Business North Carolina back issues from March 2007:
Schooling.(UP FRONT)(Column)
Mar 01, 2007; ... I approached this month's cover story with some trepidation. The assignment went to freelancer Jerry Shinn, a former editorial writer and associate editor of The Charlotte Observer. Those were not the credentials that concerned me. Like a great many of the state's journalists--and all its ...
Trend.(economic indicators)(Statistical table)
Mar 01, 2007 ... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] <Pre>% change LatestPrevious Previous from last ...
Stock watch.(Statistical table)
Mar 01, 2007 ... SPOTLIGHT A good third quarter and a CEO change helped Trimeris' stock post the biggest three-month percentage gain in the state. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] <Pre> Highest price/earnings ratios P/E...
Study fuels a debate over renewable energy sources.(ECONOMIC OUTLOOK)(Interview)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Singer Willie Nelson peddles automobile fuel made from vegetable oil and animal fats. Raleigh-based Progress Energy, the state's second-largest electricity provider, experiments with poultry bedding and waste. Maybe the tide is turning against coal, petroleum and other nonrenewable energy ...
Bosch does durable good to New Bern.(EASTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... BSH Home Appliances, part of Munich, Germany-based Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate, will spend $11 million to expand one of the three factories on its New Bern campus, adding 200 jobs to more than 1,000 already there. BSH began production in New Bern in 1997, completed a $200 million ...
PenCell Plastics.(EASTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... ROCKY MOUNT -- PenCell Plastics, based in New Egypt, N.J., began refitting a 170,000-square-foot building here to produce plastic ...
Division of Marine Fisheries.(EASTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... MOREHEAD CITY -- Louis Daniel, 43, became director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, which oversees fishing in coastal waters and up to three miles ...
Division of Motor Vehicles.(EASTERN)(call center jobs moved)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2007 ... ELIZABETHTOWN -- The state Division of Motor Vehicles will move 86 call-center jobs here from Raleigh by the end of the year. The workers average about $32,400 a ...
Solv-It Technologies.(EASTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... ST. PAULS -- Marietta, Ga.-based Solv-It Technologies wants to build an ethanol plant here. It would employ about 15 and pay an ...
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.(EASTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... JACKSONVILLE -- Onslow became the first county in North Carolina declared tsunami-ready. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cited the county's ...
Working capital.(REGIONAL REPORT)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Source: Employment Security Commission, November. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The ...
Store purchase should pump up sales.(TRIANGLE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... The Pantry, a Sanford-based owner and operator of 1,506 convenience stores in the Southeast, agreed to buy 66 from Charlotte-based Petro Express for an undisclosed sum. Fifty-five of the Petro Express stores are in North Carolina, and the rest are in South Carolina. Together, they grossed ...
Florida Marine Tanks.(TRIANGLE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... HENDERSON -- Miami-based Florida Marine Tanks plans to open a factory here this month, creating 100 jobs and investing $2 million during the ...
Environ-OPW.(TRIANGLE)(expansion plans)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2007 ... SMITHFIELD -- Environ-OPW will spend $3.6 million to expand here and add 78 jobs, for a total of 144, during the next three years. The company is ...
North Carolina Biotechnology Center.(TRIANGLE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Leslie Alexandre, 49, has resigned, effective the end of this month, as CEO of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center ...
Icagen.(TRIANGLE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... DURHAM -- A bump in price prevented Icagen shares from losing their Nasdaq listing. The drug developer's price, ...
Duke University.(TRIANGLE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... DURHAM -- Blair Sheppard, 54, will replace Douglas Breeden, 56, as dean of Duke University's business school July 1. Breeden, dean since 2001, plans to return to teaching at ...
University of North Carolina Hospitals.(TRIANGLE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... CHAPEL HILL -- University of North Carolina Hospitals asked the state for permission to add 68 ...
Malt-O-Meal.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... ASHEBORO -- Minneapolis-based cereal maker Malt-O-Meal will spend $104 million to open a factory here by 2008. It hopes to employ 164 within six years. The ...
VF.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... GREENSBORO -- VF, which makes clothing under Nautica, Wrangler and other labels, agreed to sell its lingerie division for $350 million ...
Lodging by Liberty.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... HIGH POINT -- Lodging by Liberty, which makes chairs and other furniture for hotels, is moving here from Liberty and expanding. The company, part of Pompano Beach, Fla.-based furniture maker Brown Jordan ...
Kayak.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... GREENSBORO -- Flat Rock-based kayak maker Liquidlogic merged with competitor Legacy Paddle-sports. Terms were not disclosed. Legacy's employment will increase ...
Dixon Hughes.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... HIGH POINT -- Dixon Hughes, an accounting firm with headquarters here and in Asheville, acquired Simpson & Osborne, a ...
Insteel Industries.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... MOUNT AIRY -- Insteel Industries (cover story, January), which makes steel wire for concrete construction, plans to repurchase up ...
International Textile Group.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... GREENSBORO -- Burlington Apparel Fabrics, part of International Textile Group, won a $6.3 million contract to supply cloth for Air ...
The Qualicaps Group.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... WHITSETT -- The Qualicaps Group, which makes capsules for drug companies, bought Windsor, ...
Honda decides to tool its jets in Triad.(TRIAD)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Honda Aircraft will spend up to $100 million to build a factory that will make lightweight business jets near its headquarters at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro. The plant will employ more than 275, bringing the company's total to about 325. Honda Aircraft is a ...
Truck maker will unload loads of jobs.(CHARLOTTE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Portland, Ore.-based truck maker Freightliner plans to lay off as many as 1,440 workers at factories in Gastonia and the Rowan County town of Cleveland. As many as 1,180 of the more than 4,000 who work at the Cleveland factory will be idled by April 2. State officials say it would be the ...
Nucor.(CHARLOTTE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... CHARLOTTE -- Steel maker Nucor agreed to its biggest deal yet--a $1.1 billion purchase of Toronto-based Harris Steel Group. Harris makes and distributes steel wire and ...
Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.(CHARLOTTE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... CHARLOTTE -- Charlotte/Douglas International Airport will break ground this month on a $220 million runway to handle ...
Telerx Marketing.(CHARLOTTE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... KINGS MOUNTAIN -- Telerx Marketing, a Horsham, Pa.-based customer-service contractor, plans to invest $8.8 million to build a ...
Shutterfly.(CHARLOTTE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... CHARLOTTE -- Shutterfly, a Redwood City, Calif.-based online photograph-publishing service, plans to open ...
Toyota Racing Development.(CHARLOTTE)
Mar 01, 2007 ... SALISBURY -- Toyota Racing Development, part of Japanese car maker Toyota Motor, plans to open a 30,000-square-foot chassis-design center ...
Tourist magnet attracts $24 million.(WESTERN)(sale of Chimney Rock Park)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2007 ... In a move hailed by tourism officials, the state agreed to buy Chimney Rock Park in Rutherford County for $24 million, including nearly $2.4 million from a private donor. The Morse family of St. Louis owns the park and had sought $55 million. About 250,000 people visited in 2006, attracted ...
Collins & Aikman.(WESTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... OLD FORT -- Collins & Aikman, a Southfield, Mich.-based maker of automobile fabrics, plans to sell its 375,000-square-foot factory here, ...
General Electric.(WESTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... ASHEVILLE -- Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric, agreed to buy Smiths Aerospace, a London-based maker of aircraft parts, for $4.8 billion. The deal is expected to ...
Baldor Electric.(WESTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... MARION -- Baldor Electric, a Fort Smith, Ark.-based maker of electrical motors, bought the mechanical and motor business ...
National Park Service.(WESTERN)
Mar 01, 2007 ... BRYSON CITY -- A National Park Service study says a $600 million, 42-mile road through Great Smoky Mountains National Park wouldn't hurt air ...
Healthways.(REGIONAL REPORT)(expansion plans)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Healthways, a Nashville, Tenn.-based medical consultant, plans to expand its call center in Cary and add 109 jobs, for a total of about 240, within three years. The additional jobs ...
Russell.(REGIONAL REPORT)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Atlanta-based Russell, which makes sporting goods and clothes, plans to close its Cross Creek Apparel factory in Mount Airy by the end of August, idling about 300 ....
FairPoint Communications.(REGIONAL REPORT)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Charlotte-based FairPoint Communications agreed to buy Verizon Communications' land-line business in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont for $2.7 billion. The deal will make FairPoint the eighth-largest telecommunications company in the U.S., ...
Mayor: critics need to ogle Google deal.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
Mar 01, 2007; ... Promising a company incentives for creating 210 jobs might seem a no-brainer--as in state and local officials must have no brains to cut a deal that gives Google Inc. $260 million over 30 years for coming to Lenoir. After all, that's more than $1 million per job. While it's ...
It's a lotto work for a little dough.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)(North Carolina Education Lottery marketing)
Mar 01, 2007; ... In their first year of selling tickets for the North Carolina lottery, retailers are learning to leave little to chance. To get the games to pay off for them, they're finding ways to turn losers into winners, even if it means peddling tickets for nothing to customers who buy something. ...
What's up--docks--when slips show.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
Mar 01, 2007; ... If you want to stash your boat at Creekside Yacht Club in Wrights-ville Beach, you'd better act fast and bring some serious green. Prices for a slip run from $90,000 to $159,000, General Manager Tommy Vann says. That's if you can find one for sale. Only nine of 371 have changed hands since ...
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers and Facilitators.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Scott Blackwell)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Scott Blackwell, CEO, Immaculate Baking Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers and Facilitators by Patrick M. Lencioni ...
The Essence of Leadership.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Robert Jordan III, president, Jordan Lumber & Supply The Essence of Leadership by Mac Anderson His books are the easiest to read and the most ...
The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Pat Rodgers)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2007 ... Pat Rodgers, president, Rodgers Builders The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations by James Surowiecki. ...
Fishy fire cannot keep Sunburst from shining.(PEOPLE)(Sunburst Trout Co.)
Mar 01, 2007; ... Last August, fire destroyed Sunburst Trout Co.'s fish-processing plant. When the smoke cleared, owner Sally Eason found about 75% of the Canton company's trout caviar, nearly 700 pounds, had been stolen. The business would have to be rebuilt, but it wouldn't be the first time. ...
He thinks big with other people's ideas.(PEOPLE)
Mar 01, 2007; ... Louis Foreman says it often. "Everybody has a great idea. The problem is most people never really follow through on that idea." But the CEO of Charlotte-based Enventys LLC, which helps inventors turn concepts into products, isn't most people. He holds nine patents for ...
Beer delivers more takeout customers.(PEOPLE)
Mar 01, 2007; ... With apologies to H.L. Mencken, no one ever went broke underestimating Americans' desire to do things for themselves. Ryan Faircloth found that out when he opened Raleigh Take-Out in mid-2004. It wasn't enough for customers that the company brought food from restaurants that don't deliver ....
Supply chains keep profits from sliding: North Carolina's roads, ports and airports give it a competitive advantage over other states, logistics experts say.(Sponsored Section)
Mar 01, 2007 ... How is technology changing supply-chain management--the process of getting raw goods to factories and finished products to distributors? Experts assembled by Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, a Winston-Salem-based law firm, recently discussed that and other topics. Panelists were Paul ...
Over the river: treating the flood of uninsured illegal immigrants threatens to erode the quality of care hospitals can afford to provide.(FEATURE)
Mar 01, 2007; ... On good days, her dark eyes sparkled, but those days grew rare. The walls of her heart were becoming rigid from restrictive cardiomyopathy, and Jesica Santillan seemed to become even tinier inside her print hospital gown. Spirits leaped when a donor was found and a Duke University Hospital ...
Coach K Inc.: follow the leader--not basketball--is the name of the game that runs up the score for Mike Krzyzewski.(Cover story)
Mar 01, 2007; ... Inside the student center at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, 300 men and women mingle, munching sushi and sipping wine, bottled water and the occasional beer. Even at $1,600 a pop for two days of lectures and discussion, more would be here if the school didn't limit attendance ....
Indie dependent: Dolph Ramseur keeps harmony with the Avett Brothers and other artists on his tiny Concord-based record label.(FEATURE)
Mar 01, 2007; ... To Dolph Ramseur, the twang of finger-picked guitar combined with vocals sung in a deep Southern drawl is the music angels make. As a teenager, he spent many days at the Concord Public Library looking up old Piedmont blues musicians: Etta Baker, Blind Willie McTell, the Rev. Gary Davis. At ...
Hanging out: you must be careful but show no high anxiety when your job is on the ropes washing skyscraper windows.(PICTURE THIS)
Mar 01, 2007; ... Later this year, Gary McGrath will swallow hard and take the plunge. "My wife's from Korea, and it's an 18-hour flight," he says. "The thought of flying just kills me." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's scarier than hanging off the side of Bank of America Corporate Center ...
Bricks & mortar.(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2007 ... The circus doesn't play the Charlotte Convention Center, but some see a white elephant. Costing more than $150 million in 1995, it has six acres of exhibit space, ballrooms and a cafe that ...