The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) articles from October 1995

The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) archives from October 1995

Patchington fashions plans to expand, move into new markets. (women's clothing chain)
October 27, 1995... While some national women's clothing chains struggle to keep their hemlines above water, Patchington Inc. is not only surviving, it's prospering and expanding. The Largo-based retailer and clothing maker, which targets the over-40, executive...

Developer plans $20M spec project. (David B. Fleeman to build industrial/warehouse space in Pinellas, Florida)
October 27, 1995... 440,000 sq. ft. of industrial/warehouse In one of the largest speculative moves in the Pinellas market in years, a Miami real estate developer plans to build 440,000 square feet of industrial/warehouse space in the Gateway Centre Business...

Creditors committee line up in Lykes case. (Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. goes bankrupt)
October 27, 1995... A committee of unsecured creditors has been formed in the Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. bankruptcy, consisting of a handful of companies from around the country. In the meantime, local law firms have been jockeying to represent other major...

Electronics parts maker to open new unit in Kentucky. (Group Technologies Corp.)
October 27, 1995... Group Technologies Corp., a manufacturer of electronic components, is opening a new service division in Louisville, Ky., as part of a drive to capture a portion of the repair business from national computer manufacturers. Besides entering a...

First Union fees in Florida higher, bank consultant says.
October 27, 1995... A longtime critic of First Union Corp. is claiming the Charlotte-based bank charges its Florida customers an 'average of 25 percent more than it does its North Carolina customers. According to his review of rates in effect in August, Kenneth...

Software firm acquires former Paxson building. (Dyna Software and Consulting Inc. buys Paxson Communications Corp.'s former headquarters building in Clearwater, FL)
October 27, 1995... Dyna Software and Consulting Inc., a 10-year-old maker of software for the real estate industry, has bought Paxson Communications Corp.'s former headquarters building in Clearwater. The software maker paid about $460,000 for the two-story...

Co-ops's suit against Time Warner likely to go to trial. (Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative)
October 27, 1995... Cable giant, Withlacoochee Electric in dispute over price for line attachments on power poles Efforts to mediate a 2-year-old legal battle between the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative and Time Warner Cable have fallen through, and it...

Republic Bank. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
October 27, 1995... (REPB, Nasdaq) 28059 U.S. 19 N. Clearwater 34621 (813) 796-2900 With 43 branches, Republic is the largest independent bank on the west coast of Florida, Republic said third quarter earnings were $1.27 million, or 26 cents a share, down 31...

Pizza chain hopes to grab a bigger slice of the pie: Lenny & Vinny's considers franchising as a strategy to triple its size in next year. (Lenny and Vinny's New York Pizzeria ... and Bakery)
October 20, 1995... Pizza. Pizza. Pizza. Four bucks. Four bucks. Four bucks. If pizza empires are built on catchy slogans, this one's a mouthful: Lenny & Vinny's New York Pizzeria... and Bakery - your neighborhood pizzeria. That's not Lenny and Vinny's...

Tech Data programs plans to expand overseas.
October 20, 1995... Tech Data Corp. is expanding its Latin American, Canadian and European operations. The $2.4-billion Clearwater-based computer products distributor's strategy will involve widening its European coverage through acquisitions and increasing its...

ADP to acquire French payroll firm. (Automatic Data Processing Inc.; Generale de Service Informatique S.A.)
October 20, 1995... Both companies have a significant presence in the Bay Area Generale de Service Informatique SA, a huge Paris-based payroll and computer services provider that opened its U.S. headquarters in Tampa earlier this year, has agreed to be acquired...

Riscorp expands in N.C. with new acquisition. (Riscorp Insurance Co.; North Carolina)
October 20, 1995... Riscorp Insurance Co., a Sarasota-based workers' compensation insurer, is expected to merge its North Carolina operations with those of North Carolina-based CompSource by the end of the year. The move will practically double the amount of...

Reinsurance firm sold to Atlanta investors. (Sterling Holdings Inc.)
October 20, 1995... St. Petersburg-based Sterling Holdings, the parent of Sterling Investors Life Insurance Co., has been purchased by an Atlanta-based investor group with Swiss and German financial backing. Terms were not disclosed. Sterling, a $40 million...

Times Publishing faces rough ride to build profits: St. Petersburg newspaper's parent hopes to avoid layoffs as it meets industry's challenges.(Tampa Bay Business 100)
October 20, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] It's belt-tightening time at the St. Petersburg Times, the 24th largest newspaper in America. The Times is facing many of the problems common in the daily newspaper industry: circulation is down, advertising sales...

Hotel management makes room for expansion plans. (HI Development Corp.)(Tampa Bay Business 100)
October 20, 1995... Occupancy rates at HI properties exceed industry average HI Development Corp., one of the top-tier hotel management firms in the country, will be turning its attention to expansion in the Bay Area and elsewhere in Florida during 1996. The...

Citrus World co-op brands itself with folksy image.(Tampa Bay Business 100)
October 20, 1995... Name identity helps members increase returns During the winter months of January, February and March, Citrus World Inc. receives up to 300 truckloads of citrus each day. That translates to about 720,000 90-pound crates of oranges and...

Builder finds its niche among well-heeled retirees. (Neal Communities Inc.)(Tampa Bay Business 100)
October 20, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Neal seeks to limit its annual growth to 20% For Neal Communities Inc., the future appears to be as bright as the Florida sunshine that draws young, affluent retirees to Manatee County. If the residential building...

Contractor becomes part of cities where it builds. (W.G. Mills Inc.)(Tampa Bay Business 100)
October 20, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] The Sarasota-based general contracting and construction firm of W.G. Mills Inc. is a homegrown success story of sorts. Founded in 1972 by Walter G. Mills, chairman and CEO, the company has established itself as the...

Spa maker bubbling over with profits. (Gatsby Spas Inc.)(Small Business Enterprise)(Company Profile)
October 20, 1995... Revenues have climbed 25-30% each year since it was formed in 1984 A cartoon tacked up in the factory lunchroom at Gatsby Spas Inc. depicts a woman holding a large sewing basket while looking at a man wearing a shirt that has just one giant...

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
October 20, 1995... One Busch Place, St. Louis, Mo. 63118 (314) 577-2000 Anheuser-Busch is the largest brewing company and the country's second-largest producer of freshly baked goods. Its holdings include Busch Gardens in Tampa and Sea World in Orlando. The...

Trade groups spurn self-insurance funds.
October 6, 1995... More than a dozen statewide industry associations have pulled their endorsements from self-insured workers' compensation funds and are now throwing their support behind industry giants such as FCCI Mutual Insurance Co. and Riscorp Insurance...

Pinellas lands 'large' tract subdivision. (Pinellas County, Florida)
October 6, 1995... The Ryan Group, a Toronto-based real estate developer, has found 68 acres of vacant land in Pinellas on which it plans a new residential development The site off Klosterman Road near Tarpon Springs has about 48 useable acres that Ryan plans...

Respite over, Clearwater Mattress firms up plans for expansion. (Clearwater Mattress Inc.)(Company Profile)
October 6, 1995... Six new stores are slated in the next year Clearwater Mattress Inc., once a sleepy showroom-in-a-factory and now one of the Bay Area's biggest retailers of bedding, is planning to spring into new markets after taking a year off to fine-tune...

Maglev firm, moving HQ to Lakeland, seeks financial lift. (magnetic levitation vehicles, Florida Magplane Inc.'s new headquarters in Lakeland, Florida)
October 6, 1995... Florida Magplane Inc., one of the companies that may bid on Florida's high-speed train project, is trying to raise $50 million to build a full-size model of its system. At the same time, the company, which set up a Florida operation in...

Long-distance carrier to tap into Bay Area. (Business Telecom Inc.; Tampa Bay Area, Florida)
October 6, 1995... Business Telecom Inc., the nation's 12th-largest long-distance carrier, will be offering its services for the first time in the Bay Area, opening a regional sales office early next month in Tampa's Westshore district. The Raleigh, N.C.-based...