Virginia Business Online

April 2002

This report is compiled from company releases, business journals and newspapers from around the state. If you have an item for these listings please:

mail it to:
For the Record
Virginia Business Magazine
P.O. Box 85333
Richmond, VA 23293

or e-mail it to ForTheRecord@va-business.com,
or fax it to (804) 649-6311.

Mergers and Acquisitions
American Medical Laboratories, a medical testing company in Chantilly, is being acquired by Quest Diagnostics, a medical testing firm based in Teterboro, N.J., for $500 million, including assumption of $160 million in debt. (The Washington Post)

United Dominion Realty Trust, a Richmond-based real estate investment trust, acquired Jefferson on the Cliffs, a 400-unit apartment community in Arlington, Texas, for $21.9 million. (Press release)

Sensytech Inc., a producer of special-purpose communications equipment headquartered in Newington, bought Frequency Engineering Laboratories of Farmingdale, N.J., in a cash transaction. (Press release)

Manchester Industries Inc., a Richmond-based paperboard and paper-converting firm, acquired the paperboard division of Pollock Packaging of Grand Prairie, Texas, and sheeting equipment from Tufco Technologies of Dallas. Those assets will be combined at a 60,000-square-foot plant in Dallas. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Framatome ANP, a nuclear power engineering and services company based in France with a U. S. headquarters in Lynchburg, bought Duke Engineering & Services, a Charlotte, N.C.-based subsidiary of Duke Energy. (The News & Advance)

TriMech Solutions, a Richmond-based provider of engineering software applications, acquired 3D Innovations, a Charlotte, N.C., technology company. (Press release)

Lafarge North America, a Herndon-based supplier of construction materials, acquired Continental Gypsum, a drywall manufacturer headquartered in Newark, N.J. The acquisition strengthens Lafarge's presence in a key Northeast market. (Press release)

Simplexity, a Herndon-based provider of Web-based shopping services, was acquired by InPhonic Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based provider of cellular phones and services, for $20 million in stock and cash. (The Washington Post)

Deals
ITT Industries Night Vision, a Roanoke-based unit of advanced technology producer ITT Industries of White Plains, N.Y., and the Dallas unit of Raytheon Co., a Lexington, Mass., technology firm, agreed to develop night vision sensor fusion applications, combining the technologies of low-light image intensification and thermal imaging. (PRNewswire)

Aleron, a Reston-based, global network services provider, was selected by PeoplePC, a San Francisco-based provider of Internet access solutions, to upgrade PeoplePC's Internet access services across the United States. (Business Wire)

CropTech, a biotechnology firm based in Blacksburg, signed an agreement with Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company Immunex Corp. to explore the possibility of protein production using transgenic tobacco plants. (Press release)

Phoenix Integration, a Blacksburg-based provider of integration solutions for scientific and technical clients, plans to collaborate with the Advanced Information Technology branch of the Naval Research Laboratory on research of design tool integration and automation. (Press release)

New Plants and Companies
Hilton Hotels Corp., a Beverly Hills, Calif., hotel chain, opened a 149-room Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfax. Fair Oaks Inn will operate the facility under a Hilton franchise agreement. (Business Wire)

Cerxon Microtechnologies, a Camden, S.C.-based division of Palmetto Technologies, plans to move operations to Henry County. The microelectronic component manufacturer plans to invest $6.5 million in the operation and hire 250 workers over the next 30 months. (Press release)

Unique Industries, a wholesale supplier of party goods based in Philadelphia, announced plans to locate a distribution facility in Blairs. The $19.6 million investment will create 420 jobs in Pittsylvania County. (Press release)

VF Imagewear, a Greensboro, N.C., textile firm, will maintain a customer service call center at its Martinsville distribution facility, creating 40 jobs. (Press release)

Trinity Packaging Corp., an Armonk, N.Y.-based manufacturer of plastic bag products, will open a facility in Clarksville, creating 300 jobs. (Press release)

Executive Promotions
William Merkt, CFO, Carilion Biomedical Institute, a private, non-profit biomedical science and engineering organization headquartered in Roanoke. (Press release)

John Smith, COO, AMF Bowling Worldwide, a Richmond-based owner of bowling centers and a manufacturer of bowling products. (Press release)

John S. Brittain Jr., CFO, American Management Systems Inc., an information technology-consulting firm based in Fairfax. (The Washington Post)

Ronald L. Ewing, COO, The Dewberry Cos., an engineering services firm headquartered in Fairfax. (Business Wire)

Robert G. Ottenhoff, president, Guidestar, a Williamsburg-based provider of information on IRS-recognized 501(c) non-profit organizations. (Business Wire)

John T. Spotila, president and COO, GTSI Corp., a Chantilly-based provider of business-to-government information technology services. (Business Wire)

Thomas M. Boyd Jr., president and CEO, Albemarle First Bank, a Charlottesville-based banking services company. (Business Wire)

Robert C. Skaggs Jr., president and CEO, Columbia Gas of Virginia, a Chesterfield County-based subsidiary of NiSource of Merrillville, Ind. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Philip D. Sayers, president, Mid-Atlantic Region, Consolidated Engineering, an Arlington-based facility technology services firm. (Press release)

Donald S. Morgan, president and COO, Barber Martin Advertising, an advertising agency headquartered in Richmond. (Press release)

Contracts
Signal Corp., a Fairfax-based engineering and management services company, won a three-year, $28.6 million contract from the U.S. Navy for installation and support of satellite communications operations, and a five-year, $14 million contract for software support for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. (Business Wire)

CACI International, an information technology firm with U.S. headquarters in Arlington, won a five-year, $48.3 million contract for program management support and technical services to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense. CACI was among the firms awarded a suite of contracts from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, valued at $50 million over five years, for development and support of the Joint Warfare System, a modeling and simulation program. (PR Newswire)

Maximus, a government services firm headquartered in Reston, won a $6.6 million contract by Wayne County, Mich., to support replacement of the county's human resources and payroll system. (Business Wire)

Cutbacks and Closings
AES Corp., a power producer headquartered in Arlington, announced plans to reduce capital spending by $490 million by the elimination of a number of projects and sale of certain assets. (Press release)

Pilgrim's Pride Corp., a Pittsburg, Texas-based poultry company, will close its chicken processing plant in Alma and consolidate operations at plants in Broadway and Moorefield, W.Va. (Press release)

Coastal Lumber Co., a Weldon, N.C.-based hardwood products company, will close its Suffolk plant with the loss of 60 jobs. Competition from foreign suppliers was cited as a major factor. (The Virginian-Pilot)

MeadWestvaco Corp., a producer of packaging and specialty papers headquartered in Stamford, Conn., will reduce 180 positions in its Richmond office and another 50 at a research and development center in its Covington plant. The cuts are part of the corporate restructuring from the merger of Mead and Westvaco. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Haleos Inc., a Blacksburg-based producer of optical components, laid off 20 employees because of a downturn in the telecommunications industry. (The Roanoke Times)

Mirant Corp., an energy company headquartered in Atlanta, canceled plans to build a power plant in Danville, citing a reevaluation of the firm's planned projects. (Danville Register & Bee)

InfiNet, a Norfolk-based company that manages information technology services for newspapers nationwide, laid off 20 workers, in anticipation of reduced spending in the newspaper industry nationally. (The Virginian-Pilot)

Divestitures
Advanced Switching Communications, a Vienna-based telecom-equipment company, plans to close because of eroding sales triggered by a downturn in the telecommunications industry. (The Washington Post)

Broadslate Networks of Albemarle County, a high-speed Internet service provider operating in several Southeastern states, ceased operations after a failure to find either financing for further operations, or a buyer for the company. (The Daily Progress)

Virginia Investment Counselors, an investment advisory firm in Norfolk, was bought by BB&T Asset Management, an investment advisory and portfolio management company, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. (Press release)

Expansions
Rubbermaid Commercial Products, a unit of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. of Freeport, Ill., announced a three-year, $45 million expansion of its Winchester facility. The project will add 250 jobs. (The Winchester Star)

MVM Inc., a full-service security management company headquartered in McLean, has launched a Criminal Justice Services Division to support growing demand for services in the criminal justice sector. (Business Wire)

Nautica Enterprises, a New York-based fashion and apparel company, will invest $5 million and create 150 jobs through an expansion of its distribution center in Henry County's Patriot Centre. (Press release)

Real Estate
The Silver Cos., a Fredericksburg-based land developer, purchased the Gate House Plaza Restaurant Park in Merrifield from Terrabrook Merrifield Gatehouse of New York for $11.7 million. (Press release)

Freddie Mac, a McLean-based government-established corporation that supports home ownership, purchased an 110,000-square-foot data center in Herndon for $19.5 million from Goldman Sachs' Whitehall Fund. (Press release)

George Washington University purchased the Ashburn corporate headquarters and property of PSINet, including a 204,000-square-foot facility and 40 acres of land. (Press release)

Real estate firms Lerner Enterprises of North Bethesda, Md., and Walton Street Capital of Chicago, bought Park Place, a 167,000-square-foot office building in Rosslyn. (PRNewswire, 02/11/02)

New Life Towers, a real estate partnership 90 percent owned by New Life Corp. of Nashville, Tenn., a Christian charity, bought the 400,000-square-foot Dominion Tower office building in Norfolk for $53.7 million. (The Virginian-Pilot)

Sauer Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Richmond-based food manufacturer C.F. Sauer Co., bought 420 acres of undeveloped land owned by Tyco International near Virginia Center Commons mall in Henrico County for $4.5 million. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Zumot Real Estate Management, a property management firm headquartered in McLean, purchased an 80,000-square-foot building and a 9,556-square-foot building occupied by Science Applications International Corp., at Vint Hill, a mixed-use community in Fauquier County. (Press release)

Financing
None reported

Legal
None reported

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