private Lawyers Administration Inc.) (Company Profile)
September 9, 1991... Legal administrator Bly gambles all on shared offices for lawyers Thomas Bly is no lawyer. But after 10 years of overseeing the administrative operation of the Pittsburgh law firm of Meyer Darragh Buckler Bebenek & Eck, he says he has a...

Ohio businessman buys T.G.I. Friday's restaurants in Pittsburgh. (Karl Davis of Bistro Management Co. Inc.)
September 9, 1991... Ohio businessman buys T.G.I Friday's restaurants in Pittsburgh Bistro Management Co. Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio, has acquired three T.G.I. Friday's Inc. restaurants in the Pittsburgh area for an undisclosed amount and plans to establish...

Up-and-coming Carroll Advertising buoyed by four new clients. (Computational Fluid Dynamics Services Inc.; Pennsylvania Association of Notaries; Aloe Coal Co.; Horizon Health System)
September 9, 1991... Up-and-coming Carroll Advertising buoyed by four new clients Carroll Advertising, a small Pittsburgh-based shop that landed the $500,000 La-Z-Boy account in May, has secured four new accounts, worth another $500,000, to its growing client...

Quick acceptance of garlic pills could result in production here. (Lichtwer Pharma U.S. Inc. plans to produce garlic supplements in Pennsylvania)
September 9, 1991... Quick acceptance of garlic pills could result in production here Lichtwer Pharma U.S. Inc. has relocated its headquarters from Coraopolis to Greentree, but the company's offices aren't the only thing that's been on the move. Lichtwer's...

Action Industries Inc. (Business Notes)
September 9, 1991... Action Industries Inc. announced the sale of approximately 25 percent of its investment in Phar-Mor Inc. As a result of this sale, in its quarterly results for the first quarter of fiscal 1992, which will end Sept. 28, the ...

Morrison Knudsen Corp. (Business Notes)
September 9, 1991... Morrison Knudsen Corp. announced that the company has signed an agreement to acquire Pittsburgh-based Motor Coils Manufacturing Co., a privately held company serving the rail industry. The merger, which will be accounted...

Gold & Co. Inc. (Business Notes)
September 9, 1991... Gold & Co. Inc. has assumed the management responsibilities at the Laurel Mall, located on Route 119 in Connellsville. The mall is owned by Laurel Associates of New York. The 350,000-square-foot mall is anchored by Ames,...

Children's in Aetna plan. (Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh signs agreement w/ Aetna Health Plans of Western Pennsylvania for pediatriomedical services)
September 9, 1991... Children's in Aetna plan Aetna Health Plans of Western Pennsylvania has signed an agreement for participants in its health maintenance organization to receive pediatric medical services at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Aetna and...

Debt collectors all the rage as unpaid bills mount.
September 9, 1991... Debt collectors all the rage as unpaid bills mount Fueled by the recession and the buy-it-on-credit policies of the 1980s, individuals and businesses are defaulting on payments more during the past six months than in the past 10 years,...

Fellheimer turns tables on banks with Philly law firm. (former Equimark chairman Alan Fellheimer to become name partner in Philadelphia law firm Rosen Fellheimer and Gadon)
September 9, 1991... Fellheimer turns tables on banks with Philly law firm Former Equimark chief says bankers are 'desperate men' Alan Fellheimer once again is making his mark in the banking world -- but not with Equimark Corp. and not at a bank. ...

Environmental issues pervade new marketing strategies. (marketing environment-friendly products and promoting recycling programs)(Advertising & Public Relations)
September 9, 1991... |Green marketing is here to stay' Environmental issues pervade new marketing strategies A few years ago, no one ever would have thought you could build an outdoor deck on your dream home with empty plastic milk jugs. But that's the...

Sheila Rathke thrives in the top job at Burson-Marsteller. (Advertising & Public Relations)
September 9, 1991... |A formidable opponent' Sheila Rathke thrives in the top job at Burson-Marsteller Among Pittsburgh's larger advertising and public relations agencies -- where competition not only is fierce but often highly visible in the media as...

Mylan Laboratories Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (company profile)
September 9, 1991... Mylan Laboratories Inc. NYSE: MYL The Business Mylan began in 1961 as a privately owned company and a distributor of finished goods which it resold to pharmacies and doctors. The company began manufacturing vitamins in 1965, began...

Laminates Co. (Manufacturing)
September 9, 1991... Laminates Co., a joint venture recently formed by Akzo and Alcoa to produce fiber-metal laminates for use in aircraft, named J. William Evancho president, Michael Gregory vice president of marketing and sales, Jan Willem Gunnink vice president...

John Ryan III. (Manufacturing)
September 9, 1991... John Ryan III has been elected chairman and chief executive officer, effective Oct. 1, of Mine Safety Appliances Co. of Pittsburgh, a manufacturer of equipment and systems for worker and plant protection. Ryan will continue to serve as...

George Hill Co. (Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 9, 1991... George Hill Co. New Account: C. Wasson Sales Co.

Hallmark Advertising Inc. (Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 9, 1991... Hallmark Advertising Inc. New Accounts: The Appliance Store, RE/MAX Realty, Lakeview Resort, Action Industries Inc., WDSY Radio

Horizon Marketing Communications. (Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 9, 1991... Horizon Marketing Communications New Account: Miley Truck Rental

Gray Baumgarten Layport Inc. (Gray Bumgarten Layport Inc.)(Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 9, 1991... Gray Baumgarten Layport Inc. New Account: The Podiatry Hospital of Pittsburgh

Winterhalter Sales. (Ad/P.R. Accounts)
September 9, 1991... Winterhalter Sales New Account: The Ad Report

The Bottom Line Inc. (Contracts)
September 9, 1991... The Bottom Line Inc. of Pittsburgh has been awarded a contract by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to provide support services to disadvantaged business enterprises in the highway construction industry in the...

Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s environmental group. (Contracts)
September 9, 1991... Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s environmental group has won an emergency response cleanup services contract from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with an estimated value of $24 million over the next five years.

Microbac group of environmental laboratories. (Contracts)
September 9, 1991... Microbac group of environmental laboratories has been awarded a one-year $3.5 million contract with four one-year renewal options by the U.S. Navy, Naval Public Works in Norfolk, Va.