Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky articles from July 1997

Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky archives from July 1997

Mall deal richest in decade: Tri-County center sold to N.Y. group.(O'Connor Group acquires Tri-County Mall)
July 4, 1997... In the most expensive Greater Cincinnati property transaction in at least a decade, a New York company has purchased the Tri-County Mall, just weeks after selling its stake in Hyde Park Plaza. The O'Connor Group, a major investor in...

Baldwin set to bolster electronics.(Baldwin Piano and Organ Co.)
July 4, 1997... The Loveland-based piano company hopes to strike the right note by growing its musical operations. Baldwin Piano and Organ Co. is planning an expansion of the high-tech - and decidedly non-musical - end of its business. Lost amidst the...

Railroad asked to aid riverfront firms.(Cincinnati Southern Railway)
July 4, 1997... County seeks help to keep riverfront shops in business With an August deadline looming on a deal to retain Cincinnati's riverfront produce industry, the food brokers may get help from an unusual source. A dozen-odd produce companies...

Caterpillar digging for site in N. Ky.(Caterpillar Logistics Services Inc.)
July 4, 1997... A Caterpillar Inc. subsidiary is crawling around Boone County in search of a site for a major warehouse and distribution center that could bring as many as 70 jobs. A spokesman for the subsidiary, Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar Logistics...

AK Steel forges growth with Rockport plant.(AK Steel Holdings Corp.)
July 4, 1997... AK Steel Holding Corp.'s new Rockport, Ind., facility is the company's gold mine for the 21st century., according to revenue and income projections the company has disclosed publicly for the first time. The Rockport plant, due to open late...

Michigan components maker looks to buy Eagle-Picher unit: plastics division transaction awaits court resolution.(Cambridge Industries Inc.; Eagle-Picher Industries Inc.)
July 4, 1997... A Michigan auto components manufacturer has been identified as the suitor for Eagle-Picher Industries Inc.'s plastics division. Sources close to the company say Cambridge Industries Inc., based in Madison Heights, Mich., wants to pay about...

Ciao Baby looking for profits via expansion: planning to open more restaurants, cut losses.(Ciao Cucina Corp)
July 4, 1997... Ciao Cucina Corp. could be taking two steps forward and one step back in its quest to grow to a 30-restaurant chain by the turn of the century. The five-location upscale Mediterranean restaurant chain said in its most recent quarterly...

Rising from the ashes: how a disastrous fire paved the way for Plas-Tanks to reach new heights.(Plas-Tanks Industries Inc.)
July 4, 1997... A little more than two years ago, sales were good, though fairly flat, at Plas-Tanks Industries Inc. of Hamilton. All that, and more, changed on March 4, 1995. A fire of undisclosed origin that gutted Plas-Tanks' Fairfield plant one...

Busken Bakery spends dough on technology.(Company Profile)
July 4, 1997... By mid-July, Busken Bakery Inc. will be encouraging its customers to nibble the ears of then' loved one. It's not an invitation for romantic overtures, but rather a special photocopy machine that will enable Busken's bakers to transfer any...

O'Gara's future likely to feature more acquisitions.
July 4, 1997... Armoring firm on growth binge Since going public last November, the O'Gara Co. has hit the acquisition trail, buying three companies and undertaking a major expansion at its Brazilian subsidiary. And there's more growth to come: Last...

LensCrafters trying out sunglasses experiment.
July 11, 1997... LensCrafters Inc. could be staring at a bright future as it seeks to take advantage of a booming sunglasses market. The Symmes Township-based eyewear retailer has opened SunCrafters, an experimental sunglasses kiosk at the Cincinnati/Northern...

Anthem courts Massachusetts Blue Cross plan. (Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield)
July 11, 1997... The local Blue Cross plan is one of several suitors for the troubled company. Cincinnati's Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield is one of several insurers interested in purchasing troubled Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, viewing that...

Debt blurs LCA-Vision's strategy.
July 11, 1997... Company seeks $12 million, new credit line With its cash flow crunched and its bank credit line expired, laser eye surgery pioneer LCA-Vision Inc. has put its aggressive expansion plans on hold. The locally based public company is trying to...

NextWave beaches cell plan. (NextWave Telecom Inc.)
July 11, 1997... Competition in Cincinnati's personal communication services market has been put on hold. NextWave Telecom Inc. has suspended its Midwest operations while it waits to see if the federal government restructures its payment temps. NextWave had...

Best defense? A good offense. (West Chester government contractor diversifies in face of budget cuts)
July 11, 1997... West Chester government contractor diversifies in face of budget cuts Many defense contractors saw their futures turn to dust in the late 1980s with the downsizing of the U.S. government's defense budget. But at CTL Aerospace Inc., a West...

Miller-Valentine continues to grow portfolio. (Miller Valentine Group Inc.)
July 11, 1997... Commercial real estate firm driven by market Talk about stingy. Miller-Valentine Group Inc. of Dayton, a diversified commercial real estate firm with a major presence in the Tri-State, could be considered downright miserly. To wit: over...

Downtown seeks two from Seattle; Spielberg's GameWorks scouting region.(Steven Spielberg)
July 18, 1997... Steven Spielberg has his eye on the Tri-State. Sega GameWorks, a new multimillion-dollar entertainment concept partly owned by the Cincinnati native/movie mogul, is scouting sites for an area location that could open by 1999. "We...

Cincinnati planner meets with Nordstrom officials on their turf.(Downtown Seeks Two Firms From Seattle)(Cincinnati Economic Development Director Andi Udris)
July 18, 1997... The Nordstrom push is on - and it could get pricey. Cincinnati Economic Development Director Andi Udris traveled to Seattle in May for a meeting with the upscale retailer that the city is trying to lure downtown. The company's top real...

Investment pair may try to deal with Marge.(Insider)(Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott)
July 18, 1997... Dan Staton and Fred Mayerson are trying to buy a piece of the Cincinnati Reds from Marge Schott, according to two sources close to the investment partners. Staton, who left Duke Realty this year to form a venture capital firm with...

Bell dials up Anthem for new contract.(Cincinnati Bell Inc., Anthem BlueCross and BlueShield)
July 18, 1997... ChoiceCare Corp. has lost another major Tri-State health insurance contract to archrival Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Beginning in January, Cincinnati Bell Inc. and all of its subsidiaries - including Cincinnati Bell Telephone,...

Future of Mercantile and downtown retail linked.(Mercantile Department Stores Co.)
July 18, 1997... If mercantile is sold to either Federated or another suitor, it would have a major impact on the local economy - both downtown and in Fairfield. Should the off-rumored sale of Mercantile Department Stores Co. come to pass - and analysts...

ATM surcharges draw fire from Ohio lawmaker.(automated teller machines, State Senator Robert Hagan)
July 18, 1997... ATM fees have come under a new attack, with the recent introduction of an Ohio Senate bill that would ban all fees at cash machines. Sen. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, said the fee ban would protect consumers from "highway robbery" by banks....

Banks move into corporate bond underwriting.
July 18, 1997... Huntington, others apply to enter traditional brokerage role The line between banks and brokerage finns continues to blur. The brokerage arm of Huntington Bancshares Inc. has applied for approval to underwrite corporate bonds, a move...

Qwest plans toll-call, data services locally.(Qwest Communications International Inc.)
July 18, 1997... Denver-based firm to enter market by year end Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc. will offer long-distance phone service to Greater Cincinnatians by year end. The Tri-State is included in a $1.4 billion national...

Employment growth looking rosy for 1997.
July 18, 1997... Revised figures predict more jobs, no slowdown With the local economy continuing down its Goldilocks path - not too hot, not too cold - the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce has revised its figures for employment growth for 1997. ...

Franciscan launching series of 'healthy heart' programs.(Franciscan Health System of the Ohio Valley)
July 18, 1997... The Franciscan Health System of the Ohio Valley will launch a series of intensive heart disease prevention programs this fall similar to those created by California-based health guru Dr. Dean Ornish. The new WholeHeart program, which...

Give, and ye shall receive.(Hammer Strength Corp.)(Company Profile)
July 18, 1997... How Hammer Strength gets Shaquille O'Neal to endorse - for free Tom Proffitt has an endorsement list that could make Nike Chairman Phil Knight jealous. And an endorsement budget that would make Knight cry. While the nation's...

Even in this electronic age, BIS' business booms.(Business Information Storage)(Company Profile)
July 18, 1997... Many companies still favor paper records Frank Albi believes "we will have a paperless office the same year we will have a paperless toilet." And that's good news for Business Information Storage Inc., Cincinnati's original business...

Huge retail center planned for Boone.
July 25, 1997... Project may exceed 1 million square feet A major shopping center is in the works for booming Boone County. Cincinnati-based North American Properties is planning a 95-acre shopping center off Houston Road, just one mile from Florence...

Cinery seeking $3 billion for war chest.
July 25, 1997... Utility files for approval to expand, pay off debt Cinergy Corp. is seeking to raise up to $3 billion over the next five years to finance its aggressive expansion plans. While analysts and officials at the fast-growing utility holding...

Downtown Kroger one step closer.
July 25, 1997... Cincinnati development officials think they've found a workable plan for new housing in the Hale-Justis Drug Co. building downtown. It's a plan that could mean construction of a new Kroger store at the Central Parkway site between Vine and...

AutoNation drives to hire 300.(AutoNation USA Inc.)
July 25, 1997... Regional center to supply local superstore, others AutoNation USA Inc. is seeking up to 300 workers to staff a regional car-reconditioning center on Becker Road in West Chester, set to open in August. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based...

Tri-State radio market among faster growing.
July 25, 1997... Consolidation has drastically changed the face of Cincinnati radio, but despite fears to the contrary, revenues are still rising. Fears that ownership consolidation would stifle Cincinnati's radio market are apparently unfounded: this is...

LCA-Vision adding cash, vision centers with buy.
July 25, 1997... Move expected to cut debt, provide growth opportunity LCA-Vision Inc. has found a solution to its debt crisis. In exchange for about 45 percent of its common stock, Kenwood-based LCA says it will acquire the vision-center subsidiary of...

FCC reprimands Jacor for its hiring practices.(Jacor Communications Inc.)
July 25, 1997... Agency renews licenses, wants recruiting info In the wake of charges that Jacor Communications Inc. discriminated against minorities, the Federal Communications Commission has ordered the radio giant to submit recruiting information for the...

Ad-Ex looks to grow international base.(Ad-Ex International Inc.)(Company Profile)
July 25, 1997... Show display company opens Scotland office Tim Murphy views 1997 as the year his overseas marketing efforts will come of age. The Ad-Ex International Inc. president has sought to build European sales since file early 1990s, when his...

Interlott seeks fortune with smart-card machines.(Interlott Technologies Inc.)
July 25, 1997... Growth sought via acquisitions Interlott Technologies Inc, doesn't see its fortunes beginning and ending with the lottery-ticket vending machine business. The Blue Ash-based company, whose sales have tripled since 1994, is testing its...

New Hamilton center on tap: Government Services Center will consolidate county offices.
July 25, 1997... After years of planning, construction on the Government Services Center in Hamilton is likely to get underway by October, according to local officials. The $30 million, 190,000-square-foot office building will consolidate several Butler...

GM remains Dayton's main engine.(General Motors Corp.)
July 25, 1997... But Delphi uncertainties making many nervous Notwithstanding its inexorable shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, the Miami Valley remains largely a company town. And when that company - General Motors Corp. - talks openly...