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Around the State
For the fifth consecutive year Barnett Banks has been named one of the Ten Best Companies for Working Mothers by Working Mother magazine. The magazine ranks companies based on pay, childcare assistance, flexible work arrangements and other family benefits such as adoption assistance and elder care.
Peterbrooke Chocolatier will open its fifth Jacksonville area store this month. The company plans to use the store as a prototype for national expansion and a sweetener for an initial public offering expected within the next two to five years. The chocolate maker had revenues exceeding $1 million in 1996 and has grown more than 10% a year since it opened 15 years ago.
A subsidiary of Enkei Corp., a Japanese auto-wheel manufacturer, plans to build a 200,000-square-foot, $40 million, complex at the Jacksonville International Tradeport. The Enkei International facility will employ 100.
Florida Supplies and Solutions has a new name, new president and plans for a new employee ownership program. Now called IS Source, the computer supply and service company's new president, Lisa Harper, plans to share ownership with employees by mid 1998.
Aim Caribbean Express, a Miami-based freight consolidator, has moved into a new Jacksonville terminal, nearly doubling its storage space.
American Heritage Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of American Heritage Life Investment Corp. (NYSE-AHL), has agreed to buy the U.S. worksite marketing business of Security Life of Denver, which has annualized premiums of $14 million.
Jacksonville ranks 12th among the top 100 fastest-growing job markets in the U.S., according to a study by the America City Business Journals. About 36,200 new jobs were created in Jacksonville during the two-year period studied, a 7.9% increase.
OCALA - Zentox Corp. has acquired a Virginia water treatment company and a West Springfield, Mass., water equipment manufacturer. Eastern Water Services of Poquoson, Va., and Clean Streams are expected to push Zentox's sales to $7 million this year. Zentox helps resolve environmental issues for corporations and utilities.
JDN Realty Corp. (NYSE-JDN) bought the Ocala West Shopping Center for approximately $5.6 million. JDN Realty is an Atlanta-based real estate company specializing in the development and management of shopping centers.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY - St. Johns County commissioners are hoping $1.5 million in incentives will make AT&T Universal Card Services call the Saint Johns development home. Jacksonville is also competing to lure the credit card headquarters, which could bring as many as 4,000 jobs.
TALLAHASSEE - Florida State University has teamed up with LEXIS-NEXIS to offer a new research service, UNIVerse. FSU has worked with the Dayton, Ohio, company for two years to develop the online service. Users have access to the more than one billion documents, including newspapers, journals, financial reports and trade and legal databases.
