Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky articles from January 1999

Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky archives from January 1999

Anthem may shift to stock.(Anthem Inc. mulls demutualization plans)
January 1, 1999... Insurer could change from mutual owner The Indianapolis-based parent of local health insurer Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield is paving the way for a conversion to a publicly traded company. Such a conversion by Anthem Inc. could result...

Gill takes Saltz's place as top manager at area SS&G Financial office.(Linda Tracy Gill chosen as managing partner of accounting firms' Cincinnati office)
January 1, 1999... Linda Tracy Gill is taking over a prime position in the local accounting industry, less than two years after merging her firm with a Cleveland company. Linda Tracy. Gill, who in 1997 merged her firm with Cleveland-based SS&G Financial...

National Underwriter closes Ohio publication.
January 1, 1999... Insurance trade journal shut down to focus on other areas National Underwriter Co., the Queensgate publisher of insurance industry publications, has pulled the plug on Ohio Underwriter, one of its major publications. "It was the end of...

Hart legacy lives on through founder's children.(includes interview with Robert Hart III)(Hart Productions Inc.)
January 1, 1999... Shows bring $60M a year to local economy Staging consumer shows for 21 years has provided a great deal of industry experience for Robert "Chip" Hart III, who runs Clifton-based Hart Productions Inc. with his brother, Doug, and sister,...

Scripps aims to build on HGTV's successful ride.(E.W. Scripps & Co.; Home & Garden Television)(Company Profile)
January 1, 1999... Specialty TV a growth vehicle E.W Scripps Co. is seeking to build on the phenomenal success it created with Home & Garden Television. Started by Scripps from scratch about four years ago, HGTV is now valued at over $1 billion and has...

Local heavyweights start new bank.(investors plan to form a new Clermont County bank to be called CenterBank)
January 8, 1999... CenterBank, created by a group of Cincinnati business leaders, will set up in Clermont. A high-profile group of local investors that includes Bartlett & Co. Chairman William Friedlander and Larry Schumacher of Schumacher-Dugan Construction...

1999 forecast: mostly sunny, say execs.('Courier' survey )
January 8, 1999... What, me worry? Local business leaders are entering 1999 with an optimism that, despite half-gloomy forecasts by economists, may well be justified given the economy's powerful run of the last few years. A fax survey of 76 Tri-State...

Techno travel: Lila Gantz has found the key to her most recent success in the travel industry is technology.(Company Profile)
January 8, 1999... Over the past 17 years, a mini-travel empire has quietly sprouted in Norwood. First there was the TriState Travel School, a training program for people who want to get their foot in the door of the industry. Simultaneously, The Travel...

Fully spun-off Convergys focusing on its future.(Company Profile)
January 8, 1999... Synergies sought for two divisions After finalizing its separation from Cincinnati Bell Inc., Convergys Corp. plans to spend the new year melding its two divisions into a unified focus on customer relations solutions. "Certainly for a...

A touch of healing: local hospitals try holistic treatments to speed recovery, reduce tension.(Company Profile)
January 8, 1999... Women recovering from surgery or other medical procedures at Mercy Hospital Anderson have a new option for their care - holistic treatments that help speed healing and reduce anxiety. Part of a new wave of non-traditional procedures cropping up...

CartonMaster renamed to reflect evolution.(includes interview with firm president Bob Curran)(Stratus Group Inc.)(Company Profile)
January 8, 1999... Firm posted all-time high revenues in 1998 Bob and Curtis Curran, the father/son ownership team of a growing Fairfield packaging firm, have renamed their company to better reflect a diversified and evolving set of services. Stratus...

Bakery may add yeast to Middle East.(Busken Bakery)
January 15, 1999... Busken, Cincinnati's largest bakery chain, is working with a Saudi Arabian company to open Busken stores in the Middle East. Busken Bakery may roll into Saudi Arabia. The 71-year-old Cincinnati bakery, which has never ventured outside...

Student Loan Funding inking big deals.(Student Loan Funding Resources Inc.)
January 15, 1999... First moves as for-profit include loan servicing Student Loan Funding Resources Inc. has made its first major moves since converting to a for-profit corporation. The downtown finance firm recently completed these deals: It took a stake...

High-end retail heads here.(Cincinnati, Ohio)
January 15, 1999... Trio of upscale stores searches for top sites Three upscale retailers are scanning Greater Cincinnati for sites that would give them their first locations in the area. The companies, furniture and decorative item retailer Restoration...

Globe poised for earnings, stock rebound.(Globe Business Resources Inc.)
January 15, 1999... After gorging on acquisitions the past two years and taking the hit to earnings that goes with it, Globe is spinning major plans. On the heels of seven acquisitions last fiscal year and four more in the year ending next month, Globe...

Garage-door maker Clopay plans move from city.(Cincinnati, Ohio)
January 15, 1999... Consolidation of operations would require huge facility One of Cincinnati's signature companies, Clopay Corp., may be fleeing the city in search of a huge build-to-suit facility in the city's northern suburbs or Northern Kentucky. ...

N. Ky. accounting firm adding tech practice.(Mackey McNeill Mohr PSC)
January 15, 1999... Mackey McNeill Mohr moving to Fort Wright Accounting firm Mackey McNeill Mohr PSC is adding a new technology practice it hopes will almost double the firm's revenues. The growth plans come as the Tri-State's 17th-largest accounting...

A little taste of Italy.(Scalea's, restaurant located in Covington, KY)
January 15, 1999... A non-threatening wine list is only one of many reasons why Covington-based Scalea's is a flourishing restaurant. Dean DiGiacinto knew little about wine. But he knew a lot about what kind of wine list he wanted for his new Italian...

Cincinnati Time on watch for more acquisitions.(Growth Strategies)(Cincinnati Time Systems)
January 15, 1999... Firm's expansion into Indianapolis a success Mike Lahm wastes no time. In fact, his livelihood depends on helping others keep track of that fleeting element Three years after joining Cincinnati Time Systems as an account representative...

Staubach Co. revenues hit all-time high.(Focus on Real Estate)
January 15, 1999... New hires, territory shift highlight local activities Cincinnati native Roger Staubach's commercial real estate firm posted its best year ever in 1998 as the NFL Hall of Famer and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback captured a significant...

Luxottica tests vision plan.(Eye Med subsidiary to develop managed care vision plan)
January 22, 1999... Managed care plan may boost LensCrafters' sales The Italian parent of LensCrafters wants to tap into the growing managed vision care market. Luxottica S.p.A.'s EyeMed unit will create a managed care vision plan that will include Symmes...

Time ripe for Chiquita, Kroger says.(Chiquita bananas return to Kroger Co stores)
January 22, 1999... Chiquita is selling bananas in Tri-State Kroger stores for the first time since quality issues cost it the account in '95. Chiquita bananas have slipped back into area Kroger stores, four years after the grocer bumped the local fruit firm...

Is Cincy oversaturated with pro sports? Study shows city income won't support more teams.(Cincinnati, Ohio)
January 22, 1999... Perhaps Major League Soccer should rethink its plans to pursue a franchise at the new Paul Brown Stadium. The Tri-State market is one of the most saturated in major-league professional sports, according to a recent study by Street &...

Nurse shortage now critical.(in Cincinnati, Ohio)
January 22, 1999... Children's hikes pay to maintain care level Children's Hospital Medical Center has waded into the recruiting war for registered nurses with a program that pays up to $8,000 more per year for those willing to work second and third shifts....

Technology fuels boom in call centers.
January 22, 1999... The call center industry is exploding here, led by giants like Convergys and Fidelity. But small companies are also joining in. Cincinnati's call center industry, which includes industry giant Convergys Corp., could reach a new level of...

Cincinnati is apple of national restaurants' eyes.(influx of national restaurant chains)
January 22, 1999... Italian chain would help downtown's revitalization The booming local economy has made the TriState a grade-A landing spot for national restaurant chains. Minneapolis-based Buca di Beppo, a southern Italian eatery, is looking for a site...

Madison Marquette plans to go national.(Cincinnati, Ohio-based Madison Marquette Realty Services)
January 22, 1999... Retail developer builds management division Cincinnati-based Madison Marquette Realty Services is on a buying binge. The nine-year-old, retail development company, formed by former executives of Federated Department Stores Inc.,...

Adow to market job candidates via Web.(Adow Professionals)
January 22, 1999... Firm expects to grow sales, ease labor crunch A local staffing firm is preparing to mount a marketing offensive its president says will help labor-strapped companies beat the TriState shortage of skilled workers. On Feb. 1,...

Madison Marquette brings life into downtown.(includes interview with CEO John Boorn)(Cincinnati, Ohio-based Madison Marquette Realty Services)(Company Profile)
January 22, 1999... Non-mall centers focus of firm's developments Madison Marquette has carved a national reputation by luring high-profile, retail tenants to upscale, non-mall centers. "Sometimes, I look at it and I'm just amazed by what's happened and...

Baldwin takes next step in cost-cutting program.(Baldwin Piano and Organ Co)(Company Profile)
January 22, 1999... Asian imports hurting margins A newly announced cost-cutting plan is the latest step in Loveland-based Baldwin Piano & Organ Co.'s efforts to improve efficiency. Baldwin said this month that it will stop assembling grand pianos at its...

Travel forecast: clear skies.(travel industry in Tri-State area)(Industry Overview)
January 22, 1999... Business travelers can expect stable prices for airfares, agents say Tri-State travel agents are predicting business as usual for corporate travel in the 1999 season. Levels of travel are expected to stay the same with costs reflecting...

Eateries part of river vision: restaurants sought for bookends to huge park.
January 29, 1999... Cincinnati's new riverfront park may serve up a pair of premier restaurant locations as a way of raising money for the $40 million-plus park project. Cincinnati Park Board architect Dave Prather, who is in charge of assembling both a...

Gibson's cards Internet hit: success of E-Greetings fuels bigger Web push.(Gibson Greetings Inc.; E-Greetings Network)
January 29, 1999... Gibson Greetings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Frank O'Connell is powering up ambitious Internet plans in hopes of building on the card and specialty items manufacturer's initial online success. "I foresee a string of minority investments in...

Kitei jumping into ad fray as Sive CEO.(Michael Kitei; Sive/Young & Rubicam)
January 29, 1999... The former creative director faces the challenge of kick-starting an agency that lost key accounts and personnel in recent years. Since becoming President and CEO of Sive/Young & Rubicam at the beginning of the year, Michael Kitei has found...

Fifth Third likes look of investment trusts; telecommunications trust grew 75 percent.(Fifth Third/The Ohio Co.; Strategic Communications & Technology Unit Investment Trust)
January 29, 1999... After the strong performance of their three-month-old telecommunications unit investment trust, officials at Fifth Third/The Ohio Co. say they will seek to duplicate the success in other industries. Riding on the meteoric rises of stocks...

Ohio Heart pays doctors for time, not procedure.(Ohio Heart Health Center Inc.)
January 29, 1999... Doctors have chance to focus on one area Given the independent streak found in most doctors, it could have been a pill too tough to swallow for the four cardiology groups that merged in 1995 to form Ohio Heart Health Center Inc. Quite...

Acquisition to hike Winton Financial's presence.(Portfolio)(Company Profile)
January 29, 1999... S&L to add first east-side office Robert Bollin doesn't worry too much about growth plans or where his company will be in five years. "If you'd asked me a year ago, I would have said $500 million (in assets)," said the president of...

Growth meets in the middle; development along the I-75 corridor is good and bad for Butler County.(Focus of Dayton Corridor)(Interstate 75)
January 29, 1999... From Dayton to Cincinnati, all along the towns and cities that border Interstate 75, new homes and buildings are sprouting up on a daily basis. Development is galloping along as more business people and employees see the benefits of the area....

Nuclear facility to become industrial park; DOE to transfer land to Miamisburg group.(Focus of Dayton Corridor)(Department of Energy; Miamisburg Mound Community Improvement Corp.)
January 29, 1999... A 10-acre parcel of property at the Miamisburg Mound facility, owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, will make history this spring when it is transferred to the Miamisburg Mound Community Improvement Corp. The parcel is the first of 18...

Springboro plans to grow; stay the same.(Focus of Dayton Corridor)(Springboro, Ohio)
January 29, 1999... Goal is self-sufficiency; no commercial sprawl Springboro, one of the "Main Street U.S.A." towns that dot the landscape between Cincinnati and Dayton, has been riding the economic boom that has transformed it and its once-sleepy neighbors....

Uniform firm plans headquarters move; Van Dyne Crotty to relocate south of Dayton.(Focus on Dayton Corridor)
January 29, 1999... A major, privately held Dayton-based company is planning to move its headquarters from just north of downtown to Miami Township. Uniform distributor Van Dyne Crotty Inc. is expected to buy the former corporate headquarters of Super Foods...

Dayton family discovers gold in goat milk; Bellbrook processing plant largest in the U.S.(Focus on Dayton Corridor)(Willow Run Dairy Inc.)
January 29, 1999... There's a lot of liquidity in Dennis Dean's new investment. And the son of prominent Dayton money manager Chauncey Dean is going to milk it for all it's worth. The former president of CH Dean & Associates has retired from money...