Austin Business Journal articles from February 1992

Austin Business Journal archives from February 1992

Economists foresee steady growth....
February 3, 1992... After two decades of all or nothing for the economies of Austin and Texas, prognosticators who visited here recently said "slow, but steady" describes our economic future. The crystal ball used by those making the predictions said Austin will...

... But a free-trade pact would help.
February 3, 1992... As a line of prognosticators marched through Austin in recent weeks, they all whistled the same tune regarding the success of the local and Texas economy -- the North American Free Trade Agreement. Each of the economic seers pointed to the...

Need a good job? Go into therapy.
February 3, 1992... Physical therapists don't have to look for work. Companies are desperately seeking them. During a time of growing unemployment, when one of every five Americans can expect to be searching for a job in 1992, the therapist field -- whether...

Credit cards too risky for banks?
February 3, 1992... The branch of financial institutions that people carry in their back pockets in the form of credit cards is deadly weight, according to one nationally syndicated economist. But Austin bankers said the deadwood has already been cut in Texas and...

Plastics recycled. (Business Briefs) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Ecology Action is accepting two additional types of plastics at its 210 Industrial Blvd. site in South Austin. Plastic containers numbered 4 and 5 will now be accepted. The company already accepted containers numbered 1, 2 and 3. Ecology...

Golfsmith expands. (Golfsmith International Inc.) (Business Briefs) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Golfsmith International Inc., the world's largest supplier of golf club heads and components for the custom golf-club-making industry, is set to begin construction on an expansion of its Austin facilities. The I-35 site will house research,...

Maxwell's millions go for low-income housing. (David O. Maxwell)
February 3, 1992... David O. Maxwell, former chairman and chief executive officer of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), voluntarily relinquished his right to a final retirement payment of $5.5 million. The company has announced that the money...

Earnings up. (Federal National Morgage Association 1991 earnings) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Fannie Mae's net earnings for 1991 were more than $1.4 billion, outstripping the net income for 1990 by 16 percent. The 1991 earnings came to $4.98 per share. The Federal National Mortgage Association did $139 billion in total business last...

Master the toilet, conquer the market. (Precise Plumbing Products Inc.'s latest toilet-tank flapper valve)
February 3, 1992... An Austin business wants a prominent spot in bathrooms across North America. Precise Plumbing Products Inc. has developed a product, the Uniflap, that's a unique version of a toilet-tank flapper valve. For those who leave bathroom plumbing to...

Mobil seeks R&D site. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... DALLAS -- Oil giant Mobil Corp. is considering building a massive headquarters and manufacturing facility in the Dallas area for a research and development subsidiary. Built in phases, the multimillion-dollar complex could reach 1 million square...

Tenneco back on track. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... HOUSTON -- Tenneco Inc. President Michael Walsh, the rough and ready former railroad executive recruited to put the sick conglomerate back on track, has completed his ambitious $2 billion restructuring plan on a timetable that would earn a train...

Making a clean sweep: Commerce Department's new chief thins ranks. (Texas Department of Commerce's Cathy Bonner) (Texas Trends )
February 3, 1992... AUSTIN -- Last summer a site selection committee for California-based Apple Computer Inc. was scouring the country for a place to build a customer support center. The prize for the lucky local economy was to be a $7.5 million facility and 300...

Tracor Applied Sciences Inc. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Tracor Applied Sciences Inc. has been awarded a five-year contract, including options, with a total potential value of $28.9 million by the Naval Regional Contracting Center in Philadelphia, Pa., to provide technical and engineering services in...

CYCLEAN Inc. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... CYCLEAN Inc. of Georgetown has sold a Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement recycling plant to Hollandsche Wegenbouw Zanen (HWZ), the largest construction company in the Netherlands. HWZ bought the recycling plant and licensed its patented technology to...

Larry Lubenow & Associates. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Larry Lubenow & Associates has become the agency of record for J.P. Miller & Associates, a management consulting firm from Wellesley, Mass.

The Container Store. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... The Container Store has selected Gallier and Wittenberg Inc. to handle public relations for the store. The Container Store is located at 8111 Burnet Road in Austin and has stores in Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Atlanta,...

The University Federal Credit Union. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... The University Federal Credit Union has selected Kamstra Communications Inc. to conduct a research study and to develop and produce advertising materials for "LoanLine," its new telephone lending service. The University Federal Credit Union is an...

Clovis Heimsath Architects. (Contracts ) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Clovis Heimsath Architects of Austin has been awarded a contract to provide architectural services for renovating the new La Quinta Inn, the former Quarters Hotel, located at 11th Street and San Jacinto. The La Quinta Inn at the Capitol is...

Shirley Edrington of Edrington Productions. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Shirley Edrington of Edrington Productions has been commissioned to write and produce television commercials for Danny Shindler, incumbent candidate in the 23rd Judicial District Attorney race, and for Jack Salyer, incumbent candidate in the...

Pancho's Mexican Buffet Inc. (Earnings) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Pancho's Mexican Buffet Inc. has announced net earnings for the period ending Dec. 31 increased 12 percent to $458,948, or 11 cents per share, compared to net earnings of $408,912, or 10 cents per share, for the same period last year. The company...

Southwest Airlines. (Earnings) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Southwest Airlines' board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 2.5 cents per share on all shares currently issued and outstanding.

Diamond Shamrock Inc. (Earnings) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Diamond Shamrock Inc. has announced earnings for 1991 of $37.1 million, or $1.39 a share, compared to 1990's record earnings of $77.5 million, or $3.04 per share.

W. Mike Baggett. (Notables) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... The shareholders of Winstead Sechrest & Minick have elected W. Mike Baggett to serve as president and chief executive officer for the firm. The Dallas-based firm has offices in Austin, Houston, Washington D.C., London and Dubai.

Southwest Airlines Co. (Notables) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Southwest Airlines Co. has announced that it flew 969.3 million revenue passenger miles in December, a 28.7 percent increase over the 753 million revenue passenger miles flown in December 1990.

Micardo Inc. (Openings) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... Micardo Inc., the Austin Schlotzsky's Sandwich Shop franchise operator, has opened a new store in Brodie Oaks Shopping Center. The store marks the relocation of the Ben White Boulevard shop that closed June 1 due to road construction....

JanCom Engineering Co. (Renamings) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... JanCom Engineering Co. is the new name for JanCom Inc. The electrical and telecommunication systems firm is located at 195 Barton Oaks Plaza Two, 901 MoPac. Telephone number is 327-9527, fax is 328-3192.

Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... AUSTIN -- Austin has emerged as a true technopolis, second only to Silicon Valley in California, and growth in advanced technology firms is expected to continue steadily through 1992. Firms involved in artificial intelligence, microelectronics...

Mycom Enterprises Inc. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... SAN ANTONIO -- Mycom Enterprises Inc., a refrigeration-equipment manufacturer based in Tokyo, quietly opened a San Antonio distribution center in July and is getting ready to expand, according to the company. While Mycom currently employs five...

Dillard Department Stores. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... FORT WORTH -- Dillard Department Stores has purchased 3.388 acres around its 170,000-square foot store at The Parks at Arlington mall for a major expansion in 1992. Construction Developers Inc., Dillard's real estate arm, acquired the property...

Exxon Corp. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... HOUSTON -- Exxon Corp. is turning about $1 billion over to a Houstonian as part of the Valdez oil spill case. Jesse Clark doesn't get to keep the money. Instead Clark, Houston's chief federal court clerk, will place Exxon's billion-dollar...

Certificates of deposit. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... HOUSTON -- Outstripping the paltry returns on Certificates of Deposit, stocks of the five largest Texas banks soared an average of more than 60 percent in 1991. Excluding the battered shares of cash-strapped First City Bancorp. of Texas Inc.,...

National Bancshares Corp. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... SAN ANTONIO -- National Bancshares Corp. and its creditors' committee have reached an agreement on a reorganization plan for the bank holding company, expecting to take advantage of improving trade relations between the United States and Mexico....

Love & Dugger. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... SAN ANTONIO -- One of San Antonio's largest and best-known real estate appraisal companies, Love & Dugger, has split into two firms. A. Scruggs Love Jr., who founded the firm as Scruggs Love & Associates in 1960, has sold his interest in the...

Tom Landry Jr. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... DALLAS -- Tom Landry Jr., son of the legendary Dallas Cowboys coach, has taken control of an Oklahoma oil industry supplier and is planning to relocate the company, along with its unique technological capabilities, to Dallas. The 42-year-old...

Sheshunoff Information Services Inc. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... AUSTIN -- According to Sheshunoff Information Services Inc. of Austin, Massachusetts-based Veribanc Inc. and Florida-based Bauer Financial Reports Inc., Austin banks in general are in good health, faring just a little better than the nation and...

Vantage Companies Inc. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... FORT WORTH -- A condemnation hearing could be set later this month following a breakdown in negotiations between the city of Arlington and Vantage Companies Inc. over the purchase of a 7.5-acre warehouse development. The development, located...

Electronic Data Systems Corp. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... DALLAS -- Electronic Data Systems Corp., the data processing consultant to dozens of Dallas banks, is coming under fire from clients who say the company has been slow in developing the technology needed to comply with tough new government...

Aetna Life Insurance Co. (Texas Trends) (Brief Article)
February 3, 1992... FORT WORTH -- A Seattle investment company has purchased five Texas properties, including two Arlington apartment complexes, from Aetna Life Insurance Co. for $21 million. "Our strategy is to buy apartment buildings at a significant discount...

Tarantula Train begins excursion service in Fort Worth. (Texas Trends)
February 3, 1992... FORT WORTH -- Fort Worth oil man Bill Davis' controversial Tarantula Train, five years in the making, steamed down the tracks for the first time publicly Jan. 18. The inaugural run was scheduled to coincide with the Fort Worth Stock Show, the...

Task force vows new indictments in alleged bank fraud. (Dallas Bank Fraud Task Force) (Texas Trends)
February 3, 1992... DALLAS -- As Jarrett Woods approaches his trial in February, the former Western Savings Association owner is scrambling to prove his lawyers OK'd deals the government now calls fraud. In preparing Woods' defense, his attorneys learned the...

Austin voters jumping into battle over proposed airport. (Texas Trends)
February 3, 1992... AUSTIN -- A former Austin mayor once surveyed the political carnage left by unremitting wrangling about whether and where to build a new airport and announced that the 15-year-old battle just hadn't lasted long enough to resolve the issue. Lee...

San Antonio law firms look south of border for clients. (Texas Trends)
February 3, 1992... SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio lawyers, scrambling for work in a stagnant economy, are turning to international law as a possible means to create a new client base and increase billings. The prospect of a North American Free Trade Agreement between...

Houston reaps benefits of economic boom in Mexico. (Texas Trends)
February 3, 1992... HOUSTON -- After a decade of tough financial times, the Mexicans are back in Houston. And they've brought their wallets with them. A south-of-the-border economic boom brought about by a relaxation of foreign investment rules and the...

Japanese to own stake in Austin CableVision. (Toshiba Corp.; C. Itoh & Co.)
February 10, 1992... Austin's cable television provider could be headed for partial Japanese ownership. Time Warner Corp. is proposing to transfer its cable television companies -- including Austin CableVision -- in 36 areas around the country to a new limited...

Why Apple chose Austin. (Apple USA's new location)
February 10, 1992... 200 local hires planned Austin continues to be the city of Apple's eye, as the computer company's new customer support center and a shared research lab with IBM and Motorola are expected to begin operations within months. Bob Puette,...

Mexico's massive markets beckon Texas. (exporting opportunities)
February 10, 1992... A century ago, the catch phrase for the struggling small business person was "Go West." Today, it may be "Go South." That was the direction recommended at a recent Austin seminar on increasing profits through exports, particularly south to...

'92 TV revenue to hit $41 million. (Focus: Advertising & The Media)
February 10, 1992... Although Austin's television business has been slumping along with the rest of the nation's television industry, observers believe the city's five major stations will maintain slow but steady growth. The city itself has a lot to do with that,...

Warren/Martino: super hot ad shop. (recipient of 1991 Addy Awards) (Focus: Advertising & The Media) (Company Profile)
February 10, 1992... One advertising campaign created by Austin's Warren/Martino was so effective it had to be pulled. The goal of the marketing, advertising and public relations firm was to produce a series of print and television ads for King's Daughters...

Marketers: put away the shotgun. (shotgun approach to marketing) (Focus: Advertising & The Media) (Industry Overview)
February 10, 1992... The shotgun approach to marketing is over. The key to marketing in the Nineties is to be very specific with your message, your product and your customer. "When business has to run leaner, as they are, then business pays more attention to every...

Motorola cements strong partnerships. (includes related article)
February 17, 1992... High technology has too much horsepower for any single company to harness for long and high-quality education is the key to technological prowess. That's the message that emerged from a recent Austin banquet sponsored by Motorola Inc. in honor...

Cost to save birds and bugs: $140 million. (cost of protecting wildlife in west and northwest Travis County and conflicting interests of land owners and developers of the area)
February 24, 1992... Its been about four years since local political leaders began considering a regional plan to accommodate wildlife protection and commercial development in west and northwest Travis County. Now comes the time to see whether that proposal, the...

Muffuletta madness. (New Orleans sandwich incorporating European menus; Original Schlotzsky's restaurant franchise)
February 24, 1992... An Austin-based company is selling America with a sandwich influenced by the Italians, French, Spaniards, Greeks and Eastern Europeans. Schlotzsky's is recruiting "regional developers" to market its franchises -- complete with revised menus and...

Ethics law hits business. (Texas legislature passes ethics law for public officials to regulate corrupt business practices)
February 24, 1992... Last summer, members of the Texas Legislature were on the eve of adjournment when Gov. Ann Richards threatened to call them back into special session the next day if they attempted to go home without passing an ethics bill. It wasn't just that...

Health-care turmoil sparks Austin debate. (conference on medical care costs, medical technology and malpractice law controversies; includes related article)
February 24, 1992... Who's to blame for the national crisis in health care? Maybe everyone. At least that was the claim of representatives from doctors, insurance companies, consumers and hospitals recently in Austin. Society overall will have to change if the...

Cashless society has not arrived. (automation of the banking industry in Texas) (Focus: Banking)
February 24, 1992... Although the cashless society many futurists were predicting a decade ago hasn't materialized on schedule, electronic banking transactions are increasing dramatically as the number of paper checks chasing through the circuitous banking system...

CRA: Austin banks and S&Ls rated satisfactory. (Community Reinvestment Act; savings and loan associations) (Focus: Banking)
February 24, 1992... None of the 15 institutions rated given bad marks The key to earning a good Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating is for a financial institution to listen to the community and come up with products and programs the community wants....

One day in the life of a banker. (Cattlemen's State Bank's senior vice president Mark Curry) (Focus: Banking)
February 24, 1992... Wouldn't you like to have bankers' hours? Think you'd like to keep bankers' hours? Think again. "Most of us work 10 to 12 hours every day and part of the weekend, so I don't know where the myth of bankers' hours came from," said Mark Curry,...