Denver Business Journal articles from April 1996

Denver Business Journal archives from April 1996

Colorado's stealth economy: secret satellite plants spend billions, employ thousands; 'black' dollars rev up growth. (includes related articles)
April 5, 1996... After World War II, the federal government pumped billions of secret Cold War dollars into Rocky Flats, Cheyenne Mountain and Martin Marietta, transforming the Front Range into a major defense center. Today, billions more "invisible" federal...

Details emerge on state's role as key spy hub.(Colorado's stealth economy)
April 5, 1996... Colorado's rising role in the U.S. reconnaissance mission has beamed billions of intelligence-budget dollars into the state and taken the economy to new heights. A glimpse into the Front Range spy plexus paints a picture of an expanding...

It's an industry's revolution: digital copiers transform printing with lower costs, less wait. (printing industry)
April 5, 1996... It's not quite in the league of the Gutenberg Bible, but there s a quiet revolution going on in the printing industry that is reshaping what small businesses may be able to expect when they order brochures and other collateral material in the...

IntelCom, utilities tag along: telecom biz uses fiber-optic lines. (Intelcom Group Inc.)
April 5, 1996... Intelcom Group Inc. is betting big on the dark horse of the telecommunications race - utilities. The Denver-based firm, which gives business customers an alternative for long-distance telephone service, plans to expand nationwide by accessing...

New golf courses meet growing demand.
April 5, 1996... Golfers in the metro area can expect to tee up at a couple of new golf courses this season, but will have to wait patiently until the grass grows at several other links now under construction. Meanwhile, more than 20 proposed golf courses...

Defense contractors keep lid on buildings: security cameras, motion detectors watch for possible intruders.
April 5, 1996... In the defense industry, the building of the future has been around for a decade, and it's expensive. While developers of standard office buildings scratched their heads over whether to install granite or marble floors, or to go up or out,...

Politics cloud FDA plan: Arkansas to gain from proposed closing of Denver lab.
April 12, 1996... The Food and Drug Administration, apparently with a well-wetted finger to the political winds, plans to close its Denver field laboratory and move the employees to a new "mega-lab" in President Clinton's home state. Denver's FDA lab is one of...

U S West: service improving. (U S West Communications)
April 12, 1996... Bell quietly tries to squelch data U S West Communications sharply improved the quality of its customer service last month, but it wants to squelch any further questions on the matter. At the end of February, the Englewood-based Baby Bell...

Here come the brides; high season opens as big stores battle small independents.(Industry Overview)
April 12, 1996... Standing before the full-length mirror, the young woman inspects her princess-like reflection as doting attendants adjust the billowing white folds of a satin dress. This fairy-tale scene turns into a true story daily at Bea's Bridal Nook,...

Cleaning up your business could save it. (office furniture repair companies)(Industry Overview)
April 12, 1996... Good news for small-business owners: If your office furniture is broken, out-of-date or leaning on its last legs, a number of companies out there can lend a cheap hand. In today's era of business belt-tightening, a new category of office...

Sheridan meltdown rocks munis; failure to pay on lease puts certificate investors on edge.
April 12, 1996... An effort by Sheridan to condemn its city headquarters could send jitters into the state's $1 billion certificate of participation market. Buyers of certificates of participation provide money for everything from state jails to police cars in...

'Reengineered' DBJ 150 focuses on growth. (Denver Business Journal's listing of area's fastest-growing companies)(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)
April 12, 1996... Inside: Vital information on area's fastest-growing companies in 1995 If you have any interest in Colorado's future as a place to do business, read on. If you are looking to find a job, advance your career or sell more of your company's...

Disk drives propel Integral Peripherals to top of DBJ 150.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Revenue soars 330% as products catch on Integral Peripherals owes its blockbuster growth in 1995 to durability and capacity of its mobile disk drives. The Boulder company enjoyed 330 percent growth in its fiscal year ended March 31, 1995,...

Planning for the worst is your best strategy.
April 12, 1996... Entrust company records to off-site specialists Natural disasters can hit at any time, but many small-business owners fail to plan for this when considering what to do with company records - the paper kind and the computerized kind. The fact...

Summit Consulting reaches new heights.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Systems consulting group focuses on smaller companies When Hal Van Hercke started the Summit Consulting Group Ltd. four years ago, his startup capital was the last paycheck from a job he had quit at a Big Six accounting firm. He and a partner...

Members of some HMOs enjoy rate cut. (health maintenance organizations)(Industry Overview)
April 12, 1996... Insurance regulators report small businesses benefit from reforms Here's a glimmer of hope for companies in the market to buy health insurance in Colorado this year - premium rates actually went down for one kind of coverage. The rates for...

Newspaper deal makes strange bedfellows.
April 12, 1996... Post parent buys eastern Colorado papers that rely on News' news It might be hard to imagine, but The Denver Post came close to having an indirect business relationship with its biggest rival, the Rocky Mountain News. The Post's parent, a...

Choice Travel doubles revenues.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Thirty-year-old corporate travel agency explodes during the 1990s A couple of years ago, when Gary Buderus and his fellow executives at Choice Travel Systems wrote a five-year growth plan for the company, he didn't figure they might have to...

Integrated Network Services doubles work with U S West.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Firm's dealings with Baby Bell boost company During 1995, Integrated Network Services Inc. doubled its business as a top agent of U S West Communications. This year promises even more opportunities for growth. INS has installed local phone...

Customer service lifts Office Solutions Inc.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Copier company grows 77 percent during fourth year Tim Auran of Lakewood-based Office Solutions Inc. believes his company has unlocked the secret to building a successful business: While the company grows, never forget your customers. During...

DSP puts its signature on high-profile projects. (DSP Builders)(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Denver contractor turns experience into revenue growth DSP Builders has enjoyed some dramatic growth lately: From 1994 to 1995, the company's revenues increased from $16.9 million to $28.5 million, or 68 percent. The construction company...

Expanding companies grow with Neenan Co.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Fort Collins builder lands contract with Oppenheimer The Neenan Co.'s list of clients during the last five years reads like a who's who of growing Colorado businesses. So it should come as no surprise that the Fort Collins-based contractor...

Starpak wraps up 1995 with 65% revenue hike.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Denver firm packages, distributes software for Fortune 500 companies You may never have heard of Starpak Inc., but the Denver-based company's packaging and distribution services may have helped some of your computer software arrive in one...

Health craze good news for Kaire International.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Nutritional, health products company grows 62 percent The health craze that has hit consumers is good news to Nick Mangeris. Mangeris is president of Kaire International, a health and nutritional products company based in Longmont that saw a...

Continued expansion on Raymond James Consulting's horizon.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Information systems consulting firm earns $16.2 million in 1995 In four years, Raymond James Consulting Inc. of Denver has risen from startup to a $16.2 million computer systems consulting firm with branches in Phoenix and Dallas. And,...

Elway dealerships turn 5, still growing. (John Elway Dealerships)(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Directory)
April 12, 1996... Aggressive strategy, big name push car dealer's revenue up It sure helps when John Elway is on your team. If the sport is football, just ask Vance Johnson about catching an Elway pass. If the business is selling cars, ask Rod Buscher about...

Capitol Packaging wraps up 1995 with 30 percent revenue growth.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Company offers problem solving, manufacturing Capitol Packaging Corp.'s ability to solve packaging problems sets it apart from the competition. But manufacturing corrugated boxes is the company's bread and butter. The Denver-based company...

DBJ 150 private companies ranked by total revenue. (tabular data only)(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Directory)
April 12, 1996... % Total revenue revenue growth Company ($ millions) 1995 1. The Gates...

Market, marketing help Hanifen, Imhoff earn near-record revenue.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)
April 12, 1996... Strong stock market, falling interest rates lift investment firm A strong investment market and effective marketing pushed Hanifen, Imhoff Holdings Inc. to one of its most profitable years ever. The 36-year-old Denver investment banking and...

McClain Finlon rakes in revenue, awards.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Company culture cited for strong performance in '95 It was a good year for McClain Finlon Advertising Inc. In 1995, the agency saw revenues jump 23 percent to $16 million. But increased revenue wasn't all the agency brought in. At last...

CH2M Hill Colorado's largest private firm.(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)
April 12, 1996... Company finds rapid growth in stagnant industry CH2M Hill got its start 50 years ago when an Oregon professor teamed up with his students to start a new kind of engineering firm. They probably didn't imagine they would create the Western...

Packaging Store moves up in moving business. (Packaging Store Inc.)(Denver-Area's Fastest-Growing Private Companies)(Company Profile)
April 12, 1996... Mini-move, self-move segments fuel firm's steady growth in 1995 The Packaging Store Inc. packed and carted around more boxes of goodies last year than ever before. Boasting franchises on three continents, The Packaging Store has shipped...

Banks boot auto loan firm. (Norwest Bank of Minnesota and Fleet National Bank of Massachusetts; Sun Mountains Investments Inc.)
April 19, 1996... An Englewood-based automobile finance group has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and two of the nation's biggest banks have gone to court to find out what happened to payments due on more than $25 million in car loan funds. Norwest Bank of...

Equitable flexes muscle over malls; insurance giant defends stakes in Villa Italia, Cinderella City. (Equitable Real Estate; Equitable Life Assurance Co., Villa Italia Mall)
April 19, 1996... With the future of its two suburban retail projects at stake, Equitable Real Estate has begun to play hardball. The company is flexing the muscles of its $38 billion parent, Equitable Life Assurance Co., to move redevelopment of Cinderella City...

Flak hits rail deal at finish; opponents rip SP, UP merger. (Southern Pacific; Union Pacific railroads)
April 19, 1996... Zero hour is approaching for two Western railroads trying to initiate a merger, and the situation isn't getting any friendlier. With the final decision on the merger between Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads looming in July, a number...

Street-smart workers put U.S. West in gear; Trujillo touts service turnaround. (U.S. West Communications; Sol Trujillo)
April 19, 1996... On April 15 in Denver, Sol Trujillo defended U S West Communications to the hilt before a room full of regulators from 14 states. Behind his insistence that service problems are coming under control was the street smarts of the company's 50,000...

Financiers pull plug on ComByte. (ComByte Inc.)
April 19, 1996... In the frantic world of high-tech startups, the difference between national praise and liquidation for a company can be found in the confidence of its venture capitalists. Fort Collins-based ComByte Inc. provides a glimpse into the swift...

Comsat files lawsuit over rocket disaster; avalanche parent wants $250M. (Comsat Corp.; Long March launch rocket satellite crashed on liftoff in China)
April 19, 1996... Bethesda, Md.-based Comsat Corp. has filed a $250 million lawsuit against News Corp., PanAmSat Corp. and Groupo Televisa after News Corp. pulled out of a lease agreement with Comsat March 1. A satellite designated for News Corp.'s use was...

U S West unit closing area service centers; AT&T wireless also cutting staff. (U S West Cellular; AT&T Wireless Services)
April 19, 1996... Denver's two rival cellular phone companies are farming out their customer service tasks. U S West Cellular is closing all four "customer care centers" in Denver, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs to streamline and give the customer more...

TCI promises cities better service record; cable complaints reach 300,000. (Tele-Communications Inc.)
April 19, 1996... As telecommunications companies raid one another's customers, keeping those customers happy is more crucial to survival than ever before. Englewood-based Tele-Communications Inc. increasingly must contend with rivals - like direct broadcast...

Ruling ends battle over Silverado. (decision reached to pay the insurer of former Silverado Banking)
April 19, 1996... A U.S. District Court judge has ordered Beatrice Co. to pay about $14 million to the insurer of former Silverado Banking Savings & Loan director Richard Vitkus. The decision made by Chief Judge Richard Matsch to make Beatrice pay $10 million...

SW Plaza may go on block. (Southwest Plaza)
April 26, 1996... Southwest Plaza, Denver's largest shopping center, appears to be headed for sale, with a reported asking price in the $125 million range. The Denver Business Journal learned from two knowledgable sources in the retail community that mall owner...

Feds stew over huge gas fields. (oil shale reserve in Colorado)
April 26, 1996... Oil shale reserve could fetch $300M Colorado's vast Naval Oil Shale Reserves could go on the sales block later this year if the Department of Energy gives the go-ahead to the controversial sell-off plan. The two sites, covering 55,000 acres...

Behind-the-scenes Accutronics takes center stage with growth. (Accutronics Inc.)
April 26, 1996... New, larger facility to double output, boost employees Although 57,000 square feet seems like ample space for a business, the Littleton-based manufacturing company Accutronics Inc. felt the expanse cramped their style - and their business....

It's a dirty job they're only too happy to do. (Ductworks Inc.)
April 26, 1996... Duct-cleaning biz nothing to sneeze at Paul Frisk offers a mini review of the Dustin Hoffman movie "Outbreak" - unrealistic The air duct shown during a hospital scene was too clean. Most people, caught up in the story of a killer virus,...

Denver caught up in federal feud. (National Park Service) (includes related article)
April 26, 1996... Vice President Al Gore thinks a National Park Service office in Denver is a tribute to bureaucrats everywhere. But Congressman Scott McInnis contends it's a waste of taxpayer money. Who's right may be decided within a month, when preliminary...

Stephens considers his life after Schuller. (Tom Stephens, former CEO of Schuller Corp.) (includes a biography of Tom Stephens)(Interview)
April 26, 1996... CEO shares opinions with DBJ Tom Stephens' decision to step down as chairman of Schuller Corp., the company formerly called Manville Corp., marks a watershed in the history of one of Denver's biggest corporations. In a landmark case in...

CH2M Hill driving Calif. tollway project. (public work project)
April 26, 1996... California's Orange County is relying on a strong Colorado connection to build one of the nation's largest public work projects this side of Denver International Airport. On both the private and public end, former managers at DIA and E-470 are...

MCI hopes to grab US West customers. (MCI Communications Corp.)
April 26, 1996... Long-distance phone company MCI Communications Corp. has an unusual plan to steal U S West's local customers and avoid renting the Baby Bell's network. The MCImetro division intends to bring local calling and data services to corporate...

Sprint Spectrum picks Denver for Western HQ. (Denver headquarters)
April 26, 1996... Sprint Spectrum LP, an ambitious gamble on new wireless phone technology, has made Denver an outpost for operations. Once a site has been chosen, new offices here will host its Western regional headquarters. By August or September the...

PBS affiliate opening store in Park Meadows. (retail industry)
April 26, 1996... As retailers scramble to get in on Denver's hot retail market, one local retailer is hoping its store in the Park Meadows Town Center mall will promote education while benefiting a nonprofit organization. KRMA-TV Channel 6 will open its first...

'Cash register' owner refinancing mortgage. (One Norwest Center)
April 26, 1996... New lender found for $100M note An owner of One Norwest Center is refinancing its $100 million mortgage on that towering downtown Denver skyscraper, dubbed the "cash register building." Deutsche Bank AG, based in Frankfurt, Germany, has...

Pacifica takes first step, buys Centennial parcel. (Pacific Holding Co.)
April 26, 1996... Pacifica Holding Co. bit the bullet and bought the first parcel from Centennial Valley Business Park's new owner, Koelbel and Co. With that deal, the Englewood developer took the first step toward bringing a $15 million commercial project out of...

Ascent TV deal flies below debt ceiling. (Ascent Entertainment Group's acquisition of SpectraVision Inc.)
April 26, 1996... Ascent Entertainment Group's cashless acquisition of the bankrupt SpectraVision Inc. wisely expanded the company but did not crack its debt ceiling. In addition, shareholders can focus their investments on pay-per-view programs with the...

Lockheed deal bolsters Springs contracts. (Lockheed Martin Corp.'s merger with Loral Corp. helps Lockheed to land contracts in Colorado Springs)
April 26, 1996... Lockheed Martin Corp.'s recently approved merger with Loral Corp. could strengthen the defense giant's already strong position in Colorado and further add to the state's prominent role in the next generation of warfare. Though executives...

Staodyn to unveil new CEO at annual meeting. (Staodyn Inc.'s new chief executive officer)
April 26, 1996... W. Bayne Gibson, who has weathered many ups and downs at the helm of Long-mont medical device manufacturer Staodyn Inc., hopes he has charted a profitable course for the person who will succeed him as president and CEO this spring. After...