Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky articles from December 1998

Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky archives from December 1998

Internet firm logs on with growth plans.(Onenet Communications Inc.)
December 25, 1998... One of Cincinnati's largest Internet service providers, Onenet Communications, is expanding into Dayton and adding services. One of Cincinnati's largest Internet service providers is preparing to get even larger. Onenet...

Corporex wins $80M Boston-area project: development to include hotel, country club.(Corporex Companies Inc.)
December 25, 1998... Corporex Cos. Inc. has scored a prodigious $80 million development near Boston replete with a Hilton hotel, Five Seasons Sports Country Club and two office buildings. The Walnut Hills-based developer has launched site preparation in...

Growing ideas.(business consultancy firm Workflow Solutions)
December 25, 1998... After planting the seeds for workflow Dynamics, Jamie Messersmith realized she had to make her company different. When it came to growing her consulting business, Jackie Messersmith had to take a taste of her own medicine. In early...

Blue Grass Quality Meats packs in record sales: company's '98 sales up 4 percent from '97.
December 25, 1998... Sam Finch says Blue Grass Quality Meats has "nothing unique to sell." But that didn't stop the 131-year-old meat processing company from posting record sales in the last two years and improving profitability despite a mature industry and...

Gibson's move to N. Ky. now set back to early '99: revamp aimed at reversing losses.(Gibson Greetings Inc.)
December 25, 1998... Gibson Greetings Inc.'s move to the new RiverCenter II office tower building in Covington has been delayed because of some last-minute design and building layout issues. While the company had said that it would relocate by the end of...

Competitors flee Medicaid HMO market; low state reimbursement drives HMOs out.(health maintenance organizations)
December 25, 1998... The 35,000 or so people in Hamilton County who qualify for Medicaid could once choose among six health maintenance organizations vying to care for them. Now, it's down to two, one of which is trying its best to pull out of the market....

Shillito site eyes first tenant; design firm could be catalyst for renovation.(Shillito building in Cincinnati, OH; FRCH Design Worldwide)
December 18, 1998... A fast-growing Cincinnati design firm may drive a $17 million renovation of the former Shillito's building on Seventh Street. FRCH Design Worldwide is negotiating to be the first tenant in the redeveloped building, sources said. FRCH has...

Tech council seeks local turnaround; Cincinnati has long lagged in establishing an organized effort to attract funds, jobs.(Regional Technology Leadership Council)
December 18, 1998... Venture capital, federal research dollars and high-paying jobs could start pouring into Greater Cincinnati if a regional technology initiative takes hold the way organizers hope. Three task forces, representing environmental technology,...

Children's services manager criticized; Magellan 'overambitious' in setting first-year goals.(Magellan Public Health Solutions)
December 18, 1998... The move to bring managed care to Hamilton County's children's welfare services is not coming easy. Almost a year after Magellan Public Health Solutions was hired to manage the system, the company is operating under a corrective action...

BrewServ CEO Ramsay exits troubled company; Dames now heading restaurant company.(John Ramsay; Robert Dames)
December 18, 1998... John Ramsay has vacated his position as chief executive officer of publicly traded BrewServ Corp., shortly before one of the company's divisions filed for bankruptcy. Robert Dames, who took over as CEO after Ramsay left in early...

HeaterMeals cooking up profitable '98.
December 18, 1998... UNITED SHIELDS' BEST-KNOWN UNIT is turning around, but the parent company still needs to raise money to pay off debt and stay on track. A year after losing money to the tune of $1,800 a day, HeaterMeals Co., the maker of self-heating...

Union Central restructuring insures solid gains; sales at most business units growing at least 20 percent.(Union Central Life Insurance Co.)
December 18, 1998... A multiyear reorganization program continues to bear fruit for Union Central Life Insurance Co. The Forest Park insurer is on track to have some of its largest units finish 1998 with top-line increases of 30 percent or more. Chairman and...

Fishy business coup for WonderGroup; ad agency lands world's largest fish-food firm.(Warner-Lambert Co. Tetra Div.)
December 18, 1998... WonderGroup has hooked another national client - Tetra, the world's largest manufacturer of fish food and aquatic accessories WonderGroup, a downtown-based advertising and marketing firm, will serve as agency-of-record for Tetra, which...

Investment advisers to be licensed in Ohio; states now regulating small finance firms, too.
December 18, 1998... Financial planners in Ohio will have to obtain licenses for the first time next year after state legislators passed regulations dealing with investment advisers. The bill was sent to Gov. George Voinovich after the Ohio House of...

Fifth Third tops area in share of deposits; Butler County growth boosts bank's position.(Fifth Third Bancorp)
December 18, 1998... More than $125 million in new deposits from its newly created Buffer County bank helped Fifth Third Bancorp extend its Greater Cincinnati market share lead this past year. Fifth Third controlled 23.2 percent of deposits in the seven Ohio...

Used-car concept making drive to Dayton; Drive 1 dealership looks to go national.
December 18, 1998... A Mason auto finance company and Cincinnati auto dealer Michael Dever have launched their low-cost, used-car dealership, Drive 1. in Cincinnati and are planning to expand to Dayton. Ted Catino, chairman of Security National Automotive...

Frisch's hopes riding high with Golden Corral; but impact likely to take some time.(Frisch's Restaurants Inc.)
December 18, 1998... As Frisch's Restaurants Inc. approaches the halfway mark for fiscal 1999, it is preparing to introduce a new line of restaurants to Tri-State consumers. Frisch's, which already has 88 Big Boy Restaurant locations, expects to complete the...

Financial woes hit Alliance; hospital group expects losses of $20M in 1999.(Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati)
December 11, 1998... The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati will lose an estimated $20 million on operations this year, despite counting one of the country's top performing hospitals, Christ, as a member. "We're doing good on quality, patient satisfaction...

Local HQ girds for major expansion; the U.S. home for English holding company Halma, in Blue Ash, plans to make an aggressive acquisitions push.
December 11, 1998... Halma Holdings plc expects to spend up to $100 mill on a year on U.S. acquisitions as part of aggressive growth plans for its Blue Ash-based North American headquarters. Buckinghamshire, England-based Halma, a holding company for...

Software company launching series of Internet search tools.(IntelliSeek Inc.)
December 11, 1998... Blue Ash-based IntelliSeek is updating its BullsEye product that hunts through Internet search engines. That tool and others, will be released in 1999. A Cincinnati-based software startup that received national recognition for its first...

Golf superstore chain swinging into Cincinnati.(Golf Galaxy)
December 11, 1998... 'Big-box' retailer will open sites in Eastgate, Springdale A Minnesota-based chain of golf superstores is lining up two new spots at Eastgate and Springdale to sell everything from clubs and balls to club-shaped pasta and links-themed...

Holidays bring more kiosks to area malls.(Cincinnati, Ohio)
December 11, 1998... For retailers, it's an inexpensive way to sell Seasonal kiosks and carts are becoming more popular at local malls, as retailers discover they are an inexpensive way to sell seasonal products and holiday gift items to mall-marching...

Integrating ideas: Rob Adams and Jack Kaser teamed up to create Synergy Group, a company that helps clients boost sales with new technology.
December 11, 1998... Rob Adams and Jack Kaser teamed up to create Synergy Group, a company that helps clients boost sales with new technology. When Rob Adams wanted to expand Raco Industries Inc. beyond its focus of selling bar coding equipment and supplies,...

Frank Messer building long-term growth plan.(Frank Messer & Sons Construction Co.)
December 11, 1998... Employee-owned investing in education Between 1996 and 1997, revenues for Frank Messer & Sons Construction Co. shot from about $190 million to $300 million, thanks to the firm's work on the Argosy Casino project. For 1998, revenues...

Regent seeking radio stations in smaller markets.(Regent Communications Inc.)
December 11, 1998... Jacobs aggressive after going public Terry Jacobs is seeking acquisitions to build his third broadcasting company, which like the second is called Regent Communications Inc. At the beginning of December, Regent owned or operated 34...

'Back to work' new focus: managed care groups welcome the latest Ohio workerss' comp contract.(Focus on Workplace Issues)
December 11, 1998... Getting injured workers back on the job quickly is the focus of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation's new two-year contract with managed care organizations (MCOs). To cut costs and improve medical care for injured workers, the...

P&G test sets length record.(Procter & Gamble)
December 4, 1998... Hopes remain high for cleanser after four years After already spending a record four years in test-marketing, Procter & Gamble's Fit vegetable and fruit rinse has been added to two additional cities for further study. The consumer...

Venerated accounting firms will merge; Barnes Dennig, Spaeth look to 'expand horizons.'.(Spaeth & Batterberry Ltd.)
December 4, 1998... Barnes Dennig, Spaeth look to 'expand horizons' Barnes, Dennig & Co. Ltd. and Spaeth & Batterberry Ltd. will merge to create the third-largest Tri-State-based accounting and business advisory firm. The combined company, which will...

New restaurants not kidding around.(Dave & Buster's and Jillian's)
December 4, 1998... They look like a teen paradise, but Dave & Buster's and the city's newest 'eat-ertainment' venue, Jillian's in Covington, are trying to attract corporate meetings. In one corner, a $75,000 NASCAR simulator offers a fide in Richard...

Venture broker to form 'angel network' here.(Venture Awareness Network LLP)
December 4, 1998... West Coast firm has roots in Cincinnati A California-based brokerage founded by Cincinnati entrepreneur Nick Hall is targeting the Tri-State for one of three venture capital hubs. Venture Awareness Network LLP, which Hall formed late...

Provident returns to roots.(Provident Financial Group Inc.)
December 4, 1998... Commercial banking lines' profits skyrocket Provident Financial Group Inc. has been making moves to return to its commercial banking roots in the seven months since CEO Robert Hoverson took over from retired Provident chief Allen Davis....

Berning eases transition of family control.(Joseph Berning Printing Co. Pres. Dick Berning)
December 4, 1998... Dick berning is turning over the reins of family-owned Joseph Berning Printing Co. to the next generation after 44 years in charge. Just weeks before his retirement, Dick Berning walked through the shop of his family's 115-year-old West...

Lockland valve firm gets $6M investment.(Jay Industrial Technologies Group Inc.)
December 4, 1998... Jay Industrial will use money for acquisitions Two Cincinnati venture capital companies have made a combined $6 million equity investment in Lockland-based valve and gauge maker Jay Industrial Technologies Group Inc. Blue Chip...

Engineering firm plans to hire 20, expand office space.(Process Plus LLC)
December 4, 1998... Process Plus considers leaving Forest Park base A fast-growing Forest Park engineering company is bulking up with a hiring push and a possible move. Process Plus LLC turned a profit its first year in 1996, said President Bryan...

Second rising.(Growth Strategies)(Big Sky Bread Co.)
December 4, 1998... In the early months of 1998, the future of Big Sky Bread Co. appeared half-baked, at best. The Cincinnati-based bakery and restaurant chain launched in 1990 as Stone Mill Bakery had become a victim of aggressive expansion plans in...

Drees chief ready - almost - for new generation.(Growth Strategies)(Drees Co.)
December 4, 1998... Revenue hits $340M; firm expands in Texas The Drees Co. is exploring several new avenues of business that could drive continued growth for the Fort Mitchell-based home builder. One option Chairman and CEO Ralph Drees is considering...

Ashland's earnings strong after one-time costs.
December 4, 1998... Oil, chemical firm moves to N. Ky. Unusual charges during 1998 lowered Covington-based Ashland Inc.'s earnings by $60 million, or 78 cents per share, during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The diversified manufacturer generated...