Dallas Business Journal articles from August 1997

Dallas Business Journal archives from August 1997

HoJo to build a dozen new Express Inns. (Howard Johnson International)
August 1, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Howard Johnson International says it plans to open 12 of its new Express Inns in the Metroplex as part of a move to increase the hotel chain's presence in Texas and the Southwest. The 12 sites will be developed by Dallas-based...

Industrial market almost 'perfect.' (Dallas-Forth Worth industrial real estate market)
August 1, 1997... Construction of space keeping pace with high demand NORTH DALLAS - The Metroplex's restless industrial real estate market is a puzzle to Tom Lynn, a man whose livelihood comes from understanding it in intricate detail. The way demand, supply...

'Spammers' sued by financial firm. (Strong Capital Management Inc. sues nine Internet users)
August 1, 1997... Strong says Arlington man sent E-mail ads through its server ARLINGTON - The more mundane E-mails were ads from an Arlington company called Global Tech 2000, selling software. The messages from Jeannie, Erin and Amy were a bit spicier. They...

Alliance beats Love for Galaxy deal. (Alliance Airport; Dallas Love Field; Galaxy Aerospace Corp.)
August 1, 1997... ALLIANCE - Faced with an offer it couldn't refuse, Galaxy Aerospace Corp. of Princeton, N.J., chose Ross Perot Jr.'s monsterplex distribution campus, Alliance Airport, as the site to manufacture its airplanes. Galaxy announced this week it...

Oil company's balancing act brings expansion. (National Energy)
August 1, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Miles Bender looked a little shocked. Standing at the podium in a conference room at the Holiday Inn Express. Bender looked out at a small but hostile audience at the National Energy Group Inc.'s annual meeting. Shareholders...

Russian-backed firm opens grocery-gas station combos. (Nexus Fuels Inc.)
August 1, 1997... IRVING - Americans are used to one-stop shopping. They buy groceries, rent videos, do their dry cleaning and even have dinner at supermarkets the size of arenas. The Russians apparently have taken notice. An Irving company partially owned by...

Lockton Cos. unveils Dallas commercial insurance office.
August 1, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - The nation's eighth-largest commercial insurance brokerage, Lockton Cos. of Kansas City, Mo., has opened its first Metroplex office to compete with the industry giants for a piece of North Texas business. Rick Schornack,...

Start-up Resource Bank exceeds capital projection.
August 1, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Organizers for Resource Bank say they've beaten their target for raising capital by 25% and plan to open the institution next month. Construction has begun on Resource Bank's site inside the six-story Midway Building, just...

Lowes sets up for showdown in home improvement wars. (Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse)
August 1, 1997... Eight stores to open here by spring, including some across the street from a Home Depot store Beginning mid-September, the Metroplex will see a showdown between the biggest home improvement retailers in the nation. No. 2 Lowes Home...

LHS pioneering telemedicine in homes. (LHS Home and Community Care)
August 1, 1997... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - LHS Home & Community Care is aiming to cut Texas' wide open spaces down to size with a new telemedicine program. For now, the pilot project only serves a handful of home health care patients in Dallas and Tyler. But...

Medical safety issues boosting Tecnol. (Tecnol Medical Products Inc.)
August 1, 1997... FORT WORTH - Strides in new product development, internal cost cutting and manufacturing expansion are fueling growth at Tecnol Medical Products Inc. Tecnol (NASDAQ: TCNL) is a leader in the disposable medical products industry, manufacturing...

Continental eyeing Love Field for flights, insiders speculate. (Continental Airlines; Dallas Love Field)
August 1, 1997... LOVE FIELD Speculation is heating up as to whether Houston-based Continental Airlines will soon be the second carrier flying commercial service out of Dallas Love Field. For the past six months, the carrier has been doing construction on two...

Wyndham Hotels woos travel agents with tale of romance.
August 1, 1997... DOWNTOWN - In an effort to familiarize travel agents with its travel and vacation offerings, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is offering them romance. Or at least, the chance to read about it. The Dallas-based hospitality chain has commissioned...

American Fastsigns expanding.
August 1, 1997... CARROLLTON - American Fastsigns Inc., franchiser of FASTSIGNS custom sign and graphics centers, has begun a two-expansion in the United States and Canada as it attempts to better handle the trade show market. American Fastsigns has arranged...

Texas-New Mexico Power asks PUC for deregulation.
August 1, 1997... FORT WORTH - At this point, nobody has any clue what the Texas Legislature will do about opening the retail power market to competition when the 76th session kicks off in 1999. Legislators could pass a bill deregulating the market immediately....

Company taking its electronic billboard advances nationwide. (Future Media)
August 1, 1997... ADDISON - Future Media, a maker of electronic billboards, plans to use a new technological advancement to build signs in markets nationwide in hopes of attracting major advertisers. The company spent three years researching the new technology,...

Mavs' Ussery aims for 'traditional business structure.' (Dallas Mavericks' Pres. Terdema Ussery)
August 1, 1997... DOWNTOWN - There was a revival going on at Reunion Arena on July 25. No, not a metaphorical one for the Dallas Mavericks. That may be coming later, according to Mays President Terdema Ussery. This was a real revival. Thousands of people,...

Federal agencies pledge to reserve more 'task order' contracts for small business.
August 1, 1997... WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal agencies promise they will buy more from small businesses in coming years. At least, that's what they said in an internal survey to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy last week. According to the survey,...

Flowserve Corp. picks Dallas.
August 8, 1997... Valve and pump manufacturer will bring 100 employees to new home LAS COLINAS - One of the largest industrial pump and valve makers in the nation is moving its home office to Las Colinas. Flowserve Corp. will bring about 100 employees to...

Venture capital pours into Metroplex.
August 8, 1997... DOWNTOWN - The flow of venture capital to Metroplex companies has more than tripled in the last two years, according to an exclusive Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P. study performed for the Dallas Business Journal. The report compares figures from the...

Friday's Hospitality to launch new American Bar chain. (Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc.)
August 8, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc., the parent company of the TGIFriday's, Italianni's and Friday's Front Row Sports Grill restaurants, plans to start a fourth chain - Friday's American Bar - and take it international by the end...

Office transaction illustrates strength of property market.
August 8, 1997... RICHARDSON - CarrAmerica Realty Corp. is buying a Richardson office building for $5.2 million just six weeks after Prescott Realty Group Inc. bought the property for $4.15 million, sources and records indicate - a million dollar difference in six...

Dallas boasts nation's 10th-hottest job market; Fort Worth ranks 17th. (Texas)
August 8, 1997... The Dallas labor market was the 10th hottest in the nation between 1994 and 1996, according to a new study by American City Business Journals. The eight-county Dallas area added more than 100,000 nonfarm jobs during the two-year period - an...

Trammell Crow names new division, West Coast heads.
August 8, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Two executives are moving up and one is moving in at the Downtown offices of Trammell Crow Co. Mike Lafitte, formerly with Premisys Real Estate Services Inc., was hired to head the Dallas office-properties division of Trammell Crow....

Knape partners leave Larkin, taking ad clients with them. (Knape Inc.; Larkin, Meeder and Schweidel)
August 8, 1997... UPTOWN - Two former members of Dallas-based advertising agency Larkin, Meeder & Schweidel have opened a new ad agency, Knape Inc., taking with them nearly $4.5 million in accounts. The new company, founded by Susan Knape and Ted Ingersoll, have...

WaveNet subsidiary drags down Amtech. (Amtech Corp.)
August 8, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - This much is certain: The second quarter wasn't the best Amtech Corp. has ever seen. The Dallas-based maker of toll tags - which allow vehicles to roll through toll booths without stopping - put up one of its divisions for sale,...

Company says Global Tech offered software without OK. (Adobe Systems Inc.)
August 8, 1997... ARLINGTON - Adobe Systems Inc., a California software concern, is investigating what it says is at least one unauthorized electronic ad by a local company for Adobe products. It's the latest in what is becoming a series of hassles facing...

Motel 6 leaves light on for franchisees.
August 15, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - Motel 6 has become a franchiser for the first time in its history, sinking more than $350 million into refurbishing its 760 locations and designing a new type of motel. Both moves are designed to make the nation's leading...

Old-line firm finds new niche. (law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C.)
August 15, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Dallas law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C. says it's taking a practice that long has belonged to the boutiques - construction law - and turning it into a magnet for new business. The experiment, which began in February, has worked out...

D/FW courts global routes. (Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport)
August 15, 1997... 26 cities targeted for direct international flights D/FW INTERNATIONAL - Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has targeted two dozen new global air routes it wants to capture, hoping to put D/FW on the map of international airports. The...

Spec office towers under way. (office development in Las Colinas, Texas)
August 15, 1997... Opus South developing project at former Carpenter Ranch LAS COLINAS - Opus South Corp. has broken ground on the biggest speculative office development in Las Colinas in more than 10 years. Opus South is developing MacArthur Ridge, two...

Implant materials in short supply. (medical implants)
August 15, 1997... FRISCO - Until a freak virus threatened his heart, Carlos Medina had never given biomedical implants a second thought. Now Medina is on a crusade. He's contributing a patient's voice on Texas Project Access, a new grassroots initiative to...

Equitable puts One Dallas Centre on the sales block. (Equitable Life Assurance Society of the US)
August 15, 1997... DOWNTOWN - One Dallas Centre is for sale. The 18-year-old, 30-story office tower on St. Paul Street has been put on the market, real estate sources say, as Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States continues to trim its national...

Employment in the oil industry enjoying a boom.
August 15, 1997... FORT WORTH - Kathryn Duval sounds a little overwhelmed by her good fortune. "I cover everything," said the Union Pacific Resources Group petroleum engineer. "From working with drilling engineers to production, completion, reservoirs. It's a...

The bizarre saga of 'Dallas,' er, Box Energy, continues.
August 15, 1997... PARK CITIES - The Box brothers are at it again. The problems plaguing the family and its business, Box Energy Group, have entered a new phase. Doug Box, one of the four brothers who have been squabbling for control of the company for more...

Troubled Destiny Telecomm may be coming to Metroplex. (Destiny Telecomm International Inc.)
August 15, 1997... FARMERS BRANCH - A California company that has been investigated in the operation of pyramid schemes in at least four states may be headed for the Metroplex. Earlier this year, Destiny Telecomm International Inc., based in Oakland, Calif.,...

Airtech rolling out Rx for 'sick building syndrome.' (Airtech International Corp)
August 15, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - Airtech International Corp., a maker of air purification systems, has launched a franchising program at a time when awareness of "sick building syndrome" is at an all-time high, and new government rules demanding cleaner air...

Hartford signs as lead tenant in new tollway office project. (Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.)
August 15, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has signed on as lead tenant in a 120,000-square-foot building that will break ground in late August off the Dallas North Tollway, real estate sources say. The Hartford (NYSE: HIG), one...

Deals position Universal American in senior market. (Universal American Financial Corp.)
August 15, 1997... UPTOWN - New York-based Universal American Financial Corp. has agreed to purchase one Dallas life insurer for $7.4 million, and to buy a $15 million book of business from another. "We like Texas, primarily because it has such a large senior...

D/FW registers steady growth in cargo movement. (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport)
August 15, 1997... D/FW INTERNATIONAL - For 1997, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport expects to see the volume of cargo it handles jump 7% to 10% over 1996. "D/FW is a pretty major cargo point," said Joseph Lopano, director of air service development. "We...

Polyguard bolsters quality, productivity with ISO 9000 system. (Polyguard Products Inc.)
August 15, 1997... Manufacturer learns value of the process after unfortunate experience ENNIS - In 1995, Polyguard Products Inc. President John Muncaster and the company's two dozen employees had heard a lot about ISO 9000. An internationally recognized system...

Technology alters office building designs.
August 15, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - The pace of technological advances in computer software doubles every year, the experts say. Commercial building designers, meanwhile, use essentially the same structural framing systems the Parthenon's contractors had....

New lease on life: stores transformed into call centers.
August 15, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - With space-gobbling corporate call centers popping up like weeds, savvy businesses have turned to unconventional solutions to address their real estate needs and save on costs. "Adaptive re-use" - a term as melodic as a bagpipe...

Rail station's industrial design to influence loft, retail complex.
August 15, 1997... EAST DALLAS - A year from now, people will be living, shopping and dining in a renovated 50-year-old industrial building at the corner of Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway. And proximity to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Mockingbird...

Pru nabs huge health contract. (Prudential HealthCare-North Texas)
August 22, 1997... Prudential HealthCare wins $225 million bid to cover Raytheon employees NORTH DALLAS - Prudential HealthCare-North Texas has emerged the victor in a fight to provide health care for North Texas employees of Raytheon TI Systems and Raytheon...

International effort takes wings and soars. (pet supplies industry)
August 22, 1997... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - When successful Dallas distributor Carol Frank got an offer in 1994 to do business with a manufacturer based in Mexico, she jumped at the chance. And that experience taught Frank - owner of bird-product distributor Avian...

AA starting service to Venezuela. (American Airlines Inc.)
August 22, 1997... Airline wants D/FW 'gateway' status into Latin America D/FW INTERNATIONAL - American Airlines Inc. of Fort Worth will launch passenger service between Dallas-Fort Worth and Caracas. Venezuela, on Sept. 3. The move is the airline's latest...

Richardson firm's software may lead to online trades. (Window on WallStreet Inc.)
August 22, 1997... RICHARDSON - Window on WallStreet Inc., already the nation's top player in investment software, has released a new title that can track more than 400,000 trading symbols in real time - and can make near-instantaneous deals. Entitled "Day...

Benchmarq's growth is battery-powered. (Benchmarq Microelectronics Inc.)
August 22, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - Many companies face a version of the problem that Benchmarq Microelectronics Inc., encountered in the early 1990s. That's when the Dallas-based firm first spotted a big, largely untapped market for what are known as...

Recruiters look to Canada in face of nursing shortage.
August 22, 1997... MEDICAL CENTER - Metroplex hospitals are finding it tough to recruit nurses, therapists and other caregivers. About half of 36 different health care positions show significant job openings, according to a new survey by the Dallas-Fort Worth...

'Cotton Dome' isn't typical; its game plan isn't, either.
August 22, 1997... FAIR PARK - The Cotton Bowl is one of the grand old stadiums on the American sports landscape Its art deco facade testifies to a 90-year-old tradition of major events, particularly in college football. But there's nothing traditional about...

KTVT-TV turns to Redmon for new local show. (hiring of Michelle Redmon)
August 22, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - KTVT-TV (Channel 11) has hired Michelle Redmon, the former executive producer for "Good Morning Texas" on WFAA-TV (Channel 8), to produce an afternoon show mixing talk show and news formats. KTVT-TV has scheduled the live,...

Retailers pressing IRS on R&D credit. (Internal Revenue Service; research and development)
August 22, 1997... DOWNTOWN - The 105th Congress recently extended the research and experimentation tax credit, which was enacted in 1981 to encourage retailers to develop new software for things like tracking inventory and payroll. But the Internal Revenue Service...

Kennedy inks services pact with Medical City Dallas. (Kennedy Corporate Services)
August 22, 1997... PARK CENTRAL - Fast-growing Kennedy Corporate Services scored a coup by winning a contract to bring the firm's professional personal services to Medical City Dallas. Bringing corporate services to a medical facility will be a first for both...

Business-friendly tax package costing $30 billion.
August 22, 1997... WASHINGTON - The recently passed tax bill offers some long-awaited tax relief for small businesses. But it could be expensive for taxpayers: Tax cuts aimed at small businesses will cost the U.S. Treasury an estimated $30 billion over the next...

More than a paycheck. (employee benefits)
August 22, 1997... Creative slate of benefits helps companies motivate performance and promote loyalty The No. 1 employee benefit at Texas Instruments Inc. around the Christmas holidays last year may have been a computer network that helped link parents to...

The new formula for national health care.
August 22, 1997... Legislative mandates + incremental reforms + higher price trends + more uninsureds = national health care As a business owner, the prospect of a favorable group health insurance renewal is shattered when the renewal rate is much higher than...

Myths employers may find plans add value to benefits.
August 22, 1997... Health care consolidation continues at a rapid pace in Dallas-Fort Worth. This consolidation is occurring at both the provider (hospital/physician) level and the payer (insurance company) level. Consolidation will have a tremendous impact on...

Many workers fail to reap benefits of retirement plans.
August 22, 1997... The days of fully funded pension plans may be on the wane, but more companies than ever are offering retirement plans to their employees. Many employees hesitate to participate, even though experts say a retirement package must now come from...

Give your employees better benefits by firing them?
August 22, 1997... Do you want to provide your employees better benefits for less money than you're currently spending? Fire them. Yes, fire your employees and contract with an employee leasing company, often called a professional employer organization, to...

Perot plans new 'command center.' (Perot Systems)
August 29, 1997... Facility in Allen would employ up to 700 people at average salary of $45,000 ALLEN - A new facility under consideration by Perot Systems is the centerpiece of three big projects that could bring as many as 1,400 new jobs here. Perot Systems...

Legend plots stand against AMR gate grab. (AMR Corp.)
August 29, 1997... LOVE FIELD - The $17 billion AMR Corp. made an end run against start-up Legend Airlines this week, grabbing gate space at Dallas Love Field that Legend had been negotiating to lease. But Legend says it still plans to fly commercial service out...

More 'convenience' all the time. (FINA convenience store/fast-food stop)
August 29, 1997... VAN ALSTYNE - Jim Mitchell was snapping pictures from every angle. He talked excitedly as he surveyed his latest project - a palatial FINA convenience store/fast-food stop in this exurban farming community. "Our main consumer for the future...

Church organ competition ready to pipe up. (Dallas, Texas)
August 29, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Houston-based Forshey Piano Co. has entered the Dallas church organ market - one of the nation's largest - and set its sights on challenging its sole competitor, Dallas-based Church Organ Association. Forshey will be trying some...

Columbia/HCA puts Mesquite med center project on hold. (Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.)
August 29, 1997... MESQUITE - Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. has thrown the heavy equipment into idle on its new hospital project here, in part because its ownership includes physician investors. Columbia's North Texas division had allowed doctors who would...

IMT pressuring 'Goliath' in $18 million product dispute. (IMT Inc.)
August 29, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - A small Dallas company with one product has launched an unusual public relations campaign to persuade a giant manufacturer of electrical components to make good on a $17.9 million court judgment. Dallas-based IMT Inc. has...

STB plans Synergy building. (STB Systems Inc.)
August 29, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - STB Systems Inc. is planning to build a $15 million to $20 million, 150,000-square-foot office at The University of Texas at Dallas' Synergy Park. The facility will be built on 35 acres on Waterview Parkway south of State...

Hot market sends price spiraling at Sherry Lane. (office tower in Dallas, Texas)
August 29, 1997... PRESTON CENTER - An office tower in the prestigious Preston Center area is under contract for a price that's so high it's raising eyebrows in the real estate community. Cottonwood Realty Advisors of Dallas has put Sherry Lane Place under...

Fund has $480 million for oil and gas investment. (EnCap Investments L.C.'s Energy Capital Fund III)
August 29, 1997... TURTLE CREEK - The oil patch long has suffered from a lack of investment, but a new investment fund is providing up to $480 million in funds for new projects. EnCap Investments L.C., led by Gene Fiedorek, David Miller, Gary Petersen, Martin...

Project at Arlington airport targeting corporate aircraft. (Arlington Municipal Airport)
August 29, 1997... ARLINGTON - Construction of $8 million in luxury office and hangar facilities at Arlington Municipal Airport is expected to boost the field's status as a home for corporate aircraft that one day could rival Dallas Love Field and Addison Airport....

Fast-growing Mohr Partners links with Jersey firm. (Troast Realty Services)
August 29, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Mohr Partners Inc. has closed on its merger with Troast Realty Services of Paramus, N.J., the latest move in Mohr's ongoing plan for national expansion. Bob Mohr, president and CEO of Mohr Partners, said the merger is the latest...

Lease in Archon project paves way for Phase II. (Archon Group)
August 29, 1997... LAS COLINAS - H.D. Vest Financial Services has signed a 10-year lease as the lead tenant in Phase I of Archon Group's Las Colinas Corporate Center. H.D. Vest will occupy half of the Phase I building located at the intersection of State Highway...

OpTel buying Phonoscope assets for $35.5 million. (OpTel Inc.; Phonoscope Ltd.)
August 29, 1997... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - OpTel Inc., which calls itself the nation's largest provider of cable TV to residents of multitenant dwellings, has agreed to purchase parts of a Houston company for $35.3 million. The purchase of the residential cable TV...

Mutual-MCA alliance may speed growth. (Mutual Equity Mortgage Co.; MCA Financial Corp.)
August 29, 1997... NORTH DALLAS - Residential lender Mutual Equity Mortgage Co. has created a strategic alliance with Detroit-based MCA Financial Corp. that could accelerate the fledgling company's growth by at least a year. The deal gives MCA a 20% stake in...

Cyberstalker makers leap into ... corporate videos? (Process Project Inc.)
August 29, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Process ProJect Inc., a fledgling feature-film company founded by four moviemakers, has entered Dallas' corporate video production market. The group hopes to follow in the footsteps of filmmakers Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino and...

Aetna unit hiring for Arlington operations center. (Aetna U.S. Healthcare; Arlington, Texas)
August 29, 1997... ARLINGTON - Aetna U.S. Healthcare won't open a new operations center here until June, but it's already tackling the challenge of staffing it. Dallas is seeing a stepped-up Aetna presence following the 1996 merger of the company's health care...

Texas National agreeing to join First Financial. (Texas National Bank; First Financial Bankshares Inc.)
August 29, 1997... SOUTHLAKE - Texas National Bank has agreed to join $1.3 billion First Financial Bancshares of Abilene in an uncommon arrangement that will allow the 12-year-old community bank to maintain its name, management and charter. "It's pretty unusual...

Dallas agency wins huge Kansas City ad account. (DDB Needham)
August 29, 1997... KANSAS CITY - UtiliCorp United has chosen Dallas-based DDB Needham over two competing Kansas City agencies to handle its newly-consolidated advertising account, estimated to be worth $4 million in annual billings. The Dallas agency, which...

Doctor loses technology rights, wins $15 million suit. (neurologist Louis Dyll)
August 29, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Neurologist Louis Dyll invested $250,000 in an accurate AIDS test that produced results faster than any standard test used in 1989. There was just one problem: The Mesquite physician lost control of the technology. Two years before,...

Common cultures: secrets of the acquisition game. (Affiliated Computer Services Inc.)
August 29, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Darwin Deason looks past the numbers when deciding on a potential acquisition. Instead, he looks for style. Style of personalities. Style of management. Style of service. Style of commitment. Deason, chairman and CEO of Dallas-based...

Hedging their bets: start-up fund seeks growth, manages risk. (Vision Technology Partners L.P.)
August 29, 1997... GRAPEVINE - On the surface, it seems a contradiction: Investing in volatile technology stocks when your No. 1 investment rule is "Don't lose capital." Yet that's exactly what start-up hedge fund Vision Technology Partners L.P. aims to do -...

Credit insurance can enhance profits.
August 29, 1997... Companies can purchase insurance coverage for just about everything - property protection, errors and omissions and employee disability. But one formerly little-known area of coverage that is starting to attract interest is insurance for...