Atlanta Business Chronicle articles from February 1998

Atlanta Business Chronicle archives from February 1998

Georgia firms springing back to IPO market. (initial public offering)
February 27, 1998... Georgia's IPO market, which has been hibernating since December, is about to awaken from a winter sleep. Five Georgia companies are expected to go public within the next few weeks, proposing to raise a combined $286.8 million, according to...

E*Trade rings up Atlanta. (E*Trade Group Inc; Atlanta, Georgia)
February 27, 1998... A California company specializing in online investing has selected the Atlanta area for a new customer-service center that will employ up to 600 people. E*Trade Group Inc. (Nasdaq: EGRP) chose Atlanta over Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin,...

Hartsfield's cargo traffic takes wing, breaks all records. (Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport)
February 27, 1998... More and more of the planes taking off from the Atlanta airport are leaving without any passengers. The planes, though, aren't empty - they are full of carpet, auto parts and food. Indeed, international cargo traffic smashed all records last...

BellSouth seeks to hike share in German market. (BellSouth International)
February 27, 1998... While BellSouth International's investments in Latin America continue to draw most observers' attention, the company is moving to expand its presence in what's actually its biggest market - Germany. BellSouth holds a 22.5 percent stake in...

N.C.'s BB&T will issue credit cards from Georgia. (North Carolina)
February 27, 1998... Big bank will be freed of cap on interest rates The nation's 34th largest commercial bank will soon begin issuing its credit cards from Georgia, freeing itself of interest rate caps and fee restrictions in North Carolina. BB&T Corp., the...

Atlanta's top engineering firms. (Atlanta, Georgia)(tabular data only)(Directory)
February 27, 1998... Atlanta's tally of foreign visitors surged past a half-million in 1996, not counting Olympic athletes and spectators. Based on growth in international passenger traffic at the Atlanta airport, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau officials...

AirTouch sends Atlanta agency hang-up notice. (AirTouch Communications Inc to close Fitzgerald and Co in Atlanta, Georgia)
February 27, 1998... As part of a consolidation of its marketing operations in recent months, AirTouch Communications Inc. has fired its Atlanta advertising agency, Fitzgerald & Co. The nation's second-largest wireless communications company, headquartered in...

SunTrust's Phil Humann won't dilute shareholder value through acquisitions. (SunTrust Banks Inc's CEO)(CEO Spotlight)(Interview)
February 27, 1998... * Who: Phil Humann * What: He becomes chairman of Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks Inc. in March. * FYI: SunTrust Banks Inc. isn't sitting in the bleachers while other regional banks pair off at the merger dance. The Atlanta-based...

High-tech company ICI refocuses after its '97 IPO. (International CompuTex Inc; initial public offering)
February 27, 1998... Atlanta-based International CompuTex Inc. (ICI), which went public in May 1997, is repositioning itself to ride the high-tech wave. ICI changed its focus last year from a service-oriented company to one that develops software products for...

Medical products-maker plans $31 million IPO. (Horizon Medical Products; initial public offering)
February 27, 1998... Horizon has a plant south of Atlanta Horizon Medical Products, a Georgia medical device company, has filed for an initial public offering that it hopes will raise $31.6 million. According to a registration statement Horizon filed with the...

Fiber-optics firm ot move 100 jobs, offices to Atlanta. (Antec Corp., Atlanta, Georgia)
February 20, 1998... An international fiber-optics company that recently won a huge contract from Cox Communications Inc. will leave the Chicago area for Atlanta, and it's bringing about 100 jobs with it. Antec Corp. decided earlier this month to relocate from...

Making the earth move in Griffin: town a finalist for Caterpillar's manufacturing plant. (Caterpillar Inc.)
February 20, 1998... Town a finalist for Caterpillar's manufacturing plant Caterpillar Inc. may be getting ready to move its heavy equipment to the southern edge of metro Atlanta. Caterpillar is strongly considering building a $50 million manufacturing plant...

Sharp Boylston shake-up. (Sharp Boylston Cos.)
February 20, 1998... The Sharp Boylston Cos. forced out its managing partner and scaled down its business plan after the failure of ambitious growth plans. The company, Atlanta's oldest real estate firm, tried to expand into the investment properties business,...

Retooled IBM's workforce in Atlanta rebounds. (IBM Corp., Atlanta, Georgia)
February 20, 1998... IBM Corp.'s population in Atlanta is beginning to swell again with demand for its sales and services - many of which are headquartered right here. The company's numbers have grown to exceed what they were in 1990 before corporate downsizing...

Boss shifts gears, shelves %50 million office plan. (Boss Properties Inc.)
February 20, 1998... Boss Properties temporarily has shelved plans for a $50 million speculative office building on Georgia 400 and instead will concentrate on buying investment properties and developing a hotel. The company, started in mid-1996 by former Olympic...

Rivals take notice as Nordstrom makes debut. (Nordstrom Inc. to open first Southeastern store in Atlanta, Georgia)
February 20, 1998... Nordstrom Inc.'s first Southeastern store not only will draw shoppers, but it also could shake up the Atlanta retail market. Seattle-based Nordstrom, opening Feb. 20 in Perimeter Mall, is known for its lavish stores and exceptional customer...

See ya, St. Louis! Primerica bringing convention home. (Primerica Financial Services Inc.'s two-year contract to hold annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia)
February 20, 1998... Atlanta has snagged the annual Primerica Financial Services convention from St. Louis in a two-year deal that is expected to pump $129 million into Atlanta's economy. Duluth-based Primerica, which sells insurance and other financial...

Chesapeake bakes up cafe concept with Texaco. (new Chesapeake Bakery store to share space with Texaco convenience store)
February 20, 1998... Chesapeake Bagel Bakery is dropping "bagel" from its name and sharing space with a Texaco convenience store in a new test site in Norcross. Chesapeake's newest store, called Chesapeake Bakery Cafe, opened Feb. 18 at 4800 Holcomb Bridge Road....

New owner hopes to juice up power-exchange firms: Continental chief trims costs and shifts strategy. (new Continental Power Exchange Inc.'s majority owner Jeffrey Sprecher)
February 20, 1998... Continental chief trims costs and shifts strategy Deregulation is gradually making it easier for electricity users to buy power from different sources, but in the process, it has gotten harder for power companies to sell to each other....

Medical news network gets $22 million backing. (news and information network Medcast Networks)
February 13, 1998... The former publisher of Esquire magazine has secured $22 million in investment capital to fund the worldwide launch of Medcast Networks, an Atlanta-based news and information network for doctors. Alan N. Greenberg, chairman and CEO of...

National Vision sees opportunity beyond Wal-Mart. (retailer National Vision Associates Ltd.)
February 13, 1998... After eight years of piggybacking on the nation's largest retailer, National Vision Associates Ltd. is preparing to fly solo. Lawrenceville-based National Vision, whose original niche was to open optical centers in Wal-Marts, is planning that...

Takeout meals feed JitterBean's ambitions. (JitterBeans Sandwich & Coffee Co.)
February 13, 1998... A former Golden Corral executive plans to open as many as 18 restaurants featuring specialty sandwiches and prepackaged, to-go meals in the northern Atlanta suburbs. Restaurant Opportunities Inc., a restaurant company owned principally by...

N.C. bank BB&T flirts with Georgia acquisitions. (North Carolina bank Branch Banking and Trust Co.)
February 13, 1998... Branch Banking & Trust Co., the oldest bank in North Carolina, made overtures to buy The Bank of Gwinnett in an exploratory effort to enter Georgia's banking market, sources familiar with the plans said. But Premier Bancshares Inc., based in...

Roswell manufacturer takes know-how global. (Astechnologies Inc. in Roswell, Georgia)
February 13, 1998... Astechnologies Inc. dominates its American competitors. The fabric-fusing machines it makes at its headquarters in Roswell have a 60 percent share of the U.S. market. But Chairman and CEO E Arthur Simmons isn't comfortable with that position....

InfoCure rushes to net share of doctor market. (medical information systems supplier)
February 13, 1998... If the future of medicine is in information systems, Atlanta-based InfoCure Corp. hopes to position itself to capture a big chunk of the market. To do that, InfoCure has raised more than $17 million, closed or announced the acquisition of...

CB Commercial team fills a space on its roster. (Team 2000 office-leasing team)
February 13, 1998... CB Commercial's Team 2000 is back at full strength. The successful office-leasing team has lured Leigh Martin from Ben Carter Associates. At CB Commercial, Martin joins longtime friend Randy Merrill and Rob Metcalf in their partnership....

Some eateries must start over to stay in business. (transformation of the Hedgerose Heights restaurant into a Parisian-style restaurant)
February 13, 1998... Restaurants will try anything to keep their diners happy Gerry Klaskala and his partners recently transformed the former Hedgerose Heights restaurant into their own Parisian-style restaurant. Now Hedgerose has a new menu, a new chef and a new...

IST's growth system: managing copy centers requires focus on staff retention and training. (Innovative Service Technology Management Services Inc.)(Strategies in Small Business)
February 13, 1998... Managing copy centers requires focus on staff retention and training In less than a year, Innovative Service Technology Management Services Inc., has morphed from a fledgling competitor in copy- and mail-center management services into a...

GSU's Russian coup. (US Agency International Development awarded Georgia State University of the fiscal reform grant in Russia)
February 6, 1998... University awarded $19.5 million grant to advise tax system Thanks to its faculty's tax expertise, Georgia State University will soon receive the biggest grant in the school's history. GSU beat out Big Six accounting firms as the U.S....

Banner year for home sales.
February 6, 1998... Atlanta's new-home sales boom continued through the end of 1997, increasing total gross sales revenue among the metro area's top real estate brokerages by approximately 16 percent. Revenues at nine of metro Atlanta's top residential real...

Big Six firm to stay downtown. (Deloitte & Touche LLP)
February 6, 1998... In a complex transaction that involves a huge law firm, a Big Six accounting firm and several real estate companies, Deloitte & Touche LLP has committed itself to staying downtown. Deloitte & Touche signed a lease the week of Feb. 2 for...

Norwood leads charge against managed care. (US Representative Charles A. Norwood)
February 6, 1998... A conservative Georgia Republican has become the chief architect of an effort to pass federal legislation that would give patients more clout with their health insurers. U.S. Rep. Charles A. Norwood's bill is just one of many anti-managed...

Bill could give some commissioners pay raises.
February 6, 1998... In state government, the big cheese isn't necessarily bringing home the big money. Such is the case with several appointed commissioners of state agencies, including Steve Bridges, the former deputy commissioner of the Georgia Department of...

Hospitality puts Atlanta on map.
February 6, 1998... When Richard Stormont moved to Atlanta in 1964, he was Marriott's first employee here. He worked alone as director of sales until the Atlanta Marriott Motor Hotel opened a year later. Now, Marriott has 60 properties and 7,325 employees in...

Holder teams with Equity on planned Buckhead project. (Holder Properties Inc.; Equity Office Properties Trust of Chicago)
February 6, 1998... Fresh from completing his huge acquisition of Beacon Properties Corp., Sam Zell is ready to make a big splash in Atlanta's development pool. His Equity Office Properties Trust of Chicago is teaming up with Holder Properties Inc. of Atlanta...

Smith & Hawken to open first store in Atlanta.
February 6, 1998... Smith & Hawken, a large national marketer of garden products, will open its first Southeastern store in Atlanta this spring. The company, a subsidiary of publicly traded CML Group Inc., has leased a 12,000-square-foot space on Peachtree Road...

West Coast REIT snaps up more local property. (real estate investment trust)
February 6, 1998... A California real estate investment trust (REIT) has doubled its Atlanta presence, and now owns about 1.4 million square feet in the metro area. Glenborough Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: GLB) of San Mateo bought the 294,000-square-foot Ashford...

Ackerman hires Equitable exec Grant Grimes. (Buckhead Loop, Ackerman & Co.)
February 6, 1998... In a possible portent of new office and hotel development on the Buckhead Loop, Ackerman & Co. has hired the man who played a key role in the wildly successful Monarch Tower office tower. Grant Grimes, who worked at Equitable Real Estate and...