Business First-Columbus articles from February 2001

Business First-Columbus archives from February 2001

COLUMBUS' VITAL STATISTICS.
February 2, 2001... COLUMBUS' VITAL STATISTICS 1999 2000 UNEMPLOYMENT RATES [*] 2.3% 2.2% LABOR FORCE [*] 857,000 867,000 WEEKLY MANUFACTURING WORKER HOURS [**]...

Cardinal Health.
February 2, 2001... Cardinal Health donated $15,000 to the Childhood League Center and became a member of the Childhood league's 2000-2001 BEST (Building and Expanding Services for Tomorrow) Leadership Circle, which honors those making annual contributions greater...

Edward Graves.
February 2, 2001... Edward Graves of Avalon Consulting Group will act as captain of a fund-raising team for the 2001 campaign of the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges. The foundation conducts annual, united solicitations to corporations and foundations on...

Columbus Housing Partnership.
February 2, 2001... Columbus Housing Partnership is offering an individual development account program to help low-to moderate-income families in Greater Columbus save money to purchase a home, repair a current home or go to college. To receive matching funds,...

Dimon McFerson.
February 2, 2001... Dimon McFerson, retired from Nationwide, will receive the Greater Columbus Hospitality Award from the Greater Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau at its annual meeting Feb. 7. The award recognizes an individual or organization that has...

National Association of the Remodeling Industry.
February 2, 2001... The National Association of the Remodeling Industry, Central Ohio chapter, presented Contractor of the Year awards to the following companies: Urban Order Architecture Inc., for residential historical renovation/restoration; Dave Fox...

Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
February 2, 2001... Ohio Farm Bureau Federation received the President's Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. The award is presented annually to the top state farm bureau in the nation based on competition between states of similar membership size. This...

Gerbig Snell/Weisheimer & Associates Inc.
February 2, 2001... Gerbig Snell/Weisheimer & Associates Inc. received an honorable mention from the Reader's Choice Awards of Project Management Today, a publication for pharmaceutical product managers. The award was for work on National Century Financial...

Robert M. Roach.
February 2, 2001... Robert M. Roach of Executive Planning Systems received for the 29th year the National Quality Award and the National Sales Achievement Award from the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

Paula Inniss on Advisory Boards.
February 2, 2001... As the President and CEO of Ohio Full Court Press, Paula Inniss has been making decisions for the, company since 1995 and her leadership has earned the company much recognition, including multiple Business First Fast 50 awards. Inniss was...

Larry Haack.
February 2, 2001... Larry Haack of the Arlington office of HER Realtors received the 2000 Columbus Board of Realtors $25 Million Sales Club Award.

Pat Berridge.
February 2, 2001... Friendship Village of Dublin named Pat Berridge employee of the quarter and Jean Gabel and Valerie Baker Friendship team leaders. The awards were based on co-workers' nominations.

Brad Montgomery.
February 2, 2001... Brad Montgomery of Steinhaus Financial Group was named a top producer for the company's October 2000 National Career Club.

BalletMet Columbus.
February 2, 2001... Ohio Magazine named BalletMet Columbus Ohio's best dance company. BalletMet was featured in the January issue of the magazine, with dancer Shaun Boyle on the cover.

Champion of Children Fund adding momentum.
February 2, 2001... Balancing work and family life is a challenge for most working parents, while attracting and retaining a productive work force are a challenges for employers. Large and small businesses alike are changing their corporate cultures to create...

Dinner available in office freezers.
February 2, 2001... "So I just put my credit card in here, right?" the woman standing uncertainly in front of the unusually large vending machine outside the Motorists Building cafeteria was asking her friend. Following some gentle prodding from her friend, a...

DECOR THAT SELLS.
February 2, 2001... Architectural firm uses art gallery approach to market its work Enter the downtown architectural offices of Sullivan Bruck and you might think you're in a museum. High ceilings and a spacious lobby area warmly welcome you to an office that...

Stats demonstrate wireless gadget growth boundless.
February 2, 2001... Be it through pagers, phones or hand-helds, statistics, and forecasts clearly show wireless technology is exploding. Ericsson Chief Executive Officer Kurt Hellstrom says, in fact, that more people will use mobile phones to access the Internet...

Training, personal service key to firms' marketing.
February 2, 2001... Adelphia Business Solutions leaders are convinced they have a customer service plan that works, while locally based Signature Inc. is convinced good service can be taught through proper training. Susan Williamson, the customer service...

Service, product line key to new firm's rapid start.
February 2, 2001... Darla King was just a little skeptical when she started King Business Interiors two years ago. Though she had years of experience as a former Wasserstrom emplyee, she was entering a tough industry. Today, that skepticism has turned to wild...

5 TO KNOW: Office interiors.
February 2, 2001... JULIE DOERSCHLAG Interior designer Design Group 614-255-0515 Years in business: Six Most recent project: Interior coordinations, design development and construction ad ministration at the Ohio State University stadium in...

Research, training help AHA to heal hearts.
February 2, 2001... The American Heart Association (AHA), which was founded in the 1924 by a group of physicians, has a long list of success stories. Heart-lung machines, for example, were developed in the 1950s as part of an AHA research operation to help make...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
February 2, 2001... ACCOUNTING Frank J. Yankovich was named a principal a Schwartz Adelman & Kellerman CPAs Inc. ADVERTISING, MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS OC Communications hired Angela Hopstetter-McKee as associate graphic designer, responsible for...

Heidi L. Wilkie.
February 2, 2001... Age: 30 Resides: Worthington Personal: Single Education: B.A. in business and organizational communication, specializing in public relations, University of Akron, 1993 Title: Communication and public relations specialist ...

It's crunch time for the school funding crisis.
February 2, 2001... With a June 15 deadline to find a solution to Ohio's school funding crisis looming, the battle lines are being drawn. The legislative battle to come looks to be fragmented and contentious. At the root of the crisis is a decision by the...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR.
February 2, 2001... Keep tax scavengers away from 'Net Editor: So, the greedy tax vultures want to tax the Internet (Business First, Jan. 19) and already have laws on the books regarding the so-called "use" tax. Gary Gudmundson, Ohio's own Ebenezer...

Look who had an inaugural ball.
February 2, 2001... Most weeks, it's easy to come up with an idea to fill this space. I just call upon the most significant experience of the week and write it down. Some would say it's the easy way out and I don't dispute that. But it works for me, so I'll stick...

Cardinal Health Inc.
February 2, 2001... Cardinal Health Inc. reported record earnings and revenues for its second quarter. For the period ended Dec. 31, net earnings rose 21 percent to $215 million from $177 million a year ago. Earnings per diluted share also rose 21 percent to $0.75...

Lancaster Colony Corp.
February 2, 2001... Lancaster Colony Corp. said its second quarter was the second strongest in company history, despite a 3 percent decline in sales. Net income for the period, which ended Dec. 31, was 29.4 million, compared $33.1 million a year ago. Due to the...

Nationwide financial Services Inc.
February 2, 2001... Net income and operating revenues were up 14 percent for the year at Nationwide financial Services Inc. The Columbus-based provider of personalized long-term savings and retirement products reported net income ruse to $434.9 million, or $3.38...

Kahiki Foods.
February 2, 2001... Kahiki Foods, the Columbus-based manufacturer of Pan Asian frozen foods, reported sales jumped 51 percent to $2.6 million for the period ended Dec.31 from $1.7 million last year. But earnings dropped 39 percent to $43,879 from last year's...

GREATER COLUMBUS STOCKS.
February 2, 2001... GREATER COLUMBUS STOCKS FROM PRICE PREV1IOUSz 52-WEEK COMPANY SYMBOL 1/31 WEEK ...

Drug's promise won't produce a wonder stock.
February 2, 2001... Dear Mr. Berko: My sister, who is a nurse, told me there's a new drug on the market that cures leukemia, and that this drug is made by a company in Switzerland. She doesn't remember where she read this, but she is certain this drug works...

BANK RATES.
February 2, 2001... BANK RATES Mortgage rates 30-YR FIXED 15-YR. FIXED FINANCIAL INSTITUTION % RATE POINTS % RATE POINTS ...

Counties line up on small-biz.
February 2, 2001... Spotsylvania County, Va., which is 60 miles from Washington, D.C., had a farm-based economy until a few years ago. But spillover development from the Washington area has brought changes. Spotsylvania now has the most dynamic small-business...

Small-business vitality.
February 2, 2001... Small-business vitality BY COUNTY Clermont 137 Montgomery 68 Warren 127 Clark 59 Marion 68 Delaware 218 Scioto 66 Huron 61 Medina ...

EC Outlook adds two VPs to management team.
February 2, 2001... EC Outlook has added Patrick DeSouza and Dean Fischer to its management team. A developer of software applications for business-to-business supply chain management, the Houston-based company has its operational headquarters in Columbus. ...

Small businesses expecting tax cuts.
February 2, 2001... Small businesses hope the fact they create most of America's new jobs will carry some weight when Congress decides what will be included in a tax cut package this year. While they expect to benefit from President Bush's proposed...

EPA issues measure for wetlands loophole.
February 2, 2001... You don't have to be a big-time real estate developer to run afoul of federal wetlands regulations. Building a driveway was enough to get Walter Wright of Ketchum, Idaho, and his contractor into trouble with the Environmental Protection...

WEB inSITE.
February 2, 2001... URL: www.filter.com Company: Filter.com LLC, 4100 Perimeter Drive, Columbus Contact: Marshall Barney 877-274-9151 Site design: Dayhuff Group, Worthington Launch date: April 1999 Hit counts: More than 109,000 per week. This...

WEBSITEGARAGE.COM.
February 2, 2001... Does your Web site need a tune up? Plug in your Web site address and get back ratings on factors like the length of time your pages take to display and the number of links to your site. Pages are even checked for spelling errors.

Sharing the speed is easy with networking systems.
February 2, 2001... So I finally convinced you, eh? After all the times I've sung the praises of high-speed Internet access granted by cable and DSL, you went ahead and sprang for the cost of a connection. Well, congratulations! You can finally access the Internet...

CompuServe's former staffers part of Web focus group.
February 2, 2001... Layoffjobs.com, a free career Web site that allows employees affected by layoffs to find a new employer in a similar industry or location, has added former CompuServe employees as a focus layoff group. Employers who use the layoffjobs.com...

Drug Emporium sells 20 stores to Calif. group.
February 2, 2001... A group headed by a Drug Emporium Inc. executive is buying 20 of the company's stores in California. The Powell-based drugstore chain has received a letter of intent to purchase its 20 stores in northern and southern California from a group...

AEP plans to build emission control systems at W.Va. power plants.
February 2, 2001... American Electric Power is planning to begin construction on new emission control systems at two of its power plants in West Virginia. The controls are expected to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by about 90 percent Construction on the two...

WWW.NO-SMOKE.ORG.
February 2, 2001... Company or organization: Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights is a national lobbying organization whose aim is to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke and youth from tobacco addiction. Features * Secondhand smoke offers a number of...

Playing on home court crucial to sales game.
February 2, 2001... The average professional sports team wins more than 75 percent of the games it plays on its home court. That's a pretty high winning percentage. If you knew you could win 75 percent of the prospects you pitched, you'd do it, wouldn't you?...

Campbell Hornbeck Chilcoat & Veatch LLC.
February 2, 2001... Campbell Hornbeck Chilcoat & Veatch LLC established a working relationship with Clayton-based Sullivan Consulting Inc. to offer clients expanded defense skills and increased knowledge base.

Avalon Consulting Group.
February 2, 2001... Avalon Consulting Group will volunteer time as a technical service provider to the Central Ohio Minority Business Assodation. The program assists new and emerging businesses with developing strategic business plans, assembling loan packages and...

Fourthchannel Inc.
February 2, 2001... Fourthchannel Inc. has introduced a customer support center within its Web site to increase availability of product information and facilitate knowledge skating among its customers. Called FCSupport, the password-protected area allows costumers...

Battelle Memorial Institute.
February 2, 2001... Battelle Memorial Institute has licensed a content indexing software engine called Thing Finder that identifies and extracts entities such as people, locations and numbers within unstructured text. The institute is licensing the product from...

Keep watchful eye on workers surfing the Web.
February 2, 2001... With their businesses' best interest in mind, more and more business owners have started monitoring their employees' Web usage. The idea of Big Brother has never gone over well with employees. But it is legal -- you have the right to monitor...

Pathlore names executive to lead strategic initiatives.
February 2, 2001... Pathlore, an e-learning management system provider, has named J. Brendan Herron Jr. vice president of strategic development. Herron will be responsible for e-learning strategic initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and...

Fourthchannel signs joint referral agreement.
February 2, 2001... Fourthchannel Inc. has entered into a joint referral and customer development partnership with Optum Inc. of White Plains, N.Y. Under the agreement, the two companies will pursue joint sales opportunities for enterprises requiring...

Metatec, DiCarta form distribution alliance.
February 2, 2001... Metatec International and DiCarta Inc. have a new distribution alliance to offer Metatec Express and DiCarta Contracts to software publishers so they can negotiate, track, and manage revenue and expenditures, and renew software distribution...

DIVIDE, CONQUER.
February 2, 2001... Cranel's split into three companies part of long-term strategic growth agenda Don't tell Jim Wallace the American economy is on the brink of a slowdown. The president of Columbus-based Cranel Inc. is overseeing a $4.25 million...

Q & A: Does your company allow employees to have flex-time schedules?
February 2, 2001... RE LOWE ASSOCIATES Truli Powell Search consultant "Our company is small. In terms of flex time there is no official policy set. But there is a tremendous amount of flexibility, if an employee needs to get something done outside of...

EverCare readies Medicare health plan for local debut.
February 2, 2001... EverCare, a Medicare health plan that provides care for the frail elderly living in nursing homes, is gearing up for its debut in Central Ohio. The company has lined up agreements with at least 12 long-term care facilities in the area and...

Regional symphony, OWU end venture.
February 2, 2001... The Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra and Ohio Wesleyan University have agreed to end their partnership. Ohio Wesleyan, which has hosted and sponsored the Delaware County symphony since 1978, expects to keep providing space at Gray Chapel for...

Chao mulls ergonomics issue.
February 2, 2001... Secretary also promises an 'open mind' on family leave Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao achieved her main goal at her Senate confirmation hearing: She avoided saying anything controversial that could derail her bid to become the first...

Broadcasters seek tax break on media sales to minorities.
February 2, 2001... Bob Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, admits he was a "strange duck" to be participating in a Commerce Department briefing about the lack of minority ownership of radio and television stations. "I just sold my company to...

Inside quantum physics of organizational change.
February 2, 2001... By its very nature, organizational change is an emotional endeavor. When we institute change, we have an effect on individuals. That means we have an obligation as fast-growth leaders to provide tools to help employees thrive in a changing...

Ohio gets above-average grade on government management.
February 2, 2001... Ohio has received an overall grade of B in a survey of how well states manage government systems that deliver public services. The grade is unchanged from the B the state received two years ago in that year's report by the Maxwell School at...

CLEARING THE AIR.
February 2, 2001... Smoking bans aren't necessarily a death sentence for the restaurants that implement them For Peter and Laurie Danis, two Columbus attorneys, the decision to open a restaurant 10 years ago was simple: "Life is too short to practice...

WWW.CMHHEALTH.ORG/SMOKE-FREE.
February 2, 2001... Company or organization: The Columbus Health Department is a government agency dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of city residents. Features * Restaurant owner offers data on smoke-free policies, including experiences...

WWW.TOBACCOFREEOHIO.ORG.
February 2, 2001... Company or organization: Tobacco-Free Ohio aims to reduce tobacco use by Ohioans and exposure to secondhand smoke. Features * In Smoke-Free Dining Across Ohio, select an Ohio city and find a list of restaurants and related...

In lawsuit, Chiquita claims EC is behind firm's troubles.
February 2, 2001... Chiquita Brands International Inc. is suing the European Commission for $525 million, claiming a trade dispute with the ruling body for the European Union is largely responsible for the Cincinnati company's plunging financial fortunes. ...

Launch of Marysville-made model helps Honda set sales record.
February 2, 2001... The launch of a new motorcycle model at its Marysville plant helped American Honda deliver record motorcycle sales for 2000, the company said. American Honda Motor Co.'s motorcycle division reported year-end retail sales of 174,376...

Business news of interest elsewhere in Ohio ...
February 2, 2001... * Standard Register Co. of Dayton will dismiss 2,400 workers and cut its production capacity by nearly one-third in the face, of a sustained drop in demand for the business forms it prints. The job cuts would reduce Standard's work force by...

Ford paring its payroll at Sharonville tranny factory.
February 2, 2001... Ford Motor Co. has laid off 203 workers from its 3,000-employee transmission plant in the Cincinnati suburb of Sharonville, citing a decline in demand for its vehicles. The employees who lost their jobs had about six months' experience or...

LTV chief: Steel maker's finances 'went downhill very, very quickly'.
February 2, 2001... LTV Corp.'s recent bankruptcy filing came as a surprise to William Bricker, who took over as the Cleveland steel maker's boss last November and sat on the board for nearly two decades. "I think I was most surprised at how rapidly the...

Plastic bottles soon won't roll from Silgan factory.
February 2, 2001... Silgan Plastics Corp. plans to close its plastic bottle plant in West Chester near Fairfield, phasing out 151 jobs. Dismissals are to begin in April. Jobs will be eliminated over four months. Chesterfield, Mo.-based Silgan is closing...

Moto Photo chief says his departure a personal decision.
February 2, 2001... Moto Photo Inc.'s chief is stepping down later this year, but it's not for the reason some investors might think. Moto's stock price is sagging, and the Dayton company has weathered a number of poor quarters and failed business ventures....

First Federal Savings Bank sees 'Advantage' in change.
February 2, 2001... A relative newcomer to Central Ohio's mortgage lending market hopes to grow operations here as its parent consolidates five banking charters into one. First Federal Savings Bank in Powell and Gahanna would benefit from the financial power...

Greater Columbus property & casualty companies.
February 2, 2001... Greater Columbus property & casualty companies RANKED BY 1999 OHIO PREMIUMS WRITTEN 1999 1999 1999 COMPANY NAME ...

Expert sees Tressel's style akin to a corporate CEO.
February 2, 2001... As Jim Blackburn sees it, new Ohio State University head football coach Jim Tressel could just as easily have turned Alcoa around as he did Youngstown State University's football program. Blackburn, a corporate leadership consultant now...

Landlords, developers vie for Children's Services deal.
February 2, 2001... National Realty Services and the nonprofit Columbus Urban Growth Corp. lead a list of developers and landlords competing to find or develop 80,000 square feet of offices for Franklin County Children's Services. Evaluation of 13 proposals...

Marcus & Millichap names Lee its Ohio regional manager.
February 2, 2001... The Chicago sales manager for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Brokerage Co. has taken over as the California-based company's Ohio regional manager. Jonathan Lee will direct the real estate investment brokerage's offices in Columbus and...

AlA Columbus elects new officers, directors.
February 2, 2001... Columbus architect David C. Hughes of David C. Hughes Architects will serve as president of the American Institute of Architects' chapter in Columbus this year. Joining Hughes in running the group are: L. Rider Brice of Brice/Downey Inc.,...

Gilbane gives promotions to Dandurand, Bugh.
February 2, 2001... Gilbane Building Co. has made two moves in its Columbus offices. Doug Dandurand has become project manager in charge of construction for a $19 million distribution center for Too Inc. The 14-year construction industry veteran has spent...

Click gains duties; Apex lands South-Western school project.
February 2, 2001... * CB Richard Ellis' Rob Click has earned a promotion. He'll lead a new national team serving the commercial real estate services firm's institutional real estate owners. Click becomes senior managing director of strategic accounts in CB's asset...

White Castle opens new restaurant in Chicago area.
February 2, 2001... Columbus-based White Castle has opened its newest store in the Chicago area. The store, which is located in Des Plaines, Ill., was scheduled to open Jan. 30. with the latest restaurant, there are now 63 White Castle locations in...

Cashing in on cuts.
February 2, 2001... Small banks get big-bank experience The deals he puts together are smaller, but Tom Wolford says a small-bank environment suits him better. Wolford arrived at $264 million-asset Commerce National Bank last November after 23 years at...

Ex-Im Bank has more for small businesses.
February 2, 2001... Businesses with up to $5 million in annual credit sales are now eligible for small-business credit insurance programs offered by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The previous eligibility threshold was $3 million. The Ex-Im...