Business First of Buffalo articles from August 1998

Business First of Buffalo archives from August 1998

Delphi spin-off launches new era. (General Motors Corp.'s Delphi Automotive System division)
August 10, 1998... No longer a General Motors town. It has a sobering ring. But that's the somber prospect Lockport faces as it, Niagara County and Western New York get set to enter a new and uncertain era for the region. Delphi is the largest private employer,...

WNY economy pushes upward. (Western New York)
August 10, 1998... Western New York's economy continued to expand in late spring and early summer, but its rate of growth slowed considerably. The Business First Economic Index inched up 0.7 percent in the second quarter to an all-time high of 1,281 points. It...

NYSEG reaches deal to sell Somerset generating plant. (New York State Electric & Gas Corp.)
August 10, 1998... New York State Electric & Gas Corp. is getting out of electricity production. As part of deregulation, NYSEG recently reached a deal to sell seven power plants, including the Kintigh Generating Station in Somerset, Niagara County. Six of...

McGwire's home run binge a big hit at Delaware North. (baseball player Mark McGwire)
August 10, 1998... Mark McGwire isn't just hitting home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals. He's also a big hit with Sportservice Corp. Sportservice, the stadium and arena concession arm of Delaware North Cos. Inc., Buffalo's largest privately held company, is...

Thursday at the Square brings crowds. (concerts at LaFayette Square)
August 10, 1998... What began a dozen summers ago as a means of enticing people to shop downtown has struck the right chord with Buffalo planners and restaurant owners. As the "Thursday at the square" series heads into the final month of its 1998 season,...

LogiSoft Corp. (Internet service provider)(Company Profile)
August 10, 1998... What's going on: LogiSoft is an Internet service provider, specializing in high-end corporate Web site development, including hosting and dial-up service. Another division focuses on hardware and software sales, primarily catering to the...

NationsBanc ready to build in Amherst. (NationsBanc Mortgage Corp.; Amherst, New York)
August 17, 1998... NationsBanc Mortgage Corp. appears to be close to signing a long-term deal to relocate its national mortgage servicing center to CrossPoint Business Park in Amherst. Sources say the bank will have Uniland Development Co. construct a...

Dealership trades sellers for tellers. (Braun Cadillac Inc. site as the possible headquarters for Greater Buffalo Savings Bank)
August 17, 1998... A distinctive Buffalo building that is associated with the city's historic link to the automobile may he headed for new life - as a bank. The art deco building built as a dealer showroom for the legendary Buffalo-made Pierce Arrow automobile...

Softbank recruiting drive uses non-traditional tactics. (Softbank Services Group)
August 17, 1998... Music lovers who attend the WEDG 103.3 radio station Edgefest show later this month may walk away with a new job, but not in the profession you might think. Featured along with the musical groups and T-shirt booths will be a booth from...

Pennsylvania savings bank launches WNY expansion. (Northwest Savings Bank's acquisition of Jamestown Savings Bank's remaining stock; Western New York)
August 17, 1998... Jamestown Savings Bank has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based Northwest Savings Bancorp Inc., the startup bank's former majority shareholder, following acceptance of Northwest's offer for the remaining stock in the bank....

Nextel joins competition for cellular market share. (Nextel Communications Inc.)
August 17, 1998... A new player has entered the Buffalo cellular service market, offering digital phones that combine the features of cellular communication and two-way radio. Nextel Communications Inc. of McLean, Va., is the fourth cellular provider in Western...

Occidental builds legacy 20 years after Love Canal (Occidental Chemical Corp.)(Company Profile)
August 17, 1998... When Elon Hooker started Hooker Electrochemical Co. in the early 1900s, he never envisioned what it would grow to become. Neither did he foresee his name associated with Love Canal, the most notorious environmental contamination in history....

When selling in France, sell as the French sell. (Graphic Controls' marketing technique)(Health First)
August 17, 1998... For Graphic Controls, selling ice to an Eskimo is no joke. The Buffalo manufacturer of medical devices had a similar marketing problem when it tried to introduce throw-away operating room light covers to European countries. The sterile...

Burns named to top post at GM's Europe division. (Michael Burns, new president of GM Europe)
August 17, 1998... The general manager of Lockport-based Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems from 1994 to 1996 has a new assignment: whipping General Motors' ailing European operation into shape. For 46-year-old Michael Burns, his task as president of GM Europe in...

Wheatfield zeroes in on aerospace firm. (Wheatfield, New York; Stavatti Corp.)
August 24, 1998... Officials in Niagara County are closing in on a deal to bring a Minnesota aerospace manufacturer to Wheatfield. Stavatti Corp. of South St. Paul, Minn., is seeking financial assistance from New York state to establish a tactical air warfare...

Paperwork snares cross-border traffic. (international crossings to Western New York by commercial trucks)
August 24, 1998... Denis Marois is learning patience on the road - the hard way. A truck driver for Crown Trucking Services of Niagara Falls, Ont., he often is caught in Peace Bridge traffic delays. "It takes too long to get clearance through Customs, mainly at...

Trico workers hope uncertainty is over. (Trico Products Corp.'s planned relocation)(includes related article on the effect of Trico's move to the New Buffalo Industrial Park)
August 24, 1998... The 13-year nightmare at Trico Products Corp. could be ending, some employees believe. But others take a more cautious wait-and-see attitude to the announcement that the windshield wiper manufacturer is staying in Buffalo. "I personally think...

Despite stagnant growth, NY economy ranks 2nd. (New York State; gross state product ranking)
August 24, 1998... New York state continues to be a major player as a source for goods and services in the United States. New York contributed 8.05 percent of the nation's total, second to California's 12.6 percent, according to a new Business First research...

Financial control at center of HMO's deal with doctors. (health maintenance organization Independent Health Association)
August 24, 1998... Independent Health and its doctors have a new relationship that transfers greater administrative and financial control of the medical practices from the physicians to the HMO. The development follows a period of contention between the area' s...

Calif. company takes over ECMC-run dialysis center. (Total Renal Care Holdings Inc.; Erie County Medical Center)
August 24, 1998... Erie County Medical Center is spinning off its dialysis center to a California renal care company that is making an entrance in the Western New York health-care market. Total Renal Care Holdings Inc., a publicly traded Torrance, Calif.-based...

New technology, demand fuel Internet growth spurt. (Internet access providers in Buffalo, New York)
August 24, 1998... Area Internet access providers are adding staff to handle new services for clients. At BuffNet, employment increased 65 percent from 17 to 28 after the launch of a sister company, MJAC Corp. (More than Just A Connection), producing Internet...

Business backs Bills with wallets. (National Football League franchise club)
August 31, 1998... As the start of another National Football League season draws closer, so too, do the Buffalo Bills in their quest to peddle $11 million in premium seating. Reaching that figure will satisfy lease requirements and secure the team's future in...

Gas stations face big fines for leaky tanks. (estimated 40%-50% of gas tank owners in New York state that are not in compliance with EPA regulations on leaky tanks face financial problems related to satisfying the law)
August 31, 1998... They've had a decade to prepare, but owners and operators of underground storage tanks who did not heed a warning given 10 years ago are now less than four months away from a deadline that could spell real trouble for them. The federal...

West Seneca kick starts soccer complex. (planned $1.5-million stadium in New York state)
August 31, 1998... When this happened in Iowa, Hollywood made a movie out of it. In West Seneca, no one is dreaming such thoughts, though the plan to carve a $1.5 million soccer complex out of farmland certainly brings the movie "A Field Of Dreams" to mind. The...

Entrepreneur heads for hills as shop booms. (Jeff Subra divests thriving New York state-based metal fabricating business)
August 31, 1998... Jeff Subra walked away from the corporate banking world to buy a small business 11 years ago. Now he's walking away again. This time, from the company he built up from $123,000 in revenues in 1987 to $750,000 today. And business has never been...

Buffalo photo MasterCard puts new metal on plastic. (First USA Bank issues the new Buffalo Titanium MasterCard product featuring images of the city to promote it)
August 31, 1998... Buffalonians who are proud of their hometown can flash their pride with plastic. First USA Bank N.A., one of the nation's largest credit card issuers, has introduced a card with a new wrinkle: the Buffalo Titanium MasterCard. The card...

State reforms continue trend of comp rate cuts. (declining workers' compensation rates in New York state benefit industry)
August 31, 1998... Metro Electrical Construction Corp. is cheering the declining workers' compensation rate, which lowered its annual costs from $50,000 in 1995 to $34,000 in 1997. The cost is expected to be even lower in 1998, said F. Patrick Mahoney,...

New generation ceramics opens new markets for Unifrax.
August 31, 1998... Unifrax Corp., a ceramic fiber maker, is turning up the heat on a new manufacturing process at its Sanborn facility. Through a $500,000 project funded jointly by Unifrax and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the...

Syracuse microbrewery taps into Market Arcade. (Empire Brewing Co. may take over the former Breckenridge Brewery in Market Arcade center, Buffalo, NY)
August 31, 1998... A Syracuse microbrewery is a candidate to take over the former Breckenridge Brewery in downtown Buffalo's Market Arcade. Officials from Empire Brewing Co. met with city representatives two days after Breckenridge's Aug. 17 closing. Empire...

Building a healthy business: medical products supply company has international clientele. (CARA Medical)
August 31, 1998... What's going on: CARA Medical is a dealer of medical/surgical, safety and first aid supplies and equipment. The company warehouse holds diverse inventory such as electrocardiogram machines, examining room tables, cabinets and bandages. Who's...