Business First-Columbus articles from September 1997

Business First-Columbus archives from September 1997

Worker shortage claims fixture firm. (OSF America Inc)
September 12, 1997... OSF plans relocation to Richmond Some economists say low unemployment is a good problem to have because it represents a strong business climate. Don't tell that to Patrick Graham. "It is a good problem to have unless you're a growing...

Children's takes loan off ORs with outpatient surgery center. (Children's Surgery Center in Columbus, OH)
September 12, 1997... Children's Hospital hopes to maintain its market share in pediatric outpatient surgery with its new Children's Surgery Center expected to open in early October. The $4.5 million, 25,000-square-foot surgery center on Children's East Columbus...

Towsend Co. readies former Lucent/Dublin site for sale. (Lucent Technologies' former training center in Dublin, Ohio)
September 12, 1997... The new owners of Dublin's Lucent Technologies training center plan to quickly sell off 80 adjacent acres to developers for office and retail use. The buyer also expects to resell the 154,000-square-foot training center at 5151 Blazer...

ICG acquires CBG telecom firm. (ICG Telecom Group Inc; Communications Business Group Inc)
September 12, 1997... CBG Inc., Ohio's largest reseller of Ameritech service to businesses, plans to merge its operations with ICG Telecom Group Inc., a facilities-based telecommunications provider. ICG, headquartered in Englewood, Colo., will acquire 100 percent...

Partners adds new partner to marketing/research firm. (Partners in Marketing Inc)
September 12, 1997... In many ways, Harry Leibowitz and Tom Tower couldn't be more different. "It's hysterical," said Leibowitz, president and CEO of Worthington-based Partners in Marketing Inc., of his and his new partner's disparities. "I'm Jewish, Tom is...

Firms vie to manage piece of BWC's insurance fund. (Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation)
September 12, 1997... Bureau sets goal to have minority firms manage 10 percent of funds Investment firms across the country are vying for a piece of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation's $18 billion insurance fund. More than 300 firms have applied for a...

Analysts expect layoffs following CompuServe merger. (America Online Inc-CompuServe Corp merger)
September 12, 1997... Despite America Online Chairman Steve Case's assurances that CompuServe Corp. will be kept intact, analysts say employees should expect layoffs within a year after the merger is complete and an integration of the online services within two to...

Hotel chain plans longer-stay properties at Polaris, Tuttle. (Homegate Hospitality Inc's planned hotel in Dublin, OH)
September 12, 1997... A Texas extended-stay hotel chain has plans for the Tuttle Crossing and Polaris commercial developments. Austin-based Homegate Hospitality Inc. expects to start construction in early October on an 86-unit, $3.5 million hotel on 1.92 acres in...

Peapod changes pricing options to add customers. (online grocery shopping service in Columbus, OH)
September 12, 1997... After listening to comments from customers, Peapod has come up with new pricing structures for its year-old online grocery shopping service at Columbus-area Kroger stores. Beginning Sept. 8, Peapod's pricing will be three-tiered, said Lynn...

Business upturn aids Scioto Downs. (Scioto Downs Inc)
September 12, 1997... Simulcast betting hikes handle for sagging track trade A new state law is already going a long way to turning around the sagging fortunes of harness racing in general and Scioto Downs Inc. in particular. "This business rims on the amount...

Track-side tattersall. (travelling tack shop Horsewares)
September 12, 1997... Sales are in the Jug for horsey retailer DELAWARE - "Have trailer... will travel," has become the motto of one Delaware County businesswoman. Rather than opening a shop in a storefront location each day, Susan Darst has discovered there...

Mount Vernon abates taxes for 2 manufacturers. (Aerial Corp and Energy Machine Inc)
September 12, 1997... MOUNT VERNON - Tax abatements granted recently by City Council will help two local manufacturing firms add jobs and expand their plants in the Mount Vernon Industrial Park. Aerial Corp. and Energy Machine Inc., privately held companies...

With bagel stores, more seems not enough. (Columbus, OH, bagel stores)
September 12, 1997... Just how many bagels can Columbus residents nosh? There are almost 40 stores in the Columbus area with the word "bagel" in their names. That does not include stand-alone and most grocery. store bakeries, convenience stores, and doughnut shops...

TennOhio seeks creditor protection. (TennOhio Transportation Co.)
September 5, 1997... Driver shortage, supplier suit drive outfit to Chapter 11 Rapid expansion, a shortage of drivers and a federal lawsuit have combined to jackknife a major local freight hauler. Columbus-based TennOhio Transportation Co., 5357 Crosswind...

Poll: central Ohioans back tax concessions to create jobs.
September 5, 1997... More than 65 percent of Central Ohioans feel state and local governments should offer private businesses tax breaks to create or retain jobs, a poll conducted for Business First shows. That news surprised and delighted development and other...

ECCO maps plan to revive center. (ECCO Family Health Center)
September 5, 1997... It appears as if the troubled ECCO Family Health Center will remain alive, though what restructuring it will have to undergo is not as certain. On Sept. 4, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Columbus was to determine if the Near East Side...

Pizzuti plans four buildings at South Park. (Pizzuti Development Inc.; Grove City, OH)
September 5, 1997... Pizzuti Development Inc.'s final phase of its SouthPark development in Grove City will include 837,000 square feet of bulk distribution/office space. On Sept. 9, Grove City's planning commission will consider development plans for four...

Bisys cuts 50 Columbus jobs after losing mutual-fund client. (Bisys Investment Services Group)
September 5, 1997... After losing its largest bank client in July, Bisys Investment Services Group has issued pink slips to about 50 employees in Columbus. The employees, notified of the layoffs in late August, worked with the Pacific Horizon Funds, the mutual...

Report shows deregulation would jolt Ohio electric rates.
September 5, 1997... If utilities are allowed to recover all of their stranded costs, electric rates would significantly rise in many Ohio markets, though not in Central Ohio, a new report indicates. The report by MSB Energy Associates of Madison, Wisc., was...

Grant cut has Oktoberfest eying more corporate help.
September 5, 1997... As organizers put final preparatory touches on the German Village Oktoberfest, some of their thoughts are focused on 1998, when the visible and profitable festival will be without annual grant money traditionally supplied by the Greater...

LSY's Caruso leaving ad agency to introduce new consulting firm. (Lord Sullivan & Yoder Inc.; Ray Caruso)
September 5, 1997... The president of Columbus' fourth-largest advertising agency, plans to leave in December to launch his own consulting firm aimed at businesses interested in social responsibility. Ray Caruso, 59, a 35-year marketing communications veteran who...

Markin reutrns to demo business as manager at Georgia company. (Barbara A. Markin; Demo & Sales Inc.)
September 5, 1997... Barbara A. Markin says she's bounced back after 12 years of legal problems. The founder and president of bankrupt Golden Touch Demos Inc. was forced to liquidate the Westerville business a little more than a year ago after mounting lawsuits...

Nextel analog service plans leave some customers grumbling. (Nextel Communications Inc.)
September 5, 1997... Not all customers of the old mobile communications service are welcoming technological advances. Nextel, which bought Motorola's analog mobile radio service license in Columbus, plans to shut down the service sometime in 1998 so the 800...

Contractors still fear OSHA, despite 'kinder, gentler' tag. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
September 5, 1997... Inadequately trained inspectors and hard-nosed administrators are two of the reasons Central Ohio contractors say they dread a job site visit by OSHA. Contractors complain among themselves and to their attorneys and other industry leaders...

Ohio Chamber weighs in with voting tally.
September 5, 1997... Central Ohio House Voting Record, 122nd General Assembly REPRESENTATIVE PRO-BUSINESS CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE AVERAGE(1) Otto Beatty Jr. 67% ...

Ever new Horizons: from logos to recordings, multimedia firm keeps on growing. (Horizons Cos.)(Small Business Strategies)
September 5, 1997... Four years ago, President Don Lee's Horizons Video & Film employed 12 people and took in about $600,000 in gross sales. Today, operating as Horizons Cos., the company employs 43 and operates across six divisions in four buildings and three...

Specified finds deep pocket to solve cash-flow problem. (commercial plumbing supplier Specified Inc.)(Small Business Strategies)
September 5, 1997... Tom Scott, Tom Porter and Rich King won't sit back and let an opportunity wash down the drain. The three men own and operate Specified Inc., a commercial plumbing supply business that Scott, Porter and a former partner started in 1984. At...

HVAC installers must team with architect, contractors. (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)(Small Business Strategies)
September 5, 1997... The heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment that conditions the environment and provides comfort in our homes, offices and physical plants must be able to adapt to new expectations and increasingly complex operational needs. A...

Moving experience need not be painful.(Small Business Strategies)
September 5, 1997... Moving your office? Sounds stressful, right? It doesn't have to be if you plan carefully and attend to details - or turn the entire process over to a moving consultant, experts say. Last-minute surprises can waylay even the best plans, so...

Banks, city promote new facades for downtown Delaware. (Ohio)
September 5, 1997... DELAWARE - A new low-interest loan program will make it easier for downtown businesses to spruce up the exteriors of their shops. The Delaware County Bank has set aside up to $1 million in a facade enhancement loan fund to be utilized by...

Wellness centers loom big on building horizon.
September 5, 1997... Designing health centers for hospitals and communities is a growing business for some local architectural firms. More than 33 percent of Moody/Nolan-Ltd. Inc.'s annual $10.2 million in projects are in health, recreation and sports. These...

Bohm: influencing world architecture from Columbus. (Friedrich K.M. Bohm; Ohio)(Interview)
September 5, 1997... Friedrich K.M. Bohm, FAIA, AICP, is an Austrian by birth, an American choice and an architect by passionate predilection. He has been a significant force in design, planning and development in Central Ohio, the nation and the world for much...

Tight corners don't faze winners of kitchen design. (Nitschke Sampson Dietz Inc. won 'Can This Kitchen Be Saved?' contest)
September 5, 1997... There's not a single space in their distinctive company name, so it's perhaps rather fitting that NitschkeSampsonDietz would prove to be quite adroit in other tight spots. By recently transforming a cramped 10-foot by 16-foot space into a...

Muni buildings form core of Linden redevelopment. (Greater Linden Community Development Corp., Ohio)
September 5, 1997... When Clarence Lumpkin moved to Linden in 1971 people knew their neighbors, local businesses flourished, and there was a certain feeling of pride among those who lived and worked there. "It was a nice area - pleasant to look at and live in....