Lowcountry becoming South Carolina’s steel country By Dennis Quick Since its arrival in Berkeley County last June, Welded-Tube Berkeley, a Canadian-owned steel pipe and tube manufacturer, already is preparing for expansion. The company is planning to ramp up its monthly production from about 1,600 tons to as much as 8,000 tons.
General Assembly tackles business issues By Matthew French With the state legislature back in session for the beginning of the 2005 term, jockeying for position on the legislative calendar is at a fever pitch.
Chef clears plate to baste new Broad Street venture By Dennis Quick Charleston restaurateur Brett McKee is breathing a little easier these days. For several years McKee was juggling three restaurants. Plus, he was cooking up dishes for one philanthropic event after another.
THE BRACK REPORT: Find alternative ways to honor public servants By Andy Brack It’s almost gotten to the point that you can’t drive anywhere without seeing a road, interchange, bridge or some other piece of public infrastructure named after a public official.
Letters to the Editor
Let citizens make an informed choice about Put Parents in Charge
Recently, the Charleston Regional Business Journal printed an editorial from Andy Brack lambasting school choice. Mr. Brack is throwing out the same old discredited distortions about Gov. Sanford’s Put Parents in Charge education reform plan that we have been hearing for months. If the citizens of South Carolina are going to make an informed choice on whether they support this proposal, they need to know…
QUICK NOTES: ‘McLeod Village’ would give James Island economic boost By Dennis Quick Delightful designs. For about a decade, James Island’s Cross Creek Square shopping plaza on Folly Road has been largely deserted. A huge, empty space still remains where the Harris Teeter supermarket used to be. When Athens restaurant, the plaza’s premiere tenant, moves to its new Maybank Highway location, Cross Creek Square will be just a couple of tenants away from becoming a ghost plaza.
News Briefs
Local company sends water treatment systems to Sri Lanka
On Jan. 9, five of Water Missions International’s Living Water Treatment Systems arrived in Sri Lanka. Each unit can purify up to 10,000 gallons of water per day. That’s enough water for 3,000 to 5,000 people. Samaritan’s Purse and Adventist Development and Relief Agency International will set up the units throughout Sri Lanka. Another four units are en route to Indonesia with International Aid. …
American College of the ¬Building Arts gets cash infusion By Matthew French The American College of the Building Arts, fresh off its victory in taking control and stewardship of the McLeod Plantation on James Island, late last month received another boost in the form of a substantial check from the federal government, and its first endowed scholarship.
Chicken prices: Gradually coming back to Earth By John Friel The lifting of China’s ban on poultry imports from the United States is the latest development in a roller coaster few years for the South Carolina poultry industry, and for those industries affected by poultry prices.
Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital keeps expanding By Sarah G. McC. Moise Less than two months after introducing its expanded emergency room, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital announced its second big expansion, a $24 million project that will add an additional 40,000 square feet on top of its current West Ashley facility.
Two produce companies cutting out their niche By Matthew French Two companies coming from a similar vein have recently set up shop in the Lowcountry in a somewhat narrow niche: pre-cut, pre-packaged produce.
Truck maker finds a home in the Lowcountry By Matthew French A Virginia-based truck assembly company is doing something at its new Summerville plant that the company has never done before: assemble trucks from beginning to end.
Miking the president: Local sound, lighting firm takes part in inauguration By Holly Fisher Last week one North Charleston company made history—literally. Production Design Associates was the technical provider for six of the nine Presidential Inaugural balls in Washington, D.C., making sure President Bush was seen and heard by millions.
Condo-conversion craze sweeps through Lowcountry By Dennis Quick Last June, River Point Row, a former apartment community on James Island, converted to condominiums. Of the 132 units, only two remain unsold.
The Beach Co. celebrates 60th anniversary By Dennis Quick Jan. 3 marked The Beach Co.’s 60th anniversary. The Lowcountry’s family-owned real estate and development giant, whose holdings span everything from shopping plazas to business parks to residential neighborhoods, has come a long way since Charleston lawyer John “J.C.” Long founded the company in 1945.
Concrete company expands into block market By Sarah G. McC. Moise To say construction is a booming industry in the Lowcountry is an understatement. But Jerry Smeltzer, president of the Van Smith Concrete Co., says the region hasn’t seen anything yet.
Real Estate News
Brick Association of the Carolinas and Southern Brick Institute merge
The Brick Association of the Carolinas and Southern Brick Institute recently merged their organizations.
As of Jan. 1, the new organization became Brick SouthEast and now serves a nine-state region including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. All member companies of both BAC and SBI became members of Brick SouthEast. …
Architecture center design competition selects five finalists By Dennis Quick Five architecture firms have been selected as finalists in Clemson University’s design competition for the proposed Clemson Architecture Center on George Street in downtown Charleston.
Government microloans aid aspiring entrepreneurs By Sarah G. McC. Moise After living in Vietnam for two years, Eve Blossom came to Charleston with plans to start Lulan, a company selling imported silks and textiles. Shortly before launching, Blossom decided to join the growing design district on upper King Street by opening a showroom, a decision for which she hadn’t budgeted.
LS3P, Boney Architects merge to widen markets By Sarah G. McC. Moise Charleston’s largest architectural firm, LS3P Associates Ltd., has merged with Wilmington, N.C.-based Boney Architects. The new entity will retain the LS3P name and will be known as LS3P/Boney in Wilmington and Raleigh, N.C.
CALENDAR
JAN. 25: Charleston Commissioners of Public Works board meeting. 9 a.m. at 103 St. Philip St., first floor conference room.
JAN. 25: Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce President’s Reception. 5:30-7 p.m. at Chamber of Commerce, 2750 Speissegger Dr., Suite 100. Information: Julie Nobles, 805-3039 or jnobles@charlestonchamber.org.
JAN. 25: Coastal Area Chapter of Mechanical Contractors Association meeting. 6 p.m. at Metro Electric Co., 3362 Navajo St. in Charleston. Chuck Bundy with the South Carolina Department of…
ACCOLADES & MORE
David Kent attended the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents 10th Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla. Kent has been a member of the association for seven years. He is a first exclusive buyer’s agent with The Real Buyer’s Agent in Mount Pleasant.
Dr. Lewis Gregory has completed the requirements for maintenance of certification in general pediatrics. This certification process is designed to evaluate, on a continual basis, the general competencies deemed necessary for pediatricians…
CAREER COACH: Manage your career by managing your boss By Barbara Poole Most people think that being a good manager is about effectively overseeing and developing their direct reports. Certainly, that’s a big part of the equation. Investing in your employees’ growth and productivity is key to their producing the results that the organization needs, and that will help you look good in the process.
SALES MOVES: Sales involves the power of engagement By Jeffrey Gitomer The purpose of “engagement” in sales is to involve a prospect in a way that he is interested enough to think about you in a positive way, trust you, want to buy from you, and engage in some form of relationship. Engagement is achieved through questions. Everyone is familiar with the ultimate engagement question: “Will you marry me?” Positive response to this question commits the buyer. Big time.
LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP: Innovation often results from small steps, not giant leaps By Jack Hoey Some years ago I read a book called The Money Masters by an investment writer named John Train. I remember it because Train’s main conclusion was a real surprise to me. The most important thing that successful investors learn to do is: Preserve your capital. Small losses are an inevitable part of investing, but you must avoid the wipeout.
MARKETING: Survey says: Happy brand new year, inside and out By Elizabeth Boineau Personal resolutions abound as the calendar turns over to a new year brimming with opportunities and the chance for a fresh start. It’s also a good time to closely examine the strength of your company and/or product and to spend a little time focusing on how to make a brand new year ring in benefits on the business side too.
PEOPLE
AUTOMOTIVE
Jim Coman has joined Glasspro Inc. as general manager. He will be responsible for the daily operations of Glasspro’s seven auto glass replacement and repair centers in the Lowcountry. Previously, he spent six years in sports administration and 10 years with Sicco Commodities. Kim Grace has joined the company’s accounting department at its Mount Pleasant headquarters. Previously, Grace had accounting positions with Accountemps in Mount Pleasant and PC Connection in Merrimack, N.H. Sarah Mason…
GIVING BACK
Hair Cuttery provides scholarship to new students
Trident Technical College student Wendi Riley won the 2004 Hair Cuttery Scholarship, which provides cosmetology students with a manikin practice kit during their first semester. Pictured, from left, are Denise Mazyck and Lisa Waggoner of Hair Cuttery, Riley and TTC instructors Ruth Ott and Larry Gottemoeller. “I’m very appreciative for this award,” says Riley, who recently left her job teaching third grade at Williams Memorial Elementary School in…
APPOINTMENTS
Software provider Modulant has formed an advisory board and named Mike Seashols as chairman. Seashols has had executive management positions at several software and technology companies, including Oracle, IBM, Documentum, Versant and GoldenGate.
Emily M. Osetek has been appointed the regional chair for the Southeast region of the Healthcare Billing and Management Association. She is the president of SourceNet Medical Billing Associates LLC. …
