Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky articles from September 1997

Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky archives from September 1997

City pushes new year 2000 plan: more regional focus sought for blueprint.(Cincinnati, OH)
September 5, 1997... More regional focus sought for blueprint Cincinnati's Year 2000 Plan is about to be scrapped. The 15-year-old blueprint for the redevelopment of downtown, long criticized as outdated, will be replaced by a plan that incorporates...

Franciscan to cut $35 million in costs, 50 jobs.(Franciscan Health System)
September 5, 1997... But hospital system says it won't close any buildings To keep up with the hyper-competitive Tri-State hospital market, the Franciscan Health System of the Ohio Valley will cut $35 million in costs and about 50 jobs by the end of 1998. ...

NS Group launches secondary stock offering.
September 5, 1997... Move could provide funds for acquisitions NS Group Inc. is taking advantage of its skyrocketing stock by making a secondary public offering that will give it the ammunition it needs to make acquisitions, reduce debt and maybe even start...

Experts question river plan.(riverfront district development in Cincinnati, OH)
September 5, 1997... Shirey defends actions: 'The plan is not a project' In its pursuit of a riverfront district of movie theaters, restaurants and retail shops, Cincinnati joins a growing list of American cities trying to use urban entertainment zones to lure...

LensCrafters founder sells two companies: Dean Butler has merged his European optical chain while also selling his local operation.
September 5, 1997... Dean Butler has merged his European optical chain while also selling his local operation. Cincinnati optical entrepreneur Dean Butler, after laying the ground work last year for quick U.S. expansion and steady European growth, has...

Schumacher Dugan to built a new interchange: booming northern market to get $9 million office site.(Schumacher Dugan Construction Company Inc)
September 5, 1997... Booming northern market to get $9 million office site The leading private-sector force behind the new Union Centre Boulevard interchange off Interstate 75 in Butler County plans to break ground early next year for a $9 million, class A...

Hensley Segal lands big Hobart account: $2.5 million contract is company's largest.
September 5, 1997... $ 2.5 million contract is company's largest After a six-month competition that included a dozen advertising agencies, Hensley Segal Rentschler has won its biggest client even - food service equipment manufacturer Hobart Corp. The...

Cincinnati ranks as inexpensive local: but in Midwest standings, Indianapolis tops.
September 5, 1997... But in Midwest standings, Indianapolis tops It's cheaper to do business in the Tri-State than in about two-thirds of major U.S. metropolitan markets surveyed in a recent study. The first-ever study by Regional Financial Associates Inc....

New leases signal revival for Forest Fair.(Forest Fair Mall in Cincinnati, OH)
September 5, 1997... Bakery, theme stores among new retailers The managers of long-maligned Forest Fair Mall say the huge shopping center's worst days are behind it. A spate of recent lease signings and new store openings have management optimistic about...

Offering the total package: how expanding its business lines helped Crescent Park boost sales.(Crescent Park Distribution Centers)
September 5, 1997... If you can't beat 'em, don't join 'em. When Crescent Park Distribution Centers saw a crowded warehousing market cramping its growth, it began looking to differentiate itself from the competition. Rather than straggling on as a...

Enable builds contacts with surgical precision.(Enable Medical Corp)
September 5, 1997... Instrument maker works with surgeons In October, Enable Medical Corp. will unveil a new product for the biotechnology industry - the details of which the company is keeping under wraps - at the American College of Surgeons' convention in...

State may cut home providers: planned network would reduce number of providers for Medicaid program.(Ohio)
September 5, 1997... Planned network would reduce number of providers for Medicaid program By this time next year, the state of Ohio plans to drastically reduce the number of providers it contracts with for Medicaid home health care service. In Greater...

Meridian cashes in on E. coli scare.(Meridian Diagnostics Inc. begins selling new test kit for detecting bacteria in less than 10 minutes)
September 12, 1997... Orders pouring in for quick-test kits One company's disaster could be a local firm's fortune. That's because Meridian Diagnostics Inc. begins selling this month its new E. coli test kits, which in less than 10 minutes detect the...

Crown and other venues choose Select-A-Seat.(ticket agency)
September 12, 1997... Rival of TicketMaster lands several clients A homegrown Cincinnati ticket agency is taking on behemoth TicketMaster and has added some noteworthy clients while expanding into markets in Dayton, Louisville and beyond. MSAS Inc., a...

Savings could hit 10 percent for gas buyers.(Ohio)
September 12, 1997... Senco Fastening Systems hopes to have a gas bill that's 5 to 10 percent cheaper in coming months, thanks to the newly competitive natural gas industry. Mike Moore, plant engineer at the Newtown-based company that makes fasteners, said he...

New courier service buys rival company.(Clemons Capital Group acquires Adams Express Inc.)
September 12, 1997... Clemons Capital acquires Adams Express Five months after entering the courier industry, Clemons Capital Group of Villa Hills has added another delivery service to its stable. Clemons Capital, a group of local investors headed by...

Sibcy seeks to boost image via major advertising push.(Sibcy Cline Inc.)
September 12, 1997... Real estate firm pumping $1M into campaign Sibcy Cline Inc. is upping the ante in its battle with residential real estate rival West Shell Inc. by launching a new advertising campaign that could hit $1 million in spending over the next...

Lehr Precision to add manufacturing wing.
September 12, 1997... Addition awaits OK from city of Blue Ash A Blue Ash supplier to GE Aircraft Engines in Evendale is powering up a new manufacturing facility. Lehr Precision Inc., which makes alloy aircraft components such as blades and casings,...

Shaping a new way to grow.(Quick Pak Inc.)(Company Profile)
September 12, 1997... Quick Pak branches out by selling compressed advertising specialty items Early last year, Quick Pak Inc. owners Debbie and Alex Buhayar faced a challenge. Four years after buying the Sharonville packaging company, the husband-and-wife...

Queen City Reprographics' blueprint for growth.(Company Profile)
September 12, 1997... High tech helps firm remain competitive Whenever Susan Smith thinks technology, she thinks growth. As chief executive of Queen City Reprographics Inc., Smith is in an industry where her company's main task is to distribute information...

Amid buyout rumors, Mercantile tries to refocus.(Mercantile Stores Co. Inc.)(Company Profile)
September 12, 1997... Basic operations also drive stock The dust has settled - for now. More than two months after the latest round of takeover rumors involving Mercantile Stores Co. Inc., it's business as usual as the all-important fourth quarter looms just...

Barrett a discreet downtown force.(John Barrett, president of Western and Southern Life Insurance Co.)
September 19, 1997... Western-Southern's chief may play a key role in several vital redevelopment projects. As a boy, John Barrett was frequently taken on driving tours of the city. His tour guide for those trips, recalls John's younger brother Michael,...

Stop the presses - ads appear on front of area newspapers.(Ohio)
September 19, 1997... The owner of the daily newspapers in Hamilton and Middletown has opened the gates to one of the last places in America generally free of advertising - the front page. While some liken the move to tromping on sacred ground, advertisers are...

Cintech may finally dial up some profits.(Cintech Tele-Management Systems Inc.)
September 19, 1997... The norwood phone software firm, which has lost $3.3 million since going public in 1994, may have found its way into the black. It's been a long time in coming, but one of Greater Cincinnati's tiniest public companies has returned to...

Deregulation could have hefty price tag.
September 19, 1997... Competitive electricity field could raise rates Deregulation in the electricity market could mean higher rates for Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. customers, if competitors are allowed into the market without a transitional pricing system....

Talking with bank tellers costs some a fee.
September 19, 1997... Goal of new accounts: Encourage ATM use At least two local banks are encouraging local customers to bank electronically through no-fee checking accounts - and charging them if they use tellers. Lost amid all of the controversy over ATM...

Insurer drives for AAA members.(Auto Club Insurance Co.; American Automobile Association)
September 19, 1997... Push on by Columbus' Auto Club Insurance A Columbus-based insurer plans to target American Automobile Association members in Ohio, including those in Greater Cincinnati. Auto Club Insurance Co. CEO Jerry Hogan, appointed to the top spot...

The import of solid exporting.(increase in Enviroquip International Inc.'s international sales)
September 19, 1997... How Enviroquip added 'International' to more than just its name Enviroquip International Inc. can build and supply much of the specialized equipment needed to clean an entire city's waste water. But when the company began trying to...

Global push helps Kelly-Levey continue growth.(Kelly-Levey and Associates)
September 19, 1997... Consulting firm hopes for $15 million in sales Kelly-Levey Associates, a Florence software consulting firm, has expanded its international operations with a new product line and a new European headquarters in London. The four-man...

P&G focusing on core businesses to drive growth.(Procter and Gamble Co.)
September 19, 1997... Global markets to gain the most As large a company as it is, Procter & Gamble Co. in 1997 is all about efficiency. The recently released fiscal 1997 results showed record sales and earnings, as well as the company's highest net...

New mind-set made NBBJ a national force.(Focus on Building Services)
September 19, 1997... Firm designs stadium and Millennium tower NBBJ, the Columbus-based architecture firm that is designing the new stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Millennium Monument in Newport, is reaping rewards after redesigning itself earlier...

Anthem buyouts on hold: regulatory battles lead insurer to delay its acquisition activity.(Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield)
September 26, 1997... Tired of fighting attorneys general around the country at every turn, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield has put its acquisition plans on hold. Anthem, the largest health care insurance provider in Greater Cincinnati and in Ohio, has seen...

DHL should pick local airport, competitor says.(DHL Airways)
September 26, 1997... Cargo giant's decision to come by year's end DHL Airways isn't saying whether Northern Kentucky will win its new hub, but officials at other airports - including a current competitor - think it should. DHL has said it will choose a...

Duramed timing questioned: convertible stock sales linked to positive news.(Duramed Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
September 26, 1997... Twice in the past two months, good news about Duramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. has closely followed the conversion of its preferred stock to common stock. At least one analyst is questioning whether the fortuitous timing of those news events...

Ohio National may be among first to sell shares.(Ohio National Life Insurance Co.)
September 26, 1997... Decision likely by year end on new form of stock sale Ohio National Life Insurance Co. could be among the first in Ohio to take advantage of new legislation that lets mutually owned insurers form stock subsidiaries and sell shares to...

Health Alliance has big plans up north: Warren Cty. expansion may include hospital.(Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati; Warren County, Ohio)
September 26, 1997... The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati is unveiling the first details of its planned expansion in fast-growing Warren County, including the possibility of building a new hospital there sometime in the next decade. For now, however, the...

Ohio's growth better than statistics show: state is a leader in share of GDP it produces.
September 26, 1997... Statistics in a new study seem to show that Ohio's economy has grown at a sluggish rate in recent years. However, economists say that such numbers can be deceiving. A study by American City Business Journals Inc., the Courier's parent...

Western-Southern could look for acquisitions; new Ohio law could aid insurance giant.(Western and Southern Life Insurance Co.)(Company Profile)
September 26, 1997... A new state law that gives mutual life insurance companies more flexibility in how they are structured could mean more acquisitions by Cincinnati-based Western and Southern Life Insurance Co. While testifying in favor of the law this spring...

Cincinnati Bell positioning for local phone war; diversification key to success.
September 26, 1997... Diversification key to success The floodgates in the local telephone-service market have finally opened. But Cincinnati Bell Inc. has been taking steps to make sure its profits and growth don't get washed away in the new environment...

Kentucky still wrestling with health reform.(Focus on Health Industry)
September 26, 1997... Insurance and consumer groups think they've come up with a workable compromise to change Kentucky's health care reform law, as Gov. Paul Patton and legislators try to hammer out a compromise bill. However, one major insurance group calls...

Columbia/HCA's plans in limbo: most Ohio deals dumped; no word on local venture with Deaconess.(Focus on Health Industry)(Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.; Deaconess Hospital)
September 26, 1997... A year ago, the mention of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. was enough to strike fear in the hearts of most local hospital executives. Yes, Columbia's controversial proposed merger with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Ohio had collapsed. But the...

Labs form alliance to lure lost business: managed care firms jump to national labs.(Focus on Health Industry)
September 26, 1997... Hospital laboratories across Ohio are banding together to recapture outpatient business managed care insurers are steering to national commercial labs. A group of 16 hospitals have teamed up to form LabNet of Ohio, with headquarters in...

Globe turns to housing; furniture rental company finds niche in temporary housing market.(Focus on Business Travel)(Globe Business Resources Inc.)
September 26, 1997... Globe Business Resources Inc., which has recently become a major player in the temporary corporate-housing industry through several acquisitions, plans to make more buyouts. "We're trying to build a national presence, but I don't think we...