Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky articles from May 1999

Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky archives from May 1999

Midland execs start new firm: developer hopes to grab Kroger contracts.(Midland Development Group executives form Midland Atlantic)
May 7, 1999... Developer hopes to grab Kroger contracts Five former executives of the old Midland Development Group, whose firm was sold last year, have created a new entity they hope will help renew ties with long-time client Kroger Co. Two local...

An 'outsider' sees dazzling local success.(HMS Success Chmn and CEO David Milenthal)
May 7, 1999... David Milenthal has directed some of the most successful campaigns in the city's history. The year was 1995, and David Milenthal was speaking to a handful of Cincinnati power brokers gathered to discuss the stadium tax. "I want to give you...

United Home Care ex-boss: mistakes made.(replacement of CEO Harmon Clinger)
May 7, 1999... Clingner loses top job, replaced by Falberg Harmon "Ted" Clingner knew by August last year that Medicare had made a bumbling mistake and was significantly overpaying United Home Care, the agency he headed. But rather than hold the...

NS Group's stock rises along with price of oil.
May 7, 1999... Steelmaker may snap out of year-long slump NS Group Inc.'s stock has jumped nearly 60 percent in the past month, an indication that rising oil prices may finally pull the company out of its year-long slump. Stock in the Newport-based...

Bell wired into e-commerce.(Cincinnati Bell)
May 7, 1999... Phone company sells products on Internet Cincinnati Bell took another leap into Internet technology early this month, this time into the realm of electronic commerce. Residential customers now can order many of Bell's phone services,...

Snappy looks for 50 more franchise sites.(Snappy Tomato Pizza Co)
May 7, 1999... Fred Riess is launching Snappy Tomato Pizza's biggest expansion ever in an effort to reach 100 sites. Snappy Tomato Pizza Co. plans to paste its mascot Elliot - a fiery red tomato that spores a chefs hat and a steaming pizza - atop at least...

Start-up firms face tough road in race for capital.(Cincinnati firms)
May 7, 1999... Seven local companies seek funds at venture conference As they head to this year's Innovest venture capital conference with business plans in their pockets, seven young Cincinnati companies may soon have to face the fact that Midwestern...

First Financial plans band consolidation.(First Financial Bancorp)
May 7, 1999... Bank branches straddle Ohio-Indiana border Continuing down the path it started on 18 months ago, First Financial Bancorp is preparing to consolidate two of its member banks. The Hamilton-based bank holding company has applied with the...

Insurers draw new life from small firms.
May 7, 1999... Benefit upgrades boosting mature market Small business means big bucks for the insurance industry these days. With unemployment at its lowest point in 30 years, companies of all sizes have had to step up their efforts to attract and...

Low rates online.(Arrowhead Mortgage Company Inc's Web site)
May 7, 1999... Launching a Web site has helped Arrowhead Mortgage s sales soar. Getting a mortgage to buy a home, that most quintessential of American dreams, can sometimes be an upstream effort. The traditional method usually involves subjugating...

Tough conditions hamper Cincinnati Financial: expansions fuel premium growth.
May 7, 1999... Expansions fuel premium growth Among the problems Cincinnati Financial Corp. Chairman and CEO Jack Schiff Jr. deals with on a regular basis are irrational pricing, the whims of Mother Nature and competing in what is viewed as a stagnant...

Sale may cost 250 local jobs.(CompuCom Systems acquires Entex's Technology Acquisition Services Division)
May 14, 1999... Dallas company buys Entex products group More than 250 Mason-based employees may be transferred out of town following the sale of an Entex Information Services division. Dallas-based CompuCom Systems Inc., a computer products and...

Booming temp agency eyes regional growth.(Labor Solutions)(Company Profile)
May 14, 1999... A Covington industrial temp company is building a regional network of offices to serve the myriad of firms suffering from the worker shortage. Labor Solutions, founded just last year by three brothers and their stepfather, provides firms...

Downtown's housing market hits milestone.(Cincinnati, OH)
May 14, 1999... Riverfront condo and apartment projects could be built without government subsidies, something most thought was impossible. Downtown's housing market has turned a major corner, as pent-up demand produces rising rents and offers the prospect...

Trane moving local operations to Woodlawn.
May 14, 1999... Air conditioning firm building $2M facility Trane Co. is relocating and consolidating its local operations, taking 50 jobs out of the city of Cincinnati to a new $2 million facility in Woodlawn. The Wisconsin-based commercial and...

Gold Star adds combo store.(Gold Star Chili Inc. to open new store in Evendale, OH)
May 14, 1999... Steak will give boost to chili chain's menu Gold Star Chili Inc. will break ground next month on a prototype store that may be the chain's long-sought answer for exporting Cincinnati-style chili to other markets. The new store, a...

Local developer building $5M hotel in Kenwood.(Mansion Hill Management)
May 14, 1999... Project similar to Hannaford will capitalize on relocations Local hotel developer Mansion Management will break ground on a $5 million extended-stay hotel in Kenwood this summer that is expected to be ready by spring of 2000. The...

Hensley snags $1M Monarch ad account.(advertising agency Hensley Segal Rentschler; Monarch Marking Systems)
May 14, 1999... Dayton firm decided to outsource ad work For the second time in the last two years, local advertising agency Hensley Segal Rentschler has snagged a big-name account from Dayton. Hensley Segal Rentschler won Miamisburg-based Monarch...

Huntington's stock getting tepid review.(Huntington Bancshares Inc.)
May 14, 1999... Analysts waiting to see bank's bottom line On April 13 of last year, John McCoy stood in the Empire Room at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York and launched a merger that would take Bank One Corp. into the emerging upper echelon of the...

'Bliss family Robinson': Garfield merger with Robinson Realtors spurred by mutual respect.(Garfield Real Estate Services)
May 14, 1999... Lee Robinson didn't have to look far for the biggest thing to hit his Cincinnati-based real estate empire in years: Jan Alexander was right around the corner in Hyde Park square from Robinson's Hyde Park offices on Observatory Avenue. ...

Deregulation about to spawn new era at Cinergy.
May 14, 1999... Utility prepares for competition Cinergy Corp. is on the verge of a new era as the country's energy markets move toward competition. But exactly what that era will mean for the locally based utility holding company remains to be seen....

StarKist casts old favorite to spur sales.(Charlie the Tuna television advertising campaign developed by Cincinnati, Ohio-based Northlich Stolley LaWare for StarKist Seafoods)
May 21, 1999... Long dormant, Charlie the Tuna makes a return to television as part of a major marketing push. Charlie the Tuna, who hooked millions of customers for StarKist Seafoods, returns to national television this month after a 10-year absence. ...

Our city: then & now.(Business Courier: Commemorative Issue: 1984-1999)(development of Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... Has Cincinnati developed an inferiority complex? In 1984, we were John Wayne. Now we're Woody Allen. Fifteen years of explosive suburban growth, an uphill battle to save the urban core, a gradual power shift away from downtown and...

Main St. nightclub on tap.(opening of a Banana Joe's Sports Bar and Grille at the Main Street Entertainment District in Columbus, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... Columbus firm plans four-story theme bar A Columbus company has pegged the Main Street Entertainment District as the newest link in a national chain for its nightclub concept: Banana Joe's Sports Bar and Grille. The new four-story...

Abatements could help create 250 jobs.(impact of tax abatements on companies planning to invest in Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... Nineteen companies will invest $65 million in expansions if the city approves the tax abatement deals that have come in a flurry. A flurry of new tax abatement deals now pending at Cincinnati's City Hall could generate more than 250 new...

Developer pays $4.9M for Provident Building.(Diamond Properties LLC's purchase of the Provident Bank Building in Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... Improvements planned for 90-year-old class C building A New York developer has paid $4.9 million for the former headquarters of one of Cincinnati's original financial institutions, the 90-year-old Provident Bank Building at Seventh and...

Council membership becomes occupation.(Business Courier: Commemorative Issue: 1984-1999)(salaries and privileges of city council members in Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... Council members used to be paid $8,000 and held other jobs. And some liked it better that way. What's the major difference between today's city council and the one that ruled the Cincinnati City Hall roost in 1984? "People had other...

Procter & Gamble takes on the world.(Business Courier: Commemorative Issue: 1984-1999)(corporate history of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Procter and Gamble Co.)
May 21, 1999... Always a U.S. Giant, P&G looked globally for sales and market share growth in the 1980s and '90s. Who would have guessed in 1984 that Procter & Gamble Co. brand managers would someday be spotted in Cincinnati lunch spots dressed in plaid...

Lindner influence felt throughout the region.(Business Courier: Commemorative Issue: 1984-1999)(interview with Carl Lindner, co-president of the Cincinnati, Ohio-based American Financial Group Inc.)(Interview)
May 21, 1999... The Lindner family wields the most power, impacting politics, entrepreneurs and downtown. Terry Jacobs has built three local media companies, each worth more than $100 million. But none of them would have existed if it weren't for Carl...

Road for women smoother, still bumpy.(Business Courier: Commemorative Issue: 1984-1999)(businesswomen in Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... Female business leaders have had their share of hurdles over the years. Here are some stories. Cincinnati's business community may have looked like a male-dominated preserve in the mid-1980s, but it was only a surface impression. As had...

Mutual funds' rise spurred by 401(k).(Business Courier: Commemorative Issue: 1984-1999)(mutual fund industry of Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... Mutual funds brought a new way to buy stocks and diversify to an entire group of investors. Growth in the mutual fund industry has been staggering over the past decade and a half. Only four or five local companies offered mutual funds...

Banks have added service, convenience.(Business Courier: Commemorative Issue: 1984-1999)(banking industry in Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... The delivery of banking services has changed greatly as their competition has shifted. Banking has become a 24-hour-a-day activity. From ATMs to Internet banking, consumers are closer to their money today than ever before. The days when...

The tech revolution: one firm's story.(Business Courier: Commemorative Issue: 1984-1999)(Ferguson Metals/Aerospace Alloys Inc. based in Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 21, 1999... Ferguson Metals isn't a high-tech company, but it has used computers to completely revamp its business structure. In an industry that dates back to the age of blacksmiths, Wayne Ferguson is something of a visionary. The Hamilton-based...

Old Navy looks to Fourth St.; retailer may open in old McAlpin's building.(Old Navy Clothing Co.)
May 28, 1999... Gap Inc. may dock a battleship-sized Old Navy store in the old McAlpin's building on Fourth Street. Executives with the San Francisco-based retailer visited the downtown site in early May, and may open a store of up to 60,000 square feet...

Local candyman sweetens the pot; The man who brought you Mentos mints is set to roll out a new line of candies he expects will soon reach $10 million in annual sales.(Van Melle USA Inc. Pres Marius van Melle)
May 28, 1999... The man who began selling Mentos candies in the United States more than 25 years ago has got a sweet tooth again. Marius van Melle, president of Erlanger-based Van Melle USA Inc., is about to take to market five more brands of sweets, which...

Love's radio company lands blue-chip backers; Chicagoan Zell, banks pave way for expansion.(Blue Chip Broadcasting Inc. Pres and CEO Ross Love; billionaire Sam Zell)
May 28, 1999... Ross Love has recapitalized Blue Chip Broadcasting Inc., and in the process added a powerful new set of financial backers, including Chicago billionaire Sam Zell and three major banks. Zell financed the meteoric rise of broadcasting giant...

Clermont gets huge project; road paves way for $125M business park.(Clermont County, OH; Milford Parkway)
May 28, 1999... A portion of the Milford Parkway in Clermont County has been nothing but a dead end for 26 years. Built as a conduit to U.S. Route 50 off Interstate 275 at exit 59, the eastern section of the Milford Parkway dutifully extends to Route 50,...

Playhouse in the Park pulling curtain closed on record-setting year: the Eden Park facility erased a 12-year deficit, set attendance records and will post a $300,000 surplus, while one of its plays is Broadway-bound.
May 28, 1999... Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is about to close the books on the most successful year in its history, having erased a 12-year-old operating deficit and amassed a record one-year operating surplus of more than $300,000. But that's not...

Conlan retires as Student Loan Funding chief; after two decades, founder passes baton to former exec.(Thomas Conlan Jr.; Michael Shaut)
May 28, 1999... After two decades, founder passes baton to former exec Thomas Conlan Jr. has retired as president and CEO of Student Loan Funding Resources Inc., ending a two-decade reign as an industry giant. Succeeding Conlan is Michael Shaut, a...

Bank of Kentucky heads south for growth: two Dry Ridge offices first step in strategy.
May 28, 1999... Two Dry Ridge offices first step in strategy Bob Zapp's Bank of Kentucky Financial Corp. is moving into Grant County, with two branch offices in Dry Ridge slated to open by October. The expansion is the latest sign that Zapp's bank,...

Rod Roos decided to merge his passion, skiing, with a business idea; the end result is a company called ... Liquid Speed.
May 28, 1999... Rod Roos, proprietor of Roos Flooring in Price Hill, says it was during one of his European vacations that the dream hit him. Wouldn't it be great if he could combine his true passion in life - skiing and snowboarding - with a business venture?...

Gold Star beefs up quality, training programs; company wins Small Business of Year award.(Gold Star Chili Inc.)
May 28, 1999... Over the last nine years, the founding family of Gold Star Chili and a tall Oklahoman, who they hired as president and CEO to run the business, have just about re-invented the restaurant chain. The changes are mostly internal - focusing on...

American Annuity reshuffling creates three units: move aimed at improved profits.(American Annuity Group Inc.)
May 28, 1999... Last month's organizational reshuffling at American Annuity Group Inc. sets the stage for what its president says will be a sharper focus on individual business lines and an eventual return to double-digit growth. "It will begin our...

Dental plans biting into benefits market; enrollment in DMOs, PPOs up dramatically.(dental maintenance organizations; preferred provider organizations)
May 28, 1999... Teeth are big business in Cincinnati as dental managed care plans enjoy an increase in members, both from businesses and dentists. Experts in the industry say many employers are using dental benefits as one more lure in a tight labor market....