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FAST LANE - January
2003
STATE
Three Honored for Economic Development Efforts
Three Kentucky businessmen
were recently named as the 2002 recipients of the Governor’s Economic
Development Leadership Awards.
 “Success
in economic development depends on forging effective partnerships with
local, county, regional, state and private sector leaders,” observed
Gene Strong, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
“Effective leaders are a key ingredient.”
This year’s
award winners are:
-
John H. Clarke,
Jr., a Maysville attorney who has served on the board of directors
for the Maysville-Mason County Chamber of Commerce for 39 years.
Clarke played a key role in the development of Maysville Community
College and the Fleming/Mason County Airport.
-
Dennis T. Dorton,
president and CEO of Citizens National Bank in Paintsville. In addition
to serving on the Johnson County Schools Advisory Committee and
as chairman of the Morehead State University Foundation, Dorton
has provided his financial expertise as a member of the Mountain
Economic Development Fund, the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce,
the Paintsville/Johnson County Chamber of Commerce, the Big Sandy
Regional Industrial Authority, and the Paintsville Water and Gas
Commission. Dorton also serves on the Highlands Regional Medical
Center board of trustees.
-
James A. Miner,
Jr., a retired business executive from Madisonville. Miner worked
for 33 years with Kerco, Inc. in Madisonville and now devotes much
of his energy to economic development activities in the Madisonville/Hopkins
County community. Miner also serves on the board of directors of
Old National Bank, the YMCA, and the Hopkins County-Madisonville
Public Library and is a member of the Madisonville Area Manufacturer’s
Association.
“Successful
economic development is dependent on people,” said Governor Paul
Patton. “The effectiveness of a marketable product and strong assistance
programs will be diminished if good leadership skills are not available
to capitalize on them. These awards reflect positively on the extraordinary
talents of the people of Kentucky.”
STATE
Cost Reduction Plan Addresses Revenue Shortage
Faced with record
shortfalls in state revenue, Governor Paul Patton has announced a cost
reduction plan that involves a reduction in the state work force, a
moratorium on state leases and rental expenses, and numerous other cutbacks.
As part of the plan,
the governor has ordered:
- A reduction of
the state work force of at least 1,000 by the end of the year through
retirement or normal attrition.
- A moratorium
on new personal contracts, as well as reduction in existing personal
contracts.
- Downsizing the
number of state motor vehicles by 500.
- A 10 percent
reduction in state utility costs.
- A moratorium
on new state leases and rental expenses.
- A reduction in
state travel expenses. Out-of-state travel is to be curtailed by 25
percent; in-state travel is to be cut by 10 percent.
- Reduction in
printing costs for state agencies.
- No non-essential
purchases of equipment and furniture as well as the sale of any surplus
property that could generate cash for government operations.
- A continuation
on limits regarding overtime and compensatory time.
“These are
significant cost-saving measures. However, these reductions will not
solve the record revenue shortfall facing our state,” Patton said.
“Our management team has already produced over $30 million in savings
through cuts in administrative costs during the past year which were
applied to a shortfall of $687 million. The measures announced today
could result in as much as an additional $30 million in savings in the
current year, but the state is facing an additional $500 million budget
shortfall in the current biennium.”
STATE
State Recovers $270 Thousand in Tobacco Fines
The office of the
Kentucky Attorney General has recovered more than $270,000 in fines
from tobacco manufacturers who failed to comply with the Kentucky Model
Statute, a law passed to enforce the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement
(MSA) between the states and tobacco companies.
The states involved
in the MSA passed statutes that require tobacco companies that did not
sign the MSA to either join in the settlement or set up escrow accounts
for the benefit of each state where they sell cigarettes.
The escrow accounts
are to be used for future claims against non-participating companies
and to level the playing field for all cigarette companies.
Kentucky Attorney
General Ben Chandler sued companies that did not contribute to the escrow
accounts as required, resulting in 13 judgments and seven injunctions
prohibiting sales of non-compliant products.
The recovered money
will go into the state treasury, in addition to the money the tobacco
companies have paid into the escrow accounts.
Five companies were
fined as follows:
-
Sun Tobacco:
$245,000
-
ITW Manufacturing:
$25,140
-
Dosal Tobacco:
$2,000
-
Patriot Tobacco:
$100
-
Cigtec Tobacco:
$100
The amount of escrow
is based on the number of cigarettes sold in the sold.
LOUISVILLE
Humana Reorganization Expected to Increase Louisville
Workforce
Louisville-based
Humana Inc. has announced that it intends to reduce its work force by
approximately 2,300 by the end of 2003. The figure represents 17 percent
of the company’s total employee roster.
 Approximately
a third of the cutbacks will result from the company’s plan to
realign its healthcare benefits customer service centers to consolidate
from seven physical locations to four. That plan entails closing facilities
in San Antonio, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; and Madison, Wisconsin.
With increased technology, the company has utilized the Internet and
interactive phone technology to handle calls for information regarding
claims and benefits. As a result, fewer call centers are necessary,
explained company officials.
Call centers in
Louisville, Cincinnati and Green Bay, Wisconsin will absorb the work
load from the facilities that are slated to close. As a result, the
Humana’s Louisville center – which currently employs approximately
4,500 – will actually gain approximately 200 jobs.
STATE
Agri-Business Export Conference Slated for February
in Louisville
Farmers and agri-businesses
considering exporting their product internationally will want to make
plans to attend the Ag Export Finance Conference scheduled for Feb.
11 at Louisville’s Executive Inn.
The conference,
sponsored in part by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, is designed
to let producers know what types of assistance (primarily financial)
are available for marketing products outside the United States.
Both individuals
and businesses will be assisted in assessing the risks of exporting
as well as how to minimize those risks. Producers will have the opportunity
to obtain on insurance available to exporters, what types of banking
assistance are available, and how to sell products successfully in the
global marketplace. Programs offered during the day will look at international
trade financing opportunities, diversified markets, and competitiveness
in many areas.
The conference is
free for Kentucky participants and lunch is provided. The program will
run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“Our producers
and agribusinesses need to take advantage of every new opportunity that
may be available,” said Agriculture Commissioner Billy Ray Smith,
who will serve as host. “Our Department has a very effective trade
office that we operate in Mexico in tandem with the Cabinet for Economic
Development, and has recently made a $7 million trade deal with Cuba
and hosted key Russian agribusiness leaders.”
Scheduled speakers
include Kentucky producers who have found success in selling their products
beyond the borders of the U.S. A discussion panel will allow farmers
and agri-business representatives to address issues specific to their
operations. For more information or to register, contact Jennifer Crawford
of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Division of International
Marketing by phone at (502) 564-4696 or by e-mail at jennifer.crawford@kyagr.com.
Registration deadline is Feb. 7, 2003.
OWENSBORO
Williams Gas Central Pipeline Sold to Southern Star
for $380 Million
Owensboro-based
Williams Gas Central Pipeline, once one of Daviess County’s top
10 employers with more than 600 employees, has been sold to Southern
Star Central Corp. for $380 million in cash. Southern Star has also
assumed $175 million in Williams’ debt.
 Williams,
which ranks as the nation’s second-largest interstate natural gas
pipeline operator, still owns and operates 20,400 miles of interstate
natural gas pipeline in the Transco, Northwest and Texas Gas systems.
The sale of Central,
the smallest of Williams’ four pipelines, brings the company’s
employment level in Owensboro to approximately 300. Texas Gas remains
based in Owensboro.
The newly formed
Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, will employ 460 employees systemwide,
130 of whom will work in Owensboro.
STATE
Kentucky, Ohio Finalize College Tuition Reciprocity
Agreement
 Kentucky
and Ohio have inked an agreement that will allow residents of seven
Kentucky counties near the Ohio border to pay in-state tuition rates
at three Ohio colleges: Ohio University Southern, Rio Grande Community
College and Shawnee State University.
In return, residents
of six Ohio counties in the area will be extended in-state rates at
Ashland Community College, Ashland Technical College and Morehead State
University’s Ashland campus. Morehead State’s main campus,
Maysville Community College and Rowan Technical College may eventually
be added.
The agreement involves
the Kentucky counties of Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup, Lewis and Mason
counties and the Ohio counties of Adams, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence,
Pike and Scioto.
State officials
say the agreement is intended to provide more college options to area
residents while at the same time containing costs. Long-term, both states
hope to increase the number of residents who choose to continue their
education. Currently, the percentage of residents with college degrees
is substantially lower than the national average.
LOUISVILLE
Louisville Named as Host City for 2007 National Senior
Olympics
 Louisville
has been selected to host the 2007 National Senior Olympics, an event
expected to bring more than 12,000 athletes to the city as well as up
to 30,000 spectators.
The Senior Olympics,
also called the Senior Games, is an amateur sports competition that
involves athletes age 50 and over. The 15-day event – scheduled
for June 29-July 14, 2007 – will include 18 different sports within
separate age divisions at venues located throughout the city.
The National Senior
Games Association’s (NSGA) board of directors selected Louisville
as the host city from among 19 communities that submitted formal bids
to the NSGA.
The hub for the
15-day event will be the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. Competitive
events will include: archery, badminton, basketball, bowling, cycling,
golf, horseshoes, race walking, racquetball, road racing, shuffleboard,
softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, triathlon
and volleyball.
The competition
will be the largest amateur sports event to ever be held in Louisville
and is expected to have a direct economic impact of up to $40 million.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY
Despite Slowdown, N. Kentucky Still Seeing Economic
Growth
The latest figures
from the Northern Kentucky Tri-Ed show that the economic development
group made capital investments of some $24 million and helped create
more than 1,000 new jobs in the region. Still, those figures are considerably
less than the previous year, when Tri-ED invested $144 million in capital
and was involved in the creation of more than 6,700 new jobs.
In addition to the
effects of the 9-11 terrorism and the faltering economy that has plagued
the entire nation, the Northern Kentucky region also suffered an 89-day
strike at Comair, which drastically affected operations at the airline’s
main hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
In an address at
a recent industry appreciation function, Tri-Ed Chairman and Kenton
County Judge Executive Dick Murgatroyd said that though the year had
been a “particularly difficult” one for Northern Kentucky,
the region still experienced job growth, albeit small. Over the course
of the 2001-2002 fiscal year, four new companies and seven existing
ones invested and expanded in the area. New companies include Innotrac
Corp., KeyMRO America Inc., Optimum Pay Inc. and ViaCord Inc. The existing
firms that expanded are: ADVO Inc., Crescent Paper Tube Co. Inc., Duro
Bag Manufacturing Co., Mubea Inc., Murphy Catton, Plasti-Line of Cincinnati
and RRR Express LLC.
LOUISVILLE
Genlyte Thomas Purchases Theatrical Lighting Company
 Genlyte
Thomas has purchased Vari-Lite, a Dallas theatrical lighting company,
for $11 million. The purchase broadens Louisville-based Genlyte’s
product line, which focuses on residential and commercial lighting,
and provides the opportunity to integrate Vari-Lite’s technologies
into its current products.
Vari-Lite specializes
in high-tech stage lighting for theme parks, concerts and stage shows
and features some of the most technically advanced products in the industry,
utilizing computer control technologies. Many of the features are protected
by more than 50 patents, which were acquired by Genlyte Thomas as part
of the purchase.
Genlyte Thomas President
and CEO Larry Powers said the transaction is expected to positively
impact the company’s 2003 earnings: The annual sales volume of
Vari-Lite products is anticipated to be in the $25 to $30 million range
for 2003, with the potential to increase to $50 million over the next
three to five years.
LOUISVILLE
ThermoView Reorganization Expected to Double Revenue
ThermoView Industries
Inc. has announced plans to consolidate its various subsidiaries to
create a national home-remodeling business.
The decision by
management of the home improvement company comes in response to heightened
competition from retailers like The Home Depot and increasingly stricter
marketing laws.
The reorganization
will involve bringing the company’s subsidiaries under the name
of THV: America’s Home Improvement Company.
ThermoView’s
subsidiaries include Primax, which has offices in Kentucky, Ohio and
Tennessee; Leingang Century Siding and Window in North Dakota and South
Dakota; Rolox Inc., which operates in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska;
Thermo-Shield Co. Inc. of Wisconsin; and ThermoView of California.
Because of the units’
strong regional identity, ThermoView CEO Charles L. Smith said the transition
will be phased in gradually over the coming two years.
The consolidation
is expected to provide the company with greater purchasing and advertising
power and provide the consumer with lower prices.
Smith has said as
a result of the changes, he anticipates doubling the company’s
revenues within the next five years. ThermoView reported $90 million
in revenue for its last fiscal year.
INDIANA
Ford Parts Distribution Center to Open in Princeton
in March
Ford Motor Co. has
announced plans to open a parts distribution center in Princeton, Indiana,
some 100 miles west of Louisville.
 The
new facility, which is expected to open in March with approximately
55 employees, will provide service and repair parts to dealers in Indiana,
Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The new distribution
center is part of the company’s plan to expand its existing 10
distribution centers to 20 “high-velocity” facilities that
will provide faster, more efficient service to dealers. The new system
will enable dealers to order and receive parts every day instead of
the current weekly ordering procedure.
OHIO
Cincinnati Businessman Named National Entrepreneur
of the Year
A Cincinnati-area
businessman has been named as one of the country’s top entrepreneurs.
R. Greg Blair, president of Escort, Inc. in West Chester, Ohio, was
recently named as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in
the “Emerging” category, one of nine categories in which awards
are presented.
 The
Entrepreneur of the Year program honors outstanding entrepreneurs whose
ingenuity and perseverance have created and sustained successful growing
business ventures.
Blair was selected
from among 434 award recipients, which were culled from a pool of more
than 4,400 nominees from throughout the nation.
The winners are
selected by an independent panel of judges who themselves are members
of the Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame.
According to the
panel, Blair’s “perseverance and confidence in his radar detector
manufacturing company has helped him overcome financial difficulties,
order backlogs and supply issues – all of which existed when he
first joined Escort’s parent company in 1984 – to turn Escort,
Inc. into an industry leader.”
Escort currently
holds approximately 25 percent of the radar detector market. The company
has some 70 employees in the U.S. and 170 in Canada, where it operates
a manufacturing facility.
In addition to Blair’s
award, national award finalists and winners were honored in seven other
categories, including manufacturing, health sciences, real estate/construction,
technology, service, retail and supporter of entrepreneurship. Jeno
Paulucci, the chairman of Luiginino’s, Inc. who has enjoyed phenomenal
success as the creator of well-known frozen food brands such as Chun
King, Jeno’s and Michelina’s, was named both the 2002 Overall
and Master National Entrepreneur of the Year.
Business
Briefs
BOWLING GREEN
- Bowling Green-based
DESA Holdings Corp. has announced that it is selling the company’s
operating assets to H.I.G. Capital Inc. of Miami for approximately
$200 million. The company is the parent company of DESA International,
which manufactures and markets heating products, security lighting
and specialty tools. DESA has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy
since last June. H.I.G. officials say they plan to continue production
under the DESA International name.
CAMPBELLSVILLE
- The board of
trustees at Campbellsville University has formally approved naming
the school’s future student center in honor of Dr. E. Bruce Heilman,
a graduate of Campbellsville University who has invested both time
and financial support to the project. Heilman as served in numerous
senior management capacities in various educational settings, including
president of Meredith College and the University of Richmond. The
president’s home at Campbellsville is named in honor of Heilman’s
wife, Betty, who also graduated from Campbellsville.
- Garrard County
Memorial Hospital has approved an increase in pay in an effort to
attract more full-time employees. Currently, approximately one-third
of the hospital’s payroll consists of contractual employees.
CANNONSBURG
- Corbin Ltd. has
closed its garment factory in Huntington, West Virginia and consolidated
its operations with the Corbin plant in Cannonsburg, Kentucky. Officials
with Corbin, which produces high-end clothing, said the company will
combine the 125 Huntington jobs with the 125 currently at the Cannonsburg
plant.
FLORENCE
- General Growth
Properties of Chicago has purchased Florence Mall along with two mall
properties in Houston, Texas for a total of $276 million. General
Growth, which has been managing the mall for several years, is the
second largest owner, manager and developer of shopping centers in
the U.S., with 169 malls in 41 states. Florence Mall currently has
92 percent of its space under lease and generates annual sales of
$357 per square foot.
LAUREL COUNTY
- Aisin Automotive
Casting and Toyota have donated $20,000 to the Laurel County Public
Library that will be used to build an outdoor reading garden. The
garden will be part of a new $4 million library facility that is expected
to open this spring. Aisin's London plant employs close to 500 team
members and supplies aluminum castings, water pumps, oil pumps and
other parts for Toyota.
LEBANON
- A group of businessmen
are planning to open a new Hampton Inn just outside Lebanon by this
fall. Pat Hagan, one of the investors who is also part-owner of the
Hampton Inn in Bardstown, said the new hotel will be designed for
a smaller market, featuring 58 guest rooms and a meeting room to accommodate
100-150 people.
LEXINGTON
- CLARK Material
Handling Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000, has agreed
to sell its worldwide assets to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners
Inc. The Delaware court with which the company’s bankruptcy filing
was made is expected to approve the sale this month.
- Delta Air Lines’
connection carrier, SkyWest, will begin offering two daily non-stop
flights between Lexington and Dallas/Ft. Worth on January 31. The
service, which will be flown with Bombardier Regional Jets, will be
the first nonstop service to operate between the two cities.
- Keeneland Association
Inc. cataloged 1,908 horses for this month’s 2003 Horses of All
Ages Sale. The figure represents a considerable increase over last
year, when 1,392 horses were cataloged for sale.
LOGAN CO.
- The Logan Telephone
Cooperative is now offering high-speed Internet access, making it
one of the first telephone companies in the state to offer DSL service
to 100 percent of its telephone customers.
LOUISVILLE
- Brown-Forman
Corp. has acquired an additional 35 percent interest in Finlandia
Vodka Worldwide from Altia Corp. for $70.3 million. The acquisition
gives Brown-Forman 80 percent ownership and full marketing responsibility
for the Finlandia brand.
- The University
of Louisville and the Greater Louisville Workforce Investment Board
have teamed to develop a new program to help people prepare for entry-level
jobs in the supply-chain industry, which suffers from a chronic labor
shortage in the area. The “Kentuckiana Dream” program, which
will include both classroom and on-the-job training, is being funded
with a two-year federal grant of nearly $500,000.
- Preliminary construction
of a new 634-room Marriott hotel is now under way adjacent to the
Kentucky International Convention Center. The 18-story hotel is expected
to take approximately two years to complete at a cost of more than
$100 million. The project’s development group, Kentucky Convention
Hotel Partners LLC, includes Louisville investors Nolan Allen, Steve
Poe, and William Hysinger, in addition to REI Investments of Indianapolis
and White Lodging Services Corp., also of Indiana.
- The Louisville/Southern
Indiana franchisees of the New Horizons Computer Learning Center,
an information technology training company, have merged their business
with Progressive Support Services Inc.. Progressive operates the New
Horizons facilities in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. The newly combined
company, which will operate training centers in Louisville, Ft. Mitchell,
Cincinnati and Dayton, now has 120 employees and is expected to generate
$12 million this year.
- The Better Business
Bureau for Louisville, Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky is adding
new offices in Elizabethtown and Bowling Green. The new offices are
expected to open later this year.
- Louisville International
Airport is now equipped with five automated external defibrillators,
which are used to restore heart normal heart rhythms in the event
of cardiac arrest. Statistics show that airports are among the top
five locations where heart attacks occur. The units were donated by
the Jewish Hospital Heart and Lung Institute, the American Heart Association
and MedTronic Physio-Control.
- Thomas Industries,
which designs and manufactures pumps and compressors, has purchased
Dynavac Engineering Pty. Limited, an Australian company that supplies
and services vacuum equipment for markets in Australia and New Zealand.
The purchase includes a lease on a manufacturing plant near Sydney
and all of the company’s operational assets. The purchase positions
Thomas as the leading pump manufacturer in Australia. Financial terms
of the deal have not been disclosed.
- Travelers at
Louisville International Airport will now find an extra measure of
convenience thanks to a full-service business center recently opened
by Louisville Concierge Inc. The center includes a conference room,
high-speed access computers with e-mail and Internet access, fax and
notary services.
MADISONVILLE
- Ahlstrom Corp.
has opened a $3 million engine-filtration plant in Madisonville that
has created 58 new jobs. The 17,000-square-foot plant houses administrative
and research development offices for the Finland-based company’s
Madisonville operations.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY
- Mubea, a German
automotive parts company, has announced plans to expand its Northern
Kentucky facilities in Boone and Kenton counties. Mubea, which produces
items such as transmission disc springs and hose clamps, currently
employs approximately 475 people in Northern Kentucky. The expansion,
which involves building two new plants within the next two years and
an investment of up to $40 million, is expected to create 145 new
jobs.
- Adidas has signed
an agreement to lease more than 600,000 square feet at the ProLogis’
Airpark Distribution Center. Adidas plans to utilize the space, which
is located near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
at I-275 and Ky. Route 20, for distribution of its full line of apparel
and sportswear.
PADUCAH
- USEC Inc. has
chosen to build a new $150 million testing facility in Ohio rather
than Paducah, where it operates a uranium enrichment plant. Paducah
had hoped to land the plant, which will test new ways to produce nuclear
fuel. Company officials said the Ohio site was selected because buildings
already exist at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon.
RADCLIFF
- Radcliff businesses
– and others located near Army bases – are suffering as
the result of a new order by the U.S. Army that office supplies can
be purchased only through 12 designated providers. The Army maintains
that the new program is being implemented as part of an effort to
standardize its purchasing methods and save money through quantity
discounts. The Army purchases nearly $100 million in office supplies
each year. Businesses are questioning why the majority of the 12 providers
are located in Maryland and Virginia, near the Army Contracting Agency’s
Falls Church, Virginia offices and why the announcement was made only
days before the program went into effect.
RICHWOOD
- Richwood Building
Products, which manufactures building products such as vents and shutters,
has been purchased by Alcoa Home Exteriors Inc. Terms of the deal
have not been released. Alcoa Home Exteriors, a subsidiary of Pittsburg-based
Alcoa Inc., produces vinyl and aluminum products for the construction
industry.
RUSSELL
- Kentucky Bancshares,
the Russell-based parent company of Kentucky Bank & Trust, is
being bought by Peoples Bancorp Inc. of Marietta, Ohio. Upon completion
of the merger, which is not expected to exceed $31.4 million, Kentucky
Bank & Trust offices will operate as branches of Peoples Bank.
The deal is planned to be completed by the second quarter of the year.
SHELBY COUNTY
- Citizens Union
Bancorp, of Shelby County, has announced plans to purchase LaRue Bancshares,
the holding company for Peoples State Bank of Hodgenville. Combined
the banks will constitute a financial company representing more than
$500 million in assets. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
SPARTA
- Michigan-based
merchandiser Meijer has signed a five-year marketing and sponsorship
agreement with the Kentucky Speedway to become the title sponsor of
the Meijer 300, a 300-mile NASCAR Busch Series auto race. The race
will take place on June 14 at the Kentucky Speedway. Meijer operates
156 grocery and general merchandise stores in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois,
Ohio and Michigan.
STATE
- As part of a
plan to bolster security at military operations across the country,
the U.S. Senate has approved the 2003 Defense Authorization Conference
Report, which authorizes $393 billion for national defense. The bill
includes nearly $6 million for Ft. Knox, where the money will be utilized
for access control and cantonment fencing, as well as more than $70
million for defense projects at Fort Campbell and the Bluegrass Army
Depot in Lexington.
- UPS has increased
shipping rates on designated shipping rates, effective January 6.
Affected services include commercial ground services, Next Day Air
fees, and WorldWide Express. Increases range from 2.9 to 3.9 percent.
The company has also increased its residential surcharge from $1.10
to $1.15.
- The establishment
of a Tennessee state lottery, approved by 58 percent of the state’s
voters last November, is expected to have a serious impact on Kentucky’s
lottery ticket sales as more Tennesseans stay home to play the odds.
Because of the long border the two states share, many Tennessee residents
frequently visited Kentucky stores to purchase lottery tickets, making
up approximately 12 percent of Kentucky’s $639 million lottery
sales in 2001. Kentucky state officials are hoping to recover the
expected losses with a number of new games such as Keno, a popular
Las Vegas casino game.
CINCINNATI
- Homes sales in
Cincinnati hit a six-year high in October, with 1,799 transactions.
Realtors attribute the increase to the low mortgage interest rates
that have been available in recent months.
- Sovereign Specialty
Chemicals is closing its Cincinnati plant, which produces water-borne
adhesives for the industrial market, in an attempt to cut costs and
bolster profitability. The plant’s operations will be moved to
facilities in South Carolina and Illinois and the facility is expected
to be put up for sale by this summer. The Chicago-based company employed
118 at its Cincinnati facility; approximately 80 jobs will be eliminated.
The remaining employees will be moved to other locations.
- General Electric
Engine Services, based in Evendale, Ohio, has landed a 15-year agreement
to maintain CF6-80E aircraft engines for Aircalin of New Caledonia.
The agreement, valued at $26 million, comes as welcome news for the
plant, where 1,000 jobs were cut in 2002 and as many as 2,000 more
could go this year. GE employs approximately 7,000 people at its Evendale
facility.
- The City of Cincinnati
has initiated a survey of 1,500 area businesses to find out which
companies are considering relocating and why. The survey is targeting
companies with 10 to 500 employees and is part of the city’s
new “First-Strike Business Retention and Expansion Program.”
The program was developed to help address concerns early on and keep
businesses within the city.
MEMPHIS
- Memphis-based
FedEx Corp. has launched less-than-container-load service between
the U.S. and Europe. The new service eliminates the need for customers
to call multiple providers for shipments to Europe.
- Memphis-based
National Commerce Financial Corp has purchased BancMortgage Financial
Corp., an Atlanta mortgage lender. The addition of BancMortgage is
expected to double NCF’s mortgage origination business. NCF also
recently purchased 15 Wachovia Bank branch buildings in Atlanta, along
with lease obligations on seven others.
- Northwest Airlines
will begin offering nonstop flight service from Memphis to Mexico
City on February 13. The service represents Northwest’s eighth
nonstop international destination from Memphis. Northwest employs
approximately 2,600 people at its Memphis hub and offers more than
114 daily departures.
NASHVILLE
- HCA Inc., a Nashville-based
hospital chain, has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Health
Midwest for $1.125 billion. Health Midwest is headquartered in Kansas
City and operates 14 hospitals.
- Research and
development efforts at Vanderbilt University have led to the creation
of more than 5,700 new jobs in the Nashville area. According to a
report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, that figure represents
more than 40 percent of the jobs supported by research and development
at all Tennessee colleges and universities.
- The Nashville
Area Chamber of Commerce has reported that the city’s pool of
available workers grew by nearly 21,000 over the past year, with more
than 15,700 coming from outside the Nashville area.
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