Business First-Columbus articles from May 1997

Business First-Columbus archives from May 1997

Schottenstein Center gets first director. (Ohio State University's Schottenstein Center)
May 2, 1997... Riggs' resume includes extensive experience in booking entertainment events The first director of OSU's Schottenstein Center has an extensive background in booking a wide variety of entertainment acts. Ohio State University officials say the...

Horvath finds her greatest reward is risk. (National City Bank Columbus' chief creditor officer Dorothy Horvath)
May 2, 1997... When she took a bank job 30 years ago in Northeast Ohio, Dorothy Horvath thought it would be a short stint while caring for her injured father. Then she'd move on to something really interesting, like journalism. But as it turned out,...

Firming Class A lease rates could prompt development. (office lease rates)
May 2, 1997... Firming Class A office lease rates downtown signal an improved climate for development say two local development company executives. First-quarter statistics compiled by Pizzuti Inc. put the average downtown full-service,Class A lease at $19.29...

Meijer takes 'flyer' on student hires. (Meijer Store, Sawmill Road, Ohio)
May 2, 1997... Firms doing whatever it takes to attract, retain employees Without a reliable ride to her cashier job at the Meijer store on Sawmill Road, Gwendolyn Winfield would be working somewhere else. Winfield, a 23-year-old nursing student working her...

Witco consolidation means 50 new Dublin R&D jobs. (Witco Corp, Connecticut)
May 2, 1997... A Connecticut-based global chemical manufacturer is shuttering its R&D operations in Chicago, Houston, Fort Worth and Memphis to consolidate at the multibillion-dollar company's Dublin facility. Publicly traded Witco Corp. will nearly double...

Short North vendors ready for 'Improvement District'. (Short North Business Association; Columbus City Special Improvement District)
May 2, 1997... The city's first Special Improvement District is nearing clearance of its first hurdle in the Short North. Cleve Ricksecker, Short North Business Association executive director, said he needs one last signature from among 63 Short North...

Volvo brings equipment division to Delaware, creating 150 jobs.
May 2, 1997... Sarcom expansion to create 225 jobs The Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit Authority has approved corporate tax credits for two Delaware distribution projects. Volvo Parts North America Inc. plans to move its Volvo Construction Equipment operation...

Cincinnati nonprofit to buy Regency Manor for $18M. (Institute for Geriatric Research)
May 2, 1997... A Cincinnati nonprofit plans to purchase Columbus' largest nursing home and convert it to nonprofit status. The Institute for Geriatric Research will buy 275-bed Regency Manor Rehabilitation & Subacute Nursing Center, 2000 Regency Manor Circle,...

Kids Connection founder sues Thomson affiliate. (publisher Aaron Leventhal; Thomson Central Ohio)
May 2, 1997... A lawsuit filed by a local children's magazine publisher against a Thomson Newspapers affiliate heads to trial in July. In a suit filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Aaron Leventhal, publisher of 15-year-old Kids Connection magazine,...

New competitor unlikely to arrive after Cub departs. (Cub Foods)
May 2, 1997... The intense supermarket competition prompting the exit of Cub Foods from Central Ohio makes the area an unlikely target for new chains. However, the grocery market remains highly fragmented, with general retailers increasingly selling lines of...

OSU Medical Center plans $5M maternity expansion. (Ohio State University Medical Center)
May 2, 1997... Competitive pressures are prompting Ohio State University Medical Center to undertake a $5 million renovation of its maternity unit and expand it to 2 1/2 times its current size. Specifically, the expansion will increase maternity space at the...

Innovest program unites investors, growth firms. (Innovest '97, Ohio)
May 2, 1997... Growth companies throughout Ohio will court business investors May 13 and 14 at Innovest '97, an annual venture capital conference. The two-day program at the Hyatt on Capitol Square will feature brief presentations by 32 growth companies...

Move over Mattel, Boccerball is bouncing into marketplace. (game design)
May 2, 1997... DELAWARE - A desire to make money at home and a clever game design have launched Debbie Crecelius on a new career. Crecelius has begun manufacturing and selling an all-wooden game called Boccerball, which her husband invented 11 years earlier....

Loans gives couple larger pie sales slice. (MicroLoan Program; Oscar and Mary Robinson)
May 2, 1997... Without the funds needed to open an actual store, Mary Robinson and her husband Oscar sold pies out of their garage. But, after years of hard work, and with financial assistance from the MicroLoan Program, the Robinsons' business, the Pie...

Sanfords cash in on promo gift craze. (Sanford International)
May 2, 1997... The next time you attend a Buckeye's football game and settle your fanny onto a soft bleacher seat cushion, think of Bob and Ruth Sanford. The brother-sister team nm Sanford International, a specialty promotions company that supplies giveaway...

Factory unity: software link sales to shipping. (Symix software system)
May 2, 1997... Manufacturers, having learned how much software can organize their shop floor operations, are finding additional savings by tying in front-end administrative services. In the three years since Promark Electronics installed a Symix software...

Training abounds for mechanically apt. (Franklin County, Ohio)
May 2, 1997... Franklin County's statewide low 2.8 percent unemployment rate is generally considered good news. That's not the case, however, if you're an area manufacturer in need of trained personnel. Missy Jacob, human resources manager at Columbus-based...

CPAs analyze manufacturers' product costs.
May 2, 1997... Now that tax season is over, some local CPA firms are trading in calculators for hard hats. The firms are offering additional services to manufacturing companies seeking to improve their bottom line and productivity. These services are...

Group bonuses foster team efforts in manufacturing.
May 2, 1997... Employees at Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. in Marysville can boost their paychecks by more than $2,000 annually if they show up to work on time. Ron Lietzke, spokesman, said the attendance bonus takes into account a HAM employee's...

Crane seeks abatement for $18M expansion. (Crane Plastics Co.)
May 9, 1997... Crane Plastics Co. is proposing an $18 million expansion of its two South Side operations for a new product line. On May 12, Columbus City Council will consider emergency legislation proposing a tax abatement for the project. The Columbus...

Columbus has Big League potential. (Ohio; Major League Baseball)
May 9, 1997... What might have been - what could be Now if only we had an arena. On the heels of a sound defeat for a plan to build a downtown sports complex with the assistance of public financing, a new study shows metro Columbus is among the top...

LaSalle cuts jobs at former Galbreath office. (LaSalle Partners Inc.; Galbreath Co.)
May 9, 1997... LaSalle Partners Inc has wasted little time putting its mark on offices the former Galbreath Co. has at 180 E. Broad St. About 60 Columbus employees of the former Galbreath organization received notice May 5 and 6 then-jobs have been...

Vote opens rift between OSU, arena backers. (Ohio State University)
May 9, 1997... A public letter written by the wife of Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee has sparked strong reaction from a local sports official in the wake of the crashing defeat of the arena/stadium issue. The OSU president, meanwhile, put the...

Courtyard by Marriott brings new lodging choice to I-670.(Interstate 670 Progress Report)
May 9, 1997... Debra Adcock, the general manager of the soon-to-open Courtyard by Marriott, says she's tempted to bill the hotel as the "quietest hotel at the airport. "This building could be a bomb shelter," Adcock said. "The construction is so solid; we...

Price Waterhouse opens international tax practice. (Price Waterhouse LLP)
May 9, 1997... Price Waterhouse LLP has opened an international tax practice in its Columbus office. Everett Gallagher, Columbus office managing partner and head of the Columbus tax division, said three Price Waterhouse international tax accountants have...

New tools for redeveloping the urban centers of Ohio.(Interstate 670 Progress Report)
May 9, 1997... As lieutenant governor, one of my objectives has been to address the economic development needs of Ohio's distressed urban areas. Working in conjunction with the Ohio General Assembly, the Voinovich-Hollister administration has developed a...

Developers plan offices for Integrity Supply space. (Integrity Supply Co.)
May 9, 1997... A Columbus real estate partnership has plans to redevelop an office/warehouse complex in German Village into a 46,000-square-foot loft office building. Partners Skip Weiler, Robert Weiler Co. vice president, and Kent R. Bowen, CallTech...

Custom builder tees up New Albany course homes. (New Albany Country Club)
May 9, 1997... A Columbus custom homebuilder plans a duster of 11 single-family luxury homes to fill out neighborhoods bordering the north nine holes of New Albany Country Club. Block Properties expects to have the first five of the 3,200- to...

I-670 'cap' in Short North to set national precedent.(Interstate 670 Progress Report)
May 9, 1997... The City of Columbus, Ohio Department of Transportation and neighborhood leaders have agreed to pursue a novel set of development objectives for the I-670 right-of-way as it crosses under North High and North Park streets. The objectives...

Connectivity problems tangle local phone-service competition.
May 9, 1997... Technical snags apparently are complicating the interconnections between Ameritech and its new competitors in the local telephone market. Most competitors say the problems are not unexpected, but phone giant AT&T says the difficulties have...

Sun sets a new agenda: putting the customer first. (Sun Television and Appliances Inc.)
May 9, 1997... Reeling from record losses, Sun TeleviSion and Appliances Inc. hopes to steady itself with better service and a $1 million image advertising campaign. The advertisIng blitz, to begin May 16 for Sun's three stores in Cincinnati, features the...

Ohio bill mandating benefits for mental health stirs debate.
May 9, 1997... Ohio employers and health insurers could face a potentially costly legislative mandate that would make mental health benefits a standard in health-care insurance packages. A bipartisan bill introduced May 1 could also force employers and...

Port Columbus airport is catalyst for regional growth.(Interstate 670 Progress Report)
May 9, 1997... When travelers from communities served by their own airports drive to Central Ohio as their point of origination, the reasons are simple - cost and convenience. Air fares from Columbus have dropped consistently during this decade and are...

OSU to invest in Newark, Kenny Road surgery centers. (Ohio State University)
May 9, 1997... In an effort to broaden its patient base, Ohio State University Medical Center is affiliating with a planned $5 million outpatient surgical center in Newark. It also is planning a similar facility on the west side of OSU's main campus. Dr....

Agency 'works' to reduce urban unemployment. (Columbus Works Inc.)(Corporate Caring)
May 9, 1997... Columbus Works Inc., a three-year-old private nonprofit, works primarily with 18-to 25-year-old adults who are out of school and out of the work force. Since the six-week program began operation in January 1995, more than 300 have volunteered,...

AutoNation muscles into Columbus. (AutoNation USA; Ohio)
May 16, 1997... Buying Incredible Universe location, eyeing dealerships The nations top revenue-producing auto retailer is parking in Greater Columbus. Representatives of AutoNation USA have filed a rezoning application to transform the former site of...

Area dealers expect increase in competition. (Columbus, Ohio automobile dealers)
May 16, 1997... Retail car-sales giant AutoNation will stir tip the car market in Columbus, sharpen up competitor sales practices and maybe drive up used car prices. That's the reaction of several established new- and used-car dealers in Columbus to...

Former execs say Big Bear mauled by parent firm. (Big Bear Stores Co.; Penn Traffic Co.)
May 16, 1997... Big Bear's recent troubles point in one direction - to New York and the investment banker who controls the supermarket chain's parent company, say two former Big Bear executives. "When I left eight years ago, we had the best team in Columbus,...

Bengals kick around MLS ownership. (Cincinnati Bengals; Major League Soccer)
May 16, 1997... Major League Soccer is coveted by Mike Brown, owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, who looks forward to an intrastate rivalry with the Columbus Crew. But at this point, the Crew isn't thrilled with the idea of giving up its only-franchise-in-Ohio...

Port Columbus revs up plans for parking garage. (Port Columbus International Airport)
May 16, 1997... Port Columbus International Airport is considering a six-story parking garage for 2,800 vehicles just west of the airport terminal. The Columbus Municipal Airport Authority board on May 27 will get a look at the concept, estimated to cost $55...

Toll Brothers chimes in on luxury home market. (Toll Brothers Inc.; Columbus, Ohio)
May 16, 1997... The nation's largest builder of luxury homes has entered the Columbus residential arena at a time some competitors question the depth of the high-end market. Philadelphia-based Toll Brothers Inc. has had its eye on Columbus for several years,...

Seasonal additions help WinnScapes bloom. (WinnScapes Inc.)
May 16, 1997... Gahanna company plows, plants - and rehabs The seasonal nature of landscape entrepreneur Richard Winnestaffer's business presents a multifaceted dilemma - how to maintain the year-round employment of valued workers, better their professional...

Poll: Karmanos cross-checked arena. (Peter Karmanos' 11th-hour bid to move his National Hockey League team to Columbus, Ohio)
May 23, 1997... Voter survey shows hockey owner blurring message of Issue 1 campaign A private poll taken Election Day by Issue 1 backers indicates Peter Karmanos' 11th-hour bid to move his National Hockey League team to Columbus helped seal defeat for the...

Opening of OSU campaign creates competition for contributions. (Ohio State University)
May 23, 1997... More local nonprofit groups could have access to charitable dollars generated by Ohio State University faculty and staff during. OSU's annual giving campaign this fall. But opening the OSU campaign, which raised $640,000 in 1996 for the United...

High-schoolers get Fs on financial knowledge: coalition aims to raise understanding of business, finance.
May 23, 1997... WASHINGTON - Backed by the federal government and the Federal Reserve, a new coalition was formed May 22 to help children understand more about business and personal finance. In an ambitious plan to bring almost 20 nonprofit organizations...

Kraft plans $34M Rickenbacker complex. (Kraft Foods Inc.; Rickenbacker Air Industrial Park, Columbus, Ohio)
May 23, 1997... Kraft Foods Inc. will consolidate three distribution facilities into a 610,000-square-foot warehouse complex at Rickenbacker Air Industrial Park. Plans call for relocation of 52 jobs and creation of 135 jobs within three years of the...

Integrion ushers in new era of electronic retail banking. (Integrion Financial Services)
May 23, 1997... Virtual banking, used by a tiny fraction of retail customers, may grow out of its infancy this year. In a move watched by banks across the country, Banc One Corp. in Columbus and NationsBank in Charlotte next month will become the first to...

Health Power upping rates to return to profitability.
May 23, 1997... Burdened by losses, declining Medicaid reimbursements and increasing competition, Health Power Inc. is raising insurance rates for its commercial customers to attempt a return to the black. The rate increases are the latest part of an ongoing...

Alter Group plans second Dublin office development. (Dublin, Ohio)
May 23, 1997... A Chicago-based developer is ready to move forward with its second Dublin office building and plans an even greater Columbus-area presence. On June 5, Alter Group will seek final development approval from Dublin's Zoning and Planning Commission...

Recruiting firms pitch new way to bill clients for searches.
May 23, 1997... Some local recruiting firms are offering a new twist that they say could save companies money in finding the right people to fill critical jobs. In it, search firms act as consultants, paid by the hour, rather than being on retainer or paid on...

Scientist questions standard for encryption technology.
May 23, 1997... A bill that would remove restrictions on the export of powerful encryption technology passed the House Judiciary Committee without dissent May 15, a move that was good news to Matt Curtin. Curtin is a Columbus-based scientist with Megasoft...

Educational Council is school districts' partner. (Franklin County Educational Council Foundation)(Corporate Caring)
May 23, 1997... The Franklin County Educational Council Foundation takes pride in that turf is no issue. Forged 10 years ago from conflict between Columbus schools and school districts surrounding the city, the council is parent to some high-profile programs...

Race to the finish. (cable modem service)(TechNow)
May 23, 1997... Warner Cable got off to a fast start against the phone companies with Road Runner, which leaves modems and ISDN lines in the dust. But Ameritech is fighting back with ADSL, a super-fast compressed information transmitter that operates over...

Making a major mark in mental health: CMHC Systems helps agencies better manage their own operations.(Small Business Strategies)
May 23, 1997... John Paton has found a multimillion dollar niche helping mental health agencies with shrinking budgets better manage their clients. Paton is president and Owner of CMHC Systems, a Dublin-based information systems company. Since 1994, CMHC has...

Big, bad OSHA bends with political winds. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
May 23, 1997... There's a trend afoot at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that lawyers, legislators and safety consultants alike have likened to enlightenment. Long known as an adversarial agency and often considered a combative "cop shop"...

Gay worker harassment awaits legal clarification.
May 23, 1997... It appears it will take a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether homosexuals, as a group, are protected under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The 6th District U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in February that it is illegal for anyone to...

Midwest offers 'bang for the buck.' (low cost of living)
May 30, 1997... Study pegs markets where dollars go farther WASHINGTON - Go West young man, or perhaps the Midwest That is if you want to make your money stretch as far as you can. A nationwide study of the largest 99 metropolitan areas in the country shows...