June 6-June 12, 2004

June 11, 2004

Career Notes
Birmingham—J.T. Stephens has announced that his term as president and CEO of EBSCO Industries will conclude July 1, 2005. At that time, F. Dixon Brooke Jr., vice president and general manager of EBSCO Subscription Services, will become the third individual to serve as president in EBSCO’s 60-year history. To prepare for the transition, Brooke will become EBSCO’s CEO beginning July 1, 2004.

In addition, Allen Powell, vice president and CFO for EBSCO Subscription Services, has been named vice president and division general manager, EBSCO Information Services, effective July 1, 2004. Powell succeeds F. Dixon Brooke, Jr.

Birmingham—Colin “Cole” Taylor has joined The Peoples Bank and Trust Company as senior vice president and commercial loan officer. Cole earned his bachelor’s degree in corporate finance and his MBA from the State University of New York in Albany. His banking career includes 14 years in New York, where he worked in the Special Industries Group at the Toronto Dominion Bank, managed Swiss Bank’s Healthcare Finance Department and was a director and credit product manager for Deutsche Bank’s Healthcare Group. In 1997, he moved to Birmingham after being recruited by SouthTrust to manage their Healthcare Finance Group.

Briefs
Tuskegee—The Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health’s (CVMNAH) Fifth Annual Biomedical Research Symposium will focus on eliminating health disparities in minority communities, bioterrorism, food safety and security. The two-day symposium, which will be held June 24-25, 2004, at the University’s Kellogg Conference Center, is organized by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies under the directorship of Dr. Tsegaye Habtemariam, associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies.

The annual symposium is held as one of the strategies for advancing biomedical research within the College. “The overall strategy for advancing biomedical research is through transdisciplinary teams, creative partnerships, and collaborations. This is why the research symposium is emphasized and planned with such intensity every year. It provides a forum for faculty, staff, students, invited guests and the wider community to share their views about critical topics. This year’s discussions will emphasize eliminating health disparities in the Black-Belt Counties of Alabama as well as bioterrorism and food safety and security related issues,” said Dr. Alfonza Atkinson, dean of the College of Veterinary medicine, Nursing and Allied Health.

Persons interested in attending may register on line at www.tuskegee.edu or contact Elizabeth Offem at 334-724-4540 or Ardwenia Steele at 334-727-8786, Office of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, for further information.

Birmingham—Bradford Building Company is constructing a new Jim N’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q restaurant in Jasper. The 5,685-square-foot restaurant will be located at 1804 Highway 78 East in Jasper. This will be the fourth restaurant Bradford has built for Jim N’ Nick’s. Jim N’ Nick’s, which has its corporate headquarters in Birmingham, has 11 restaurants operating or under construction in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee.

Montgomery—Marketing and media firm LWT Communications, and sister company LWT/KBK New Media, a Web design and development group, are closing their doors on September 30th to aid local nonprofit organizations in their individual marketing efforts. The firms are inviting organizations to submit applications for CreateAThon, a 24-hour creative blitz during which staff members provide marketing and creative services to select tri-county nonprofits free of charge. These services may include conceptual development, copy writing and design on projects such as brochures, direct mail, outdoor boards, identity development, marketing plans and Web development.

From the pool of applicant submissions, LWT will choose non-profit organizations to receive free creative services during CreateAThon. Planning meetings will be held with each organization prior to the event, which will kick off at noon on Thursday, September 30, with a staff meeting outlining project assignments. LWT team members will work on behalf of the selected charities around the clock for the next 24 hours straight.

The deadline for CreateAThon 2004 applications is July 16. Organizations selected to receive the services of CreateAThon 2004 will be announced July 30. Interested parties can visit www.lwtcom.com for an application or call Cindy Scott at 334-244-9933 for more information.

Birmingham—Miss UAB 2004 Lindsey Elmore, a senior majoring in chemistry, has developed a booklet of inquiry-based science experiments to help teachers of third through fifth grades demonstrate science to students. The program is “Plant Seeds for Science Understanding/Promoting Experiments in Every Classroom.” The pillar of the program is “SEEDS”: “Start questioning, Experiment, Explain, Decide, Spark Interest.”

Elmore’s program has gained the support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and The American Chemical Society to bring the program to inner-city and rural schools in the state and hopefully the nation.

In her program, Elmore offers workshops to train teachers, a booklet of experiments and free science understanding kits that include magnets, balloons, rubber balls, candles, string, vinegar, batteries and other items to conduct about 40 experiments. Elmore has demonstrated the program to teachers and students at Hueytown Elementary and Berry Middle schools, Jefferson County’s Head Start program, teachers at Westwood Christian School, principals of Shelby County schools, homeschool teachers and to children in the “Learning to be a Kid” program at Pathways Transitional Shelter.

Elmore is a Hess-Abroms Scholar in the University Honors Program and works with former NASA astronaut Lawrence DeLucas, Ph.D., in the Nanocrystallization Lab in the UAB Center for Biophysical Science and Engineering. Elmore will be part of a UAB team that sends protein crystal experiments on a NASA mission to the International Space Station in 2005.

June 9, 2004

Career Notes
Birmingham—EBSCO Industries has named Brooks Knapp administrative manager of EBSCO Realty. Knapp succeeds Elton Stephens Jr., who is leaving EBSCO Realty to focus his time on other responsibilities as a member of EBSCO’s board of directors and the EBSCO advisory boards for Mt Laurel in North Shelby County and Alys Beach on the Florida Gulf Coast, as well as outside interests. A licensed real estate broker, Knapp brings more than 17 years of commercial real estate management experience to EBSCO, where he will manage the company’s business facilities as well as investment properties.

Birmingham—David Baker, of counsel to the law firm of Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, was recognized as a life member of the American Law Institute at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Birmingham—Motion Industries has named Wayne Law executive vice president of purchasing and distribution. Most recently, Law served as senior vice president, corporate purchasing and distribution. He has also served the company as vice president operations and assistant to the president. Prior to joining the corporate group, Law served as regional manager in the West division and branch manager in the Southeast division. He has been with the company since 1968.

Birmingham—Compass Bank has announced that Scott M. Crain has been promoted to senior vice president, private banking executive. Crain will be responsible for overseeing all sales, service and budget activities within Birmingham Private Client and Private Banking relationship team. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

In addition, Janet Ball has been promoted to vice president, personal trust administrator. Ball will be responsible for maintaining trusts and agency accounts established by or for the benefit of high net worth individuals and their families, charitable entities and corporations. She is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She is a member of the Birmingham Estate Planning Council and Service Guild of Birmingham.

Briefs
Albany, GA—Community Capital Bancshares, Inc.has announce its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of a registration statement for the proposed public offering of 1,000,000 shares of its common stock. The offering price per share has not yet been determined. All of the shares are being offered by Community Capital. Community Capital is the holding company for Albany Bank & Trust, N.A., headquartered in Albany, Georgia, and First Bank of Dothan, Inc., headquartered in Dothan, Alabama.

Community Capital has engaged FIG Partners, L.L.C. to act on a best efforts basis as its selling agent for the offering. Community Capital anticipates the proposed sale to the public will commence in July 2004.

The prospectus is not yet available. When available, copies of the prospectus may be obtained by contacting FIG Partners, L.L.C., 1545 Peachtree Street, Suite 650, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.

Decatur—Doster Construction Company has recently completed construction of a new 70,000 square foot plant for Toray Industries, Inc. in Decatur. The project is across the street from its existing $70 million facility on Alabama Highway 20 in Decatur. Toray, a Tokyo-based fiber and chemicals company, will produce Teflon fiber products to be incorporated into Dupont fabrics, sealants and “non-stick surface” products such as cooking utensils. The Doster team of Project Manager Wes Hunt and Superintendent Vernon Thomason managed the project. Architectural services were provided by Gresham Smith & Partners of Nashville.

Birmingham—Retailer Saks Incorporated has announced a $50,000 donation to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in honor of Bernard E. and Barbara Bernstein. The donation will establish the Bernstein Employee Education Assistance Fund for employees of the medical center. Bernstein, a partner in the Knoxville, Tennessee law firm of Bernstein, Stair & McAdams, joined the Board of Directors of Saks in 1987 and retired from the Board on June 8, 2004. He also is a founding director and the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of University Health System, Inc., the parent organization for UT Medical Center. Bernstein obtained his B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from the University of Tennessee and has been practicing law in Knoxville since 1959.

Birmingham—Regions Financial Corp. shareholders voted today at their annual meeting to approve the company's merger with Memphis, Tenn.-based Union Planters Corp. "This is an historic day for Regions, and on behalf of all my fellow associates, allow me to express how pleased we are that our shareholders chose to vote to approve our merger with Union Planters," said Regions Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carl E. Jones Jr.

Regions announced its definitive merger agreement with Union Planters in January. The merger is expected to be completed this summer, pending customary regulatory approvals. The combined company, to be called Regions Financial Corporation, will be among the nation's Top 15 largest bank holding companies with more than $80 billion in assets. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol RF. The Union Planters ticker symbol, UPC, will cease to exist on the merger effective date.

Under the terms of the agreement, each share of Union Planters common stock will be converted into one share of the new company stock and each share of Regions common stock will be converted into 1.2346 shares of the new company common stock. Shareholders will receive formal notification of and instructions regarding the exchange process in the near future.

June 8, 2004

Aussie Know-How, Alabama Labor Combine for New Ship

Mobile—Shipbuilding firm Austal’s home base is Australia, but thanks to their Mobile shipyard’s expertise at crafting lightweight but strong aluminum ships, the company will play a big part in shaping tomorrow’s U.S. Navy. The Navy has awarded a team that includes Austal USA, a $79 million contract to develop a final design for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), along with options to build two ships. Total contract value including both shipbuilding options is $536 million.

Austal, as the designer and builder of the proposed LCS vessels, is a major contributor to the team that is led by General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works. The team’s proposal for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is based on Austal’s 126-meter, high-speed aluminum trimaran hullform that enables the ship to reach sustainable speeds of nearly 50 knots and range as far as 10,000 nautical miles with a large interior volume and payload. The ship is designed to allow a crew of fewer than 40 sailors to operate, maintain and defend it.

Two teams, the General Dynamics team and one other, were selected from a field of three to proceed into this stage of development for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Those three teams had previously been down-selected from a field of six.

Austal USA’s CEO Greg Metcalf said, “This award is a major accomplishment in Austal USA’s plans to become a major competitor in high speed applications for the US defense programs. Austal USA appreciates the tremendous support and leadership it has received from Governor Riley and his staff working in conjunction with local officials to promote Mobile shipbuilding in this, the Navy’s top priority program.”

Following completion of the 16-month LCS final design stage, the Navy will exercise options for Austal USA to build the first two ships. The first vessel will commence construction in late 2005 and the other in late 2006. Navy plans also call for the additional construction of three ships starting in 2007 and six in 2008.

The Littoral Combat Ship is an element of the Navy’s plan to address “asymmetric threats.” Intended to operate in coastal areas of the globe, the ship will be fast, highly maneuverable and geared to supporting mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine warfare, and surface warfare, particularly against multiple small surface craft.

Key characteristics of the ship proposed by the General Dynamics team include the capability to support several missions simultaneously; open-architecture information systems that enable over-the-horizon surveillance and reconnaissance, global networking and coordinated air, surface and undersea tactical picture; incorporation of stealth technologies to increase ship and crew survivability; a shallow draft that allows operations near the shore; and more payload per ton of displacement than any previous U.S. warship. The Navy is planning for up to 60 Littoral Combat Ships to be built.

The contract will create 500 new jobs in the shipyard, with a team annual direct payroll of about $30 million. Austal USA’s Vice President of Government Programs Bill Pfister gives credit for this project to Alabama’s congressional delegation with the following comment, “Senator Shelby, Senator Sessions and Congressman Jo Bonner have done an excellent job in providing authorization and funding for this vital Navy program, which is now having a direct positive economic impact on those they represent.”

This contract will mean many more shipbuilding jobs available to the pool of shipbuilders that reside in the Mobile/Baldwin County area. It will also drive the expansion of Austal’s current shipbuilding facility, located on the eastern shore of the Mobile River. This expansion will include new buildings that will triple the area of the existing construction halls. Austal USA sits on 14 acres of waterfront property and has room to double again the facility after this next expansion.

Austal USA is currently working on a project for the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Austal is building a Seacoaster-designed 32-meter surface effect ship contracted by American Marine Holdings. The Seacoaster catamaran design features cavities in each hull into which air is blown with the aim of reducing draft and accompanying resistance and thus allowing higher speeds to be obtained. Following its evaluation by the ONR, American Marine Holdings expects various departments of the U.S. military and interested commercial owners to decide on potential applications for the air-inducted technology and subsequently order additional vessels for specific applications.

Something to Cluck About
Oakwood, GA—It wasn’t that long ago that about the only chickens on Americans’ plates came from an on-premises barnyard. Now, a health-conscious America bolts down about 78 pounds of yard bird a year per person, and a new Alabama plant will help meet that demand for chicken. Wayne Farms LLC has announced plans to begin construction of a three-phase, further-processing facility in Decatur, Alabama. The company plans to break ground with a $55 million investment for the first phase of the facility this fall and to complete the project in the spring of 2006. "The demand for product and the growth of our business partners has increased significantly, driving our need for growth and expansion. This phase one build-out will increase our annual production capacity by more than 40 million pounds," said Elton Maddox, president and CEO of Wayne Farms LLC.

The facility will expand the capability of Wayne Farms LLC to meet the rising demand of customers who produce for "at-home" and "away-from-home" food, including an array of fully-cooked items. The 100,000-sq.-ft. facility will support two fully cooked production lines and will be constructed to allow modification and initiation of phases two and three, during the next five years, which will add an additional four production lines.

Guy Hinton, Wayne Farms LLC's vice president of operations, says the new plant will be a prototype for the industry. "The new plant will feature segregated fresh and further processed areas and a modular design that allows for enhanced allergen and microbial control," he said.

The new facility will bring approximately 165 new jobs to Decatur and will increase as the plant proceeds with the build-out. Hinton says there are no plans to change or modify the existing plant in Decatur. "The new plant will complement our existing state-of-the-art further processing facility in Decatur," he said.

Briefs
Charlotte, NC—Nucor Corporation has entered into an agreement to purchase substantially all of the steelmaking assets of Corus Tuscaloosa for a cash purchase price of approximately $90 million. The finalization of the acquisition will occur after satisfactory resolution of regulatory approvals, tax matters and transfer of appropriate permits and other contracts.

The Tuscaloosa facility is a coiled plate mill that manufactures pressure vessel steel coil, discrete plate and cut-to-length plate products. The steel mill was built in 1985. In 1996 a melting and casting facility expansion and mill modernization increased its annual capacity to approximately 700,000 tons. "We view Tuscaloosa as an excellent addition of niche products to offer to our commodity plate and coiled sheet customers. We are looking forward to the addition of the Tuscaloosa operations and their team to our Nucor family," said Dan DiMicco, Nucor's vice chairman, president and CEO.

Birmingham—C. S. Beatty Construction has completed the sitework and utility contract for Homewood Suites Hotel in Hoover. The contract with McKibbon Group included clearing, erosion control, grading, paving, curbs, storm sewer and sanitary sewer systems for the new hotel, which is located in Inverness along Highway 280.

In addition, Beatty has been awarded the 2004 Platinum S.T.E. P. Award from Associated Builders and Contractors. The award is the highest offered in the Safety Training and Evaluation Process program. This is the second consecutive year that Beatty has received the award.

Montgomery—The Corporate Foundation for Children has announced that awarded its “2004 Family Friendly” Certificate of Achievement Award will be awarded to to AmSouth Bank and Southern Progress Corporation. Justice Mark Kennedy, chairman of the Corporate Foundation for Children and the Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama will make the presentation in Birmingham to representatives from AmSouth and Southern Progress on Thursday, June 10 at  2 p.m.

Career Notes
Birmingham—Krista Conlin has joined WilbanksJones Public Relations & Marketing as an account executive.

Montgomery—Palomar Insurance Corporation recently announced the promotion of Kelley Wilson to marketing communications coordinator. Wilson, a Troy State University graduate in print journalism with an advertising contract, will be responsible for the administration of Palomar’s advertising and public relations efforts as well as the coordination of its divisional internal communications. Palomar’s Chief Operating Officer Len Skipper said, “Wilson’s administration of our national launch for a new program to plastic surgeons demonstrated her skills and expertise which we are looking forward to utilizing for our entire organization.”

Birmingham—Jefferson Title Corp. has promoted long-time employee Mary Hardin to Vice President. Hardin was formerly assistant vice president at Jefferson Title. She is a certified mapper with 27 years of mapping experience. Prior to joining Jefferson Title Corp. 14 years ago, Hardin was a senior mapper in the Office of the Tax Assessor for Jefferson County.

Birmingham—Howard Neiswender, Esq. has joined Balch & Bingham LLP’s Corporate, Tax and Finance section and Wealth Management practice area. He previously worked at a private wealth management advisory firm and at Tanner & Guin, LLC, a Tuscaloosa law firm. Neiswender is a member of the American Bar Association and Alabama State Bar. He is also affiliated with Alabama Planned Giving Council, Society of Financial Service Professionals, National Association of Philanthropic Planners and Financial Planning Association. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.

June 7, 2004

Briefs
Birmingham—McCrory Building Company has broken ground on the new Clay Corners Shopping Center in the Jefferson County community of Clay. The 10,000-square-foot retail shopping center will be located on Deerfoot Parkway. Construction on the building is scheduled to be completed by fall 2004. Heading the team for McCrory is project manager Jack Condray and superintendent Jimmie McCroy. The Garrison Barrett Group of Birmingham provided architectural services for the project.
Birmingham—The University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Research Foundation and Apeliotus Technologies of Atlanta have entered into an exclusive license agreement that allows Apeliotus to commercialize a diagnostic testing method for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) developed at UAB by Gregory Jackson, Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology. AMD is the leading cause of untreatable vision loss among adults. It affects 13 million people in the United States alone, including one third of all individuals over 75 years of age. “We were fortunate in this instance to have a choice of potential partners for this transaction,” said Alane Barnes, UAB Research Foundation licensing associate. “We chose Apeliotus Technologies for a variety of reasons, including its ability to assist in funding the continued development of this test and the ability to successfully launch this product.”

Dothan—Cingular Wireless is now providing wireless service in southeastern Alabama, including Dothan, Enterprise, Ozark and Troy. "Cingular takes great pride in our Alabama heritage and in delivering a quality wireless experience to customers, so now being able to offer service in another important market in the state is very exciting," said Ron Sleeper, Cingular's Director of Sales for Alabama. "Our goal is to provide wireless value and convenience at a level not seen before in this growing, vibrant community. That means compelling rate plans, extensive coverage and the very latest in wireless phones," he said.

Career Notes
Birmingham—Michael W. Ricks has been named director of the U.S. Small Business Administration District Office in Alabama. Ricks will oversee operations of SBA's loan guarantee, procurement and business assistance programs in the state. The SBA Alabama District Office is headquartered in Birmingham. Prior to his appointment, he served as program manager for Advanced Technology and Production Readiness for the United States Marine Corps in Washington. He also served as a defense acquisition officer in early Program Concept Development for the Army Infantry Center at Ft. Benning. During his 12-year active duty and reserve military career, he served on numerous overseas combat and hazardous duty deployments. From 2000 to 2002, Ricks owned and operated a software development, business process, and information systems consulting company in central Florida. He earned a bachelors degree in technology from the University of Houston and a masters degree in management from Troy State University.

Birmingham and Washington—Teksouth Corporation, which provides data warehouse and data transfer technologies, has appointed Maj. Gen. Larry W. Northington (Ret.) as vice-president for strategic development. Northington has more than 30 years of executive experience, having served in a wide range of high-level military management assignments, including director of Air Force Budget (Pentagon), director, Air Force Manpower and Organization, and deputy director, Legislative Liaison.

BizWire Daily Archives