Business First-Columbus articles from July 1998

Business First-Columbus archives from July 1998

OSU picks Pickerington as the site for its 4th suburban medical center. (Ohio State University Medical Center)
July 31, 1998... Ohio State University Medical Center plans to locate its fourth suburban outpatient center in Pickerington - at a potential pricetag of $3.5 million. OSU Medical Center plans to lease 44,000 square feet of space once occupied by a Kroger Co....

Huntington, City Center owner settle dispute over ATM site. (automated teller machine)
July 31, 1998... Huntington's City Center ATM is staying put - sort of. In a settlement filed June 24 by Huntington National Bank and Taubman Co. - Columbus City Center's owner the two sides have agreed to keep the Huntington ATM near the mall's high-profile...

Franklin County leads state in business starts. (Franklin County, Ohio)
July 31, 1998... Franklin County remains Ohio's leader in new business creation, according to newly released state statistics. Steve Kohler thinks he knows why. The owner of a Columbus-based maid service franchise, Kohler says Franklin County residents...

New York-based REIT buys northwest shopping centers. (New Plan Realty Trust's purchase of two Kroger Co-owned shopping centers)
July 31, 1998... A New York City-based REIT has expanded its toehold in Columbus through the $21 million purchase of two Kroger Co.-anchored northwest shopping centers. New Plan Realty Trust on July 22 closed on the Green Tree Shopping Center on Henderson...

Cheryl & Co. gets preliminary OK for state dough to expand.
July 31, 1998... Cheryl & Co. has been given preliminary approval for a low-interest state loan to expand production capacity at its bulging Westerville headquarters. The company paid a disputed state tax bill from 1994 and 1995 to clear the approval. The...

Budget car rental operator loses battle over airport fee. (Capital Leasing of Ohio Inc)
July 31, 1998... The Budget Rent-A-Car operator in Columbus has lost a federal court case challenging an airport fee on its Stelzer Road rental business. Budget operator Capital Leasing of Ohio Inc. expects the July 15 ruling from U.S. District Court Judge...

Ohio regulators give public voice on SBC-Ameritech deal. (SBC Communications Inc; Ameritech Corp)
July 31, 1998... SBC Communications Inc. of Texas has formally applied to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for approval to merge with Ameritech. The PUCO must sign off on the takeover, as must the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Federal...

Gas marketers turn down heat in pitches to new clients.
July 31, 1998... While gas suppliers are anxious to start pitching their services to new residential customers on Aug. 1, they're not willing to scare those new clients away by barraging them with phone calls at home. Seventeen gas suppliers are actively...

Entrepreneurs cast eye upon market for broken limb covers. (Zula Ltd)
July 31, 1998... Deborah Manchester didn't expect a cast wrapped around her leg 2 1/2 years ago after major surgery would be the catalyst for a business idea that would change her life. "The first thing I asked for was a cover to put over the cast, but they...

Meijer takes shine to Polaris for prototype. (supermarket chain plans new store in Westerville, OH)
July 24, 1998... Meijer Inc. plans a 200,000-square-foot store in northwest Westerville that will anchor an 80-acre Continental Real Estate Cos. development. Company officials were expected to present a final development plan on what would be a prototype...

Ricarts dealin' for diversification. (Ricart Automotive Group)(includes related article on 'C-town' song)(Company Profile)
July 24, 1998... It would make perfect sense for Ricart Automotive Group to go public, says co-owner Fred Ricart. After all, company officials anticipate gross revenues for 1998 will reach the $700 million range. But Ricart, who has branded his "We're...

Hansen sees partnerships as part of Children's future. (Thomas Hansen, CEO of Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH)
July 24, 1998... As a physician, Dr. Thomas N. Hansen is used to fixing things fast. As the newly appointed CEO of Children's Hospital, he has to wait a bit longer before he sees results. "The big difference is the immediacy of the results. When I take...

Garlikov eyes Cincinnati as target for future growth. (Garlikov & Associates)
July 24, 1998... Garlikov & Associates Inc. is looking to open a branch office in Cincinnati as the financial services firm charts its growth plans. Donald Garlikov, chairman, said even though the firm sees "a lot of business we haven't tapped" in Central...

Deal closing, acquisition cap busy week for Sterling. (Sterling Commerce acquires XcelleNet Inc.)
July 24, 1998... Sterling Commerce continues its aggressive growth-through-acquisition strategy, absorbing nine companies since it was spun out of Dallas-based Sterling Software two years ago. The Dublin-based electronic commerce software company took just 90...

Port Columbus traffic count hits first-half turbulence. (Port Columbus International Airport)
July 24, 1998... Port Columbus arrivals/departures AIRLINE '98 YTD '97 YTD % INCREASE TRAFFIC TRAFFIC (DECLINE) All commuter/ regional airlines 227,460 212,328 7.14 ...

Nationwide Financial targets upscale customers with new ads. (Nationwide Financial Services Inc.)
July 24, 1998... Nationwide Financial Services has embarked on a $3 million advertising campaign to highlight that it's "more than an annuity company." The campaign is the first developed for Nationwide Insurance Enterprise by its new agency, Temerlin...

Qualstan plans 1,000-home tract for Pataskala.
July 24, 1998... PATASKALA - Qualstan Corp. is thinking big in this Licking County community. The Columbus-based home builder is looking to develop a 500- to 1,000-home subdivision on 273 acres south of Route 16 (Broad Street), just west of Mink Road. If...

SignStrut looking at Flxible plant.
July 24, 1998... DELAWARE - A Delaware manufacturing plant that has stood idle for nearly two years could soon be occupied with a new tenant - potentially bringing up to 200 new jobs to the area in three years. The former Flexible facility, 970 Pittsburgh...

Asian crisis: Ohio feels Pac Rim meltdown's impact.
July 17, 1998... Asia's beleaguered economies translate into a more than $4.5 billion problem for Ohio companies doing business in Pacific Rim nations. And political upheaval in Japan Ohio's second-largest export market and the world's second-biggest economy...

Wendy's looks to fatten up Tim Hortons franchise. (Wendy's International Inc.)
July 17, 1998... Tim Hortons is coming soon to a corner near you. The coffee and baked goods restaurant chain, a division of Wendy's International Inc., plans to ramp up its U.S. growth by bulking up its franchise network. The expected July 31 opening of a...

Banc One takes Daimler space. (Banc One Corp.'s expansion of its home-equity lending division in two Daimler Group/Capitol Square Ltd. projects)
July 17, 1998... Banc One Corp. has secured nearly 190,000 square feet of office space in the northeast suburban market in the last month, more than 150,000 square feet of it in two Daimler Group/Capitol square Ltd. projects. Banc One plans to: * Expand...

Red Robin restaurant chain nests in Columbus market.
July 17, 1998... A franchisee for Denver-based casual dining chain Red Robin plans three restaurants along the northern rim of Columbus in the next year or so. Midwest Robin LLC already has begun construction at Crosswoods Center north of Worthington. Red...

K.G. Marx founder: loss of credit line burst balloon. (Mark Frendt)
July 17, 1998... K.G. Marx founder Mark Frendt says dosing his business after 18 years "is like a death." In an interview the day after he closed his three remaining stores, Frendt reflected on how 15 years of small business success slipped away, leaving him...

Engineering their own success. (Dynamix Engineering Ltd.)
July 17, 1998... By targeting a relatively untapped niche, the founders of Dynamix Engineering Ltd. have grown the business beyond their original expectations For more than 10 years, Eugene Griffin and Todd Mace had worked as mechanical engineers, solving...

Taking care of business: software maker helps companies get it all together. (Application Link Inc.)
July 17, 1998... Michael Reed can attest to the tremendous growth in computer technology. He needs only to point to his own Columbus-based multi-million-dollar software and development company, Application Link Inc. "The industry is booming," said Reed,...

Va. REIT bullish on Columbus. (Virginia-based real estate investment trust United Dominion Realty Trust's purchase of apartments in Columbus, Ohio)
July 10, 1998... Firm pays $74M for four properties owned by Continental A Virginia-based real estate investment trust has entered the Ohio multifamily residential market in a big way through the purchase of four Continental Communities Ltd. properties for...

Employers stick with MCOs. (managed-care organizations)
July 10, 1998... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] An aggressive marketing strategy paid off for Dublin-based CareWorks last May when it came time for employers to pick managed-care organizations to handle their workers' compensation claims. The MCO reported a gain...

Car financing firm revs up with $12.5 million infusion. (Continental Auto Receivables Inc)
July 10, 1998... A specialty finance company that works through auto dealers to finance new- and used-car loans has gotten a $12.5 million infusion to grow the business. Dublin-based Continental Auto Receivables Inc. was founded a year ago by six principals,...

Bank One, Huntington map import-export expansions. (Huntington National Bank)
July 10, 1998... Small business owners looking to get into international trade will soon have more resources to turn to at Bank One and Huntington National Bank. The Columbus-based regional banks are expanding their products and services across their...

HMOs' rising medical costs spur first-quarter losses. (health maintenance organizations)
July 10, 1998... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Despite enrollment gains, most of Central Ohio's HMOs lost money during the first quarter, an irony officials are blaming on rising medical costs. According to first quarter financial reports filed with the Ohm...

Star Banc's acquisition is Firstar's gain, analysts say.
July 10, 1998... Analysts say Cincinnati-based Star Banc Corp.'s acquisition of Firstar Corp. is good for Firstar, which doesn't lose its image in its hometown of Milwaukee, but becomes part of one of the strongest banks in the Midwest. The sale price of...

Family tradition: DiPaolo brood goes back to its roots with food distributorship. (Columbus, Ohio-based RDP Food Service Inc)
July 10, 1998... DiPaolos back in local distribution When Sysco Corp. moved its Columbus food distribution hub out of Columbus four years ago, it temporarily ended a 37-year tradition for the DiPaolo family of Columbus. Houston-based Sysco purchased...

Showdown at the telecom corral: AT&T, Spring muscle in on Columbus' digital cellphone market.
July 10, 1998... Cable Link Inc.'s Bob Binsky knows his company's recent purchase of Auro Computer Systems didn't grab the headlines like the AT&T/Tele-Communications Inc. mega-merger. It didn't even make as much news as Insight Communications' acquisition...

Prepaid cellphones convenient & creditless.
July 10, 1998... First there were prepaid phone cards that allow users to make long-distance calls from any regular or cordless phone. Just punch in a code, and the cost of the amount of time spent talking is subtracted from the user's account. Now,...

Guernsey Bank milks Columbus; lender plans branch in Worthington; others to follow.
July 3, 1998... Lender plans branch in Worthington; others to follow The local banking scene will add a new competitor later this year with the arrival of a Guernsey County-based savings bank expanding into Central Ohio. Cambridge-based Guernsey Bank on...

Planning, paperwork, perspiration put Holophane on the Big Board. (transfer to the New York Stock Exchange)
July 3, 1998... The July 6 opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange will signal more than just the start of another trading day. Holophane Corp. officials hope the bell will herald a better trading environment for the company's stock. And Sandy...

Crosswoods lands office, hotel. (Crosswoods Associates LLC)
July 3, 1998... The developer of 45 acres of the Crosswoods Center has a hotel, office building and two restaurants planned for the last large site within the suburban mixed-use development. Crosswoods Associates LLC proposes a 134-unit, three-story...

New owners move Ohio State Life to Dallas, K.C. (Kansas City)
July 3, 1998... A nearly 100-year-old Columbus-based life insurance company is relocating to Dallas and Kansas City, affecting 130 workers. Ohio State Life Insurance Co.'s move later this summer follows its takeover last year by Great Southern Life Insurance...

Three hotel developers vie for convention center site.
July 3, 1998... Real estate developer Don Kenney and St. Louis-based Drury Inns Inc. have joined developer David Patel in the chase for a Nationwide Boulevard hotel site. The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority received three proposals June 25...

Other firms take accounting of merger of Price, Coopers.
July 3, 1998... While July 1 kicked off a new life for more than 400 employees in the Columbus offices of the newly combined PricewaterhouseCoopers, other Columbus accounting and consulting firms are waiting in the wings, ready to capitalize on the transition....

Power shortages jolt industry, generate more calls for dereg. (Ohio)
July 3, 1998... The power shortage last week cost manufacturers across Ohio millions of dollars in lost productivity, although Central Ohio seems to have escaped much of the losses. Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. reported a complete closure of one of...

Setting them free: Borden hopes to float freestanding consulting unit.
July 3, 1998... Borden Inc. is attempting to parlay its information technology department into a semiautonomous unit, free to pick up business from other corporations. The 350-person-strong unit, now called Resource partner, may even go out on its own...

Incredible shrinking universe: craft chain finds Big Box too big to boogie.(Inside Report: Commercial Real Estate)
July 3, 1998... The Incredible Universe will shrink about 27 percent over the next few months as contractors slim down the Mill Run retail site for a Garden Ridge crafts and housewares store. BJ's warehouse club, meanwhile, plans to demolish a former...

Report lauds Central Ohio commercial growth future.(Inside Report: Commercial Real Estate)
July 3, 1998... There's hardly a cloud in the forecast for the Greater Columbus real estate market, according to a report released last month by the Urban Land Institute. The Washington D.C.-based research center predicts Central Ohio will show continued...