Business First of Buffalo articles from February 1995

Business First of Buffalo archives from February 1995

Commission cap doesn't fly with local agents. (travel agents' commissions)
February 27, 1995... A cut in the amount of commissions that airlines pay travel agents could shut some smaller agencies down and mean higher costs for area corporate travel planners who share the commission savings. "The corporation is going to get hurt on this...

Smaller local companies feed off Delaware North success. (Delaware North Companies Inc.)
February 27, 1995... When Delaware North Cos. Inc., the Buffalo-based food service giant, bites off a big chunk of new business, others share in the feast. A multimillion-dollar contract for Delaware North can raise the fortunes for many of its local and national...

Suitor for Carbo fibers group would shift some jobs to Falls. (American Premier Inc.; Carborundum Co.; Niagara Falls, New York)
February 27, 1995... A Philadelphia area company has confirmed it is a bidder for Carborundum Co.'s Fibers Division and would move divisional headquarters to Niagara Falls if a deal is completed. "We have let it be known that we are very interested in the North...

Falls harvests Canadian processor of fresh vegetables. (Salads Plus Inc. plans to open facility in Niagara Falls, New York)
February 27, 1995... A Canadian fresh-vegetable processor plans to open an operation in Niagara Falls that could create up to 100 jobs. Salads Plus Inc. has leased a 30,000-square-foot building on Memorial Parkway. The building, owned by Lorenz & Sons Inc. of...

Trench nears deal with Tennessee buyer. (Trench Manufacturing Co. Inc.; Signal Apparel Co.)
February 20, 1995... Sports clothing maker confirms negotiations with Signal Apparel Trench Manufacturing Co. Inc., a Buffalo manufacturer of sports apparel, is on the verge of being sold. Signal Apparel Co., a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based clothing company, is...

Sleep waits when gherkins are for sale around the clock. (24-service facilities)
February 20, 1995... More people are staying up late. What makes me say that? Because wherever I look, people are working what once could be called nontraditional hours. Years ago I worked nights and that was during an age when there was something vaguely exotic...

Local television pioneer wires up cable movie network. (Chmn. Alfred Anscombe of Classic Entertainment Network)
February 20, 1995... Sometime next winter John Wayne, Cary Grant and Charles Boyer will have another place to call home, courtesy of a Buffalo-based cable network. Classic Entertainment Network, headed by one-time WKBW-TV owner Alfred Anscombe, is scheduled to...

Doctors lose money in HMO pool. (Community Blue to withhold doctors' fees; health maintenance organizations)
February 20, 1995... Community Blue has told affiliated doctors that it will keep a portion of their fees to help cover a $7.2 million loss in medical costs last year. Community Blue, the HMO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Western New York Inc., is keeping $3.6...

Graphic Controls calls off merger, cites FTC delays. (Graphic Controls Corp.; Federal Trade Commission's antitrust review)
February 20, 1995... Graphic Controls Corp. is enlisting an investment banker to help it determine if the company should go public, be sold or leverage more of its assets. The move comes as the company and Tyco International Ltd. of Exeter, N.H., have called off...

Next step for BP centers on Carbo fibers unit sale. (BP America Inc.; Carborundum Co.)
February 20, 1995... When Saint-Gobain Corp. passed on buying the domestic fibers business of The Carborundum Co., it left behind a healthy segment that Carborundum's British Petroleum parent can easily sell, according to several analysts. Sources said that...

St. Jerome, Genesee Memorial explore further service sharing. (hospitals)
February 20, 1995... Batavia's St. Jerome and Genesee Memorial hospitals are the latest local health providers to announce they are looking for ways to save money by collaborating. Their first joint project is a medical complex in LeRoy, about eight miles east...

Harrison gets rechristened in GM group name change. (General Motors Corp. Harrison Div. changed to Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems)
February 20, 1995... For the second time in five years, Harrison Division of General Motors Corp. finds itself with a new name. The new moniker, Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems, reflects the ongoing quest for a new identity by the Automotive Components Group...

Teamsters seek to organize Sorrento plant. (Sorrento Inc.)
February 20, 1995... Fourteen months after Sorrento Inc. workers said no to organized labor, the Teamsters Union is back at the company's South Buffalo plant seeking to represent hourly employees. Teamsters Local 264 has asked federal labor officials to supervise...

NationsBank targets KeyCorp Mortgage. (acquisition of KeyCorp Mortgage Inc. by NationsBank Corp.)
February 13, 1995... 700 jobs in Williamsville could stay, 150 in Cheektowaga could be cut KeyCorp is close to an agreement to sell the nationwide residential servicing business of its mortgage unit. "There's no definite agreement inked (as of Feb. 8) but it's...

WNY sends more to feds than it gets back. (Western New York; federal government contracts)
February 13, 1995... Gerald Rosenfelder remembers when Western New York was a highly competitive force in the battle for federal government contracts. "For instance, Bell Aerospace used to be a major factor," says the man who was vice president of project and...

Kittinger jobs expected to shift to Connecticut plant. (Kittinger Co.)
February 13, 1995... The end of furniture production at Buffalo's historical Kittinger Co. could be close at hand, labor and other sources said. The transfer of jobs from Kittinger's Buffalo plant to Helikon Furniture Co., a sister company in Connecticut, is...

Kohl's chain ready to link to WNY market. (Kohl's Department Stores Inc.; Western New York)
February 13, 1995... Kohl's Department Stores, a Wisconsin-based chain, is close to entering Western New York. Company officials said that Buffalo is one of several markets that Kohl's is considering as part of an expansion this year aimed primarily at the...

Two letters that might have saved downtown retail. (retail trade in Buffalo, New York)
February 13, 1995... I consider myself a good citizen, but I can't remember the last time I made a purchase in what until recently was called the main store of AM&A's. That was "main" as in primary, foremost, chief or major, not Main with a capital "M" as in...

Tops picks site in Lancaster for distribution center. (Tops Markets Inc.; Lancaster, New York)
February 13, 1995... Tops Markets Inc. search for new warehouse space has apparently ended in Lancaster. The Amherst-based supermarket giant has selected a 136-acre, vacant parcel at Genesee Street and Gunnville Road in Lancaster for its 835,000-square-foot...

National names in funeral trade eye small players.
February 13, 1995... Early signs have appeared that consolidation spreading through the funeral home industry in North America has reached Buffalo. Some local executives in the $12 billion to $14 billion North American business that analysts dub "the death-care...

Getting best from workers means starting at beginning. (Family Business)
February 13, 1995... When it comes right down to it, a good performance management system is like a well-rehearsed symphony performance. That is, many different aspects of human resource management must fit together and support the desired outcome. The primary...

Building bridges. (engineer Andres Huerta) (Special Report: Architecture & Engineering)
February 13, 1995... Andres Huerta faced plenty of challenges on the road to becoming a engineer, not the least of which was tackling a second language. Now he's an American success story. Andres Huerta tells the story of three physicians: One who was poor, one...

Think of change as chance to improve workplace. (Special Report: Architecture & Engineering)
February 13, 1995... TQM. ISO. Just-in-time manufacturing. Change is affecting every business and institution in the country, and probably throughout the world. In general, people and, therefore, many organizations resist change. However, if we can think of...

Firm's low public profile belies large body of work. (Lauer-Manguso & Associates Architects) (Special Report: Architecture & Engineering) (Company Profile)
February 13, 1995... To the average person, the name Lauer-Manguso & Associates Architects probably doesn't mean much. But drive down Niagara Falls Boulevard or Transit Road and it's hard not to see the firm's work. In development circles, the Amherst-based...

Engineering provides cogs to keep U.S. wheels turning. (Special Report: Architecture & Engineering) (Company Profile)
February 13, 1995... What does an engineer do? Why do we need engineers? What does it take to become an engineer? Clear answers to questions such as these should enable more young Americans to become engineers and help fulfill the important role that engineers...

Training programs need to wean off government. (Work Force) (Column)
February 13, 1995... The message is clear. State resources are shrinking, taxpayers are demanding relief, and dependence on costly entitlement programs is widespread and growing. Solutions are needed. We must find humane workable and cost-effective alternatives...

Under the wing of reform: WNY medical community saw changes coming and has been a step ahead ever since. (Western New York) (Health First)
February 13, 1995... When Washington picks up the health-care reform ball again, it will find that Western New York has been playing the game all along. A candidate for the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania won his race based on health-care reform proposals;...

Maintaining your health is a life-saving practice. (Health First)
February 13, 1995... Periodic health evaluation has been recommended with varying degrees of enthusiasm throughout the 20th century, and many patients believe in its value. The majority of Americans feel, however, that more health resources should be expended on...

Workers' comp headed to managed-care arrangement. (Health First)
February 13, 1995... Workers who get hurt on the job in New York might have their injuries tended to in the future in a managed-care setting. The state has embarked on a pilot project that will match workers and employers with networks of physicians and other...

1st person. (Western New York Regional Poison Control Center) (Health First)
February 13, 1995... What the Poison Control Center does: Though Dolgin and her staff of 10 are consulted by the authorities, for example, in the event of a chemical spill from a derailed train, the bulk of their work is taking frantic phone calls when an...

Patients are fighting to keep HMOs from bagging doctors. (health maintenance organizations) (Health First)
February 13, 1995... Like other cancer survivors, your ordeal has not been easy. But your oncologist has stood by your side, a loyal and trusting partner. You have traveled some hard-fought miles together over many years: Traumatic surgeries, difficult...

Gene therapy and vaccines may innoculate against cancer. (Health First)
February 13, 1995... It has been only 40 years since the late Dr. Sidney Farber, a native of Buffalo, first injected a chemical into a child with leukemia. Cancer chemotherapy has come a long way. Childhood leukemia - a virtual death sentence in Farber's day -...

As America ages, seniors programs are going to change. (long-term care) (Health First)
February 13, 1995... With the media bursting with news of the Contract With America, this column would be remiss if it did not address America's previous contract with its older citizens. That pact began in the '30s with the passage of Social Security and came...

Health-care professionals require medical care too. (Health First)
February 13, 1995... They heal our wounds, mend our fractures, take our temperature, take X-rays, calm our fears and help us get better. They are physicians, nurses, lab technicians, psychologists, dentists and chiropractors - our healers. These are the people we...

New firm structures give professionals flexibility. (limited liability for health professionals) (Health First)
February 13, 1995... Until recently, physicians, dentists and other allied health professionals practiced as sole proprietors or in small groups, either as partners in a general partnership or shareholders in a professional service corporation. For many...

Local economy at peak performance. (Western New York)
February 6, 1995... Monthly, long-term indexes roar to record '90s levels Western New York Economic Report Card 1994 1993 1992 1991 Bankruptcies C+ B- C- D...

Hospitals take inventory of storing supplies. (Buffalo, New York, hospitals install inventory control systems)
February 6, 1995... Inventory control systems that have been the norm in manufacturing and retail industries are making their way into Buffalo hospitals at a savings that could reach $1 million or more. The concepts, just-in-time delivery and stockless...

Stock plan gives Stedman employees nursery ownership. (Stedman Old Farms Nurseries Inc.'s employee stock ownership plan)
February 6, 1995... Richard Rybolt liked Stedman Old Farms Nurseries Inc. so much that in 1972 he bought the company. Now 23 years later, one of Western New York's better-known nurseries has changed hands again. This time, 42 of its employees are the owners,...

Rich Communications expected to sell off four radio stations. (Rich Communications Corp.)
February 6, 1995... Rich Communications Corp., owners of four area stations, is about to sell off its radio holdings, according to radio sources, and that will trigger a dramatic shift in formats of several local radio stations. The complicated deal, which has...

Greatbatch takes home inventor honors for drug. (Western New York's 1994 Inventor of the Year Wilson Greatbatch; AIDS drug)
February 6, 1995... When Wilson Greatbatch first began inventing, he was devoting more time to electronics and less to immune systems. But these days, the Clarence man who developed the implantable pacemaker is working on renewable energy systems, researching...

Coin firm's motto is: We pluribus count'em. (Continental Coin Processors Inc. installs self-service automatic coin machines around Wester New York)
February 6, 1995... A Buffalo company has chosen Western New York as the site for the country's first self-service automatic coin machines. Continental Coin Processors Inc. of Buffalo installed three of the machines in area Citibank branches two weeks ago....

Ukrainian official pledges riches for U.S. (former president Leonid Kravchuk invites U.S. investors)(includes sidebar)
February 6, 1995... Ukraine's flag features a blue stripe above gold, representing grain fields under the azure sky. And during local meetings to drum up U.S. investment in Ukraine, the country's first president spoke often of a work force close to the land,...

Executive sees continued growth for bank-advised mutual funds. (KeyCorp Inc. executive VP W. Christopher Maxwell)
February 6, 1995... The mutual fund industry has enjoyed explosive growth in recent years with the number of funds multiplying from 564 to 4,320. But nowadays, businesses are finding the going tougher, including banks that began selling funds because it was...

Building a business one house at a time. (Essex Homes of WNY Pres. Philip Nanula) (Profile)
February 6, 1995... Philip Nanula puts the personal touch into Essex Homes Philip Nanula could have stayed with the supermarket chain his family helped found and made a very comfortable living. But about two years ago Nanula, who had worked for Tops Markets...

Hot wheels. (sport-utility vehicles gain popularity in Western New York) (Special Report: Auto & Transportation)
February 6, 1995... Now that the terrain - and life - is a little rougher than a stretch of orange plastic, sport-utility vehicles have come into their own in WNY Although one of the automotive manufacturers represented at West-Herr Automotive Group is Ford,...

If it blazes new trails or bucks truck mold, it's burning up road. (upper-income people prefer sport-utility vehicles) (Special Report: Auto & Transportation)
February 6, 1995... The driving tastes of the American middle and upper classes have changed substantially in the last decade or so. Tough truck-based sport-utility vehicles - everything from Chevrolet Blazers and Ford Broncos to Toyota 4Runners and Nissan...

Sleek, sophisticated is name of the game in auto security. (vehicle security devices installed in 1995 car models)(includes sidebar) (Special Report: Auto & Transportation)
February 6, 1995... At Osborne's Radio in Kirkland, Ore., store manager Allen Combs installs many of today's sophisticated vehicle security devices, including one that turns on with a toggle switch inside the car in case a carjacker takes over the vehicle....