Dallas Business Journal articles from January 1999

Dallas Business Journal archives from January 1999

Small businesses may be most at risk when (and if) millennium bug bites.
January 1, 1999... ARLINGTON - Arlington-based investment manager John Mauldin doesn't expect the year 2000 problem to cause a catastrophe. But he does foresee it triggering a worldwide recession in 2000, with the United States losing about 5% of its gross...

Japanese firm puts D-FW buildings on sales block.(Itochu Corp.; Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas)
January 1, 1999... DOWNTOWN DALLAS - Hobbled by the crumbling Japanese stock market, an Osaka trading house is trying to unload its Metroplex real estate holdings including the Chateau Plaza office building and stakes in four Arlington properties and one of...

Credit union plans futuristic branch.(Texans Credit Union)
January 1, 1999... Telecom Corridor facility of Texans Credit Union to sport 'Star Trek' look, concierge, cable TV RICHARDSON - Texans Credit Union will enter a brave new world in March when it opens a branch in the Telecom Corridor that will stand on the...

Utilities are optimistic about Y2K preparations.(Y2K Ready or Not: Utilities)(Year 2000 transition)
January 1, 1999... Any bugs are likely to be minor ones Texas Utilities Co. has been studying potential problems posed by the year 2000 for more than two years now. Its program boasts a $36 million war chest and an army of 100. But the investor-owned...

Customers defaulting on loans poses biggest problem for banks.(Y2K Ready or Not: Banking)(includes interview of experts on their plans for Y2K problem)
January 1, 1999... State institutions say they've spent $780 million on Y2K, but ill-prepared small businesses that fail remain a concern DOWNTOWN DALLAS - If Texas banks suffer disruptions during the first few months of the year 2000, it won't be for a lack...

Expiration dates crucial issue for credit cards.(Y2K Ready or Not: Credit Cards)
January 1, 1999... Credit card companies tweaking systems to keep customers charging through 2000 DOWNTOWN - While revelers will be out uncorking champagne bottles and singing "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve 1999, employees at Paymentech Inc. will be...

Retailers' biggest worry is vendor compliance.(Y2K Ready or Not: Retail)
January 1, 1999... Top retailers like J.C. Penney lend their muscle to trade organizations to prepare others for countdown PLANO - When the ball drops on Times square on Jan. 1, 2000, Stephanie Brown says she's confident that J.C. Penney Co. Inc.'s computers...

Southwest manufacturers gearing up for bug.(Y2K Ready or Not: Manufacturing)
January 1, 1999... Locally, companies say they will be ready, but global Y2K breakdowns may cost billions SOUTHWEST DALLAS - In the stack of mail that arrives every day in Ken Koger's office, at least 10% is from customers or lenders who want to know if...

Opportunities abound for 1999 New Year's Eve.(Y2K Ready or Not: Millennium Events)
January 1, 1999... Enticing, exotic activities will be offered in places near and far to welcome in 2000 Disney World has been booked solid for 10 years. Tile hot spots in New York and Las Vegas are also sold out. But that doesn't mean it's too late to...

Property managers take bite out of building bugs.(Y2K Ready or Not: Real Estate)
January 1, 1999... Embedded systems pose the biggest problem In the property manager's worst nightmare, building security systems. energy systems and elevators all go on the blink when the year changes from 1999 to 2000. But most local property managers...

Phone companies expect to make the right connections.(Y2K Ready or Not: Phones)
January 1, 1999... By end of month, telecom companies will tell regulators status of fix-and-testing efforts Phone companies say they're going to be ready for the dawn of a new century. Spokesmen for GTE Corp. and SBC Communications, the parent of...

Family matters: insider's view helps family businesses run smoothly.(Growth Strategies)(ReGeneration Partners L.L.C.)
January 1, 1999... UPTOWN - Jim Hutcheson's job is to deal with the elephant in the living room. "Everyone knows that the elephant is there," says Hutcheson, a family-business consultant, "but no one wants to talk about it." For Hutcheson's firm,...

NEC America to build in Las Colinas; telecommunications equipment maker wants unified campus for U.S. headquarters.
January 8, 1999... LAS COLINAS - Despite gloomy financial results at its Japanese parent company, NEC America Inc. will move its corporate headquarters from New York to a 500,000-square-foot corporate campus here. A company spokeswoman said at least 50 people...

Auto lender adding space, doubling staff.(FirstCity Funding Corp.)
January 8, 1999... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - FirstCity Funding Corp. of Dallas will more than triple its local space when it opens a loan servicing center in the Twin Towers this spring. FirstCity Funding, a sub-prime and non-prime auto loan company, will move in...

Chip designers go for broke.(funding for Microtune Inc.)
January 8, 1999... PLANO - Backed by $22 million from a high-powered investor group, several former executives of Cirrus Logic and Pixel Semiconductor are building a new computer-chip company in Plano. Part of their financial backing comes from the management...

BSMG president quits to start Internet company.
January 8, 1999... IRVING - The longtime president of BSMG Worldwide/Southwest has resigned to launch an Internet publishing firm in Dallas. Scott Bennett's departure caps a series of changes at the Metroplex's third-largest public relations agency, The...

Dallas Gold & Silver seizes golden opportunity to buy.(Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange Inc.'s acquisition of Beltline Pawn Shop)
January 8, 1999... NORTH DALLAS - Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange Inc. has snapped up a 15-year-old Carrollton pawn shop in what may be the first of a steady string of acquisitions this year. The Dallas-based retail and wholesale jewelry company (Amex: DLS.EC)...

Summit to offer protection in patent infringement suits.(Summit Global Partners Inc.)
January 8, 1999... DOWNTOWN DALLAS - After two years of negotiation, Dallas insurance brokerage Summit Global Partners Inc. has joined syndicated underwriters for Lloyd's of London to create what they say is a breakthrough product: a policy that offers...

MLS changes cause grief for Realtors; Moore Data Management draws criticism for new software program that now serves 12,000 agents.(Multiple Listing Service; Moore Data Management Services)
January 8, 1999... FAR NORTH DALLAS - Area Realtors are grumbling about the newly revamped Multiple Listing Service while the company that wrote the new program scrambles to fix the bugs. The month-old system is designed to integrate residential listings for...

Stricter regulations set for D/FW cab drivers; airport's rules for cab size, credit cards and map-reading skills to take effect May 1.(Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport; May 1, 1999)
January 8, 1999... D/FW AIRPORT - Cabbies picking up passengers at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport face stricter regulations starting May 1. D/FW officials were nudged to clamp down by long-running complaints from the Metroplex tourism industry about...

Northern gateway to Colleyville is shaping up; new upscale, Mediterranean-style development is first thing motorists will see when entering city.
January 8, 1999... COLLEYVILLE - A new upscale development - the second Mediterranean-influenced project to be announced here in recent months - will grace the city's northern gateway with stated elegance, a city official said this week. Featuring rooftop...

Holisticos to roll out up to eight alternative care centers.
January 8, 1999... EAST DALLAS - A Dallas-based company is poised to capitalize on the growing popularity of alternative health care. Holisticos Inc. plans to open six to eight of its one-stop alternative medicine facilities in the Metroplex next year. ...

Comer Cottrell: he didn't let adversity stand on his way.(chairman and CEO of Pro-Line Corp.)
January 8, 1999... SOUTH DALLAS - In 1979, when successful black businessman Comer Cottrell decided to move his thriving manufacturing business out of Los Angeles and closer to his market, he made the odd choice to relocate to Dallas - a city viewed widely by...

Belgians plot Ennis electric plant.(Tractebel Power Inc. of Brussels, Belgium; Texas)
January 15, 1999... $200 million facility could be 'magnet' for new business in southern sector ENNIS - Expected deregulation of the state's electrical utility market has prompted Tractebel Power Inc. of Brussels, Belgium, to plan a $200 million generating...

Germans pour cash into D-FW realty.(Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas)
January 15, 1999... DOWNTOWN DALLAS - When NationsBank Plaza here changed hands last month, it was widely reported that Sunbelt Management Co. of Florida had purchased the office building, Dallas' tallest, for a record $325 million. Omitted from the reports...

Carlson has a 'yen' to expand.(Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc.'s plan to expand to Japan)
January 15, 1999... NORTH DALLAS - Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc. has finalized plans to aggressively develop the Asian market, despite the economic crisis that cost the company an estimated $50 million there last year. Carlson Restaurants recently formed...

Hunter takes over as new editor of 'Business Journal.'.(Glenn Hunter; Dallas Business Journal)
January 15, 1999... NORTH DALLAS - American City Business Journals has named Dallas Business Journal Editor Sharon Gee as publisher of its newly acquired Birmingham Business Journal in Birmingham, Ala. Gee was replaced as editor of the Dallas weekly by Glenn...

Kane makes the switch from music to movies; entrepreneur uses money from sale of CD Warehouse chain to finance new venture, Movie Trading Co.(Mark Kane)
January 15, 1999... PLANO - The founder of CD Warehouse Inc. aims to replicate the success of his pre-owned music chain via a new retail niche: used video stores. Mark Kane recently opened his first Movie Trading Co. shop along North Central Expressway in...

Malouf Lynch Jackson splits law practice into separate firms.(Malouf Lynch Jackson Kessler & Collins P.C.)
January 15, 1999... NORTH DALLAS - The Dallas-based law firm of Malouf Lynch Jackson Kessler & Collins P.C. is dividing its operation into two firms at a time when many others are caught up in the mergers-and-acquisition game. Fifteen years ago, Malouf Lynch &...

Corporate Express to close one local office, cut 119 jobs.(Corporate Express Delivery Systems)
January 15, 1999... Rapid expansion takes its toll on parent company GRAPEVINE - Some 119 employees have been laid off at a major U.S. delivery service that is downsizing its aggressive Metroplex operations. Corporate Express Delivery Systems, a wholly...

Texas Health Choice names president.(Allan R. Mintz)
January 15, 1999... NORTH DALLAS - Texas Health Choice L.C. has tapped a new local leader to transform what was Kaiser Permanente-Southwest into a health plan offering patients more doctors and more choice. Dr. Allan R. Mintz, a physician with 12 years of...

Euro economics: new currency poses fresh challenges for Uncommon Market.(Growth Strategies)(supplier of antiques and architectural elements)
January 15, 1999... DOWNTOWN DALLAS - A slump in the oil industry convinced Don and Ward Mayborn that their importing sideline should become something bigger. The brothers dabbled in imports while working as journalists for Drilling, a trade publication based...

Realty firm to nab Frisco acreage.(American Realty Trust Inc)
January 22, 1999... $48 million purchase could help city compete with Plano's Legacy Park FRISCO - In one of the biggest land deals in Frisco in recent years, American Realty Trust Inc. of Dallas plans to close this week on 337 acres next to the Stonebriar...

Shifting gears at HighwayMaster.
January 22, 1999... RICHARDSON - Jana Bell, the new CEO at HighwayMaster Corp., has devised a strategy to curb ongoing losses at the troubled telecommunications company. It might be easier to stop a runaway semi-tractor trailer rig on a steep downhill grade....

Web boom benefits brokerage.(Southwest Securities Group)
January 22, 1999... DOWNTOWN DALLAS - Displaying an unbridled passion for virtually any stock connected to the Internet boom, Wall Street has found a surprising new object for its affections: Dallas-based regional brokerage Southwest Securities Group Inc. ...

Jenkens & Gilchrist has 'never been stronger.'.
January 22, 1999... Firm experiences growth in all areas in 1998: revenue, regional and national rankings, service offerings DOWNTOWN DALLAS - Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C. is pulling ahead of the legal pack. The Dallas-based firm has finally managed to bump...

Study: Dallas ranks as most productive city in America.
January 22, 1999... Diverse economic climate is key for businesses Big D is the "most productive city in America," according to a new study by Sprint Business and the independent research firm, Decision Analyst Inc. Dallas was followed in the rankings by...

VocalData developing communications product.
January 22, 1999... System would handle company voice and data communications through one network RICHARDSON - A start-up company is developing technology that it says will allow voice traffic to be carried over data communications networks that run over...

The Great Train Store lays tracks to help boost sales.
January 22, 1999... FAR NORTH DALLAS - The Great Train Store Co. hopes to nudge its ailing business back on track with an action plan that includes a possible sale or merger of the company. In a letter to its stockholders last week, the Dallas-based retailer...

Bradford Cos. is ready to launch Gateway's phase II.
January 22, 1999... GARLAND - Although leasing was slow for much of Gateway East Business Center until the last two months. Dallas developer Bradford Cos. is ready to launch Phase II. Bradford and building owner Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. "are...

Couriers snapping up business in bank sector.
January 22, 1999... Interlink, C&D Couriers and Telesis Express pick up financial accounts left behind by Corporate Express NORTH DALLAS - Small courier companies in the Metroplex are grabbing lucrative customers in the financial sector, thanks to hard times...

CareSelect stays on course in tight PPM market.(physician practice management)
January 22, 1999... Group's philosophy is to stay out of debt, build its business and focus on taking care of its 94 physicians NORTH DALLAS - Physician practice management companies are no longer in vogue on Wall Street. But some operations are...

Hughes & Luce offers new twist to clerkships.
January 22, 1999... Law firm's innovative 'virtual' positions offer students flexibility, aid in year-round recruitment efforts DOWNTOWN DALLAS - The law firm of Dallas-based Hughes & Luce L.L.P. has instituted the first virtual clerkship program in the world,...

Nextlink Southwest steps up telecom competition with LMDS.(local multi-point distribution service)
January 22, 1999... NORTH DALLAS - A newcomer to the Dallas telephone wars is planning to roll out a new weapon: A service that lets customers get voice, video and data services wirelessly. For Nextlink Southwest. the service, dubbed local multi-point...

Best Maid moving to Mansfield.(Best Maid Products Inc.)
January 29, 1999... Food manufacturer to consolidate at new $20 million plant MANSFIELD - Johnson County commissioners voted against a tax abatement this week for a Fort Worth food manufacturer that's planning to consolidate and expand its operations at a...

Upscale builder snags land in 'hot' Prosper.
January 29, 1999... PROSPER - Luxury homebuilder Talmadge Tinsley has snapped up 450 acres here and is considering building high-end homes around a golf course. The acreage is located at the northeast corner of Collin County Road 80 (or Coit Road) and...

Project imports vintage homes.
January 29, 1999... Uptown retail development, Leonard square, seeks mom-and-pop stores for site UPTOWN - McKinney Avenue Property Co. plans to import three vintage homes from East Dallas for a retail/restaurant project on the edge of the historic...

Tiffany to make splash with new store at NorthPark.(NorthPark Center in Dallas, Texas)
January 29, 1999... Second location not far from original at Galleria NORTH DALLAS - Tiffany & Co., the nation's second-largest jewelry retailer. is finalizing plans to open a second local store at NorthPark Center. The exclusive New York-based jewelry...

Expanding software firms scope tollway space.
January 29, 1999... Analysts skeptical of growth prospects for J.D. Edwards', PeopleSoft's enterprise resource planning software FAR NORTH DALLAS - Despite Wall Street's doubts about the growth prospects of their industries, two prominent software companies...

The making of legendary Texas Capital Bank.
January 29, 1999... Unlikely partners raise $78 million to create largest independent start-up bank in U.S. EAST DALLAS - George F. Jones Jr. was at home, enduring his morning shave, when he got the phone call that changed the course of his life. Jody...

Jeff Rich: taking risks in startup pays off.(COO of Affiliated Computer Services Inc.)
January 29, 1999... UPTOWN - "It was a death watch." That's how Jeff Rich recalls the summer of 1989. during his first months as chief financial officer lot Affiliated Computer Services Inc., a fledgling data-processing firm catering to the banking industry....

Arnold Logistics to lease facility in Arlington.
January 29, 1999... ARLINGTON - A Pennsylvania-based logistics company is expanding its Metroplex presence with a 247,901-square-foot facility in Arlington where it will serve a food and beverage manufacturer. Arnold Logistics, an operating unit of Arnold...

Kauffman Tire rolling out more than 20 upscale stores.
January 29, 1999... HURST - Kaufman Tire is driving into the Metroplex with plans for more than 20 upscale automotive stores. The Atlanta-based retailer is slated to open its first 7,000-square-foot location by June at State Highway 26 and Precinct Line Road...

Shareholders file lawsuit against Patriot American.(Patriot American Hospitality Inc.)
January 29, 1999... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - Shareholders of Patriot American Hospitality Inc. have joined forces in a class-action lawsuit that seeks to block a proposed $1 billion equity investment in the troubled company by a group of private investors. The...

Cowles Thompson loses 10 lawyers in Tyler office.
January 29, 1999... Most of practice 'de-merges' to operate as Buchanan Kent and pursue insurance cases its own way DOWNTOWN DALLAS - Dallas-based Cowles & Thompson P.C. suffered a setback last week when shareholders in its Tyler office decided to open their...

Local companies favor debt over equity in offering.(Dallas, Texas)
January 29, 1999... Overall IPO market drops 89% in fourth quarter DOWNTOWN DALLAS - Metroplex companies raised $5.4 billion through public offerings during the fourth quarter of 1998, a 35% increase from the same period in 1997, according to a new survey from...