The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from May 1999

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from May 1999

Big boost for Spanish web site.(Quepasa.com Inc.'s initial public offering)
May 7, 1999... Quepasa.com Inc., which created the first Spanish-language Internet gateway in Phoenix, has launched a $40 million initial public offering and added three heavy hitters to its board room. Gary Trujillo, president and chief executive officer...

Small banks show interest in buying Wells Fargo sites.(34 Arizona branches)
May 7, 1999... Next fall may be shopping season for Arizona banks, title agencies anti other businesses looking to expand their operations. Wells Fargo announced last week that it will close 35 Arizona branches in October - including 22 in the Valley - as...

US West's reorganization puts Stack in strategic role.(Bill Stack)
May 7, 1999... Bill Stack, US West's general manager for Arizona, will assume a higher profile through a reorganization that leaves him in charge of market strategy for the phone company's 14-state territory. Stack's new role is critical for the company...

Growth pushes software maker into new quarters.(Training Associates Inc.)
May 7, 1999... There's an expensive-looking joystick to the right of Dave Perkovich's computer monitor, barely visible from the visitor's seat in his office. He admits he uses it to play Quake and Delta Force, his favorite work-time diversions. "But I...

Poore Brothers bets chips on acquisitions for growth.(acquisition of Wabash Foods LLC)
May 7, 1999... Poore Brothers Inc.'s focus on acquisitions is continuing as the Goodyear company known for its crunchy potato chips furthers its quest for profitability. A May 3 announcement that the business has signed a letter of intent to acquire...

Number of employees may double Cottonwood.(Cottonwood Technologies Group Inc.)
May 7, 1999... To Douglas Bleethe, outsourcing isn't such a dirty word. Cottonwood Technologies Group Inc. - his 7-year-old Denver company that houses most of its operations in Scottsdale - expects to nearly double its employee base to 40 this year. It...

Generous patriarch: energetic attorney shows he has heart.(Harry Cavanagh, founding partner of O'Connor Cavanagh Anderson Killingsworth & Beshears)
May 7, 1999... Harry J. Cavanagh has been described as a mentor, a leader and a gentleman. You could add vigor. The co-founder of law firm O'Connor Cavanagh Anderson Killingsworth & Beshears in Phoenix is still practicing law at 75 and remains...

Arizona's No. 1 company is forever alive and well.(Arizona's Top 100: A Look at the State's Largest Private Companies)(Forever Living Products International Inc.)
May 7, 1999... Every other month, Rex Maughan uses a different passport. He has two. While he carries one in his international travels three weeks out of each month, the other is used by his Scottsdale staff to obtain visas for his next whirlwind trip....

Companies with staying power celebrate longevity.(Arizona's Top 100: A Look at the State's Largest Private Companies)
May 7, 1999... Being in business a few decades doesn't always pave the way to success. "It's the little things day in and day out that make a difference," said Jeff Whiteman, vice president and general manager of Empire Southwest. "Recognizing...

Sun Valley sets shining example to retain employees.(Arizona's Top 100: A Look at the State's Largest Private Companies)
May 7, 1999... In 1979 Ken Meffler approached his employer at Otto Baum & Sons Masonry near Peoria, Ill., with a proposal to become part of the company's management team. Robert Baum and his three brothers suggested Meffler relocate to Arizona and lay...

Private businesses follow trend in revenue gains.(Arizona's Top 100: A Look at the State's Largest Private Companies)
May 7, 1999... 15-YEAR INDUSTRY REVENUE ANALYSIS Industry 1999 1985 % revenue revenue increase Retail services $3.8 billion N/A Construction/real estate 3.6 billion $1.7...

Allied Waste.(Rising Stars: A Look at What's Behind the Remarkable Success of Two Arizona Companies)(Allied Waste Industries)
May 14, 1999... Tom Van Weelden takes a swig of water from a bottle, checks a fax that's coming through and talks on about his company's success. "The interesting part was I never focused on what is big, what is small," he says, as he takes a phone call....

Mobile Mini.(Rising Stars: A Look at What's Behind the Remarkable Success of Two Arizona Companies)
May 14, 1999... Dick Bunger had a reputation for treating conventional ideas the way a rodeo bull treats its rider. Bunger, a dairy and rodeo designer with more than 70 patents to his name, was notorious for bucking the traditional way and creating new...

Last big move for Motorola?(spinoffs of Motorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Components Group)
May 14, 1999... After Motorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Products Sector exited the memory chip market in 1997, Hector Ruiz warned it wasn't the last division the company would drop. So he figures no one should have been surprised this week after he announced...

Other tech firms born from spinoffs.(Motorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Components Group)
May 14, 1999... This week's spinoff of Motorola's Semiconductor Components Group won't he the first time a Valley company has broken from its corporate parent to stand on its own two feet. Three-Five Systems Inc., Microchip Technologies Inc. and ADFlex...

Business groups to push more tax issues in 2000.(Arizona)
May 14, 1999... While the 1999 Arizona legislative session included several significant tax cuts, taxes will remain a hot topic next year. Business groups already are pinpointing areas to address, including the multistate apportionment formula sales factor...

Tucson hospital system laying off another 175.(Carondelet Health Network)
May 14, 1999... Carondelet Health Network is laying off 175 more employees, bringing the total to 385 people within the past two months. These staff reductions are half of a $43 million turnaround plan designed to nurse the ailing Tucson hospital system...

McMurry hired as ad agency for $4 billion semiconductor maker.(McMurry Ad Group; STMicroelectronics of France)
May 14, 1999... McMurry Ad Group has snagged a multimillion-dollar advertising account with a $4.25 billion semiconductor manufacturer, marking the Phoenix ad agency's debut on the international scene. As advertising agency of record for STMicroelectronics...

Assisted-living company gains $15 million in funds.(Merrill Gardens LLC)
May 14, 1999... A $15 million blast of new capital may help Merrill Gardens LLC grab a larger slice of the assisted-living market. The infusion of equity funding comes while the Seattle-based company is in the process of building several new...

Rental agreement: rapid growth propels little-known industry into the spotlight.(equipment-rental industry)
May 14, 1999... The industry built around renting storage units, cement mixers, fork lifts and shovels may seem dull and uninteresting - particularly if you're bored by truckloads of money. Because to companies looking for a growth industry still in its...

Merger changes cost Arizona's largest banks millions.
May 14, 1999... As two of Arizona's largest banks stand poised to change their signs, computers and staff within the next few months, one natural question arises: What will it cost? Wells Fargo and Bank of America both are preparing to spend big bucks to...

Valley roots boost US West expansion.
May 21, 1999... Denver is US West's official home, but when it comes to the phone company's future, executives say Phoenix has set the stage for its presence in the international arena. The company announced this week that it is merging with Global...

Group helps young firms.(Protech)
May 21, 1999... He helped establish the Arizona Venture Capital Conference, had a hanoi in the creation of the Arizona Technology Incubator anti remains active in several other groups devoted to helping fledgling tech start-ups off the ground. Now Quinn...

Bookstores fighting mad.
May 21, 1999... Independent bookstores in the Valley are teaming up with their counterparts nationwide to fight back as national chains and Internet sales eat away at their business. Their effort is dubbeb "Book Sense," a marketing concept originated by...

Fun & games.(employee benefits)
May 21, 1999... Benefits don't have to be all wet It's a war zone outside Jay Luber's office at North American Mortgage Co. in Phoenix. Employees run through a maze of cubicles, squirting each other from head to toe with company-issue water guns. ...

Pleasant Valley Ranch draws ire of neighbors.
May 21, 1999... A proposal for a master-planned community for all ages next to Sun City West has sparked opposition from the retirement community. After meetings with residents in the retirement community, and after redrawing the master plan to comply with...

Phoenix software maker takes wing with airlines.(Integrated Lodging Service Inc.)
May 21, 1999... A Phoenix start-up company that creates software for airlines has cut a deal to fly tandem with a leader in the field. Phoenix-based Integrated Lodging Service Inc., a maker of software that coordinates airline crew's hotel and...

Swimming pool device senses when tots are near.
May 21, 1999... Two Valley companies are diving into the pool-alarm market with products that sound an alert when kids are just a few feet from the water. Watchful Eye Pool Security Systems Corp. in Fountain Hills will start selling 24hr Pool Watch later...

Baptist looks for partner.(Baptist Hospitals and Health Systems Inc.)
May 28, 1999... Baptist Hospitals and Health Systems Inc. is looking for a partner as it re-evaluates its Arizona operations. The health system has hired investment banking firm Morgan Stanley Dean Witter to help it develop a list of candidates and...

NeoPlanet on solid ground with $18M in venture funds.
May 28, 1999... Drew Cohen wants to stick it to the Internet portals, not to mention AOL and a few outdated notions about what it means to be Online. The chief executive of Phoenix software maker NeoPlanet Inc., is confident he's found a way to make the...

Phoenix in the running for new auto-brake plant.(Creative Friction Inc.)
May 28, 1999... An unusual type of high-tech company may be hitting the brakes to set up a manufacturing operation in the Valley this summer. David Moody, president of Creative Friction Inc., has been trying to decide where to set up his high-performance...

Volunteers sought for national trial on prevention of breast cancer.
May 28, 1999... St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix is recruiting volunteers for a national breast cancer prevention trial. The study comparing the use of the drugs tamoxifen and raloxifene is one of the largest breast cancer prevention...

Metro Phoenix bucks trend in giving to the arts.
May 28, 1999... Giving to art and cultural groups nationwide has decreased for the second year in a row. But observers say the picture in the Valley is somewhat different. Giving to arts, culture and humanities organizations decreased nationally from...

Del Webb selects Chicago ad agency for Sun Cities.
May 28, 1999... Del Webb Corp. has followed the flight path of America West Airlines and taken a huge advertising account out of Arizona. The Phoenix developer has awarded its Sun Cities business to Publicis & Hal Riney in Chicago. The ad agency will...

Gainey Village spa offers mix of high-tech, unusual.
May 28, 1999... Judy Snow and her staff work out of a trailer camped in a dirt parking lot. But the humble digs look out on a bold structure that soon will become their luxurious home, The Spa at Gainey Village. The trailer has operated as the sales...