Orlando Business Journal articles from March 1996

Orlando Business Journal archives from March 1996

Hertz sales drop since move off airport.
March 15, 1996... When Hertz moved off Orlando International Airport property, it envisioned capturing more of the rental car leisure market. What it did not foresee was a 15.17 percent drop in revenues in its first four months of operations at the new...

AMC, Jaymont close on downtown cinema. (AMC Theatres; Jaymont Realty)
March 15, 1996... AMC Theatres, which already operates three area multiplex cinemas, is in advanced discussions with Jaymont Realty to build and operate a 24-screen theater in downtown Orlando. Tim McGriff, marketing director for AMC's Clearwater-based...

Pinnacle plans to open out-of-state offices. (Pinnacle Financial Corp.)
March 15, 1996... Orlando-based mortgage company Pinnacle Financial Corp. has begun an aggressive out-of-state expansion program, with immediate plans to open loan offices in Virginia, Maryland and Tennessee. CEO Doug Long says Pinnacle will open three loan...

Southern States Utilities looks for ways to pump up revenues.
March 15, 1996... Southern States Utilities Inc. is working on new ways to flush profits from its water and sewage treatment systems. The Apopka-based company hopes to grow its bottom line by hooking up more customers to existing systems, possibly acquiring...

Disney takes 'contrarian view' against casinos on cruise ships. (Walt Disney Co.)
March 15, 1996... Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner's recent declaration that Disney Cruise Line's two ships would not have on-board gambling could have left the impression the absence of casinos always was a given. In fact, the decision wasn't made...

New Black Bear course gobbles up market share. (golf course in Central Florida)
March 15, 1996... For eight years, Richard Stein worked six days a week and was on call 24 hours a day on Wall Street. He says he made "obscene" amounts of money. Selling derivatives for an international bank was a perfect job -- for a while. After he...

Rio Pinar hopes makeover will bring back its appeal. (Rio Pinar Country Club)
March 15, 1996... Rio Pinar Country Club has had a grand tradition in Orlando. Opened in 1957, it is the second-oldest golf course there. It hosted what is row the Bay Hill Classic for 13 years. It hosted an LPGA tournament for four years. It used to be...

Negative Avatar report doesn't hurt sales at Poinciana. (Avatar Holdings Inc.)
March 15, 1996... A recent article in The Wall Street Journal highlighting alleged unethical lot sales practices by Coral Gables-based Avatar Holdings Inc. "hasn't hurt at all" the company's current record home sales pace at its mammoth Poinciana development in...

Banks ask judge to lift Chapter 11 stay on Hallmark. (Hallmark Builders Inc.)
March 15, 1996... South Trust Bank of Florida and Peoples First Community Bank of Panama City are asking U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur B. Briskman to lift the Chapter 11 stay on Hallmark Builders Inc. so the banks can start separate foreclosure actions against...

Fast-growing Sawtek going public. (electronics manufacturer Sawtek Inc.)
March 8, 1996... Electronics manufacturer Sawtek Inc. of Apopka is going public with its stock to raise an estimated $27 million for repaying debt and generating capital for operations and possible acquisitions. The company intends to offer 4.5 million shares...

MCI link prescription for growth for md/tv. (MCI Communications Corp establishes marketing alliance with Multimedia Medical Systems Inc.)
March 8, 1996... Telecommunications giant MCI is taking an equity stake in Multimedia Medical Systems Inc., the parent company of Maitland's md/tv inc., under a new marketing alliance. MMS will package MCI services - long distance, wireless, paging, local...

Manufacturers producing jobs. (Seminole Precast Inc.)
March 1, 1996... After a brief downturn in business in early 1995, Seminole Precast Inc. of Sanford has retooled itself and become a thriving small manufacturer. President Martin Neiswander attributes his company's growth to the development of better...

Maitland gets office project. (AmDev Corp.'s office building construction at Maitland Center)
March 1, 1996... Orlando-based AmDev Corp., headed by Don Moore, plans to break ground by June on a 275,000-square-foot, two-building, Class A office complex in Maitland Center, the tightest office sub-market in Central Florida. The $20 million project will...

Sterling, London bank team on trade finance. (Sterling Finance International and West Merchant Bank Ltd. deal on trade finance products)
March 1, 1996... Sterling Finance International of Orlando has signed a 12-month joint operating agreement with West Merchant Bank Ltd. of London, England, to market the trade finance products of West Merchant's Capital Markets Forfaiting Unit in the United...

Large beer distribution center opens in Orlando Central Park. (Smith Cartage Inc.)
March 1, 1996... Miami-based Smith Cartage Inc. has opened a 50,000-square-foot distribution center in Orlando that, indirectly, will serve beer drinkers across the Sunshine State. The company recently won a three-year contract to ship Coors products to...

Home health biz just what the doctors ordered. (Complete Home Health Care Services Inc.)(Success Story)
March 1, 1996... Because it is owned by two doctors, Complete Home Health Care Services Inc. had problems attracting business when it opened. But things quickly turned around for the firm - because it is owned by two doctors. "In the beginning, it was...

Luck helped Airport Industrial Park get Allpoints. (Allpoints Warehousing Co. and Webb International Inc. property deal)(Anatomy of a Deal)
March 1, 1996... Based on value, it was the largest commercial/industrial real estate lease of 1995 in Central Florida - 210,000 square feet for five years at $6 million - but it barely made the media. "We were just too busy putting more bread on the table"...