The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from January 1998

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from January 1998

Samaritan closing in on a suitor. (Samaritan Health System)
January 30, 1998... Samaritan Health System is narrowing the list of potential buyers for two of its Arizona hospitals - and word is that the short list includes Tenet Healthcare Corp., Vanguard Health Systems and Province Healthcare Co. Dan Green, vice...

Teets goes solo. (former Dial Corp. executive John Teets)
January 30, 1998... Former Dial executive spreads wings, launches new ventures John Teets is best known for heading the former Dial Corp's restructuring, and - although he's retired - there are some who think he may have one more turnaround in him. Teets, who...

Cox dials up first residential phone customers. (Cox Communications Inc.)
January 30, 1998... Cox Communications has landed its first local phone customers in two Valley apartment complexes, taking the opening shots against US West in a battle for residential users. The company, best known for its cable TV operations, is not...

Hypercom to hire 200 in 10-acre expansion. (Hypercom Corp.)
January 30, 1998... Hypercom Corp. is living up to its name with continued growth in the data communications and magnetic card reader market, despite the ongoing financial crisis in Asia, one of its most important markets. The company has purchased a 10-acre...

Higher fares hit Phoenix business fliers.
January 30, 1998... Phoenix business travelers are taking the brunt of a new airline strategy to raise fares for these passengers, according to a national survey. The trend has upset travelers and travel agents in the Valley, while industry opinion says it's...

Big benefits expected from Big 6 mergers. (Arizona; accounting firms)
January 30, 1998... And then there were four. With the anticipated mergers of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP with Ernst & Young and Coopers & Lybrand LLP with Price Waterhouse LLP, the Big 6 will become the Big 4. Industry experts say the two mergers will create a...

Restaurant sales up 6.2% percent. (Arizona)
January 30, 1998... Arizonans hungry for more diverse dining experiences Arizona's restaurant industry is expected to boast $5.7 billion in sales in 1998, a 6.2 percent increase from last year, according to the 1998 Restaurant Industry Forecast. The Mountain...

Staffing firm finds medical field niche. (EAI Healthcare Staffing Solutions Inc.)
January 30, 1998... It all started while he was shaving. Mickey Echales was performing his morning routine when his wife, Ellen, said she wanted to use $500 to open a health care staffing business. The company would place mid-level employees in physicians'...

Call-center market hot. (Mattel Inc. looking for an office space in Phoenix, Arizona)
January 23, 1998... Mattel looking for Valley site Following the lead of credit-card operations, high-tech giants and financial services firms, "Barbie" is coming to town. Mattel Toys, maker of the world's most famous doll, is the latest prospect to hit the...

Companies get mixed signals on new codes. (U S WEST Inc.'s new telephone area code for Arizona)
January 23, 1998... Adding three new digits to those old Rolodex entries may not seem too big of a deal, but according to some critics, a new Valley area code could create a logistical nightmare for Arizona businesses. While a new area code is inevitable as the...

Baby business booming. (fertility clinics in Arizona)
January 23, 1998... Too many fertility clinics in Valley now, some say In an era when the mere existence of fertility clinics is posing ethical questions, more centers are opening in the Valley, creating a fierce competition for patients. When Dr. Randy Craig...

JDA Software searching for more space. (JDA Software Group Inc.)
January 23, 1998... Officials with JDA Software Group Inc. weren't kidding when they told an audience at last summer's AzTech 50 luncheon that one of their biggest goals was to make a return appearance. The retailing software maker is looking to immediately...

Minneapolis utility takes stake in Arizona. (Northern States Power Co. to acquire Black Mountain Gas Co.)
January 23, 1998... A large Minnesota utility quietly has announced its intent to purchase Black Mountain Gas Co., a natural gas provider servicing the north Valley - a move to compete in Arizona's electric market once deregulation takes effect. The deal, which...

Norwest talks merger with Bank of Arizona. (Norwest Corp.)
January 23, 1998... Norwest Corp. reportedly is in talks that could lead to the acquisition of Bank of Arizona. Officials from both banks would not comment on a supposed deal for Norwest to acquire banking companies owned by John Barry, who co-founded and...

Kohl's Coffee brewing deal with chief supplier. (Kohl's Coffee and Tea Co. to partner with Royal Cup Coffees and Teas)
January 23, 1998... Phoenix distributor Kohl's Coffee & Tea Co. will partner with its primary supplier, Royal Cup Coffees & Teas, at the end of January and expand into Nevada and Colorado in the first quarter this year. As well, the family-owned business is...

Gas cooling system hot for Phoenix firm. (Cummins Southwest Inc.'s PowerChill system)
January 23, 1998... A gas-powered air-cooling system is becoming a hot item for its Phoenix developer, with several big sales in recent months including the company's first overseas deal. Cummins Southwest Inc., the Arizona distributor of Cummins Engine Co.'s...

Valley's private sector among U.S. top 3. (employment in Phoenix-Mesa region in Arizona)
January 23, 1998... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Phoenix continues to reinforce private industry's dominant role in job creation. A Business Journal study of 100 of the largest labor markets showed that the Phoenix-Mesa region is among the nation's top three...

Pilgrim America eyes management business. (Pilgrim America Capital Corp. secures $490 million account deal)
January 23, 1998... Mutual fund group expands with $490 million account Pilgrim America Capital Corp. is expanding the market for its investments expertise, moving into money management of large private accounts and of funds held by corporations and government...

Phoenix named top spot for entrepreneurial pool. (Arizona)
January 23, 1998... Cities and counties are ill-advised to mollycoddle manufacturers with tax breaks. That's like investing in a buggy whip company. It's equally unwise to grant smog credits to old-fashioned, heavy industry polluters. In America's changing...

San Francisco hotel near sale. (Hyatt-Regency Hotel in California to be acquired by Strategic Hotel Capital Inc.)
January 23, 1998... A Midwest investment group flush with cash is in late-stage talks to acquire San Francisco's Hyatt Regency Hotel, sources close to the negotiations say. Chicago-based Strategic Hotel Capital Inc., a private investment partnership formed last...

350 jobs targeted for new Tempe center. (PKS Information Services Inc.'s new headquarters and computer center in Tempe, Arizona)
January 23, 1998... PKS Information Services Inc. is using the Valley as ground zero for its expansion into the West with the inauguration of its Phoenix integration headquarters and a newly announced $20 million computer "super center" in Tempe. Plans for the...

Builders continue record pace: construction of single-family homes keeps up with growth. (Arizona)
January 23, 1998... Construction of single-family homes keeps up with growth Homebuilders managed to top the past two record-breaking years by constructing more than 30,000 homes in 1997. The resale market also gets a standing ovation for reaching a new high of...

Seal of approval: competition fierce in Arizona to provide medical background checks. (credentialing verification organizations)(Health Trends)
January 23, 1998... Competition fierce in Arizona to provide medical background checks Competition is heating up among companies that do background checks on doctors. Called credentialing verification organizations, or CVOs, these companies verify a physician's...

Marketing may be cure to lure new customers. (Arizona's health care industry)(Health Trends)
January 23, 1998... A trip to the doctor with a sick child isn't what it used to be. Gone are the days when parents visited the same physician who'd brought them into the world to treat their kids for a case of the sniffles. It's no secret that managed care...

HMO regulation debate heats up Congress. (health maintenance organizations)(Health Trends)
January 23, 1998... The managed-care industry is inundating Congress with studies that conclude that the federal government's attempt to regulate HMOs will drive up premiums and leave thousands of people uninsured. With HMO regulation considered to be one of the...

Valley leaders aim at preventing violence. (Phoenix, Arizona officials urge businesses to help prevent violent behavior)(Health Trends)
January 23, 1998... Valley leaders are urging the business community to join the fight against violent behavior by identifying and promoting ways to reduce violence in families and communities. Preventing violence was the hot topic of discussion at a recent...

Wellness programs offer added incentive.(Health Trends)
January 23, 1998... Lots of attention is devoted to taking care of health problems after they occur - just think about all the hospitals, medical-device manufacturers, ambulances, insurance plans and medical personnel that are out there. But very little effort...

Avatar plans to develop land near Tucson. (Avatar Holdings Inc.; Arizona)
January 23, 1998... Avatar Holdings has taken a new path to develop homes and commercial offices on the 35,000 acres it owns in Arizona and its home state of Florida. When Gerald Kelfer first studied Avatar Holdings of Coral Gables, Fla., in 1995, he was struck...

America West reports record sales, income. (America West Holdings Corp.; Arizona businesses' earnings)
January 23, 1998... America West Holdings Corp. (NYSE: AWA), parent company of America West Airlines Inc., reported record pretax income, net income and sales for the fourth quarter and full year 1997. Fourth quarter pretax income was $35.7 million, up 112...

Big-picture visionary soars: risk taking led Keiper to wisdom. (a profile of Arizona Software Assn. Pres Will Keiper)
January 23, 1998... Risk taking led Keiper to wisdom One of the first things you notice about Will Keiper is his size: tall and brawny, a build one easily could mistake for that of a coach or maybe even a former athlete. He doesn't linger on the past, but...

Small businesses seek directors.(Strategies for Small Business)
January 23, 1998... Arizona's small businesses are in need of outside directors that could position them for growth, according to a recent survey. Eighty percent of the small businesses surveyed do not have people outside of family members or employees serving...

New plans offer legal insurance. (Irwin Development Corp.'s and National Legal Benefits Group's Small Business Legal Defense Plan)(Strategies for Small Business)
January 23, 1998... Small businesses seeking legal services at a lower cost than on an as-needed basis can check out two insurance plans made available recently by Valley companies. Irwin Development Corp., Mesa, and National Legal Benefits Group, Phoenix, are...

Scottsdale cigar company stoked about growth spurt. (Arizona-based cigar distributor, Premium Cigars International)(Strategies for Small Business)
January 23, 1998... Business is smoking for Premium Cigars International of Scottsdale. The company, which distributes premium cigars to convenience stores, raised $10 million in its initial public offering last August. Now, settled comfortably without a...

Business backs Hull on schools. (Arizona Gov Jane Hull)
January 16, 1998... Arizona business groups are lobbying as hard as ever for tax cuts but, like the governor, they are anxious to settle the turbulent school capital finance issue. The key agenda item from Gov. Jane Hull's fiscal year 1999 budget is improving...

Kinex close to $9M in funding. (Kinex IHA Corp.)
January 16, 1998... The Phoenix developer of a computerized measuring system that helps doctors see spine problems more clearly is getting its first glimpse of a payoff. Closing in on $9 million in second-round financing, Kinex IHA Corp. is generating revenue...

Unions target Valley health care workers. (Valley of the Sun, Arizona)
January 16, 1998... Three unions are uniting in an attempt to organize the Valley's health care work force. The National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees is working on a joint venture with the Communication Workers of America and the Arizona State...

Credit unions woo short-term borrowers.
January 16, 1998... Two Valley credit unions are planning promotions that will include new deals on refinancing of short-term loans, even before an expected cut in the federal lending rate. Some economists predict the Federal Reserve Board to cut rates in...

Unlikely hospital team buys medical equipment. (partnership between Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Phoenix Memorial Hospital)
January 16, 1998... A private hospital has teamed with a federal hospital to provide a $2 million high-tech machine to patients to avoid duplication of medical services. For the first time in its 48 years, the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center in...

New offices are sure bet at 24th St., Camelback. (Phoenix, AZ)
January 16, 1998... The Cine Capri movie theater may have gone down with the showing of Titanic, but development plans for the southwest corner of 24th Street and Camelback Road, Phoenix, are floating in a sea of uncertainty. Rest assured that development will...

McKee follows competition to Scottsdale. (transfer of W.B. McKee Securities Inc. offices to Scottsdale, Arizona)
January 16, 1998... W.B. McKee Securities Inc. has capped off three successful years with a move away from Phoenix's Central Avenue corridor to north Scottsdale. The move is tied into a three-pronged strategy by the firm, open since 1991 as a broker dealer, and...

Valley trucking firm drives sales growth. (WestEx)
January 16, 1998... Executives of WestEx anticipated success when the company began in 1995 with the acquisition of a Phoenix trucking firm. But they never expected revenue to grow from $17 million to $33 million in 1996 so quickly after restructuring the...

Suit aids US West options. (federal judge's ruling allowing it to offer long-distance telephone services in Phoenix, Arizona)
January 9, 1998... US West hopes to begin Offering long-distance calls in Phoenix within the next 30 to 45 days, a feat that could make it the first Baby Bell in the country to offer the service in its home territory. The company is wasting no time taking....

'So good, it's scary.' (North Scottsdale's office development boom)
January 9, 1998... Companies fuel surge in N. Scottsdale Four years ago, Concord Mortgage moved from Scottsdale to the midtown area of central Phoenix to take advantage of a healthy labor pool, Today the company is moving to north Scottsdale. "Now, 90...

NovaCare expansion hits Valley. (Arizona)
January 9, 1998... NovaCare Inc., a major player in the nation's health care industry, is using its acquisition of an Arizona company as a gateway to the West for a major expansion into the employee-leasing industry. NovaCare Employee Services Inc. of...

Water supply could snag Del Webb developments. (two land parcels in Prescott Valley, Arizona)
January 9, 1998... Lack of future water supplies could disrupt Del Webb Corp.'s plans to develop two land parcels in Prescott Valley into master-planned communities. One of the parcels, known as the Glassford Hills Road Tract, would contain 3,300...

JPI apartment developer eyes site in central city. (JPI Apartment Development; Phoenix, Arizona)
January 9, 1998... Valley newcomer IPI Apartment Development could get the green light this week on plans to add a 396-unit complex in central Phoenix. The Texas venture, whose affiliate recently started construction of a Phoenix area project, is included in...

Health system changes name. (Scottsdale Memorial Health System changes its name to Scottsdale Healthcare)
January 9, 1998... Scottsdale Memorial Health System, which has been growing and adding new services for several years, is changing its name to Scottsdale Healthcare. SCOTTSDALE HEALTHCARE [SM] Old name New name Scottsdale...

Harley-Davidson dealer caters to affluent clients.
January 9, 1998... When banking executive Rich Lehmann flies from Banc One Corp. headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, to his second home in the Valley, about all he wants to do is get on his hog, open up on the throttle and cut loose. Thanks to a new...

State Savings merges with Cincinnati bank. (Fifth Third Bancorp.)
January 9, 1998... State Savings Co., parent company of State Savings Bank, headquartered in Scottsdale, is merging with Fifth Third Bancorp in one of the first banking acquisitions in 1998. State Savings, a federally chartered bank, will be renamed Fifth...

Mini-woes for mini-bars. (hotel service)
January 9, 1998... Lackluster profits leading some hotels to clean out in-room bars To mini-bar or not to mini-bar? The answer depends largely upon what type of hotel or resort those well-stocked, in-room refrigerators are located, according to Valley hotel and...

More new businesses start in West. (Arizona's small business)(Industry Overview)
January 9, 1998... The West is edging out other regions as the place to take a chance and start up a small business. Of the roughly 3 million small businesses created from scratch in 1996, more than 1 million were in the West, according to Business Starts and...

The show must go on. (Southwest TV provides on-site broadcasting services for television networks and other large corporations)
January 9, 1998... Southwest TV finds first equity investors To Larry Meyers, the world of small business isn't too different from a religious experience. "Our clients who use us are believers," said the founder of Southwest TV, a 14-year-old Tempe company...