Business First-Columbus articles from June 1999

Business First-Columbus archives from June 1999

Daimler aims project near Polaris.(Daimler Group Inc. and Capitol Square Ltd.'s headquarter's project fro Gerbig Snell/Weisheimer and Associates)
June 4, 1999... Gerbig Snell HQ, Triangle operations would anchor $30M, 3-building development Advertising agency Gerbig Snell/Weisheimer & Associates and Columbus real estate developer Don Kenney will anchor a $30 million, three-building office campus...

Scriptel floats new shares to pull out of Chapter 11.(Scriptel Holding Inc.)
June 4, 1999... Scriptel Holding Inc. is about to write away millions of dollars of debt as it moves toward emerging from its Chapter 11 reorganization. The Columbus company won't, however, be penning checks to satisfy 226 creditors that are owed more than...

Firms plan to temper hiring in 2nd half, survey reports.(employee hiring in the year 2000)
June 4, 1999... The potential for unknown Year 2000 computer-related disaster appears to be putting the brakes to Central Ohio business executives' millennium hiring plans. Franklin University's second-quarter Business Climate Outlook found a significant...

Branch banking's new twist.(Huntington National Bank's access offices)
June 4, 1999... Huntington, 5/3's tech-driven offices find revised roles and new locations The executive in charge of Finding new ways for customers to use Huntington National Bank says the future of the bank's teller-less Access offices is in grocery...

Continental bids to fill niche away from retail, apartments.(Continental Real Estate Cos.)
June 4, 1999... Continental Real Estate Cos. has headed back to its office development roots, placing less emphasis on retail and multi-family housing projects in Columbus. Continental, developer of the Brooksedge complex in Westerville and other office...

Daewoo widens U.S. push with Columbus dealership.(opening of Daewoo America Motors)
June 4, 1999... A $72 billion South Korean conglomerate and one of the largest companies in the world has opened a new-car dealership on Morse Road. Daewoo America Motors, the North American division of Daewoo, opened its showroom May 29 with 75 cars. The...

Stifel Nicolaus mining area for more brokerage offices.(Stifel, Nicolaus and Company Inc.)
June 4, 1999... Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. used the break-up of Ohio Co. last year to enter the Columbus market and liked it so well the St. Louis-based brokerage now has five offices in Central Ohio and is looking at opening two more by fall. Stifel...

More help offered to move firm for Vine St. extension.(Hamilton-Parker Co.)
June 4, 1999... Columbus City Council will consider a tax abatement for a building supplies company needing a quick exodus from its location on the northwest edge of downtown. Hamilton-Parker Co. must vacate much of its site between Neil Avenue and the...

Dublin is newest outpost for Delaware County Bank.(Dublin, Ohio; Delaware County Bank and Trust Co.)
June 4, 1999... Delaware County Bank will step south of the border into Franklin County for the first time this fall with a branch office in Dublin and perhaps more in the booming corridor straddling the counties. The city of Delaware-based bank expects to...

Duke adding to fiefdom.(Duke Realty Investments Inc intensifies share in Indiana's office market)
June 11, 1999... Duke Realty Investments Inc. plans to continue its dominance in the Class A office market with construction of buildings at Tuttle Crossing and Easton developments. Duke has started its 156,400-square-foot Parkwood II building along I-270...

It's down hill from here.(Winter Olympic acts as marketing leverage for Ice Beams International Inc)
June 11, 1999... Flaherty has championed bid to put women bobsledders into Winter Olympics Women's bobsledding owes its first-ever Olympic status in 2002 to a tenacious Westerville financial adviser, who just five years ago had no idea the sport existed....

Is time running out on an aging Northland?(Richard E. Jacobs Group seeks to improve Northland Mall through a $70 million investment)
June 11, 1999... A proposed $70 million investment in Northland Mall might save the day for the aging shopping center, but it's a matter of time before another retail competitor challenges its future, industry experts say. The issue isn't what stores...

AdOutlet.com sees market in empty advertising space.
June 11, 1999... A Columbus Internet upstart will launch its business-to-business e-commerce site June 14, providing a single source for the purchase of discounted advertising. AdOutlet.com executives say 3,000 media buyers are interested in using the Web...

Developer arguing Polaris TIF would assist more than mall.(impact of Polaris Centers of Commerce's tax incremental financing plan on shopping malls)
June 11, 1999... Polaris Centers of Commerce likely needs publicly financed improvements to its road system, even if Glimcher Development Corp. dropped plans for its major retail center, say the developers of the mall and the surrounding Polaris development....

New forms of freight keep AirNet's agenda on course.
June 11, 1999... Though transporting canceled checks accounted for four-fifths of AirNet System Inc.'s revenue last year, the company is branching into some offbeat, yet time-critical industries. Last month, the Columbus-based air transporter became one of...

Scotts insists Marysville still a fertile spot for operations.
June 11, 1999... $45M plant in works to expand production Charles Berger is calming fears that Scotts Co. may leave Marysville for greener pastures. The chairman, president and chief executive of the lawn- and-garden products maker, said the company...

High rate of return.(Storage Concepts Inc capitalizes on revenues generated from repeat customers)
June 11, 1999... Sometimes the hardest part isn't getting customers - it's getting them to come back It's one thing to get customers, but persuading them to come back again can sometimes mean going above and beyond the normal call of duty. Repeat...

Inspirational tome helps keep humorist serious about business.(Humor Consultants Inc)
June 11, 1999... Phil Sorrentino learned early on that humor is serious business. His adopted father died when he was six. At 14, he was cleaning toilets at the Burger Boy Mainliner on Livingston Avenue while going to school at Eastmore High School. "I...

Thinking long term.(providing long-term care service at Sokol Insurance Agency)
June 11, 1999... Cost vs. benefits makes long-term care insurance mixed blessing for many Most people don't want to think about when they might require long-term nursing home care. In fact, one local insurance agent says he believes only 5 percent to...

Eyesore faces wreckers' ball; Continental buys Columbus Auto Parts site for $3.5M; plans redevelopment with retailers.(Continental Real Estate Cos.)
June 18, 1999... Continental buys Columbus Auto Parts site for $3.5M; plans redevelopment with retailers An controversial community eyesore could soon face the wrecking ball. A Continental Real Estate Cos. partnership has purchased the former Columbus...

Glimcher: Northland sites will be redeveloped.(Glimcher Realty Trust Chmn. Herbert Glimcher)
June 18, 1999... Ten years ago, Cleveland-based Richard E. Jacobs Group Inc. could have added a second story to its Northland Mall in Columbus. Nowadays, the neighborhood and shopping patterns have changed dramatically. Developers - at Easton and at Polaris...

Haydocy expands GM line by acquiring Saeger Buick.
June 18, 1999... Acquisition of 56-year-old dealership adds nameplate to Pontiac, GMC and Olds Longtime Buick dealer Jack Saeger has sold his family's 56-year-old dealership in Columbus to the Haydocy auto group. The June 12 sale of Saeger Buick on...

2 deals build Worthington's cylinder making in Europe.(Worthington Industries Inc.)
June 18, 1999... Though Worthington Industries Inc. has narrowed its business at home by selling noncore operations and centralizing its management, the company is beefing up its operations overseas. Worthington has purchased two cylinder manufacturers,...

Value City executive shifts presage expansion round.(Value City Department Stores Inc.'s Martin P. Doolan)
June 18, 1999... As turnaround wraps up, retailer hopes to boost price of its lagging stock For the past two years, the executives who determined how Value City Department Stores Inc. was going to do business purposely slowed physical growth of the...

Pfizer gives boost to launch of drug-discovery software.
June 18, 1999... Columbus Molecular hopes pharmaceutical makers use its LeadScope to trim drug research time, costs David Brownstein knows there's a big difference between developing a great product and having that great product used by an industry titan....

Teamsters' name popular among auto plant workers.(Teamsters Union)
June 18, 1999... Drives at 6 parts plants in Ohio spawned when employees solicited union The Teamsters Union has parlayed recent publicity about its efforts into organizing drives at six auto parts suppliers across the state, including three in Central...

Headed for greener pastures: smaller firms are finding that being environmental friendly can be a cost-effective, even profitable, way to do business.(Small Business Strategies)
June 18, 1999... Federal and state regulations may have to force some companies into line when it comes to protecting the environment, but many small businesses are finding there are real advantages to being environmentally responsible. Efforts to recycle,...

'Gooey' software promises non-stop Internet chin music.
June 18, 1999... A 5-month-old Israeli company is launching what it says is the first software that allows Internet surfers to chat with each other while viewing any Web site. Hypernix, based in Tel Aviv, is giving away the "Gooey" software at its Web...

Game consoles blend screen action with communal chat.
June 18, 1999... Two new video game consoles set for release in the next 18 months promise to redefine the $7.1 billion interactive entertainment industry, while potentially changing the way consumers view their home entertainment systems. The release of...

Brand name adds luster to company stock image.
June 18, 1999... It's not the Gateway Arch in St. Louis but the golden arches that may be more recognizable in the United States - and there is definitely a consumer impact that accompanies the McDonald's signature brand identifier. Investment experts and...

Parent seeks buyer for National Revenue.(Deluxe Corp will sell National Revenue Corp)
June 25, 1999... Deluxe Corp., the Minnesota-based company that bought Columbus-based National Revenue Corp. in April 1994, is selling NRC so Deluxe can concentrate on its electronic and information-based businesses serving financial institutions and retailers....

Safelite vision clear: company overcomes disruptive merger to set up IPO.(initial public offering for Safelite Glass Corp)
June 25, 1999... Poe Timmons is really looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner this year. The former partner at Deloitte & Touche knew leaving the security of the accounting firm in 1996 for a job with a growing company in an emerging industry would create...

Dry season loom for wallboard supplies: builders sweat shortages, price increase.
June 25, 1999... Regional homebuilders and commercial construction companies crying over the lack of qualified labor may soon have another woe: drywall. The nation's soaring construction activity and a belated drive to expand manufacturing capacity for...

Racial profiling becomes business concern.
June 25, 1999... Samuel Gresham, 50, says it's happened to him three times, and he's constantly worried when it will happen again. Police have pulled over Gresham, president and CEO of the Columbus Urban League, for no other reason than the fact he's black,...

Health insurers form group to unify treatment guidelines.
June 25, 1999... The medical directors at some of Central Ohio's largest managed-care companies have formed a coalition to respond to frustrations many primary-care physicians have with the insurers. The coalition wants to try to relieve some of physicians'...

Swapman.com puts auto buffs in driver's seat for vintage parts.(E-commerce company that auctions parts of vintage and classic cars)
June 25, 1999... A Columbus man who honed his car pints skills at Nationwise Auto Parts has launched an online auction to court business among vintage car buffs. Columbus-based Swapman.com is a virtual swap meet for vintage car parts and accessories. It...

Sandusky-area bank opens first Columbus-area branch.
June 25, 1999... The Central Ohio banking market will get another competitor early next year with the arrival of First Citizens National Bank, an Upper Sandusky-based community bank set to enter the local fray with a branch in Powell. First Citizens, with...

State trying to set out lures for scarce high-tech workers.(Ohio)
June 25, 1999... High-technology companies in Central Ohio are applauding a state senator's tiered effort to create and retain more skilled workers in the tech-starved Buckeye State. Sen. Grace Drake's package includes a new proposal in the state higher...

CATCO maps 2-year plan to erase its first-ever deficit: Opera/Columbus also scrambles to get out of red.(Contemporary American Theatre Co)
June 25, 1999... Keeping an eye on its long-term growth, Contemporary American Theatre Co. says it will take two years to erase its red ink, the first in its 14-year history. CATCO expects revenues to fall short about $150,000 on a $1.1 million budget for...

Fed's rail chief: Columbus ready for train programs.(Federal Railroad Administration chief Jolene M. Molitoris)
June 25, 1999... Molitoris backs COTA light rail plan, Amtrak links to other Ohio cities Jolene M. Molitoris is bullish on the railroad future of Columbus. The administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration since 1993, Molitoris built her...

Steelmakers seek stepped-up enforcement to battle dumping.
June 25, 1999... Now that Ohio has been ranked the No. 1 steel state in the nation, anti-dumping legislation going through Congress takes on considerable meaning to Ohio's 115 steel companies and their 35,400 employees. But, if the many bills being floated...