The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) articles from July 1994

The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) archives from July 1994

Port executive loses job in major shuffle. (Port of Tampa; Patricia Burke)
July 29, 1994... After less than a year, the head of marketing is replaced The Port of Tampa's marketing manager, hired amid much fanfare just eight months ago to help it boost its general cargo business, has been replaced due to a "philosophical" schism with...

While others flounder, yacht charter firm's sails stay trim. (Moorings Yacht International Inc.)
July 29, 1994... While the recession sank a flotilla of yacht charter and sales companies, The Moorings has managed to stay on course by cutting rates and pursuing a new generation of sailors. "Masses and masses of (yacht charter companies) have gone under....

Gibbons: health reform will pass this year. (Sam Gibbons) (Interview)
July 29, 1994... A Q&A with the chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Sam Gibbons, D-Tampa, became a key player in the nation's health care reform debate when he became acting chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee three months...

Group to form $20M venture capital fund. (Enterprise Corp.)
July 29, 1994... Its goal: Invest in the Bay Area's high-tech startups After four years of relying on limited financial resources, the Enterprise Corp. of Tampa Bay is moving ahead with plans to create a venture capital fund that would pump some $20 million...

Expanding restaurants find land deals tougher to digest: a run on the Bay Area's best corner lots has meant steeper prices and diminished returns. (Tampa Bay Area) (Real Estate Monthly)
July 29, 1994... Ruby Tuesday's. Macaroni Grill. Kenny Rogers Roasters. Carrabba's Lone Star Steakhouse. Too Jay's. These restaurants and a host of others are opening new locations across the Bay Area. That's good news for diners. But the influx of new and...

It's official: commercial development is back. (Tampa Bay Area) (Real Estate Monthly)
July 29, 1994... Yet the level of activity is nowhere near what it was Although the Bay Area may not see a return of the go-go '80s for years to come, a level of commercial real estate development activity has returned. Companies that hadn't developed much...

Food courts: providing Bay Area malls a tasty return. (Tampa Bay Area) (Real Estate Monthly)
July 29, 1994... Culinary bazaars, they serve as major draws, especially in congested points of commerce Some days there isn't time for a Pinellas businessperson to set aside 60 or 90 minutes for a formal sit-down lunch with a Hillsborough counterpart. Maybe...

Cushman & Wakefield easily comes out on top. (Tampa Bay Area; real estate brokerage) (Real Estate Monthly) (Industry Overview)
July 29, 1994... The results are in and the top commercial real estate brokerage in the Bay Area in Cushman & Wakefield by a longshot. According to the Business Journal's list of the region's brokerages -- which were ranked by total dollar volume in 1993 --...

Plasma-Therm Inc. (proxy report excerpts) (Company Profile)
July 29, 1994... (PTIS, Nasdaq) 9509 International Court, St. Petersburg 33716 (813) 577-4999 Plasma-Therm Inc. designs, manufactures and develops the thin film etching and deposition systems that are used by manufacturers of semiconductor devices and...

Merging hospitals to thin management ranks. (St. Joseph's Health Services; St. Anthony's Health Care Center)
July 22, 1994... Yet St. Joe's-St. Anthony's hope employee attrition, reassignments can preclude layoffs Amplifying for the first time on their consolidation plans, St. Joseph's Health Services in Tampa and St. Anthony's Health Care Center in St. Petersburg...

Its house now in order, Scotty's plans to expand.
July 22, 1994... WINTER HAVEN After five years of making major improvements to its own home, Scotty's is now fine-tuning its new and improved chain with plans to open 25 stores in the next three years. If all goes well, the 6,000-employee Winter...

Tampa chamber is accused of neglecting small-business needs. (Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce)
July 22, 1994... TAMPA The small-business division of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce was left in disarray following the resignation of its longtime director, and little has since been done to resuscitate it. That's according to Cliff McDuffie, a...

New York HMO HIP to the Bay Area. (HIP Health Plan of Florida expands operations into Tampa Bay Area)
July 22, 1994... It opens a local office after having expanded in South Florida TAMPA Citing the area's growth and the large number of New York natives living here, New York-based HIP Health Plan of Florida has begun marketing its not-for-profit HMO across...

Telecomm firm snares fiber-optic deal. (Intermedia Communications of Florida Inc.)
July 22, 1994... A contract with the city of West Palm fuels its growth TAMPA Intermedia Communications Inc. may still be losing money, but the Tampa-based telecommunications company is now building a new fiber-optic network in West Palm Beach as it forges...

International Museum books 8,000 advance tickets. (Florida International Museum)
July 22, 1994... It plans to send out 25,000 direct-mail pieces across the country With 8,000 tickets booked and 40 tour groups on the calendar, the Florida International Museum has already gotten solid results on its recently-launched $1 million marketing...

Word-of-mouth keeps promotional firm profitable. (AMC Sales Promotions Co.)
July 22, 1994... Growth has come at nearly 20% each year, and sales in '94 could reach $1.2M TAMPA Anna Messina Cunnane formed AMC Sales Promotions Co. in 1982 as a first-time entrepreneur without a clue about the distribution of promotional products....

Marketing your business - pithy thoughts can pay off. (advertising agencies Compendium and My Fortune)(includes related article)
July 22, 1994... Tiny, one-line messages are the secret to cutting through advertising clutter, according to two successful entrepreneurs who have built their businesses around the concept. Brad Edwards and Dan Zadra have never met, but both rely on pithy...

Wellness: a new urgency amid the health care crisis. (Focus: Insurance/Employee Benefits)
July 22, 1994... Employees who fail to get with the program may soon see their benefits cut Arlene Guzik approached Home Shopping Network two years ago to suggest the company could reduce health care costs by promoting lifestyle changes among its employees....

D&B unit gears up to market health care alliances. (Dun and Bradstreet Plan Services Inc.) (Focus: Insurance/Employee Benefits)
July 22, 1994... The success of the state's purchasing pools hinges on the low-profile division TAMPA Dun & Bradstreet Plan Services Inc. has been a quiet giant among third-party administrators. But that's about to change. In April, the Tampa-based...

Big Six firm leads Bay Area ranking of benefits consultants. (Arthur Andersen and Co.; Tampa Bay Area) (Focus: Insurance/Employee Benefits)
July 22, 1994... With 226 employees, the Tampa office of Arthur Anderson & Co. took the top spot on the Business Journal's list of the Bay Area's largest employee benefits consultants. The top player on the list, however, didn't have the largest number of...

Employee leasing: a decade old yet still maturing. (Focus: Insurance/Employee Benefits) (Industry Overview)
July 22, 1994... The Bay Area is home to some of the industry's movers and shakers When she was only 25, Celeste McAnally staked her claim in what was then the Bay Area's version of the Wild West, entering the employee leasing business. McAnally formed...

Paradise Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
July 22, 1994... Paradise Inc. packages and distributes candied fruit and frozen strawberry products to supermarkets and other retail outlets. The company also has a plastics division, which manufactures its packaging. Annual Meeting: Last held June 14, 1994....

Make reservations today. (Bringing Baseball Home to Tampa Bay)
July 22, 1994... Season ticket reservations will still be available after July 31, but they won't count on the expansion application Vince Naimoli will send to Major League Baseball in early August. That's the urgency of the "Bringing It Home!" campaign....

Look north and south for corporate inspiration. (Bringing Baseball Home to Tampa Bay)
July 22, 1994... Let's say Major League Baseball awards a Major League Baseball franchise to the Tampa Bay area tomorrow. Vince Naimoli and his partners will make money, but they won't be the only ones, if economic impact studies of the Atlanta Braves and...

Home team lineup. (Bringing Baseball Home to Tampa Bay)
July 22, 1994... Vincent J. Naimoli Vince Naimoli was one of the Tampa Bay business leaders who secretly came forward in late 1991, ready to participate in an acquisition of the Seattle Mariners. A friend on the University of Notre Dame Board of Trustees --...

Behind the scenes. (Bringing Baseball Home to Tampa Bay)
July 22, 1994... Baseball fans in the Tampa Bay area don't have much patience left when there's any chance of finally landing a team. That truism was proved once more when the "Bringing It Home!" campaign staged a drive-thru pick-up at the ThunderDome for...

Bridging the bay. (Tampa Bay, Florida)
July 15, 1994... Asset manager Mike Hogan, principal of the Hogan Group in Tampa, said he's been inundated with calls from brokers asking whether Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. is acquiring his company. Hogan said the rumor isn't true. And Jim Kersey, head...

Pru to cut its ties to local physician group. (Prudential Health Care System)
July 15, 1994... The Prudential Health Care System of Tampa Bay is severing its ties to a major local physician association as it reorganizes its health provider networks in order to cut the cost of care. The break with Associated Physicians of Tampa Bay Inc....

War between Times, Tribune at a stalemate. (St. Petersburg Times; Tampa Tribune)
July 15, 1994... Despite their best efforts to invade each other's turf, the St. Petersburg Time and The Tampa Tribune have gained little ground in their drives to capture readers from one another. The daily newspapers have spent millions of dollars in...

Publix halts its expansion at N.C. border. (Publix Super Markets Inc.; North Carolina)
July 15, 1994... Brokers say they've scouted sites, but the chain denies it Publix Super Markets Inc. may be aggressively driving its out-of-state expansio north, but it has hit the brakes at the North Carolina state line. Real estate brokers in Charlotte,...

Danka opens local consulting operation. (Danka Inwood Business Systems Inc. opens branch office in the Tampa Bay Area)
July 15, 1994... St. Petersburg-based Danka Industries PLC has opened a Bay Area office of a uni that provides high-end information systems consulting and planning. The branch office of Danka Business Systems, which is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., was...

Electronic parts maker building $1.8M facility. (Molex-ETC Inc.)
July 15, 1994... Molex-ETC Inc., a maker of solderless terminals and other electronic parts, is erecting a $1.8-million building next to its Pinellas Park headquarters to accommodate its growth. The company has hired 100 people in the last year, and now has...

Real estate concern files Ch. 11. (Tampa Bay Lawyers Inc. files for bankruptcy reorganization)
July 15, 1994... Tampa Bay Lawyers Inc., a real estate firm that subleases executive suite space to lawyers in the 100 North Tampa building in downtown Tampa, has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization. The 3-month-old firm is owned by Charles Gibson Jr. of...

The Bay Area - 2.4 million-strong and growing. (population of Tampa Bay Area) (Market Fact Guide '94)
July 15, 1994... Hoping to improve race relations -- and the business climate -- in West Central Florida, a group of local politicians, media and some of the region's most prominent corporations began an advertising effort in the spring called the Community...

Class-A office towers, condos on the Gulf and growth in Pasco. (Tampa Bay Area's office market) (Market Fact Guide '94: Real Estate) (Industry Overview)
July 15, 1994... The Bay Area's office market can accommodate most any company's needs. Everything from quaint buildings with relatively few amenities to class-A offic skyscrapers with built-in gymnasiums and retail shops can be found among the market's...

A changing hospital scene dominated by mergers and cutbacks. (Tampa Bay Area's health care industry) (Market Fact Guide '94: Health) (Industry Overview)
July 15, 1994... It shouldn't be any surprise the Bay Area is a microcosm of the health care industry nationwide. With its dozens of hospitals, developing health insurance market and thriving industry in health-related businesses, the region is a bellwether for...

Old Hyde Park, FAO Schwarz two brand-new malls and ever-present hopes for Macy's. (Market Fact Guide '94: Retail) (Industry Overview)
July 15, 1994... The greater Bay Area is home to more than 50 malls and miles and miles of strip shopping centers. Department stores, specialty shops, grocery stores and discount superstores fill millions of square feet of retail space, and more retailers are...

Private schools and better-than-average SAT scores. (scholastic aptitude test) (Market Fact Guide '94: Education)
July 15, 1994... Most business leaders would agree education is a key component of any business environment. In the long-term, a good education system trains future workers an consumers. In the short-term, schools either attract or deter companies considering a...

Technology transfer, grant dollars and USF's help. (University of South Florida provides funding for high technology research in Tampa Bay Area) (Market Fact Guide '94: High-Tech)
July 15, 1994... Technology transfer has become the buzzword in the Bay Area. As herculean defense contractors are being slashed at the knees by federal cutbacks, local community leaders have scurried to assist the area's small start-up high-tech companies....

Tampa Palms 33647 leads the zip code pack.
July 15, 1994... Yet Tierra Verde has the higher percentage of wealthy households When it comes to Zip codes, the Tampa Palms area is home to the highest median household incomes -- a median that's a full 5% better than St. Petersburg's Tierra Verde. Tampa...

NAFTA: a trade fiesta for the Bay Area. (Tampa Bay Area small businesses)
July 8, 1994... Companies pursue the treaty's newly created opportunities A growing number of Bay Area companies are being lured south of the border, thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement. What's more, just seven months since the historic...

Study: Florida HMOs doing poor job of getting you home. (health maintenance organizations)
July 8, 1994... Improvements are noted, yet there's room for more Health maintenance organizations in the Bay Area and the rest of Florida have let their members spend too much time in the hospital, adding $2.3 billion in unnecessary charges in 1992,...

Checkers turns merchandiser to beef up sales. (Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc.)
July 8, 1994... $12.95 baseball caps and 99-cent burgers Anyone pulling up to Bay Area Checkers restaurants now can order a T-shirt with their burger, fries and Coke. Or even a beach towel, thanks to a decision by the Clearwater-based hamburger chain to take...

Grocer loses roar; taps G&E to fill space. (Grubb and Ellis hired by Food Lion Inc. to help in subleasing 19 grocery stores)
July 8, 1994... Food Lion Inc. has hired Grubb & Ellis to help it sublease 19 Florida grocery stores it abandoned in recent months, six in the Bay Area. The Salisbury, N.C.-based supermarket chain's exodus has left the shopping centers where its stores once...

New G&E head loses no time hiring staff. (new Grubb and Ellis office manager Bruce Dodge)
July 8, 1994... Grubb & Ellis' new Tampa office manager, Bruce Dodge, has taken the first steps toward rebuilding momentum at the real estate brokerage's local office. Since joining in June, he has hired three brokers to replace people who left this year,...

A crystal-clear vision for growth. (Crystals International Inc.) (Small Business Enterprise) (Company Profile)
July 8, 1994... Freeze-dried fruit company turns up the heat on sales Crystals International Inc. has been around for nearly four decades. But the freeze-dried fruit and vegetable juice company's sales in the past several years have grown like never before....

The host with the most parties on, dude. (Wizard's Work) (Small Business Enterprise) (Company Profile)
July 8, 1994... How do pirates invading your bar mitzvah sound? The hand may be quicker than the eye among guests at a Wizard's Works theme party, but the Clearwater-based company has never relied on magic for its success. Russell Brumfield, aka "The...

Managed care plans work hard to make the grade. (Health Care Month)
July 8, 1994... Anyone preparing to buy a new car, a dishwasher, even a toaster-oven can easily find data comparing not only price but the relative merits of all makes and models on the market. The same can't always be said for one of the most important...

Paying now can save you plenty in your older years. (long-term care insurance) (Health Care Month)
July 8, 1994... Long-term care insurance enjoys a steady climb in popularity Three meals a day and lodging for $98 a night. That may sound like a good vacation deal, but not if it's what you pay every day for the rest of your life. Which is why as...

Accountants find health in specialized consulting. (Health Care Month)
July 8, 1994... Arthur Andersen & Co. Partner John Hutchens made the leap from health care to public accounting about 15 years ago. At the time, he didn't have too many peers. Normally, accountants move from the Big Six, the nation's largest accounting...

Bay Area trade booms, exports rise 75% from '87-'93. (Tampa Bay Area)
July 1, 1994... Exports through the Bay Area's air and seaports skyrocketed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, rising by a stunning 75%, according to a first-ever analysis of such activity in the area. What's more, the study, which provides the most precise...

Firm seeks to quench sports fans' thirst. (Palomino Sports finds success in producing sports-themed beverage containers)
July 1, 1994... ODESSA Palomino Sports' cup is spilling over. The start-up sports-themed drink container company made its debut a scant 17 months ago and has already attracted some of the biggest names in the food service business. It expects sales this...

Competition drives down golf, tennis club fees. (Tampa Bay Area; clubs offer discounted initiation fees to maintain membership)
July 1, 1994... Some of the Bay Area's golf and tennis clubs are offering deeply discounted initiation fees nowadays to maintain and in some cases shore up flagging membership rolls. For example, initiation fees at the Carrollwood Village Golf & Tennis Club...

Multi-family heats up in trendy Tampa neighborhood. (multi-family real estate developers and investors; Tampa Bay Area)
July 1, 1994... Hyde Park attracts two new developments; two others change ownership TAMPA Hyde Park, one of Tampa's trendiest residential addresses, is enjoying a sudden escalation in multi-family activity. Two new upscale complexes are on the drawing...

Execs rack up $18 million in 1993 pay. (Tampa Bay Area's highest paid executives)
July 1, 1994... As they have in past years, noted money manager Herbert Ehlers and his boss, Raymond James Financial Chairman and CEO Tom James, have come out on top the Business Journal's list of the Bay Area's highest paid executives. As president of...

WFNS pins hopes for expansion on private placement. (sports radio station WFNS-AM; proceeds from privately placed securities to fund expansion plans)
July 1, 1994... TAMPA WFNS-AM (Sportsradio 910) is looking to stretch a base hit into a home run by expanding its signal and buying other radio stations in Florida. Toward that end, Tampa's sports-talk radio station is offering a $1-million private...

Toy store's arrival may pave way for upscale playmates. (opening of FAO Schwarz West Shore Plaza to help draw upscale retailers to Tampa Bay Area)
July 1, 1994... TAMPA The FAO Schwarz toy store opening in the West Shore Plaza in October will mean much more than the arrival of 12-foot teddy bears in the Bay Area. As one of just nine "mall flagships" the New York-based toy giant will open this year,...

Report: IBM considering pulling out of Boca Raton. (International Business Machines Corp.; Boca Raton, Florida) (Florida Roundup)
July 1, 1994... IBM Corp. was reportedly formally reviewing the possibility of closing its 585-acre Boca Raton operation, which employs 3,300 people. Although the company wouldn't comment on the report, sources told the South Florida Business Journal that...