Boston Business Journal articles from April 2001, page 4

Boston Business Journal archives from April 2001

'Intelligent energy.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Wilmington medical device firm lands investors for novel use of ultrasonics WILMINGTON--There's a plaque on Bob Rabiner's office wall that reads, "Thou shalt not allow the process to interfere with the purpose." That's proven to be a...

Massachusetts' Largest Commercial Banks.(Statistical Data Included)
April 13, 2001... Massachusetts' Largest Commercial Banks (ranked by assets of Dec. 31, 2000) Rank Bank Assets 1 FleetBoston Financial Corp. $166,281,000,000 ...

Two Bay State chains named to 'Hot Concepts' list.(Olive Group's Figs and Fire+Ice.)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Two Massachusetts restaurant chains again have been named to Nation's Restaurant News' seventh annual "Hot Concepts" list for. 2001. The list honors chains that have developed cutting-edge operations with strong consumer appeal. ...

Tweeter purchase fills hole.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Tweeter Home Entertainment Group continued its acquisition tear last week. The publicly traded Canton company announced it had reached an agreement in principle to acquire SMK Marketing Inc., a three-store chain that operates Audio Video...

Tuscan take-out debuts.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... A Maynard-based casual dining chain has unveiled a new prototype, but Connecticut diners are the first to see the new look. Bertucci's, whose concept rests on its wood- and gas-fired, brick-oven cooking, debuted the prototype in Darien,...

Special reserve wines-online.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... The Elephant Walk restaurants in Cambridge and Boston are hooking up its customers with special wines through a some-what novel approach. The program is offered as an end run around vineyards and wine distributors that run tight...

Retention is seen as part of cure for nursing shortage.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... We all know that nurses are in short supply. Even the state Legislature is appropriating money to help hospitals recruit nurses. But are signing bonuses enough? Some doubt it, and they say the solution to the nursing shortage is to keep the...

North Shore ER expansion.(more services added)(Abstract)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Speaking of crowded emergency rooms, North Shore Medical Center is expanding two of its emergency rooms to accommodate a rise in ER visits. The system, which is part of the Partners network, will spend $5 million building a new emergency...

Pfizer hosts party for hearts.(campaign to prevent heart disease)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... A major pharmaceutical company has tapped the city's two leading hospital networks to educate women about heart disease. The goal of the program is to find out how many women in Boston are at risk. New York City-based Pfizer Inc., as well...

What happens when the consumer starts saving again?(influence on the economy)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Saving money hasn't been a popular thing for most Americans to do lately. Why should they save when investing has been so profitable? In 1990, the Dow Jones Industrials were at 2,500; they're at 10,000 today. So, it's made far more sense...

Genuity Inc.(Statistical Data Included)
April 13, 2001... THE BUSINESS Genuity Inc. completed its initial public offering in June 2000. The company has evolved from its initial foundation with BBN Corp. and subsequent ownership by GTE Corp. BBN was a provider of Internet and Internetworking...

MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INDEX.(Statistical Data Included)
April 13, 2001... MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INDEX Ticker Close Pct. 52-week Company Symbol Price Chg. High A. D. Technologies Inc. (L) ADTC ...

Getting heard.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Speech recognition technology is finally making its mark on the marketplace Thanks to advances in technology and the proliferation of mobile phones, speech recognition, a 30-year-old technology is finally starting to be heard in the...

PictureTel aims for return to limelight with new products.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... ANDOVER--PictureTel Corp. finds itself in a slightly unusual position: playing the underdog. A longtime leader in the video teleconferencing equipment field, Andover-based PictureTel saw its market share erode in the past several years....

Match made in e-heaven?(Ron Sege takes over at Ellacoya Networks)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Former Lycos exec Sege takes helm at Ellacoya MERRIMACK, N.H.--When Ellacoya Networks reached 200 employees, founder Kurt Dobbins knew the time had come to hand off control of his startup to a seasoned executive. He launched a...

Q&A: Fibers, networks and data with the speed of light.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Acton-based Equipe Communications Corp. is an optical networking company that manufactures and sells data network switching equipment to large telecommunications carriers. Last month, Equipe unveiled its first product, the Equipe. 3200...

Shakeout in CLEC corral rolls on, but so e find stable track.
April 13, 2001... While any utterance of "CLEC"--short for competitive local exchange carrier--still sends shivers down the spines of most analysts, this sector's recent activity suggests that among the thorns, a few roses are alive, bloomin' and bigger than...

Speech recognition: Is it the answer to customers' calls?(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Many times, customers experience a trade-off when they try to find satisfaction through machines: What they gain in convenience, they lose with modern-day annoyances that come with the new technology. Today, you can check your savings...

PERSONNEL FILE.
April 13, 2001... ADVERTISING/COMMUNICATIONS Harpell of Maynard named Kevin Wynn senior account executive in public relations and Chad Leitz senior copywriter. Boston Communications Inc. in Boston appointed Sean Murphy director of investor relations....

Clarke & Co.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Clarke & Co. in Boston forged an alliance with the Western Massachusetts Technology Business Council (WMTBC), designed to support and promote businesses in the region. As part of the new partnership, the two organizations will collaborate on...

Conover & Co. Communications.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Conover & Co. Communications in Wellesley was hired by CurtainCraft Inc. of Woburn to conduct market research and develop and implement its public relations program.

Burst! Media.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Burlington-based Burst! Media, in partnership with Akarnai Technologies of Cambridge, introduced a new geo-targeting capability, allowing online advertisers to deliver advertising messages to web site visitors in a specific geographic area...

Gray Rambusch Advertising Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Gray Rambusch Advertising Inc. of Boston won accounts for the following Massachusetts-based companies: Corning Laserton of Bedford; Instron of Canton; OneWarranty.com of Wellesley; and Watson Marlow/Bredel Pumps of Wilmington.

Studio-e.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Studio-e, a Concord-based design/communications firm, completed projects for the following: a 2000 Annual Donor Report for Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT); a modified identity program for MIT's Industrial Liaison Program; a...

G2G Productions Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Maynard-based interactive design firm G2G Productions Inc. was engaged by the Walters Art Museum of Baltimore, Md., to develop a new web site and integrated kiosk to be installed in the museum's recently renovated wing. F

Sasaki Associates.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Watertown-based Sasaki Associates completed design projects in New York and Los Angeles for Seattle-based Internap Network Services Corp., both of which involved the design of Internet connectivity centers that will link Internap's customers...

Jung/Brannen Associates Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Jung/Brannen Associates Inc. of Boston was selected to design 470,000 square feet of space in the new Battery Wharf Hotel, operated by Regent International Hotels, a division of Minneapolis-based Carlson Hospitality Worldwide. Jung/Brannen...

Cannon Design.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Cannon Design of Boston was awarded two design projects at Cornell University of Ithaca, N.Y.: a 900-seat wrestling center; and the Cornell Boathouse, which will accomodate both men's and women's crew teams, replacing an existing facility.

Diversified Project Management Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Boston-based Diversified Project Management Inc. completed the relocation of Lodestar Corp. to its new headquarters, a 21,000-square-foot office space at 2 Corporation Way in Peabody.

The Inn at Longwood Medical.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... The Inn at Longwood Medical was named recipient of the national "Stars of the Industry Community Service Award," which is given by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The industry honor recognizes The Inn's ongoing volunteer commitment...

Polaroid Corp.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Polaroid Corp. of Cambridge was named one of the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Minneapolis-based Business Ethics Magazine, acknowledging the company's support of a variety of community programs, primarily through its Polaroid Foundation, a...

William Gallagher Associates.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Boston-based William Gallagher Associates was ranked as the No. 1 directors' and officers' liability insurance broker nationally to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry sector by the Tillinghast-Towers Perrin 2000 Directors' and...

Cannon Design of Boston.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Cannon Design of Boston received the General Services Administration's Honor Award for Architecture, in recognition of the firm's work for the Lloyd D. George U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, a 437,000-square-foot, $95 million project...

LeClair Roofing & Weatherproofing Co. Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... LeClair Roofing & Weatherproofing Co. Inc. of Tewksbury was named recipient of the 2001 Master Contract Award and the Inner Circle of Quality Award from Firestone Building Products of Carmel, Indiana.

New Boston Fund Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... New Boston Fund Inc.New Boston Fund Inc. in Boston acquired an eight-story 257,674-square-foot office building for $43.7 million in suburban Washington, D.C. Built in 1983, the building is located at 1953 Gallows Road in Tysons Corner, Va....

Coley Pharmaceutical Group.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Coley Pharmaceutical Group of Wellesley commenced operations at its new research facility in Langenfeld, Germany, which will serve as home to Coley's Human Cell Screening drug discovery platform, a proprietary system for the rapid generation...

Transkaryotic Therapies Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Transkaryotic Therapies Inc. of Cambridge received a positive recommendation from the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products in regard to the company's Replagal enzyme...

Hingham Institution For Savings.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Hingham Institution For Savings declared a quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents per share, payable on April 20, 2001 to stockholders of record as of April 10.

Ipswich Banchares Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Ipswich Banchares Inc. of Ipswich declared a quarterly cash dividend of 11 cents per share, payable on April 19, 2001, to stockholders of record at the close of business on April 5.

Analogic Corp.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Analogic Corp. of Peabody declared a cash dividend of 7 cents per common share, for the second quarter ended Jan. 31, 2001, payable on April 12 to shareholders of record on March 29.

Spectrum Health Systems Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Spectrum Health Systems Inc. of Marlborough was awarded a multi-year contract by the Georgia Department of Corrections to provide substance abuse services at the Bainbridge Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center, a 384-bed facility...

USPowerSolutions.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... USPowerSolutions of Cambridge gained two new customers for its enterprise-wide products for the restructuring energy marketplace: Green Mountain Energy Co. of Austin, Texas, for whom USPower Solutions will provide EDI transaction management...

Sky Computers Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Chelmsford-based Sky Computers Inc. gained a new customer in Sencom Inc. of Annapolis, Md., which will integrate Sky Computers' multiprocessor sub-systems for military and defense signal processing applications.

Ardais Corp.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Ardais Corp., a Lexington-based privately-held clinical genomics company, completed a private placement financing of $33.5 million. The company is channeling financial and intellectual resources into the Ardais-led National Initiative, a...

Arthur D. Little.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Arthur D. Little of Cambridge entered into a partnership with CoCreate Software of Fort Collins, Colo., whereby Arthur D. Little will incorporate CoCreate's OneSpace technology as the centerpiece of its new e-novation practice. That practice...

eRoom Technology Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... eRoom Technology Inc., a Cambridge-based provider of digital workplaces for professional services organizations and manufacturing companies, opened its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Sydney, Australia. That office will initially serve customers...

Cytyc Corp.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Boxborough-based Cytyc Corp. established a wholly-owned healthcare venture subsidiary, Cytyc Healthcare Ventures LLC, designed to explore and invest in early-stage enterprises in the health care industry. The new venture will make private...

Excelergy Corp.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Excelergy Corp. of Lexington signed an agreement to provide Maverick Energy Ltd. of the United Kingdom with its Excelergy Advanced Business Package software for managing its complex billing and customer care business units.

J. Jill Group Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Quincy-based women's apparel retailer J. Jill Group Inc. launched a new retail store in Tucscon, Arizona--its first in that state and 25th store nationwide. The new 5,286-square-foot location, which will carry the company's signature line of...

Real Estate Guide Publishing Group.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Real Estate Guide Publishing Group, a Foxborough-based publisher of magazines and web-related products, expanded its portfolio with the purchase of two Boston-area publications, Just Rentals and Just Property, both of which have been fixtures...

All Seasons Services Inc.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Brockton-based All Seasons Services Inc. continued a recent spree of acquisitions with the purchase of both Dimensions Inc., a Wilmington-based full-line vending and dining services company; and Valley Vending Service Inc., a Plattsburgh,...

SuperCoups.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... SuperCoups, an Avon-based direct mail franchise organization serving the small business market, launched its first-ever corporate re-branding campaign. The company, in business for nearly 20 years, introduced a new consumer-focused envelope...

Ellen and Michael Albertson.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Arlington-based authors Ellen and Michael Albertson, a.k.a. The Cooking Couple, signed a six-figure-plus deal with Simon & Schuster to publish their next culinary/romance tome, "The Joy of Aphrodisiacs, The Cooking Couple's Gourmet Guide to...

South Shore Community Partners.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... South Shore Community Partners in Prevention, a division of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, awarded minigrants of $500 each to five area health and human service organizations: Marshfield-based South River School's "Second Step...

New England Foundation.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... New England Foundation for the Arts in Boston allocated grants totaling $240,000 to support contemporary dance, as par of the New England Dance Project Thirty-nine arts presenters throughout New England will receive grants of up to $15,700 to...

Wheelock College.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... A national consortium based at Wheelock College in Boston won a nationwide competition as the sole recipient of a $5 million, five-year grant from the Head Start Bureau of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services for an initiative aimed at...

Putnam lays off 256 workers in second round of job cuts.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Boston-based Putnam Investments, the fourth-biggest U.S. mutual fund group, let go of 256 employees--most of them in Massachusetts--citing lower equity markets. The layoffs represent Putnam's second round of job cuts in less than a month and...

Sycamore cuts third-quarter forecast, lays off 140 workers.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Chelmsford-based Sycamore Networks Inc., a maker of fiber-optic telecommunications equipment, said it will have a fiscal third-quarter loss on lower-than-expected sales, and will cut 140 jobs, or about 13 percent of its work force. The...

Segue Software to cut 40 jobs; 1st-qtr. loss widens.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Lexington-based Segue Software Inc., a maker of software that helps sell products over the Internet, said it will cut about 40 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, as its first-quarter loss widened more than expected. The company said...

LavaStorm cuts 28 jobs.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Waltham-based Internet systems engineering firm LavaStorm Inc. has let go of 28 employees in its second round of layoffs this year, citing the need to lower operating costs. In January, LavaStorm laid off 34 employees. The company now...

ArsDigita trims work force.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Cambridge-based ArsDigita Corp., a software products developer, let go of 29 workers, or about 15 percent of its work force, in a move to streamline operations. Employees affected by the cuts were based in ArsDigita's Philadelphia, Pittsburgh...

GE wins $601M Air Force contract to upgrade engines.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Lynn-based GE Aircraft Engines, a division of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co., has been awarded a 10-year, $601 million U.S. Air Force contract to provide hardware upgrade kits for the Air Force's fleet of 509 "Talon" supersonic...

Illinois Tool Works buys Foilmark for $51.2 million.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Glenview, Ill.-based auto parts manufacturer Illinois Tool Works Inc. acquired Newburyport-based Foilmark Inc., a company that designs and manufactures equipment for the printing industry, in a deal worth about $51.2 million. Under the...

Thermo Electron to sell Thermo Trilogy for $25M.(medical equipment industry)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Waltham-based Thermo Electron Corp., the biggest maker of instruments for laboratories, has agreed to sell its Thermo Trilogy Corp. unit for $25 million in cash to Mitsui & Co., Japan's biggest trading company. Thermo Electron owns 80...

Viant COO Levitan to resign.(Ben Levitan to quit the internet consulting company)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Ben Levitan, chief operating officer for Boston-based Viant Corp., an Internet consultancy, will resign April 13, the company said in a statement. Bob Gett, president and CEO, will assume Levitan's responsibilities, including the overall...

Budget test looms for Swift.(Jane Swift, governess of Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... We have an interesting budgetary parallel on the federal and state levels: Both governments have been living high off the hog, and any move to ratchet back bloated spending levels will inevitably be greeted with cries of protest. The new...

A brief diversion into the pit of medical care.(opinion on Massachusetts General Hospital)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... This usually upright editor suddenly found himself writhing with stomach pain while on the cusp of deadline last week. He quietly staggered out of the office and hopped a cab to Mass. General to give himself over to medical experts. He...

Higher ed 'brands': Are they buzz or substance?(differences in changing school names, products)(Interview)
April 13, 2001... Jell-O has it. Band-Aids has it--every day. Xerox had it for awhile, but then things changed. And, of course, there's McDonald's and Coca-Cola: They have it in the same way Ted Williams and Willie Mays had it, still have it and will always...

High-tech shakeout shows the market is working.(economy, analysis)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Here's the real news about the high-tech boom and bust: The markets are working just the way they are supposed to work. That there was a speculative bubble that burst is nothing out of the ordinary, or out of keeping with the workings of...

Feeling the Hub squeeze? Go west, young startup.(boom times in Springfield, Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Springfield, other towns put out the call for biotech and telecom firms A single construction crane hovers over the skyline of downtown Springfield, the most visible sign to date of what many say is a resurgence in progress for much of...

Realtors skittish about possible competition from banks.(federal deregulation allows banks to deal in real estate business)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Treasury, Federal Reserve seek comments about proposed regulations Banks can already cross over into the insurance business, thanks to federal legislation that broke down regulatory barriers, between the two. Now the real estate industry...

Realtors predict a busy year on Capitol Hill.(Laura McPherson, National Association of Realtors, interview)(Interview)
April 13, 2001... Laura McPherson, legislative representative for the National Association of Realtors, has a pretty full plate these days. Bankers want to get into the real estate business. The real estate industry wants to see tax breaks for small...

Real estate slump may mean rise in valuation disputes.(John M. Lynch, executive, interview)(Interview)
April 13, 2001... As the economy softens, questions arise regarding its effects on the local real estate market--in particular, the impact on commercial property valuations and the arduous ordeal of abatements and formal value disputes. In light of this,...

A room with your view: Flex space cuts slack for startups.(use of office space)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Young firms often can often benefit from a more 'professional' look If you work from home, you probably don't enjoy such perks as receptionist service, conference rooms or mail sorting. But you can. If you're starting a new business,...

The trends in office space: Open, quiet, flex and private.(design and construction)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Dilbert-style cubicles quietly go the way of the mimeograph machine When KXTV-Channel 10 in Sacramento, Calif., wanted a fresh look and new office furniture, the television station went for light colors in wide-open spaces. But this...

Worker performance often tied to building performance.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Design improvements can help companies curtail sick-building syndrome For years, sick-building syndrome was always like a disease that had neither a cure nor a diagnosis. Now, a syndrome that by definition could never be easily...

Boston's little taste of Italy may be buried by Big Dig.(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Central Artery's demolition may open the floodgates to the North End In the cafes--where 20- and 30-somethings greet each other warmly with hugs and quick kisses over espressos and cigarettes--and on sidewalk benches, where elderly men...

Harvard's Grogan offers views on urban revitalization.
April 13, 2001... Author and urban expert says every city can see its day with a little bit of help In the 1960s, many U.S. cities began a precipitous decline fueled by integration, racism and rising crime rates. The suburb, with its modern houses and...

Interest heightens in Boston's ever-changing waterfront.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Development, transportation lead to a ceaseless flurry of debate and discussion There has been a flurry of lively debate over the development of the South Boston waterfront area in recent years. The key issue has been how to maximize the...

Thomson Corp. eyes major growth south of the border.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Canadian information giant already has a significant presence in Boston's Fort Point area Fresh off signing a large lease for a new office in Warren County, Ky., Thomson Corp. of Toronto is soliciting proposals for a mammoth distribution...

At tax time, all eyes turn to home.(taxation related to home ownership)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Your home can be a great tax shelter. In addition to income tax savings resulting from mortgage interest and real estate tax deductions, any gain you realize when you sell your home will most likely escape taxation. As a homeowner, you...

Real estate borrowers should seek cycle-savvy lenders.(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... A list of do's and don'ts to ensure the biggest bang for your borrowed bucks You are a businessperson in the volatile commercial real estate market. You know that in peak periods, finding financing is relatively easy because many lenders...

Women slowly make headway in real estate industry.
April 13, 2001... A long time in coming, but realty and construction are no longer male-only Twenty or 30 years ago, seeing women in hard hats leading construction crews through a project or skilled craftswomen fusing together the structure of a downtown...

REITs hold their own in an increasingly shanky market.(real estate investment trusts)(Brief Article)
April 13, 2001... Real estate proves to be a comparatively stable investment vehicle Real estate investment trusts have been somewhat slow going this year. Even so, industry watchers maintain that the sector is one of the strongest investment vehicles...