Business First-Columbus articles from February 1995

Business First-Columbus archives from February 1995

Lowly gas meter gets streamlined. (residential gas meter; National Meter Parts Inc. introduces new Lancaster Compact Meter)
February 6, 1995... With the introduction of a new residential gas meter later this year, Lancaster-based National Meter Parts Inc. expects to double its market share to 30 percent of the gas meter manufacturing industry. National Meter last week signed an...

'Upscaling' of mall irks ex-tenants. (Worthington Mall managers force some tenants to leave)
February 6, 1995... Worthington center shows Sylvia the door In the process of upscaling Worthington Mall, the shopping center's managers have seen at least 10 tenants leave who were there when Aetna Life Insurance Co. bought the mall in 1991. Some of those...

Park revives inner-city hospital. (Park Medical Center stages recovery through managed care services)
February 6, 1995... No one knows better than Park Medical Center that bad reputations die hard. Ever since 1992, when debt-ridden St. Anthony Medical Center - a non-profit - was rescued by Quorum Health Group and reborn as for-profit Park Medical Center, Park has...

Big Bear credit card offers customers rebates. (grocery chain offers 2% rebate for purchases using credit card)
February 6, 1995... Big Bear is joining Kroger as one of the first grocery chains nationwide to offer customers a major credit card sponsored by the store. Big Bear cardholders will get grocery rebates of 2 percent of all purchases made with the card. Cardholders...

Corporate jet maker may land facility here. (Paragon Aircraft Corp. to build prototype high performance, single-engine jet in Columbus, Ohio)
February 6, 1995... Paragon Aircraft Corp. may begin building corporate jets in Columbus if the New York firm can raise at least $15 million in equity. Paragon has teamed up with Columbus-based North American Aeronautical Consultants Inc. (NAAC) to build a high...

Partech Holdings Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
February 6, 1995... Nasdaq - APHC Partech Holdings Corp. is a Delaware holding company that owns all of the outstanding stock of Leeward Capital Corp. and its subsidiaries: LCC Equipment Corp. and LCC Asset Management Corp. Through most of the 1980s and into...

Ashland. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
February 13, 1995... NYSE ASH Ashland Inc. is a worldwide energy and chemical company that serves both industrial and retail customers. Ashland is based in Russell, Ky., and employs approximately 31,600 people. Ashland serves its customers through six wholly...

Life's a carnival for Columbus ad agency. (Columbus, Ohio) (Inside Report: Advertising & PR Addys) (Industry Overview)
February 13, 1995... "Bigger and better" - if not, "new and improved" - might well be the slogan among some of Columbus's larger ad agencies, who report that 1994 was an growth year. Hameroff/Milenthal/Spence Inc. continues its growth spurt, according to agency...

Frigidaire doesn't faze SBC growth; agency records growth after losing big account. (Frigidaire Co.'s contract with SBC Advertising) (Inside Report: Advertising & PR Addys)
February 13, 1995... A Westerville advertising agency has had the best year in its 25-year history despite the loss of a $6 million account. SBC Advertising, based in Westerville, reported billings of over $43 million for 1994, up $3 million from the previous year....

The Engine that could: Columbus company designs multi-media tool. (Digital Impact Inc.'s computer program Impact Engine; Columbus, Ohio)
February 13, 1995... In Greer Rouda's version of the future, a real estate agent will meet with a prospective home buyer, take out a notebook computer and get to work. Connecting to an online database, the agent will select a few characteristics to search for and...

Growing Dad's company. (Borror Corp. President and CEO Doug Borror) (Who's Who in Residential Real Estate & Home Building) (Company Profile)
February 13, 1995... When Doug Borror took over the family business in 1988, it built 313 houses. Five years later, the annual total was 1,067 and Borror Corp. has gone public. There's evidence it was in Doug's genes; he may be the only kid who ever enjoyed zoning...

Scriptel looking at sites for $150 million factory. (Scriptel Holding Inc.)
February 20, 1995... Scriptel Holding Inc. is moving ahead with plans to build a 175,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for computer displays that could cost up to $150 million. The Columbus-based technology company has hired a contractor, architect and...

State issues edicts, but makes locals pay. (Ohio)
February 20, 1995... Feds aren't alone in deserving blame When Roger Geiger sees Gov. George Voinovich speaking in the national press about the evils of unfunded federal mandates, he can't help but notice the irony. "There are hundreds and hundreds of mandates...

Grill to spread its wings with up to 5 new eateries. (Ohio restaurant bw-3)
February 20, 1995... Anyone who has attended Ohio State in the past decade knows a restaurant called bw-3, and probably knows that it stands for Buffalo wild wings and weck. By the end of the year, Columbus residents without an OSU connection will know the casual...

Vendors tackle Teammug developer for $250,000. (novelty football helmet mug; Vesmont Management Group Inc.)
February 20, 1995... Four years ago, Dublin businessman Victor E. Steinfels thought he would hit pay dirt with a novelty football helmet mug concept called the Teammug, developed by his Vesmont Management Group Inc. But now that four vendors are trying to force...

Software maker's 5 foreign offices boost sales. (Symix Computer Systems Inc.)
February 20, 1995... Symix Systems Inc. is planning to boost revenues by up to 35 percent a year by increasing its international sales. "Our international growth potential is impressive," said President O. Kent LaRoque III. "And our product has worldwide appeal."...

Worthington Industries Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
February 20, 1995... NASDAQ-NMS WTHG Worthington Industries Inc., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Columbus, makes plastic and metal products. The company's business is comprised of three segments. Processed steel products, which accounts for 72 percent of...

No. 2 exec's departure stuns Dispatch. (Dispatch Printing Co. exec. VP. Richard M. Franks)
February 27, 1995... Franks pushed for new ventures By all accounts, Richard M. Franks was set for life with the Dispatch Printing Co. Though he had no ownership, the 50-year-old Franks was arguably the Dispatch's second most powerful man behind Publisher John...

Grinders to franchise.
February 27, 1995... 3-unit restaurant chain looks to go national At the same time Grinders is moving into downtown Columbus, the casual eatery is looking to grow outside the city as well. Grinders owner Michael Bellisari and his father, Victor, have been taking...

Duke moves on Grove City project. (Duke Realty Investments; Ohio)
February 27, 1995... Duke Realty Investments is beginning to flex its industrial muscle. After buying 53 acres in Grove City last year for an industrial park, Duke is gearing up to build its first project - a $5.6 million, 294,400-square-foot speculative building....

Kahiki taps distributors to ship cuisine out of state.
February 27, 1995... The Kahiki is rolling its eggrolls out of state, with the help of a new $1 million processing plant. The Kahiki Supper Club Inc., parent company of the 34-year old Polynesian and Chinese restaurant, has signed Gordon Food Service of Lansing,...

Trade trip helps weather system sales soar. (Artais Weather-Chaeck Inc.)
February 27, 1995... State mission offers rich lode of contacts Trade winds are blowing favorably for Chuck Shanklin, president of Artais Weather-Check Inc. The executive traveled with a group of 20 business representatives of the aerospace industry as part of a...

Cyberspace dealmaking. (online resource services for local businesses, Ohio) (International Trade Transportation)
February 27, 1995... Software helps check credit, arrange shipping The electronic marketplace may still be under construction but you wouldn't know it by looking at the phenomenal growth of the support industry that has developed around it. Sorting through the...

Trade Point to debut info services in April. (International Trade Transportation)
February 27, 1995... If developing Trade Point USA was like building a house, we're doing the finishing work right now, said director Randall Smith. A better analogy, he said, would be if you considered Trade Point a neighborhood. "All the houses are built - now...