Denver Business Journal articles from November 1998

Denver Business Journal archives from November 1998

Lexus: It's what's for Christmas.(strong sales of luxury sports utility vehicles in Denver, Colorado)
November 27, 1998... Luxury SUVs are driving off the lots Luxury automobile dealers in Denver are riding sports utility vehicles to a record sales year. The Mercedes M-Class, the Lexus RX 300 and the Cadillac Escalade are sold weeks before they roll off...

When is a mouse pad really a rug?(Fiberlok Inc. sells miniature Persian rugs styled as mouse pads)
November 27, 1998... FORT COLLINS - What was conceived as a decorative girl for favored clients could result in $1 million boost to revenue this year for Fiberlok, a Larimer County-based specialty printing company. A self-described rug nut, Fiberlok CEO Brown...

Trillium locates a buyer.
November 27, 1998... LaSalle, partner consider land deal Trillium Corp. has supposedly isolated a buyer for its 50 acres of land in downtown Denver's burgeoning Central Platte Valley. A joint venture between LaSalle Partners Inc., a Chicago-based...

Lyons roots for WNBA in Denver.(Charlie Lyons, president of Ascent Entertainment Group Inc.; Women's National Basketball Association)
November 27, 1998... Nuggets' owner would like a franchise here The owner of the Denver Nuggets and builder of the new Pepsi Center sports arena would like to offer professional women's basketball in its brand new venue, as well as men's. But Ascent...

Back to basics.(E Central offers flat-rate Internet service in Denver, Colorado)
November 27, 1998... Denver Internet service offers flat-rate service Just because the Internet is limitless, it doesn't mean every user requires unlimited time to peruse the global network of computers. That's a philosophy that E Central has taken to...

Mills looks west for discount mall.
November 27, 1998... Speculation centers on Red Rocks Mills Corp., an Arlington, Va.-based developer of huge entertainment-oriented outlet malls, appears to be headed west with its proposed Denver-area property, according to informed sources. Some retail...

Farm banks expect to see crop of loan defaults.
November 27, 1998... Although the numbers won't be in until January, regional farm lenders expect the number of loan defaults to increase due to depressed commodity prices. "It's a little early to tell, but there's some handwriting on the wall right now, red...

Venture capitalists pour money into Colo.(Colorado)
November 27, 1998... Venture capitalists turned a blind eye to a volatile stock market and a schizophrenic credit market in the third quarter. Venture-backed investments acted comparatively sane despite the world economic turmoil, hitting an all-time high in...

Coors pours $99M into Memphis brewery.(Coors Brewing Co.)
November 27, 1998... MEMPHIS - Although corporate breweries have had a checkered past in Memphis, it appears Coors is here to stay. Coors Brewing Co. officials are proposing an investment in the brewery here that reveals a strong commitment to the Memphis...

Texas biotech firm considers move to Wheat Ridge.(Sulzer Orthopedics Biologics)
November 27, 1998... AUSTIN, Texas - A biotech firm appears to have expanded its search for a home to include the growing community of Cedar Park. But the Williamson County city of 30,000 may find itself matched against a multimillion-dollar incentive plan...

Convergent purchase gives company toehold in Kansas.(Convergent Communications Inc.)
November 27, 1998... Kansas Communications Inc., a 24-year-old company that provides business telecommunications products, soon will have a new owner. Its parent, Mountain View, Calif.-based SoftNet Systems Inc., signed separate letters of intent last week to...

Broncos bolster team's bottom line.(professional football team Denver Broncos)
November 20, 1998... Bank America will make $75M loan The Denver Broncos appear close to sealing a $75 million loan that would use future television revenues to tackle some big bills coming due soon. The Broncos loan is part of a seven-team, $400 million...

Christmas returns to Denver.(marketing efforts of downtown retailers in Denver, Colorado)
November 20, 1998... Downtown retailers want consumers to forget the malls and factory shops and look to downtown as the hot site for holiday shopping. With the opening of the $100 million Denver Pavilions and an additional $400,000 spent on advertising and...

Office market cools off.(Denver-area office building construction projects)
November 20, 1998... Projects that missed boom may be shelved Wall Street's capital crunch and other development inhibitors are expected to significantly cool office construction in the Denver area's hottest market for that, the southeastern suburbs. Of...

Rivals try to thwart TCI merger.(telecommunications firms protest AT and T Corp. and Tele-Communications Inc. merger)
November 20, 1998... Malone: 'Keep your nose out of my deal' The competition hopes to leave its imprint on the AT&T Corp. and TeleCommunications Inc. merger with an attempt to saddle the deal with the same regulations that govern local phone companies. ...

Ascent draws big investor.(Ascent Entertainment Group Inc.)
November 20, 1998... Peltz hopes to profit from stock tumble Ascent Entertainment Group Inc.'s puny stock price and poor third-quarter showing have prompted some watchers of the company to ask what's wrong with it. But the Denver-based entertainment and...

Technical college changes image.(Education & Careers)(Denver Technical College)
November 20, 1998... DTC now offers a master program In the past 15 years, Denver Technical College has quietly evolved from a small drafting school into a major competitor for Colorado's traditional universities. The school, located off Niagara and...

Denver-area schools get down to business.(Education & Careers)(Denver, Colorado business schools upgrade technology)
November 20, 1998... Metro colleges stay competitive by keeping up with the latest technology Advances in technology have virtually eliminated the barriers for small companies entering the global marketplace. And that in turn has changed the way Colorado...

PacifiCare, Prudential close to Precedent deal.(PacifiCare of Colorado and Prudential Healthcare to sign contract with Precedent Health Center)
November 20, 1998... Partnership may take over hospital The fortune that Dr. Jeffrey Mishell pulled from his after-lunch cookie one recent Friday drew a wry smile from the Precedent Health Partners CEO. "Be patient and you will soon find fortune," the...

Corporate sponsors help with financing.(funding for Denver, Colorado public schools)
November 20, 1998... Advertising benefits public schools In response to rising costs, funding cutbacks and calls for fiscal responsibility, Denver-area schools increasingly are turning to the private sector to help fill funding gaps and to meet the needs of...

Boulder firm's Oracle deal advances cause of e-commerce.(Requisite Technology Inc.'s partnership with Oracle Corp.)
November 20, 1998... Thousands of users who rely on business software from Oracle Corp. are about to take electronic commerce for granted thanks to a search engine developed in Boulder by Requisite Technology Inc. A recent partnership between the two...

Small Denver oil firm begins selling assets.(Central Resources Inc.)
November 20, 1998... Low crude oil prices during the past year have forced Colorado's independent oil and gas companies to reevaluate certain nonessential properties and lower their capital budgets to survive. One small Denver-based oil and gas company has...

Oil firms begin paring Colo. staff.(Colorado)
November 6, 1998... Coastal Corp. is the first major oil and gas company since the oil bust of the 1980s to shut its exploration arm in Denver. The company's Rocky Mountain exploration and production division will close shop in January, taking 50 jobs with...

Rival biz drives into town; ambulance company faces new competition.(American Medical Response)
November 6, 1998... Since acquiring a major competitor. and establishing its North American headquarters in Aurora almost two years ago, American Medical Response has been the only game in town when it comes to private ambulance service. The corporate...

History in the making: Alfred Manufacturing celebrates 50 years.
November 6, 1998... Alfred Manufacturing Company Inc. has been making things for 50 years. That's what it does. And although the technology has changed, the company's philosophy of customer service and quality workmanship hasn't. Located in a red brick...

KaStar prepares launch; satellite service takes Internet access higher.(KaStar Satellite Communication Corp.)
November 6, 1998... KaStar Satellite Communication Corp. wants to do for underserved, bandwidth-hungry consumers what direct broadcast satellite did for isolated couch potatoes and disgruntled cable customers. The Denver company is preparing to offer a...

Few companies offer same-sex benefits.(benefits for gay and lesbian employees' domestic partners)
November 6, 1998... U S West, Coors reach out to gays In Denver's highly competitive job market, a well-rounded benefits package is one of the keys for businesses to attract and retain quality employees. More and more workers are experiencing first-hand the...

PSCo seeks sources of additional power; utility wants to avoid future blackouts.(Public Service Company of Colorado Inc.)
November 6, 1998... Colorado's largest electric utility has taken to advertising its quest for new power sources in The Wall Street Journal. In an attempt to solve capacity problems .that caused a brownout and rolling blackouts in the Denver area in July,...

Cherry Creek landlord may be selling assets.(Crescent Real Estate Equities Inc.)
November 6, 1998... Crescent Real Estate Equities Inc., the Fort Worth-based real estate investment trust that's the largest landlord in Denver's Cherry Creek office submarket, appears to be repositioning in light of the REIT industry's recent tumble. What...

Broadband, Confertech team up on Internet talk.(Broadband Associates Inc.; Confertech Systems Inc.)
November 6, 1998... A convergence of technologies developed in Colorado could make the Internet the most important participant in your next conference call. Denver-based Broadband Associates Inc. has developed a multimedia presentation tool called M. Show,...

Attorney plans brewpub for Castle Rock.(Jarre Creek Ranch Brewery owner Steve Long; Colorado)
November 6, 1998... The Jarre Creek Ranch Brewery is looking for a little elbow room in Castle Rock. Owner Steve Long said he is finalizing a deal to build a microbrewery/brewpub in downtown Castle Rock. A vacant lot on Wilcox Street, the town's main drag,...

Oil company takes S corporation issue to court.(Colorado Gas Compression Inc.)
November 6, 1998... Longmont firm balks at $923,049 tax bill WASHINGTON - Whether Colorado Gas Compression Inc., is subject to capital gains taxes became an issue for the U.S. Tax Court here to resolve. The Longmont-based oil and gas well operator filed...

Benefits boost recruitment: survey shows more small businesses offering retirement plans.(Small Business Strategies)(includes summary of survey results)
November 6, 1998... Small business owners have long argued they couldn't afford retirement plans for their employees. Now they are increasingly finding they can't afford not to have them. "The number one problem today in Colorado business is finding quality...