Fairfield County Business Journal articles from June 1992

Fairfield County Business Journal archives from June 1992

Legislature offers relief to businesses - at last.
June 1, 1992... Bills passed by the Connecticut General Assembly this session show an increased concern for state businesses, according to several advocacy groups, who praised the legislation. Included in these bills were measures to help companies gain...

Armstrong Rx poised to 'deliver' a healthy profit. (Armstrong Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
June 1, 1992... A few exits up the Merritt Parkway stands a company that H.R. Shepherd compares to Armstrong Pharmaceuticals, the New Canaan outfit which Shepherd heads. "Shep," as he's known, is talking about United States Surgical Corp., whose spectacular...

Fugitive financier, labor strife put Stamford metal trader in spotlight. (Marc Rich's involvement in feud between AFL-CIO and United Steelworkers of America)(Clarendon Ltd.)
June 1, 1992... Clarendon Ltd., a Stamford metal trading company, is feeling the heat from a West Virginia labor struggle that has highlighted the company's links with a man wanted by the federal government on a slew of criminal charges. Several months ago,...

Asbestos suits a $9 billion drain on economy: Keene Corp.'s chairman calls for drastic changes.
June 1, 1992... Asbestos litigation has cost the American economy $9 billion so far -- $6 billion of which has been paid to lawyers, according to Glenn W. Bailey, chairman of the Keene Corp. "These billions could have been used to invest in and create more...

Hanger Orthopedic is building a company by rebuilding people's lives. (Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc.)
June 1, 1992... Combine a Wall Street-seasoned money man with one of the leading practitioners in his medical field. Add a vision of a mature, $700 million industry segment in the health care business that appears ripe for consolidation. Devise a business plan...

A customer-conscious Xerox extends its global reach. (Xerox Corp.)
June 1, 1992... Allaire documents plans for international growth Xerox Corp. is taking actions that it hopes will achieve the company's strategic goal of becoming the largest, most profitable supplier in the global document market. At the annual meeting of...

Connecticut executives see light, but tunnel's end is not yet in sight. (Focus: Banking/Finance)
June 1, 1992... While the Nutmeg state's economy may look bleak today, the confidence of chief executive officers in Connecticut's future is rising, according to a survey by National Westminster Bancorp of New York City. In fact, the survey revealed that a...

Sheshunoff survey finds S&L industry on the upswing. (Sheshunoff Information Services Inc.; savings and loan) (Focus: Banking/Finance) (Industry Overview)
June 1, 1992... Total assets for the savings and loan industry declined by $168 billion, or 15.2 percent, last year to $941 billion as of December 31, 1991 according to Sheshunoff Information Services Inc., a leading information provider to the banking and...

Mixing the 'right stuff' helps Nutrico thrive in a competitive market. (Company Profile)
June 8, 1992... Listen to Paul Magness discuss his work and you'll hear some odd phrases. He says things like "20-10-10," "N," and "32-5-7," as other people might mention the weather, sports, or whoever's ahead in this minute's presidential poll. But what...

Family's business (and family business) keep Scalzo Realty hopping. (husband-wife owned real estate firm) (Company Profile)
June 8, 1992... Paul and Andrea Scalzo, owners of Scalzo Realty Inc. in Bethel, have been actively managing the family business and trying to raise a family as well. The husband-wife team own a residential and commercial real estate firm, a home mortgage company...

From hot dogs to filet of beef and roast peppers, Celebrations caters to eclectic corporate tastes. (Celebrations of Greenwich Inc.) (Company Profile)
June 8, 1992... Henrietta S. Lachman and R. Chris Lennon, co-owners of Celebrations of Greenwich Inc., specialize in catering to corporate appetites in Westchester and Fairfield counties. Celebrations, a catering business the partners purchased three years...

Executone sues accounting firm over disputed audit. (Executone Information Systems Inc., BDO Seidman)
June 15, 1992... BDO Seidman labels suit 'desperate' and 'frivolous' Executone Information Services Inc. overpaid in its purchase of a distributor because of conspiracy by a major accounting firm, according to the Darien-based telephone systems manufacturer....

Clarendon president resigns as union reaches strike settlement. (Clarendon Ltd.)
June 15, 1992... The president of Stamford metal trader Clarendon Ltd. resigned just as the West Virginia aluminum factory he partially owned seemed ready to resolve its well-publicized labor dispute. Willy Strothotte, the president, said he would leave...

Court voids conviction in horse-slaying case. (insurance fraud)
June 15, 1992... A prominent Westport businessman's 1991 criminal conviction on charges of killing a racehorse in an insurance fraud scheme was overturned last month by a United States Circuit Court ruling. However, Gerald L. Minsky's business past continues to...

More than 1,200 Torrington Co. employees buy new cars under incentive plan.
June 15, 1992... On March 7, The Torrington Co. informed its 9,000 employees in the United States and Canada that if they bought a new North American-built car or light truck during the next three months, the company and the manufacturer would each provide $1,000...

Tax liens filed against controversial Stratford private security firm. (Perceptions International Inc.)
June 15, 1992... A private security firm that gained notoriety in the case of an animal rights activist who planted a pipe bomb at United States Surgical Corp. in Norwalk is seeing more problems, this time with federal tax authorities. A lien for failure to...

Restoring capital liquidity essential for commercial real estate industry. (Industry Overview)
June 15, 1992... "We find it frustrating to report no clear turning point for the real estate markets in the year ahead. Despite being mentally prepared for disappointment, property professionals will be hard put to devise a working strategy as the general...

Bridgeport's daily newspaper takes on county's other papers. (Connecticut Post)
June 15, 1992... The Connecticut Post? Competitors shrug-off effect of name change In a journalistic name game, The Bridgeport Post became the Connecticut Post as Fairfield County's largest newspaper seeks to attract readers and advertisers outside the Park...

Incentives convince Purdue Frederick to stay - and expand - in Norwalk. (Purdue Frederick Co.; Norwalk, Connecticut)
June 22, 1992... Purdue Frederick, a large, privately-held pharmaceutical company, is staying in Norwalk, where it will add a division that is leaving Yonkers, N.Y., to its expanded headquarters. New York state and New Jersey, which both house company...

Phelps sues lender, citing credit stall. (real estate developer Albert Phelps' case against Union Trust Bank)
June 22, 1992... Developer moves to force Union Trust to free funds for 601 Merritt 7 project Norwalk developer Albert Phelps is suing Union Trust, claiming the lender is wrongfully withholding cash that Phelps wants to use to build the sixth phase in his...

Westport Bank & Trust hunts new business. (Westport Bank and Trust Co.)
June 22, 1992... After a successful capital raising effort, Westport Bank & Trust is aggressively pursuing loan business as the bank begins to resolve some of its problems. The bank hopes to attract business from small- and medium-sized companies that have...

Entrepreneur of the Year finalists. (awards program sponsored by Ernst and Young)
June 22, 1992... Erna Reingold began in the seafood industry more than 10 years ago while living in Europe where she was employed as export manager for a start-up sardine/tuna cannery. When she left after three years, annual sales exceeded $10 million. When...

Building a road to revive Bridgeport's fortunes: Seaview Avenue rehabilitation may cost $100 million. (Connecticut)
June 29, 1992... Bridgeport is gearing up for a massive effort to improve a road which some think may be the key to reviving the city's flagging business fortunes. The road, Seaview Avenue, runs south to north in a sometimes narrow and twisty route. But it is...

Recession continues to drive workers from Fairfield County. (Connecticut)
June 29, 1992... Recent statistics show a decrease in the total unemployment rate in Fairfield County, but any cause for celebration might be tempered by the fact that overall jobs are declining as well. "You're losing people out of the labor force," said John...

State comptroller outlines his plan for reforming health care system. (Connecticut state comptroller William E. Curry, Jr.)
June 29, 1992... Over the past decade, health care costs in Connecticut have climbed more than 800 percent, piling unbearable burdens on the large and small businesses which must spend more and cut employee benefits. Talk of change, studies and debates by...

Warren Buffett coming to Stamford - sort of. (Connecticut)
June 29, 1992... Warren Buffett, the Nebraska financial mastermind who commands Wall Street's attention with his every move, may be coming to Stamford. He isn't relocating here permanently, but Buffett might visit the site of the new offices of one of the many...

Customers of Fire Systems Inc. find good reason to be 'alarmed.'
June 29, 1992... Rick Benfield, chairman of Fire Systems Inc., has been equipping New York and Connecticut clients with fire alarms, detection systems, security and surveillance devices for a quarter century. In recent years, Benfield has noted a growing...

Epstein Funding helps arrange loan based on project's overall strengths. (Epstein Funding Inc.)
June 29, 1992... In what may be the largest new commercial real estate loan in the nation during the past year, Epstein Funding Inc. of Westport and Fowler, Goedecke, Ellis & O'Connor Inc. of Boston have arranged $145 million in financing for David Nassif...

Noise Cancellation Technologies signs two agreements for anti-noise systems. (Noise Cancellation Technologies Inc.)
June 29, 1992... Noise Cancellation Technologies Inc. of Stamford and Analog Devices Inc. have formed an equally owned joint venture to develop their first active noise and vibration canceling computer chips. The integrated-circuit chip sets, which are targeted...

Cultivating Bridgeport's gardens is Ed Laflamme's way of saying thanks. (Connecticut)
June 29, 1992... Ed Laflamme isn't your garden variety landscaper. He's used helicopters to plant trees, and hired a consultant who normally works with white-collar executives to boost quality at Laflamme Services Inc.'s decidedly blue-collar business. Another...

Federal suit, consumer boycotts fail to faze General Electric Co.
June 29, 1992... It's been a mixed bag for General Electric Co. in recent months, as the Fairfield-based corporate giant deals with a government lawsuit and a church-led boycott, while at the same time expanding its real estate holdings and coming up with a...

Spectrum Engineering uses computers to make paper. (Spectrum Engineering Group) (Focus: Telecom/Office Products)
June 29, 1992... Conventional wisdom says we are in the midst of "The Information Age." But John Johannessen, president of Spectrum Engineering Group of Wallingford, thinks differently. He calls the current state of technological advancement of most area...

Sprint goes the distance for small-business callers. (Sprint Corp.) (Focus: Telecom/Office Products)
June 29, 1992... Sprint has been giving clout to its small-business market by offering big-business communications solutions to small-business owners through newly designed programs. Business Clout allows small-business customers -- who bill between $50 and...