The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from February 1996

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from February 1996

Valley firms rush to fill Bosnian orders. (Sun Valley, Arizona; Bosnia-Herzegovina)
February 9, 1996... The U.S. military has fired a series of rush orders to Valley companies that make products such as night-vision goggles, armor kits and tents to assist in the Bosnia peacekeeping mission. Simula Inc.'s Government Products Division is filling a...

Motel franchise settles 'inn' Valley. (U.S. Franchise Systems Inc.; Sun Valley, Arizona)
February 9, 1996... A former Holiday Inn Worldwide executive is bringing his international motel franchise to the Valley with the opening of the first of at least five Arizona properties in his Microtel Inns chain. "This is the Wal-Mart of the hotel business,"...

State banks' poor rank charged to credit-cards. (Arizona)
February 9, 1996... Arizona banks rank 50th among states in return on assets, but banking officials say a new credit-card operation dragged the number down and the state's banking industry remains one of the nation's strongest. The state also ranked first in the...

Phoenicians to assist in faltering economy. (Phoenix, Arizona residents; Ukraine economy)
February 9, 1996... A Phoenix banker is among a group of American volunteers spending more than three weeks in Ukraine to help the emerging capitalists steady the country's economy. The west Asian nation, part of the former Soviet Union, is suffering amid...

SkyCell debuts satellite phones in Valley. (Constant Communications; Sun Valley, Arizona)
February 9, 1996... A new satellite phone service has become available in the Valley through Phoenix-based Constant Communications. Packed in a small briefcase, SkyCell zaps calls from a remote phone to a satellite and back down again. Calls can be made and...

Great Scott Productions picks up Palm Lane Post.
February 9, 1996... Newcomer Great Scott Productions has entered an agreement to purchase one of its biggest competitors, Palm Lane Post, one of the Valley's largest film and video production facilities. Heidi Scott, Great Scott's owner, said the two companies...

Metrocenter Travelodge suffers foreclosure. (Phoenix, Arizona hotel)
February 9, 1996... Buyers are chomping at the bit to be part of the Valley's budget hotel market, although only three such hotels changed hands last year, according to one Valley hospitality industry analyst. Robert Rausch, director of development for San...

Vision firm refocuses on its Arizona markets. (Nationwide Vision Centers)
February 9, 1996... Chandler-based Nationwide Vision Centers is selling its Portland, Ore., and San Antonio stores to fund an expansion in the core markets of Phoenix, Tucson and El Paso, Texas. The move is part of an overall restructuring that owners say will...

Developer finishes what he starts. (Opus Southwest Pres. and CEO Tom Roberts)(Company Profile)
February 9, 1996... "I believe people take responsibility. "That's a big part of people who achieve." It was just 14 years ago that Opus Southwest president Tom Roberts was pounding the asphalt of Phoenix, business degree in hand, looking for a job. His...

Small business seeks lawmakers' attention. (Arizona)
February 16, 1996... Small business could jump to the top of state lawmakers' agenda as Rep. Barry Wong prepares a last-minute addition to the Republican Party platform in the Arizona House. That's big news for owners of Arizona's small firms, advocates say,...

Non-tech approach wins success. (Robert Gill, chief operating officer of Sitix of Phoenix Corp.)
February 16, 1996... "I love what I'm doing....I wouldn't change a thing." Robert Gill, chief operating officer of Sitix of Phoenix, says when he has three consecutive bad days he'll throw in the towel on his 29-year career in semiconductors. Yet those...

ATSCO in fast lane for success in sales. (ATSCO Producs Inc.)(Focus: Automotive)
February 16, 1996... ATSCO Products Inc., a remanufacturer of power-steering components, has jumped into the fast lane to keep sales on track. The Phoenix company is in the second year of a four-year contract as title sponsor of the National Hot Rod Association...

Valley firm finds niche in electric-car market. (Electric Transportation Applications Inc.)(Focus: Automotive)
February 16, 1996... As Arizonans gasp for cleaner air, a Valley engineer is turning his experience with utilities and power plants into an enterprise driven by the rising interest in electric vehicles. According to a recent survey, more than half of Valley...

Gateway Data files $9M IPO. (Gateway Data Sciences Corp.)
February 23, 1996... Phoenix-based Gateway Data Sciences Corp., an 11-year-old company headed by two brothers, plans to raise $9 million by selling 1.2 million shares of stock in an initial public offering. The company develops software products and hardware for...

Boston Market, Einstein Bros. to expand. (new stores in Phoenix, Arizona)
February 23, 1996... Scottsdale-based BCE West LP, area developer for Boston Market and Einstein Bros. Bagels franchises, is planning huge expansion in 1996, including 68 new stores, 20 of which are planned for the Valley. The growth should double BCE West's total...

Workers will trade pay for sunshine. (working in Phoenix, Arizona)
February 23, 1996... Sunshine and open spaces are so attractive that some workers are taking pay cuts just to work in Phoenix, according to accounting and finance experts. That's one way to explain why the city hangs from the lowest salary rungs in the nation for...

Quicker restructure would have been better. (L.M.B. Construction Co.)
February 23, 1996... For all the talk today about visionaries and forward thinkers - such as Microsoft's Bill Gates or Intel's Andy Grove - they're often described as "paranoid." While one might think either man could easily wallow in his millions, the paranoia...