Orlando Business Journal articles from October 1994

Orlando Business Journal archives from October 1994

Competitors gobble up Newtrend. (Newtrend Group)
October 28, 1994... After a messy legal dispute and months of speculation over the future of Newtrend, two gigantic competitors have swooped in to divvy up the company's remaining assets. Today, the Newtrend that once was Central Florida's third largest...

Downtown biz district fights off 'gentrification': city's quiet plan to make area more upscale meets loud resistance from business owners. (East Washington Street, Orlando, Florida)
October 28, 1994... Julius Blum wants Tom Kohler to take his twinkle lights and go home. "It's ridiculous, ridiculous, spending tax money for this," says the owner of American Plumbing on East Washington Street. Six blocks away, Downtown Development Board...

Airport 2000: gates, customs key to growth. (Orlando International Airport)
October 28, 1994... New growth forecasts show Orlando International Airport will need at least 90 new gates and a federal inspection station before 2000. Airport officials also have determined the airport's planned fourth airside terminal will be able to...

UF exonerates Benlate scientist: university says expert witness testimony no conflict. (University of Florida; Gary Simone)
October 28, 1994... The University of Florida's legal counsel has ruled that a state scientist's private work on behalf of Du Pont in Puerto Rico "did not constitute a conflict of interest" with the scientist's public work at the university investigating whether a...

GOAA abandons, rebids auditing contract: airport hires Ernst & Young after key Coopers & Lybrand executives leaves firm. (Greater Orlando Aviation Authority)
October 28, 1994... The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has canceled a three-year auditing contract with Coopers & Lybrand after just one year, and has awarded the contract to Ernst & Young. The reason? Christine Hill left Coopers & Lybrand. Hill led the...

Landing the big ones. (Orlando, Florida's convention sales industry catches the biggest contracts) (Meetings and Conventions)
October 28, 1994... Armed with an expanding convention center, strong attendance figures and tons of reasons people should visit, Orlando's convention sales industry casts the net far and wide and catches some of the biggest conventions on the planet. In terms...

Center expansion a boon for convention sales effort. (Orange County Convention-Civic Center, Orlando, Florida) (Meetings and Conventions)
October 28, 1994... Some groups, no matter how badly they want to, cannot hold their conventions in Orlando now because the Orange County Convention Center is not big enough. But that will change quite dramatically very soon. The convention center is well...

Even at convention center, Ackert still plays with fire. (Orange County Convention-Civic Center; Tom Ackert) (Meetings and Conventions)
October 28, 1994... No one actually calls Tom Ackert a fireman. But after 17 years putting out political brushfires for Orange County, maybe someone should. "That's certainly been his history with the county," says Orange County Chairman Linda Chapin. "It's...

Sentinel, state negotiating on TCE. (Orlando Sentinel; Florida Department of Environmental Protection; trichloroethane contamination of ground water)
October 21, 1994... Talks stall over required cleanup level The Orlando Sentinel and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have been negotiating terms under which the Sentinel would accept responsibility for the cleanup of a huge plume of...

Hospitals want ambulance biz. (ambulance services)
October 21, 1994... Orlando's three hospital systems are looking at adding ambulance services or expanding the transportation services they already provide. The hospitals say they can save a lot of money by operating their own ambulance services between health...

Rosen, parimutuels ready if voters approve casinos. (hotelier Harris Rosen)
October 21, 1994... Prominent local hotelier Harris Rosen plans to build a 100,000-square-foot casino near the Orange County Convention Center if voters approve a casino gambling proposition on the Nov. 8 ballot. Four other area casinos also are in the works if...

German deal fuels Transpo's growth; company to add space, 100 workers. (Transpo Electronics Inc.'s purchase of Motemtronic Electroteile Vertriebs GmbH)
October 21, 1994... Transpo Electronics Inc.'s recent purchase of Motemtronic Electroteile Vertriebs GmbH in Lubbecke, Germany, is expected to bring substantial growth in both revenue and employment to the Orlando rectifiers and voltage regulators manufacturer....

Feldman-Stein to buy One Orlando Centre. (Feldman Equities and Realty Corp.; Stein Family Trust)
October 21, 1994... Feldman Equities of New York and the Stein Family Trust of Orlando and London have reached an agreement in principle with General Electric Capital Corp. to buy the 19-story, 424,429-square-foot One Orlando Centre -- formerly Olympia Place --...

Pair outbids ex-employees for Automation Intelligence. (Larry B. Newman and Bob Romano)
October 21, 1994... Automation Intelligence, an Orlando company that makes computer hardware and software used in automated manufacturing processes, has been sold to two South Florida investors following a bidding war in Seminole County Circuit Court. The...

More doctors form networks to get managed care contracts.
October 21, 1994... More doctors in the Orlando area are forming networks to contract with managed care companies and allow physicians to be more efficient by taking advantage of economies of scale. One of the newest networks is the Central Florida Integrated...

Bank to buy Twin Towers; Doubletree may manage it. (Bank of America; Twin Towers Hotel and Convention Center; Doubletree Hotels Corp.)
October 21, 1994... The Bank of America has signed a letter of intent to buy the Twin Towers Hotel and Convention Center from OTT Hotel Associates Ltd., which filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors last November. If a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approves...

Park Square Enterprises building on rapid growth.
October 21, 1994... Anil Deshpande recalls the first subdivision he put up in Central Florida 10 years ago. It was Sherwood Forest -- 112 small homes and duplexes. Deshpande managed the project. It was a success, and it convinced him and his partners, Suresh Gupta...

Bonds throw baseball deal a curve.
October 14, 1994... Local officials, owners revisiting stadium lease to keep bonds tax-exempt Local government officials and Orlando's would-be Major League Baseball franchise owners are taking another look at the lease for their proposed baseball stadium and...

International sports firm picks Orlando. (Synergy Sports Marketing USA Inc.)
October 14, 1994... An international sports marketing company, whose clients range from major airlines to MasterCard, has chosen Orlando as its American headquarters. Synergy Sports Marketing USA Inc. opened its doors Sept. 19 in the Coral Gables Federal...

Pyramid builders now look at Lake. (Pyramids Unlimited Inc.)(Lake County, Florida)
October 14, 1994... A company that wants to build two pyramid mausoleums has its eyes set on Lake County now that it has been thwarted in Sumter County. Pyramids Unlimited Inc. has withdrawn its zoning application to build its controversial $200 million project...

Arbor wins OK to build Osceola subacute care center. (Arbor Health Care Co.)(Osceola County, Florida)
October 14, 1994... Arbor Health Care Co., which opened a 113-bed subacute health care center in Altamonte Springs in January, plans to open a similar center in Osceola County. Arbor recently received a certificate of need from the state to build a 120-bed...

Expressway looks to partners for help in next 20 years. (Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, Florida)
October 14, 1994... The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority cannot afford to do all it wants. So it plans to change the way it builds roads and look closer at what it does build over the next 20 years. The authority proposes $701 million of roadway...

Computer security pays rent, but virtual reality is his vision. (Paradigm Shift R&D owner Jack Permison)
October 14, 1994... He works about 18 hours each day and has had one date in the last three years. But Jack Permison, the 23-year-old president of Paradigm Shift R&D in Altamonte Springs, likes it that way. His 1-year-old company has eked out a modest living...

Sonny's recipe for success includes big pinch of magic. (Sonny's Franchise Co.)
October 14, 1994... Bob Yarmuth's first experience with Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q was a takeout pork sandwich on Oakridge Road. Ten years later, he rode in like a white knight and saved the company from almost certain financial ruin. But don't credit him for...

RSR's revenues shoot up because of crime, Congress. (RSR Group Inc.) (Company Profile)
October 14, 1994... Guns haven't always been part of Robert C. Steger's life. In fact, it wasn't until he was a teenager that Steger, now president of one of the nation's largest wholesale firearms distributorships, took an interest in guns. "I really had no...

Exec: new Gale Group 'straight up as they come.' (Gale Group Inc.) (Company Profile)
October 14, 1994... In late 1993, Joseph Biafore thought he was retiring. Gary Gale thought he wasn't. Both men were wrong. One year after Gale Group Inc. was bought by a consortium of well-connected Los Angeles investors, Gary Gale is no longer with the...

'Tube guru' stays cool on path of controlled growth. (S&H Fabricating and Engineering Inc.) (Company Profile)
October 14, 1994... "One of the biggest thrills of my life was the first time I went to a Cadillac dealership, raised the hood up on a car and saw the parts I make in it," said Jack Hutchings in his acceptance speech at the Horatio Alger Award ceremony in 1990....

'Laws' of corporate culture secret to Coleman's success. (Coleman Research Corp.) (Company Profile)
October 14, 1994... Artillery got Jeff Coleman to college. Pool halls kept him there. Today, Coleman Research Corp. is lauded as one of the country's top entrepreneurial success stories. Revenues topped $105 million this year. Coleman Research is slated to...

Carroll Fulmer's kids ready to take wheel. (Carroll Fulmer Group Inc.) (Company Profile)
October 14, 1994... When Carroll Fulmer graduated from high school in rural South Carolina, he knew two things for certain: he didn't want to farm and he didn't want to live in poverty. In 1953, those were about the only two options available to his graduating...

Revenue drop doesn't worry Williams. (Williams Co.) (Company Profile)
October 14, 1994... Company CEO says decline a result of aggressive expansion outside Florida Taking risks is not something most 74-year-old companies are known for. But two years, ago, Bruce Williams, president of family-owned general contractor Williams...

Services firms top Golden 50; 1993 strong for all sectors.
October 14, 1994... This year's Golden 50 list shows that a lot of good things are happening for metro Orlando's privately held companies. Combined revenues of this year's 50 top privately held companies in Central Florida jumped 15.7 percent to $3.9 billion,...

Local firm hopes product catches fire. (Marketing and Sales International) (Small Business Strategies)
October 14, 1994... A 4-year-old Lake Mary technology matchmaking company is poised to spin off a separate company to market a new Canadian firefighting tool in the Southeast. The new company, to be called Marketing & Sales International, will be spun off later...

How to hire, manage the best sales staff.
October 14, 1994... Effective sales management requires that you do four things: * Know what you want your salespeople to do. * Make sure they know what you want them to do. * Train them how to do it. * Motivate them to want to do it. What to...

Crime rates in casino cities lower than those in Florida.
October 14, 1994... Editor's note: The following is excerpted from a study by Ted Chiricos, professor at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. The study was commissioned by Proposition for Limited Casinos Inc. Available...

Big fish jumps off Orlando's line. (manufacturer decide not to locate facility in Orlando, Florida)
October 7, 1994... Rent dispute may lead manufacturer to take 1,000 jobs elsewhere A national manufacturer that would have brought 650 to 1,000 jobs to Orlando has walked away from a deal for 80,000 square feet at Orlando Central Park and is looking to put the...

South Lake, hospital giants talk affiliation. (South Lake Memorial Hospital)
October 7, 1994... Orlando's three hospital systems are talking to South Lake Memorial Hospital in Clermont about affiliating with the independent hospital. South Lake officials say they have held "general discussions" with representatives from Florida...

Magic disappearing act would be costly to many. (Orlando Magic basketball team; rumored strike or lockout in the National Basketball Association)
October 7, 1994... Baseball's playoffs were scheduled to start Oct. 4, but the parks remain quiet. The hockey season was scheduled to start Oct. 1, but the arenas remain dark. The Magic start preseason Oct. 14, but a dark cloud hangs over the Orlando Arena...

Lab documents indicate herbicide was found in benlate-treated soil.
October 7, 1994... Lab documents surfacing in a Hawaii Benlate lawsuit indicate Du Pont's trial attorneys were notified by mid-1993 that Benlate-treated soil in four states was contaminated with a powerful Du Pont-developed herbicide. The raw data is at odds...

Gallagher looking at cabinet races? (Florida Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher)
October 7, 1994... The rumor du jour in Tallahassee is that Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher will pull a Jim Smith and rebound from his losing Republican gubernatorial race by inserting himself into a cabinet race. One version of the rumor has Gallagher...

State to study why some tourists don't come. (Florida)
October 7, 1994... State tourism officials want to know why more travelers are not coming to Florida. And with thousands of dollars in help from the tourism industry, the Florida Division of Tourism will do a study to get some answers. In turn, the Orange...

Texas group loses LifeCo takeover bid. (Capital Clearing Corp.)
October 7, 1994... A Delaware bankruptcy court has cut short a Texas company's attempt to take over Orlando's LifeCo Investment Group -- the upshot of an unusual loan involving the Texas business, eight unidentified lenders and two LifeCo executives. According...

Area simulation consortium fired up about new member.
October 7, 1994... Central Florida's federally funded simulation and training consortium is on the verge of signing up its first official member: the National Fire Academy, located in Emmitsburg, Md. The academy, the only national academy for training...

City finds potential African quarter anchor. (Orlando, Florida)
October 7, 1994... Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood says she hopes to meet early next year with a potential anchor tenant for the proposed African Quarter entertainment district on Church Street west of Interstate 4. Hood would not reveal the identity of the potential...

Sanford yacht builder closes. (Rex Meyer Yachts Inc.)
October 7, 1994... Rex Meyer Yachts Inc., a Sanford yacht builder that employed up to 100 people, closed its doors in mid-September. J. Walter Rex, the company's North Palm Beach owner, blames a seven-figure hole dug by a former partner. "I had a partner who...

PruCare plans expansion into east, west Orange, Brevard. (Prudential Health Care System of Orlando)
October 7, 1994... The Prudential Health Care System of Orlando is opening two new facilities in Orange County totaling up to 73,000 square feet, and hopes to enter the Brevard County market next year, says Andrew Crooks, Prudential's executive director....

City unfreezes shuttle permits. (Orlando, Florida)
October 7, 1994... The freeze on shuttle van and luxury sedan permits has melted. Orlando City Council lifted a moratorium Oct. 3 on issuing permits to luxury sedans and shuttle vans. It also passed amendments to its vehicles-for-hire ordinance that will result...

Orlando backs off on NTC-Semoran connector road. (Orlando, Florida)
October 7, 1994... Opposition from the Winter Park Pines neighborhood has caused the city of Orlando to think twice about adding a new four-lane east-west connector from the Orlando Naval Training Center property east to Semoran Boulevard. "If Winter Park is...

Rooms are filling up at Courtyard inns.
October 7, 1994... The Courtyard at Lake Lucerne just feels like a piece of history. As guests prepare to enter the Norment-Parry Inn -- one of three homes that make up the bed-and-breakfast -- they are welcomed by a white picket fence, fuchsia flowers, an...

Orlando airports get millions from feds.
October 7, 1994... Orlando International Airport will get $11.4 million in unexpected federal money to pay for runway repairs and other projects, and Orlando Executive Airport will receive $1.3 million. The money comes from the federal Department of...

Health Central opts out of state retirement plan.
October 7, 1994... West Orange Healthcare District, which includes Health Central, has switched to a new retirement plan that eventually will save about $1.6 million a year. The district board of trustees voted Sept. 27 to get out of the expensive Florida...

How Angebilt kept county - for a while.
October 7, 1994... The signing of metro Orlando's largest pure office lease of the year -- 84,000 square feet in downtown Orlando -- has gone by almost unnoticed. Yet the $5 million deal at the 11-story, 70-year-old Angebilt Building, 37 N. Orange Ave., is a...

Heistand sees Eola Park Centre as site for next downtown tower. (Associated Capital Properties Inc. Pres. James R. Heistand)
October 7, 1994... The next new downtown Orlando office tower could be built in a hurry if James R. Heistand has his way. It would adjoin the 15-story, 183,000-square-foot Eola Park Centre at 200 E. Robinson St. "We would like to do it tomorrow if the owners...

Brokers debut report detailing blocks of space. (Commercial First Properties)
October 7, 1994... TABULAR DATA OMITTED Commercial First Properties, a two-broker, 1-year-old firm, has come out with metro Orlando's first commercial real estate report devoted exclusively to reporting on available amounts of large, contiguous space. "It's...

Office vacancy up downtown in third quarter. (Orlando, Florida)
October 7, 1994... The downtown Orlando office market remains tight, even though two real estate surveys show the vacancy rate there increased in the third quarter of 1994. "The one factor that shot it down was AT&T vacating 60,000 square feet at SunBank...

Decision to form own brokerage pays off for Monroe. (Monroe Group Inc. President Lorene Monroe)
October 7, 1994... From a furniture manufacturing marketer to an office leasing and sales specialist for other bosses to company president -- that's the career path of Lorene Monroe, founder, president and the one-person staff of the Monroe Group Inc., an Orlando...

Property prices rising as result of REIT boom. (real estate investment trusts)
October 7, 1994... Good apartment investments 'increasingly difficult to find' The real estate investment trust explosion and the trend toward securitization of real estate have driven up property values -- especially for apartments and industrial products --...

Heistand buys three office buildings around Florida. (developer James R. Heistand)
October 7, 1994... Orlando investor-developer James R. Heistand has purchased three office properties totaling 635,000 square feet in Jacksonville, Tampa and St. Petersburg for $13.25 million, or an average $20.86 per square foot. That's an astonishing value...

Airport gives B&S Diversified biggest job in company's history.
October 7, 1994... B&S Diversified, a Winter Park construction company, has been awarded a contract to renovate Continental's space at Orlando International Airport. The company bid $705,435 on the contract to refurbish the airline's ticket counters, baggage...

ORHS considers buying the rest of South Seminole. (Orlando Regional Healthcare System; South Seminole Hospital)
October 7, 1994... Orlando Regional Healthcare System is looking at buying South Seminole Hospital in Longwood. If a planned merger of two major hospital companies is approved, two of Orlando's competing hospital systems -- Columbia Park Healthcare System and...