San Francisco Business Times articles from July 1997

San Francisco Business Times archives from July 1997

Health insurance rates primed for rebound; Bay Area employers face highest costs in four years. (Bay Area San Francisco, CA)
July 25, 1997... Bay Area employers likely will pay 3 to 6 percent more in health-care costs next year due to expected insurance premium hikes, say forecasters. Some industry watchers predict that overall rates will go up as much as 9 percent, while...

Claims to fame; Bill-collecting temps keep cash rolling in at East Bay agency. (Culver Staffing merge with Richard Boysals Collections and Claims Professionals)
July 25, 1997... Bill-collecting temps keep cash rolling in at East Bay agency Overdue bills and consolidation in the health and insurance industries are adding up to big dollars for a temporary agency that places claims and collections workers. The...

Biotech evolution: Chiron Corp. CEO retools strategy. (Chiron Corp. CEO Edward Penhoet changes management strategies)
July 25, 1997... In a subtle but significant shift of locus, Chiron Corp. is trying to maximize its commercial product business as it moves from a pure research-driven company to a global drug and diagnostics corporation. While the Emeryville-based biotech...

Cushman and Wakefield invades Vietnam; real estate firm markets new stronghold for American business. (Cushman & Wakefield Inc. invests in Vietnam)
July 25, 1997... Real estate firm markets new stronghold for American business Real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield is hoping to lure American business back to former enemy territory: Vietnam. The company has signed on as the North American marketing agent...

Sweet success. (Joseph Schmidt Confections Inc.)(Fast Track Quarterly)(Company Profile)
July 25, 1997... Candy firm's growth not sugar-coated Schmidt's expansion plans survive lengthy banker's review Chocolatier Joseph Schmidt experienced a business owner's rite of passage while building his new factory: a clash between his ambitious growth...

Texas could be loan star state for BofA, Wells. (Wells Fargo and Bank of America enters Texas' home equity loan industry)
July 25, 1997... Wells Fargo and Bank of America are preparing to aggressively enter the Texas home equity loan market pending voters' November approval of home equity loans in the state. Opening the second-most-populous state in the Union to such lending...

Smart money at track is now on development. (Patriot American Hospitality Inc. sells San Mateo race track to PaineWebber Inc.)
July 25, 1997... Patriot American Hospitality has sold the 175-acre Bay Meadows race track lot to a PaineWebber partnership for $81 million. The Dallas-based hotel company, which will continue to operate the race track and lease back the land, sold the huge...

S.F. hospital chain pulls plug on big Phoenix acquisition. (Catholic Healthcare West cancels merger with Phoenix Samaritan Health System)
July 25, 1997... Catholic Healthcare West, which last year became the largest hospital chain in California, has called off a huge merger with Phoenix's Samaritan Health System. The collapsed merger, in the works since last fall, would have increased the San...

Live, on the 'Net, in living color: PictureWork's gamble on popularity of Web pays off in booming sales of imaging software. (PictureWork's Technology)(Fast Track Quarterly)(Company Profile)
July 25, 1997... PictureWorks' gamble on popularity of Web pays off in booming sales of imaging software In less than three-and-a-half years, PictureWorks Technology Inc. has blossomed from a business plan to an integral part of the Internet's infrastructure...

U.S. startups born with global vision; companies not waiting for domestic success before marketing abroad. (venture capital investment companies)(Fast Track Quarterly)
July 25, 1997... Companies not waiting for domestic success before marketing abroad When Powersoft moved into the client server market five years ago, its plan was simple: create a beachhead in the United States, then start thinking about Europe. But by the...

In twilight of Mac, firm turns to 'Net; Farallon Communications' Internet division sales expected to surpass $30 million this year. (Farallon Communications Inc.)(Fast Track Quarterly)(Company Profile)
July 25, 1997... Farallon Communications' Internet division sales expected to surpass $30 million this year Farallon Communications is showing its fast-track character by nimbly shifting focus mid-stream to renew growth in a changing industry. Founded in...

In sluggish times, company is built for speed; Smart Modular eyes $1B in PC memory sales. (personal computer; Smart Modular Technologies)(Fast Track Quarterly)(Company Profile)
July 25, 1997... Smart Modular eyes $1 B in PC memory sales Intelligence, speed and flexibility are behind Smart Modular Technologies Inc.'s recent gains in market share and profits. Despite a 10 per, cent contraction in its main product area last year, the...

Airport hotel swap is biggest since '94. (Patriot American Hospitality Inc. buys South San Francisco, CA'S Holiday Inn and Ramada Inn)
July 25, 1997... A pair of South San Francisco hotels have changed hands in the largest airport hotel transaction since 1994. The Holiday Inn and Ramada Inn, each flanking the South San Francisco Conference Center, sold for a combined $36.5 million, in a deal...

From loading docks to corner office: TriNet CEO built $15M phone parts supplier from ground up. (TriNet Communications Inc.)(Fast Track Quarterly)(Company Profile)
July 25, 1997... TriNet CEO built $15M phone parts supplier from ground up Jon Fernandez has traveled from one kind of loading dock to another. The CEO and founder of TriNet Communications Inc., which supplies parts to telephone companies, started out working...

SEC seeks to tighten rules on shareholder proposals.
July 25, 1997... The Securities & Exchange Commission plans to recommend major changes to shareholders' relationships with company management. With the booming stock market spawning millions of new shareholders, the SEC wants to make sure company management...

CNN deal big news for online travel firm. (Internet Travel Network provides television online travel system to CNN Interactive)
July 25, 1997... Internet Travel Network of Palo Alto has inked its biggest co-branding deal yet, signing up with CNN Interactive to provide the transaction platform for the television network's online travel system. CNN will offer ticketing services through...

Biomed boom fuels contract manufacturer. (Manufacturing Modes signs contracts with biomedical companies)
July 25, 1997... Emerging Bay Area biotechnology companies are injecting Manufacturing Modes with a miracle growth treatment. The Danville-based company, which makes an eclectic mix of products as a contract manufacturer, recently signed agreements with three...

Executive profile. (Baan Affiliates president Amal Johnson)
July 25, 1997... Name: Amal Johnson. Title: President. Company: Baan Affiliates, a unit of Baan Co., in Menlo Park. Responsible for the strategic direction of the software company's market organizations. Education: Bachelor's degree in math from...

Reformating a business. (Video Arts Inc. founder Kim Salyer)(Small Business Growth Strategies)
July 25, 1997... For Kim Salyer, founder of Video Arts Inc., a San Francisco post-production company, entrepreneurship has been a 20-year effort to stay abreast of changing technology and new markets in a business that is constantly in flux. "Our story is...

Cash registers ring repeatedly for Bay Area retailers. (San Francisco Bay Area retail industry)
July 25, 1997... Bay Area retailers saw their strongest year ever in 1996 as stores reaped the benefits of a strong regional economy and record levels of consumer confidence. All but two of the 25 Largest Bay Area Retailers reported an increase in sales in...

Raiders unleash ticket blitz. (advertising for Oakland Raiders)
July 18, 1997... Ad campaign taps team's glory days to fill seats The Oakland Raiders are going back to the future. A television, radio, and billboard advertising blitz set to kick off with the opening of training camp July 18 will emphasize the team's...

H-P seeks kick; tech giant pays $20 million to join World Cup team. (Hewlett-Packard)
July 18, 1997... Hewlett-Packard is investing an estimated $20 million to be the technology provider for next summer's World Cup Soccer Tournament in France. H-P's sports marketing efforts have been meager until now, but the Palo Alto giant is betting on the...

Hoteliers circle San Francisco airport project. (Hilton Hotels Corp, Marriott, Starwood Lodging and Cala Hotels competing to build luxury hotel near San Francisco International Airport)
July 18, 1997... Four hotel chains are jockeying to build the first new luxury hotel at San Francisco International Airport in nearly a decade. As part of the airport's $2.4 billion expansion, airport officials plan to demolish an existing 527-room Hilton...

Doctors refuse to swallow pay cut; Alta Bates Medical Group reverses compensation strategy.
July 18, 1997... One of the East Bay's largest medical groups is retreating on its decision to eliminate contracts with set monthly fees for its 200 primary-care doctors. Under intense pressure from many of its doctors, the 550-physician Alta Bates Medical...

Sales mavens are stars on training seminar circuit. (sales training business)(Power Marketing: Sales, Promotion & Advertising Strategies)
July 18, 1997... So-so sellers bank on gurus' magic Think good salespeople are born, not made? Don't try telling that to a sales trainer. Eager to get more bang out of their sales forces, companies are turning to a burgeoning band of self-styled sales...

Managed-care currents carry doctor group to Hawaii. (Brown & Toland Medical Group)
July 18, 1997... Brown & Toland Medical Group is days away from a deal to help manage a 400-doctor medical group in Hawaii. Brown & Toland, an ambitious physicians' network that took its first step outside San Francisco last month, is close to signing an...

Animal magnetism: 'virtual pets' pump some artificial life into Mindscape.
July 18, 1997... Novato-based Mindscape has taken over distribution of a line of virtual pet products, gambling that the ultra-hot "virtual life" market can jump-start its moribund product line. Mindscape already distributes PF Magic's "Petz," which has...

Oakland bids to get back in ballgame at Coliseum. (sports, entertainment and recreation facilities near Oakland Coliseum)
July 18, 1997... Thwarted in an attempt to develop a retail center across from Oakland Coliseum, city officials instead hope to put up to 2 million square feet of sports, entertainment and recreation facilities on the blighted site. A just-finished...

Award-winning 'Got Milk?' campaign ads promote healthy sales.(Power Marketing: Sales, Promotion & Advertising Strategies)
July 18, 1997... There was a time when nobody got milk anymore - or so it seemed to the California Milk Processors Board. After decades of promoting milk as the beverage of strong, healthy bodies, milk producers were seeing a fading market for their product....

Autodesk's stock price programmed for a comeback. (Autodesk Inc.)
July 18, 1997... Autodesk Inc., the San Rafael-based architectural software maker, may be pulling out of its skid. The company's stock has climbed 44 percent in 1997, boosted by the strength of the latest version of its core product, AutoCad, Release 14....

Radio regs spark buying frenzy at Bay Area stations. (impact of Telecommunications Act of 1996 on San Francisco Bay Area radio stations)(Power Marketing: Sales, Promotion & Advertising Strategies)
July 18, 1997... The flurry of radio station sales and swaps over the past year has resulted in mass confusion and fear of rising advertising rates. A record number of ownership changes have resulted in frequency or format shifts at 11 area stations as...

PR specialists reap riches from booming economy. (PR professionals serving the high technology companies of San Francisco Bay Area)(Power Marketing: Sales, Promotion & Advertising Strategies)
July 18, 1997... The booming Bay Area techno-economy has been a bonanza of riches for local publicity flacks and hype-meisters - professionals known by those outside the industry as "public relations specialists." A week doesn't go by that a new Internet...

Riney's new business prowess produces stellar year. (advertising campaigns of Hal Riney and Partners)(Power Marketing: Sales, Promotion & Advertising Strategies)
July 18, 1997... Billings at the 25 largest Bay Area advertising agencies grew 32 percent to $3.7 billion, making 1996 one of the best years on record for the region's top marketers. (See page 15A.) No Bay Area agency had a better year - creatively and...

Domestic bliss. (Aunt Ann's Agency) (Company Profile)
July 18, 1997... Agency chief goes to work at home Some people know from an early age that they're destined for the family business. Others, like Denise Collins, find themselves unexpectedly thrust into the role. In 1982, after a 12-year career in...

Air pressure rising at DHL; looks to Moffet Fiel to serve Silicon Valley needs. (DHL Airways Inc.; Moffet Field Naval Air Station, CA)
July 11, 1997... With the region's airports near full capacity, Bay Area express mail carriers are anxiously waiting to find out if they can turn Moffett Field into a new base for service to Silicon Valley. Creating a new Silicon Valley cargo site could be a...

Power tripping: BART plugs into PG&E rivals to knock millions off its electricity bill. (Pacific Gas & Electric Co.)
July 11, 1997... BART is charged up over an anticipated $4.5 million in savings on its electric bill this year. As the rail system works on expanding its suburban commuter lines, it is cutting costs by buying wholesale electric power from alternative...

BEI spins off medical care from missiles. (BEI Electronics Inc. develops medical devices for women's healthcare)
July 11, 1997... Charles Crocker has taken BEI Electronics Inc. out of military hardware and into women's health care. A new BEI spin-off is using sensor technology, rooted in the missile business, to develop medical devices that provide an alternative to...

CarrAmerica revs engine; REIT accelerates Bay Area buying binge. (Tampa Bay Area, FL; CarrAmerica Realty Corp.)
July 11, 1997... In yet another Bay Area blitz, CarrAmerica Realty Corp. has acquired two San Mateo office buildings and is expected to purchase another six properties in Pleasanton within days. The Washington D.C.-based real estate investment trust paid...

Beringer to fill its glass on Wall St. (Beringer Wine Estates)
July 11, 1997... Riding an ultra-hot market for premium wines, Beringer Wine Estates is planning a fall initial public offering to coincide with a harvest expected to be the California wine industry's best ever. Less than two years after it was purchased by...

Local board to hospital system: we'll see you in court. (Peninsula Healthcare District Board files lawsuit against Mills-Peninsula hospital system)
July 11, 1997... A deeply divided Peninsula Health Care District Board has filed suit against the Mills-Peninsula hospital system, seeking to scrap the 1985 lease that linked the two hospitals. The San Mateo County Superior Court suit demands that the lease...

Bankers ask customers, 'Can we talk about our relationship?.'(customer relations and services in the banking industry)
July 11, 1997... Banks and brokerages are hiring bankers, revamping compensation packages and creating new programs - all aimed at retaining their most profitable customers. These very profitable customers may be wealthy individuals sitting in a financial...

Adding to its toolbox: Bio-Rad going shopping again. (Bio-0Rad Laboratories)
July 11, 1997... Bio-Rad Laboratories, which makes tools for scientific research into cloning, AIDS and cancer, is shopping for acquisitions again. The $400 million-a-year international supplier of diagnostic products and instruments last year purchased...

China Basin complex goes on the market. (China Basin Landing office complex on sale)
July 11, 1997... The San Diego-based owner of the China Basin Landing office complex has put the property on the sale block with an asking price of $85 million. The sale is expected to draw more than its normal share of attention because the two-building...

Hilton expands in East Bay. (Hilton Hotels Corp. expands business in East Bay, California)
July 11, 1997... Eager to build a weekend convention business from scratch, Pleasanton's Hilton hotel is finalizing a multimillion-dollar expansion plan that will make it the Tri-Valley region's largest inn. At a cost of $5 million to $10 million, the Hilton...

Bay Area is biggest slice of state's rich income pie. (Bay Area, CA's economy)
July 11, 1997... California has the largest economy in the nation, but lags in per capita income growth, according to a new San Francisco Business Times research report. California had total personal income of $801.5 billion in 1996, giving the Golden State...

McDermott: black prince or white knight? (Steve McDermott of Hill Physicians Medical Group Inc.)(San Francisco Business Times)(Interview)
July 11, 1997... Hill Physicians' chief offends, frustrates and inspires but always remains a major player Bay Area health-care industry maverick Steve McDermott is at a crossroads, and he knows it. McDermott, who turns 50 in November, built San...

Ferries may ease airport gridlock. (Bay Area, CA's airports)
July 11, 1997... The Bay Area's southern airports are warming to the idea of launching cargo ferries across the Bay to beat the gridlock. Both San Jose and San Francisco International Airports said they are joining Oakland in studying the option of running...

24 Hour Nautilus is now a heavyweight on club circuit. (24 Hour Nautilus Fitness Centers)(San Francisco Business Times)
July 11, 1997... The Bay Area's economic boom has added muscle to an industry once known only for aerobics: the health club circuit. This year's List of the 25 Largest Health Clubs in the Bay Area shows a meaty 21 percent gain in membership, with the leader,...

Industry giants Genentech, Chiron dominate field. (Genentech Corp.; Chiron Corp.)(San Francisco Business Times)
July 11, 1997... The usual suspects - notably longtime industry giants Genentech Inc. and Chiron Corp. - dominate this year's List of the Bay Area's Top 25 Biotechnology/Biopharmaceutical Firms, despite a change in the criteria used to create The List. (See...

A rare type of bookseller. (Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage Inc.)(Small Business Growth Strategies)
July 11, 1997... As owner of Book Passage Inc., Elaine Petrocelli is a thriving member of a dying breed - the independent bookseller. Named Bookseller of the Year for 1997 by Publisher's Weekly, Petrocelli has managed to stay a step ahead of huge chain...