The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from August 1995

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from August 1995

Cal firms catch Valley fever; developer focusing on Phoenix. (Walter Kieckhefer Co.)
August 4, 1995... A Novato, Calif., development company is shilling the focus of its portfolio to the Valley with the construction of an 113,000-square-foot speculative industrial complex in Tempe and plans to begin construction next year on up to 600,000 square...

Medical manager buys local firm. (FPA Medical Management Inc.; Arizona Managed Care Services Inc.)(Cal Firms Catch Valley Fever)
August 4, 1995... FPA Medical Management Inc., a San Diego-based management services organization, has acquired Arizona Managed Care Services Inc. for $2 million in cash and stock, the first of a major expansion into the state. Plans call for acquiring more...

Honeywell trimming workforce. (Honeywell Inc.)
August 4, 1995... Honeywell Inc.'s Phoenix-based Industrial Automation and Control cut its workforce Tuesday by 8 percent nationwide, a move that affected 64 full-time employees in the Valley. At the same time, the Minneapolis company's Space and Aviation...

Experts slam Caliber-Zaler transactions. (lawsuit against Caliber Bank; Arnie Zaler)(includes related article)
August 4, 1995... Two bank experts who were asked to file affidavits in an $8 million suit against Caliber Bank said the bank's dealings with Arnie Zaler were the worst they had ever seen in Arizona banking. The suit contends that Zaler, a prominent local...

Card system fuels company's growth. (Phoenix Fuel Company Inc.)(Keys to Emerging Businesses)(Company Profile)
August 4, 1995... Ever since J.W. Wilhoit took over Phoenix Fuel Co. in 1954 - when it was a small service station with only one gas pump and a few cords of firewood - he has set the now 68-year-old business on a non-stop, multimillion-dollar growth track that he...

Eagle Mountain ready to fly with 4 builders. (master-planned community in Fountain Hills, Arizona)
August 4, 1995... Developers of a 500-acre master-planned community in Fountain Hills have received commitments from four local homebuilders to begin construction of the first of 4,000 homes by late this year. Denro, a Phoenix-based master-planned community...

Crowne Plaza mulls major expansion. (Crowne Plaza Hotel)
August 4, 1995... An estimated $40 million expansion of the Crowne Plaza Hotel - including retail shops and restaurants which could spill over to another city block is being considered by the owners of the downtown Phoenix hotel. They say that the 600-room...

Downtown hotel hopes union brings customers. (Crowne Plaza Hotel)
August 4, 1995... A recent decision by owners of the Crowne Plaza Hotel to allow its employees to sock representation through a union could mean more business for the downtown Phoenix hotel. There are some union organizations that will bring their meetings only...

Troubled UDC slows home construction. (UDC Homes Inc.)
August 4, 1995... UDC Homes Inc., entangled in reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code since May, has dropped from the second to fifth most active home-builder in the Valley and has lost nearly 2 percent of its market share. But UDC...

Banks' student loan 'bonanza' threatened.(Focus: Banking and Finance)
August 4, 1995... At a time when Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and local community colleges are gearing up to participate for the first time in the federal government's new direct student loan program, Republican leaders in the U.S. House...

Stock buy-in is up for top 5's outside directors. (includes related article)(Focus: Banking and Finance)
August 4, 1995... Stock holdings of outside directors at Arizona's top five public companies increased 5.6 percentage points to 37.9 percent from 1993 to 1994. Annual fees for non-employee directors ranged from a high of $38,600 at The Dial Corp to $12,000 at...

Three AZ firms target of nationwide fraud sting. (Arizona; Z Best Vending; Showcase Distributing Inc.; American Software Laboratories)(Focus: Banking and Finance)
August 4, 1995... Project Telesweep, a federal-state partnership to fight fraud by companies that promote business opportunities, has identified an estimated 100 firms nationwide, including three in Arizona. that face federal or state action. Z Best Vending,...

Arizona economic statistics clash.(Market Facts)
August 4, 1995... Revised figures for May and more recent statistics on Arizona's economy continue to clash. Unemployment for Maricopa County and the state showed a significant decline year-over-year, declining from 5 percent to 4.1 percent, although...

Stocks continue their gain in July. (Arizona)
August 4, 1995... Despite reaching a historic high, The Dow Jones Industrials' gain for July trailed The Business Journal's Arizona Stock Index, and both trailed the Nasdaq Composite. Stock prices for 44 of the Arizona companies closed higher in July, 25 closed...

Diamond Key bucks trends in building biz. (Diamond Key Homes)(Company Profile)
August 11, 1995... A key sense of timing and an instinct about market trends has opened the door for Phoenix-based Diamond Key Homes to achieve a 6,000 percent sales growth in five years. The company controls more than 1,000 lots and operates in 10 subdivisions...

Honeywell system saves flight time, fuel. (Honeywell Inc.'s Future Air Navigation Systems)
August 11, 1995... Airlines flying around the world could save $5 billion annually and passengers could get a break with shorter flight times thanks to Honeywell Inc.'s new high-technology FANS. Developed by the Minneapolis company's Air Transport Systems in...

Motorola's Star Wars radio to link U.S. armed services. (Motorola Inc.)
August 11, 1995... A team at Motorola in Scottsdale is taking the lead on a $29 million project to develop a software-programmable radio system designed to link all existing military radios. Speakeasy will open communication between today's diverse systems,...

ADEQ cleanup takes new form. (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality)
August 11, 1995... 'Common sense' approach used at dry-cleaner site The completion of an environmental cleanup of a Phoenix shopping center has been ordered under a program state officials say offers more flexibility than bureaucratic and costly federal...

A super Sportacular brawl. (name for Arizona's winter slate of sporting events)
August 11, 1995... State, businesswoman continue playing name game The fight between the state of Arizona and a Valley businesswoman over "Arizona Super Sportacular," the name being used to promote the state's winter slate of sporting events, isn't over. Mimi...

Native American focused on helping others. (Bud Martin)
August 11, 1995... Economic development and education of Arizona Indians are causes that Bud Martin has championed virtually all his life, for the full-blooded Native American and president of the Phoenix Indian Center knows personally what education can do to...

Phoenix lure lands exec on top. (Grossman Company Properties Pres./CEO Matthew Crow)
August 11, 1995... Just a hint of gray now appears in the dark beard of Matthew Crow. Those gray whiskers are the only visible signs of age to be found on the developer. In addition to his youthful appearance, Crow has a buoyant enthusiasm not typically found...

Businesses cautious about on-line sales. (home page on the Internet)
August 11, 1995... "Surfing the net" may be the wave of the '90s, but some local businesses question if creating a home page on the Internet will translate into sales. "I believe until issues inherent in electronic commerce, such as security authentication and...

Rules will help small business buy from U.S. (Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act)
August 18, 1995... Help is on the way for small businesses and entrepreneurs to get into the lucrative stream of federal purchasing contracts. The aid comes in the guise of a reform measure taking effect this fall that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce touts as the...

Chip industry kicks boom or bust habit. (semiconductor industry)
August 18, 1995... The semiconductor industry has shaken its roller-coaster cycle and is headed for steady growth - which promises handsome rewards for the Valley's semiconductor hot shots, industry analysts predict. In the past, industry growth followed boom and...

Pro-Innovative gets a Gripp, makes a mark. (Pro-Innovative Concepts Inc.; hand-exercise squeeze ball)(Company Profile)
August 18, 1995... Mark Scatterday didn't follow the traditional path to success. When his company, Pro-Innovative Concepts Inc., which manufactures The Gripp, a patented hand-exercise squeeze ball, started in April 1992, it wasn't because Scatterday sat down to...

Creditors seek Diamond Star liquidation. (Diamond Star Homes Inc.)
August 18, 1995... The planned liquidation of a Valley home-builder has cleared the way for one California homebuilder to enter the market and another to expand its presence. Diamond Star Homes Inc. and a subsidiary of the company, Diamond Star Development Inc.,...

Williams to develop 1,000 acres for firms. (Williams Gateway Airport)(includes related article)
August 18, 1995... Development of 1,000 acres of land with speculative and build-to-suit facilities for aerospace companies will begin early next year at Williams Gateway Airport - an expansion that could create as many as 4,000 jobs over the next two decades....

It's baaaaack! Mobile refinery gets new life.
August 18, 1995... A controversial $550 million oil refinery proposed southwest of Phoenix will be built despite the withdrawal of the project's main financial backer. John Greenbank, Maricopa Refining Co. president, confirmed this week that the Scottsdale...

AZ Stock Exchange may expand hours. (Arizona Stock Exchange)
August 18, 1995... The Arizona Stock Exchange could get a timely boost in the next couple of weeks with federal approval pending to expand trading hours. Also, as the local exchange completes its third year, a new relationship with clearing broker Investment...

Dental HMOs reach plateau in Arizona. (health maintenance organizations)
August 18, 1995... Enrollment in dental health maintenance organizations nationally is growing three times as fast as enrollment in medical HMOs, but Arizona's dental plans already have seen their huge growth spurts and now are hitting a plateau. Five dental...

Am West says no to airfare consortium. (America West Airlines Inc.)
August 18, 1995... Officials at Tempe-based America West Airlines Inc., and its financial ally, Houston-based Continental Airlines Inc., said they have no plans to join a consortium formed by a Pennsylvania business group to cut airfare costs for business...

Bus companies brace for wheelchair rules.
August 18, 1995... Craig Busskohl, president of Arrow Stage Lines, a Phoenix-based interstate motor-coach charter/tour service company, doesn't know which way to turn. "We know new regulations are on the way as to provisions of the Americans with Disabilities...

Health exec of year earns respect. (Vencor Hospital Administrator John Harrington Jr.)
August 18, 1995... John Harrington Jr. is passionate about what he does, whether it's running the state's only long-term, acute-care hospital or leading a drowning-prevention coalition. The 40-year-old is the recipient of the Young Healthcare Executive of the...

Firms seek to bid farewell to old fee basis. (architectural, engineering and interior decoration firms)(Focus: Architects, Engineers and Design Firms)
August 18, 1995... As an increasing number of projects are awarded based on price, architecture, engineering and design firms are scrambling to reverse the trend by altering their marketing practices to make a firm's qualifications more important than price....

2 high-tech firms go public; Chandler company seeks $42.6 million in offering. (SpeedFam International Inc.; Vodavi Technology Inc.)
August 25, 1995... SpeedFam International Inc., a 36-year-old Chandler high-tech company, is looking to raise about $42.6 million through an initial public offering of 3.28 million shares of common stock. The company's CEO, James Farley, stands to receive just...

Valley resorts sizzle this summer: June occupancy tops January's. (Phoenix, Arizona)
August 25, 1995... Phoenix-area hotels and resorts were hot properties this summer, reporting occupancy rates that are beginning to melt winter figures. The popularity of the Phoenix area in the summer is especially evident in the resort market, which reported a...

Arizona banks saving millions in FDIC fee cut. (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)
August 25, 1995... Arizona banks stand to save millions of dollars with the anticipated cut in federal insurance costs - and customers at some of those banks will save, too. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has cut insurance costs from 23 cents to 4 cents for...

Tax surplus to stay in stadium reserve fund. (Maricopa County, Arizona)
August 25, 1995... The collection of the quarter-cent sales tax for the Major League Baseball stadium in Phoenix likely will go into extra innings, and county taxpayers could be hit for as much as $6 million more than they expected. One fed-up taxpayer...

SunCor fighting battle over Sedona roadway. (SunCor Development Co.; Sedona, Arizona)
August 25, 1995... Amid the peaceful surroundings and breathtaking red rock vistas of Sedona, a battle is brewing over a 600-foot stretch of road. A small Sedona developer has locked horns with SunCor Development Corp. over ownership of a road that serves as the...

Owner of Stan's Deli to revive Trader Vic's. (Stan's Metro Deli owner Keith Stone; Trader Vic's Restaurant)
August 25, 1995... As early as 18 months from now, the Valley could see the resurrection of an old institution known to draw movie stars, tourists and locals to a Polynesian world of food and drink - Trader Vic's Restaurant. The only Arizona franchise of the San...

Southwest expected to increase flights after getting 10 new gates. (Southwest Airlines Co.)
August 25, 1995... The addition of 10 boarding gates for Southwest Airlines passengers at Sky Harbor International Airport is expected to hike the frequency of daily flights it offers from Phoenix. The expansion also will be the impetus for "steady, but slow...

Arizona banks learning to surf the Internet.
August 25, 1995... Some Arizona banks quickly are discovering how easy it is to add a branch in cyberspace, while others still are on the launch pad. Dozens of banks nationally have set up pages on the Internet's World Wide Web, giving users the ability to check...

Me2 puts computer user on high-tech couch. (Humanagement Inc.'s new web site in the World Wide Web)
August 25, 1995... Phoenix-based Humanagement Inc. has given those striving for personal fulfillment a new place to turn for advice - the computer. While the high-tcch PC may seem anything but personal, Humanagement has launched a new site on the World Wide Web...

Bank chief sticks to his roots. (First National Bank of Arizona President Stephen D. Todd)
August 25, 1995... For now, he is the last of a breed - the only native Arizonan to be running a bank in the state - a fact important to this third-generation Arizonan. Stephen D. Todd is president of First National Bank of Arizona, a position he has held for...