March 29, 2024

Around the State

Jill DeVliger | 2/1/1996
Tampa Bay

A federal bankruptcy court judge approved a reorganization plan for Geonex, the St. Petersburg map and chart manufacturer. The company is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after only ten months. At its peak, the company employed 1,700 and had $68 million in annual revenues. Currently, it employs fewer than 375.

The University of South Florida College of Medicine's Class of 1996 attained a 100% pass rate on both sections of the U.S. Medical Licensure Examination. This was the first time in the college's history that all members of a class successfully completed both parts of the exam on the first attempt.

ABR Information Services of Palm Harbor plans to relocate some of its operations to a new 110,000-square-foot facility located on 12.7 acres in Palm Harbor. The company, a provider of employee benefits administration services, announced in a separate deal the acquisition of Princeton, N.J.-based Bullock Associates Inc. Bullock is a provider of benefits administrative services for active and retired employees of Fortune 500 companies and other large employers. ABR plans to operate Bullock as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Champ Products expanded its operations in Manatee County. The company, a manufacturer of specialized heat transfer equipment, doubled its building size and doubled its work force to 45. Champ also plans to add about 25 additional employees by mid year.

Three new facilities opening in 1996 at Trinity, a master-planned community just north of the Pasco/Pinellas county line, will create almost 600 new jobs. Morton Plant Mease Trinity will be an outpatient medical facility developed in four phases, and it is expected to employ 125 when it opens in June. Seven Springs Middle School will have three buildings, basketball and tennis courts and a running track and will employ 275 when it opens in the fall. A State Farm insurance-claims center will occupy a 19,000-square-foot building and will employ about 175 when it opens this summer.

A Neiman Marcus Catalog Warehouse store will open in Pinellas Park at the Park Boulevard Promenade. The 20,000-square-foot store will open this month and will only stay open for three months. During that time, the store will feature $4 million worth of merchandise from the Neiman Marcus Catalog, discounted at least 50% off the original catalog price.

Southwest

U. S. Sugar Corp.'s Southern Gardens Citrus began a planned doubling of capacity of its citrus processing plant. The company's future expansion plans will further enlarge plant capacity for juice and boxed oranges.

Tags: Florida Small Business, Politics & Law, Southwest, Business Florida

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