Austin Business Journal articles from June 1991

Austin Business Journal archives from June 1991

And they're off ... or are they? (expected passage of new state law cutting taxes on pari-mutuel betting)(Texas Tremds)
June 3, 1991... Texas horseracing fans hear the faint pounding of hoofbeats rising ever louder with the expected passage of a new state law slashing taxes levied on pari-mutuel betting. Currently, the state gets 5 percent of each bet placed, 5 percent...

Dallas' sleepy suburbs roused by lot sales. (active sales of housing developments)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... DALLAS -- East Plano is waking up. And, for that matter, so are Garland, Mesquite and Richardson. After several years of hibernation, the market for home lots in the suburbs east of Central Expressway has stretched from sleep in recent...

Round Rock wooing Austin Golfsmith plant. (on golf-club maker's plan to construct new manufacturing facility) (company profile)
June 3, 1991... Golfsmith, the fast-growing North Austin golf-club maker, plans to construct a 200,000 square-foot manufacturing facility and is being wooed ardently by Round Rock to built it there. In an attempt to lure Golfsmith, Round Rock officials are...

HEB: world view on groceries. (HEB Grocery Co. experiments with European marketing strategies)
June 3, 1991... When HEB managers, known in the company as partners, get together, they talk about "a love affair with product" and "fresh and distinctive, perceptibly superior" food. At the HEB annual management conference, held last month in Austin,...

Austin Weekly files bankruptcy. (newspaper publisher reorganizes under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code)
June 3, 1991... The Austin Weekly Inc., publisher of the Austin Weekly newspaper, filed papers on May 29 to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. The bankruptcy filing was made by Georgetown businessman E. De S. "Ned" Snead, former...

Ads shot here. (Q The Sports Club's national advertisement)
June 3, 1991... Q The Spots Club recently shot a series of national advertisements in Austin using a local production company, Television Group Inc., and 20-30 members of the newly opened club on Research Boulevard. Company spokeswoman Janice Harris said...

Texas unemployment up. (unemployment figures for April 1991)
June 3, 1991... "The Texas unemployment rate has moved up to 6.9 percent and the state's economy appears sluggish," said Texas Employment Commissioner Mary Scott Nabers in releasing unemployment figures for April. Despite an increase in the number of...

Cable Vision hikes rates.
June 3, 1991... Austin CableVision, which has seen soaring profits over the past year following a number of lean years, announced last week it will raise rates to cable customers beginning July 1. Rates for the 12-channel basic service and for the...

Texas building comeback. (survey shows construction industry in the upswing)
June 3, 1991... While homebuilders across America are in a five-year nosedive to the fewest residential building permits in 34 years, the Texas construction industry is holdings its head above water. An Analysis of current builder activity indicates a U.S....

Interstate relocates. (First Interstate Bank of Texas )
June 3, 1991... First Interstate Bank of Texas will relocate its downtown branch to 100 Congress Ave., the bank announced last week. The bank has signed a 10-year lease for 8,000 square feet of main floor space at 100 Congress Ave. It will move there from...

New law should save tax dollars. (gives local governments flexibility in purchasing decisions by being able to participate at will in state contracts)
June 3, 1991... A bill proposed by the city of Austin to make it much easier for local governments to piggyback onto state purchasing contracts has made it quietly through the state Legislature. "The bill is going to give local governments much more...

Going to the dogs. (use of Labrador retrievers as command dogs by Exxon Chemical Co. in checking underground gas pipeline leaks)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... HOUSTON -- Exxon Chemical Co. is taking a giant leap backward in an effort to find dangerous leaks in underground pipelines. Instead of using fancy gas chromatographs and elaborate air sampling machines, company inspection crews are now...

Phone options multiplying fast. (variety of telephone communications services)(Focus: Telecommunications)
June 3, 1991... Austin currently has a unique advantage over most parts of the state in gaining access to the many telephone options that Southwestern Bell Telephone has to offer within its exclusive local franchise area. For several years, Austinites have...

Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp. (Contracts)
June 3, 1991... microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp. has been awarded a four-year $4 million manufacturing science contract by the United States Air Force's Wright Laboratory for the project Reliability without Hermeticity.

Alexander Consulting. (Contracts)
June 3, 1991... Alexander Consulting has been selected as advertising agency of record for Visual Marketing Corp. and Cracorp.

Valero Natural Gas Partners L.P. (Earnings)
June 3, 1991... Valero Natural Gas Partners L.P. announced a net income of $7.2 million, or 37 cents per share for the three months ended March 31, compared to $5.4 million, or 27 cents per share for the same period of 1990. Operating revenues for the quarter...

Southwest Airlines. (Earnings)
June 3, 1991... Southwest Airlines declared a dividend of 2.5 cents per share on all shares currently issued and outstanding. The dividend will be paid on June 27 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 6.

Communications Transmission Inc. (Earnings)
June 3, 1991... Communications Transmission Inc. announced a net loss of #13 million, or $1.32 per common share for the first quarter of 1991 ended March 31, compared to a net loss of $8.7 million, or 91 cents per share for the first quarter of 1990....

Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. (Earnings)
June 3, 1991... Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. announced a net income of $555,000, or six cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared to the 1990 quarter of $511,000, or six cents per share.

American Physicians Service Group Inc. (Earnings)
June 3, 1991... American Physicians Service Group Inc. announced revenues of $4.5 million for the first quarter ended March 31, compared to $2.7 million for the same period of 1990. Net earnings were $122,000, or three cents per share, compared to a net loss...

First City Bancorp. of Texas. (Earnings)
June 3, 1991... First City Bancorp. of Texas announced a net interest income for the first quarter ended March 31 of $91 million, compared to $118.1 million for the same period of 1990. A net income of $71.2 million was reported for the 1991 quarter, compared...

The Koger Partnership Ltd. (Earnings)
June 3, 1991... The Koger Partnership Ltd. announced gross rents for the first quarter ended March 31 of $9 million compared to $7.8 million for the same period of 1990. A net loss of $2.1 million was reported for the 1991 quarter, compared to a net loss of...

NCNB Texas. (Earnings)
June 3, 1991... NCNB Texas announced a net income before net gains on investment securities of $73.4 million for the first quarter of 1991, compared to $68.9 million for the same period of 1990. Net income for the 1991 quarter was $114 million, which included...

Peterson Consulting Limited Partnership. (Locations)
June 3, 1991... Peterson Consulting Limited Partnership opened offices at 111 Congress Ave., Suite 2200.

Archillume Lighting Design. (Locations)
June 3, 1991... Archillume Lighting Design opened offices at 3701 Executive Center Drive, Suite 163.

Child's Day Inc. (Openings)
June 3, 1991... Child's Day Inc. opened a new infant/toddler center annex at 2244 Bee Caves Road in the Timberline Office Park beside Mopac Expressway.

Stellar Mold & Tool Inc. (Openings)
June 3, 1991... Stellar Mold & Tool Inc. opened new offices at the Hunter Business Park in San Marcos.

Pharmaco. (Openings)
June 3, 1991... Pharmaco is expanding their present facilities located at Two Park Place, 4009 Banister Lane, Austin, 78704, phone 447-2663. The new complex will be called Pharmaco Research Park.

Austin Hydro Mulch. (Openings)
June 3, 1991... Austin Hydro Muich is now a part of Warren's Turf Inc. Austin Hydro Muich will continue to operate from its headquarters at 4108 Nixon Lane, Austin.

Broadcast Publicity Services. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Broadcast Publicity Services announced the release of the 1991 Texas Media Directory, accompanied by a computer program that allows users to generate mailings by city, county, area or the entire state. Disks are available for IBM-compatible...

Southwestern Bell. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Southwestern Bell announced the release of three new models of answering machines: the FA955, $99.95; FA 960, $109.95; FA 965, $129.95.

Telemedical Interactive Consultative Services Inc. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Telemedical Interactive Consultative Services Inc., in partnership with Project Bluebonnet, announced the launch of a multi-point, telemedical network, a program to help remedy Texas' healtcare crisis in rural communities. The program, the...

Priority Management Systems Inc. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Priority Management Systems Inc. announced the release of The Priority Manager Version 1.7, a PC software tool for implementing the "Essential Management Skills" taught in the company's training courses. The software runs on all IBM/DOS and...

Ten X Technology Inc. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Ten X Technology Inc. announced the release of the OptiXchange 940, a multi-function optical subsystem to incorporate phase-change technology with a hardware interface for connectivity and added performance; for more information call (800)...

FASBA Sales. (Products)
June 3, 1991... FASBA Sales announced the release of FASBA version 2.11, a PC/AT compatible software Directory of Government Business Assistance Programs designed to aid start-up and established businesses in locating government resources of which the...

Texas Instruments. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Texas Instruments (TI) announced the release of uniVerse, a PIC-compatible product for TI's 1500 Computer family; enables value-added resellers (VARs) to port PICK applications to the UNIX operating environment of the 1500 Computers, allowing...

Hewlett-Packard. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced the release of five new products: the LaserJet IIISi, the fastest desktop printer Hewlett-PAckard has produced; the Vectra 486/25T PC which works as a network server, a multiuser terminal or a personal...

ZCo Corp. (Products)
June 3, 1991... ZCo Corp. announced the release of ZPro, an information management program for magazine publishers, ZPro is a workgroup application, a type of software designed from the ground up for networked users collaborating on a project; for more...

KV Corp. (Products)
June 3, 1991... KV Corp. announced the release of SalesComp II, a software package that automates the complete sales commission administration process, including the calculating, reporting and tracking of multi-territory, split commissions; $8500; for more...

Micrografix. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Micrograffix announced the release a drawing system for an unreleased operating system called Windows, which is similar to the Microsoft Windows program.

The Raymond Corp. (Products)
June 3, 1991... The Raymond Corp. announced the release of the EAS12 Series (Ergonomically Advanced Systems with Intellidrive2) which includes a new Operator-Up Swing-Reach truck; for more information call (607) 656-2311.

Technology Works. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Technology Works announced the release of a new line of Ethernet NuBus boards for the Apple Macintosh computers; the new boards come in four different configurations: AAUI, $299; thin, $329; 10BaseT, #329; and the combination card, Technology...

ODT Inc. (Products)
June 3, 1991... ODT Inc. announced the release of the "How To Solicit Feedback" Kit, a self-study module for managers who want to learn about their management effectiveness; includes an extensive workbook, nine questionnaires, profiles, summaries of the...

Diamond Shamrock Inc. (Products)
June 3, 1991... Diamond Shamrock Inc. announced the release of a detergent package containing oa polymer additive that was integrated into all grades of the company's gasoline in May.

STATCO. (Products)
June 3, 1991... STATCO announced the addition of Document Scanning Services (DSS) to their management services which will use Xerox-Kurzweil scanning technology. DSS has the capability of scanning and converting thousands of documents into many popular PC...

CompuAdd Corp. (Products)
June 3, 1991... CompuAdd Corp. announced the release of a family of multimedia products that combine photographic-quality images, stereo sound, television, AM/FM radio and compact disc technology with the personal computers' capabilities. The products include...

Liddell, Sapp, Zivley, Hill & LaBoon. (a law firm)
June 3, 1991... SHEILA L. BALDWIN, ANGELA C. DICKERSON, DANA L. HOLLINGSWORTH and MITCHELL D. SAVRICK have been named associates in the Austin office of Liddell, Sapp, Zivley, Hill & LaBoon. JOHN K. SCHWARTZ of the Austin office has been named a partner with...

Federal probe spurs lawsuits against drill bit makers. (unfair pricing practices investigations)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... HOUSTON -- A federal probe into price-fixing in the drill bit industry has spawned a wave of lawsuits filed by small drilling companies against major manufacturers. The U.S. Justice Department began a grand jury investigation in early...

Texas Disposal Systems Landfill Inc. (Austin)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Texas Disposal Systems Landfill Inc., a 341-acre landfill near Creedmoor, is facing two lawsuits and the appeal of a suit it won last month. . . East Austin, an area with a large minority population and one underserved in banking services,...

NCNB Texas-Austin. (Austin)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... NCNB Texas-Austin announced it will be opening a branch in the area and Bank One, Texas, which had been bidding for the same space won by NCNB, said it will also open a branch in the near future.

Dell Computer Corp. (Austin)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Dell Computer Corp. received some good news and bad news last month. Dell was named one of the 1,000 most valuable corporations in the U.S. by Business Week. Meanwhile, it was also slapped with a lawsuit by rival Compaq over its advertising...

First Southwest Co. (Dallas)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... First Southwest Co., private financial adviser to government agencies, has received a buyout offer from competitor Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc. The widows of two of First Southwest's top executives are mulling strategies to fend off the...

Spaghetti Warehouse. (Dallas)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Spaghetti Warehouse is planning to stock offering in attempts to raise as much as $19.7 million for future expansion.

Critical Care America. (Dallas)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Critical Care America, the nation's third largest home infusion company, is entering the Dallas market. Home infusion is prescribed to patients needing intraveneous therapy, often for illness such as diabetes, AIDS or cancer.

NorthPark National Bank. (Dallas)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... NorthPark National Bank, is studying the prospect of establishing five to seven branches across the Metroplex. NorthPark is area's largest independent bank with $750 million in assets. The proposal comes just a year after former chairman...

MCI Telecommunications Inc. (Dallas)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... MCI Telecommunications Inc. is considering a complete renovation of one of its Dallas facilities. MCI is interview architects to reconfigurate the offices in its 313,000-square-foot building in Richardson. The company is doing so because of...

Mrs. Crockett's Kitchen. (Fort Worth)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Mrs. Crockett's Kitchen, a refrigerated foods company, is embarking on a $7 million expansion plan with the goal of increasing production capacity to support $100 million in annual sales. The Company specializes in the prepackaged salad...

Forth Worth. (Fort Worth)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Forth Worth now has more licensed community hospitals than either Austin or ElPaso, according to statistics from the American Hospital Association. Forth Worth has 11 such hospitals with a total of 2,323 licensed beds.

Loring Retirement Hotel. (Fort Worth)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Plans to demolish the 42-year-old Loring Retirement Hotel are fueling speculation that a hotel/retail development is headed for the high-profile property. No plans for the property, which is located in the Cultural Arts District of Forth...

Technology Development Corp. (Fort Worth)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Technology Development Corp. has announced plans to purchase ComputerLand retail locations in San Antonio and Houston. TDC has been growing aggressively, having bought ComputerLand Metroplex last year.

Polo-Ralph Lauren Corp. (Houston)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. is suing San Antonio-based Solo Serve claiming the retailer is selling knit shirts emblazoned with phony pony symbols that violate Polo's trademark.

Fogarty & Klein Inc. (merges with Winius-Brandon Advertising; Houston)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Fogarty & Klein Inc. and Winius-Brandon Advertising are merging to create Houston's largest independent ad agency.

Grant-Norpac Inc. (Houston)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Grant-Norpac Inc. has bought Louisiana-based Tensor Inc., a privately held seismic data firm, for about $6 million. Grant-Norpac is one of the largest seismic data acquisition companies and recently went public.

Miller, Bristow & Brown. (law firm; Houston)(Texas Trend)
June 3, 1991... The lead legal defense firm in the famous Texaco-Pennzoil case is breaking up into three offices. The name partners in Miller, Bristow & Brown, which led Texaco's defense in the 1985 trial, are going their separate ways.

Houston. (Houston)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... HOUSTON

Brock & Mathis. (law firm in San Antonio)(Texas Trends )
June 3, 1991... Brock & Mathis -- San Antonio's 10th largest law firm -- has lost five lawyers to San Antonio office of Austin-based Bankston, Wright & Greenhill. The defections include name partner Wayne Mathis.

Booth & Newsom. (a law firm in San Antonio)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... And San Antonio's ninth largest law firm, Sawtelle, Goode, Davidson & Troilo has merged with Austin-based Booth & Newsom. Eight of Sawtelle's attorney's left the practice as a result of the merger, which also results in a new name: Davidson,...

Groce, Locke & Hebdon. (a law firm in San Antonio)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... Groce, Locke & Hebdon, has laid off 10 lawyers and seven support staff, citing "hard economic times."

H.B. Zachry Co. (San Antonio)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... H.B. Zachry Co. won a $7.6 million contract with San Antonio International Airport, beating out Yanis Corp. and Silverton Construction Co.

Borrowers get break with new foreclosure law. (allows borrower to request a judge or jury to determine fair market value of foreclosed properties and setting date of foreclosure sale)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... AUSTIN -- On April 1, Gov. Ann Richards signed into law a new deficiency judgment bill, ending a two-year battle between borrowers and lenders over Texas' lax foreclosure procedures. Before April 1, if a borrower defaulted on a loan all the...

Motel 6 continuing to buck industry trend with buyouts. (continuing acquisition activities despite hotel industry downturn)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... DALLAS -- If Motel 6 keeps up its current acquisition pace, the Dallas-based company -- known for its advertising tagline, "We'll leave the light on for you" -- will be illuminating skies in cities across the country. At a time when hotel...

Third Hispanic TV station goes on air in S.A. (Channel 17 of Nicolas Communications Inc.; San Antonio)(Texas Trends)
June 3, 1991... SAN ANTONIO -- An affiliate of a Los Angeles-based television station has become the third Spanish-language station broadcasting in San Antonio. San Antonio's Emilio Nicolas, one of the founders of Hispanic television in this country, has...

Foreign trade zone OK likely. (application under consideration by the federal Foreign-Trade Zones Board)
June 10, 1991... Foreign trade zone OK likely An application by Austin area government and business leaders to designate portions of the area as a foreign trade zone has gotten high praise from a federal official reviewing the proposal. While the...

High-flying way to sell real estate. (marketing techniques)
June 10, 1991... High-flying way to sell real estate The dizzying view from a helicopter circling Houston looks down at the chrome and glass skyscrapers of downtown, then darts quickly over the towering San Jacinto Monument and swoops nearly to the ground to...

Ma Bell at odds with offspring. (American Telephone and Telegraph Co. and Bell Regional Holding Companies; prohibition on manufacturing telecommunications equipment)
June 10, 1991... Ma Bell at odds with offspring Though the Bell family split up nine years ago, Ma and the Babies are still feuding. AT&T and the seven Bell Operating Companies are on opposite sides of a debate about legislation now under consideration...

Airport traffic down. (total passenger traffic for Robert Mueller Airport during April 1991)
June 10, 1991... Airport traffic down Total passenger traffic for Robert Mueller Airport was down in April over the same month during 1990 despite increases at six of the 10 airlines that serve the airport. Southwest, which held 36.4 percent of the total...

Union Bank opening up downtown. (Union National Bank's new downtown offices)
June 10, 1991... Union Bank opening up downtown Union National Bank has joined the growing number of banks opening offices in downtown Austin when they moved their headquarters to 919 Congress Ave. last week. Union National's full-service downtown office...

Sunset Valley Marketfair construction gets underway. (power center construction project of New Market Development of Atlanta)
June 10, 1991... Sunset Valley Marketfair construction gets underway The first "power center" in Austin is now being built in the midst of highway construction around U.S. 290 and Brodie Lane. The 360,000 square-foot Sunset Valley Marketfair is being...

World Gym takes over Littlefield Athletic Club.
June 10, 1991... World Gym takes over Littlefield Athletic Club Littlefield-World Gym, formerly the Littlefield Athletic Club, re-opened its doors June 3 under new ownership by World Gym of Austin. According to Cindy Attwood, comptroller for World Gym,...

MCC (Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp.).
June 10, 1991... ALAN B. SALISBURY has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of MCC (Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp.), a cooperative research and development enterprise.

The Aries Group.
June 10, 1991... RICK GRUNDMAN has joined The Aries Group as a partner and been named executive vice president for legislative research and government relations.

Dell sales up 45%. (increased sales of Dell Computer Corp.)
June 10, 1991... Dell sales up 45% Dell Computer Corp. sales increased 45 percent to $174.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 1992, as compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the company. Net income rose 88 percent to $10.1...

Lockheed networking. (installation of Novell network at offices of the Lockheed Missile Engineering and Science Co. by Netcon Inc.)
June 10, 1991... Lockheed networking Netcon Inc. has won a contract to install a Novell network at the offices of the Lockheed Missile Engineering and Science Co. The contract includes both hardware and software.

Registration revoked. (securities registrations of Gibraltar Energy Inc., John Thomas Davis and Jack Marshall Linder)
June 10, 1991... Registration revoked The State Securities Board May 14 revoked the registrations of Gibraltar Energy Inc., John Thomas Davis and Jack Marshall Linder. Gibraltar, which was based in Austin, sold securities in the form of working interests...