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MAKING HEADLINES
The St. Louis
region and its companies often make national news—below are a few
highlights.
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Edward Jones
Featured in BusinessWeek Magazine
The June 10,
2002, issue of BusinessWeek Magazine, features a three-page
article in the People section on Edward Jones. The piece, “Main
Street Trumps Wall Street,” with the sub-headline, “John Bachmann’s
St. Louis firm is winning over investors by doing business the way
it always has,” is a fascinating look at how Edward Jones has built
the nation’s largest network of brokerage offices (8,357) under
John’s guiding hand.
The article notes, “As managing partner of St. Louis-based Edward
Jones for the past 22 years, he has shunned the free-wheeling ways
of Wall Street…Bachmann doesn’t believe in online trading. He is
not too keen on margin trading, either. Some ridiculed the firm
for its refusal to offer customers online trading, but Bachmann
wouldn’t budge.”
“Almost every Internet consultant was critical of us,” Bachmann
recalls. “But the market we serve values relationships.”
Ranked #1 in Fortune magazine’s recent list of the 100 Best
Companies to Work for in America, Edward Jones is the only major
financial services firm advising individual investors exclusively.
The company traces its roots back to 1871 and currently serves 5
million clients.
AIA’s Top 10 Green Projects Includes Two HOK-designed Buildings
Defying assumptions that environmentally friendly or “green” building
projects are either dull or expensive, Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum
(HOK) seems to look for opportunities to create structures that
are both attractive and cost-effective. Featured on the 2002
Top 10 Green Projects list are two HOK-designed buildings, the
Edificio Malecon office building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and
the National Wildlife Federation Headquarters in Reston, Va. The
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment
compiles the annual list evaluating design projects on performance,
aesthetics, community connection and environmental stewardship.
At nearly 125,000 square feet, the Edificio Malecon occupies 1.5
acres in Puerto Madero, a redevelopment area of Buenos Aires. It
is the first building in a four-million-square-foot planned commercial
complex. HOK provided site planning, architecture, interior design
and landscape design services on this project. Some of the environmentally
friendly design and construction concepts include operable windows
to harness the breeze from a nearby river, naturally ventilated
stairwells and maximum use of local materials.
The new headquarters for the National Wildlife Federation sits on
seven acres adjacent to the 475-acre Lake Fairfax Park. The 85,000-square-foot
building’s “green” features include a high-performance design HVAC
system and positioning on the site for maximizing daylight while
minimizing peak heating and cooling loads. A focus on the wildlife
and plant habitat went into the site design. HOK’s work on the project
included programming, site planning, architecture, interior design
and landscape design.
This is the fourth time HOK has had projects named in the Top 10
Green Projects since AIA launched the recognition program in 1995.
This year, St. Louis-based HOK is the only architectural design
firm with multiple projects on the list.
Logistics Management Solutions Earns Recognition for Web-Based
Technology
Inbound Logistics, a nationally distributed magazine for logistics
and transportation professionals, recently named Logistics Management
Solutions (LMS) to its “2002 Top 100 Logistics Information Technology
Provider.” To compile this annual list, Inbound Logistics
editors evaluate products from logistics information technology
providers throughout the country. The chosen companies are listed
alphabetically in the magazine’s April edition. According to Inbound
Logistics, LMS was selected because of its Web-enabled transportation
management system, TOTAL (Transportation Optimization Through Analysis
and Leverage).
Some of the well-known users of LMS’ TOTAL include BASF, Monsanto
and Emerson, as well as many other companies in and out of the St.
Louis area. These companies rely on TOTAL to streamline their transportation
processes and cut transportation costs.
LMS introduced TOTAL in 2001. It allows LMS and its customers to
manage freight efficiently. TOTAL also enables users to accurately
build, route, assign and track shipments via the Internet.
Enrollment Trends at Vatterott College Featured in Chronicle
of Higher Education
Above:
Vatterott College students learn trade skills to become electricians,
welders and HVAC technicians.
In March, the Chronicle of Higher Education flew a reporter
from Washington, D.C., to tour Vatterott College’s Sunset Hills
campus and discuss increasing enrollment for trade and technical
training schools. The article, entitled “For-Profit Colleges Adapt
to a Skilled-Trades Renaissance,” follows Vatterott as a representation
of national enrollment trends among career colleges, specifically
the renewed interest in technical trades versus information technology
(IT) as a result of last year’s slowed economy.
The article reveals Vatterott’s success in taking “old-economy”
job training and making it new again, started with preparation two
years ago. The college invested in upgrading facilities and curriculum
for training electricians, welders and HVAC technicians.
In 2001, the technical trade programs at Vatterott in Sunset Hills
saw student enrollment increase by 24 percent followed by a 31 percent
increase so far in 2002. The college attributes this enrollment
growth in the trades to their stability, good wages and continued
need for workers.
Makansi Appears on CNBC to Discuss Energy Investing
NBC Wake-up Call anchors Liz Claman and Carl Quintanilla
recently interviewed Jason Makansi, president and founder of Pearl
Street Inc., to provide insights into investing in energy and energy
technology stocks. Pearl Street Inc. of St. Louis, a technology
deployment services firm, identifies and analyzes trends in the
energy industry, and develops strategies for capitalizing on those
trends.
Makansi also is author of two books on energy investing. John Wiley
& Sons Finance Division recently published his second book, An
Investor’s Guide to the Electricity Economy.
Deregulation, market restructuring, and technology development mean
investors face an array of new companies and technologies that have
the potential to grow and accumulate wealth. The focus of the April
27th interview was being a successful investor in the electricity
industry. Makansi discussed getting beyond “analyst hype” and understanding
technology capital including technology development cycles, the
importance of due diligence, the stages of the commercialization
process, market-entry timing, and the value of strategic alliances.
The Wall Street Journal Takes a Look at Construction Careers
Center
St. Louis’ Construction Careers Center (CCC), a charter school in
partnership with the local Associated General Contractors, was the
focus of a story in the May 28 edition of The Wall Street Journal
Online. Other cities, in addition to St. Louis, have been introducing
vocational education programs through charter schools, which are
independent from much of the typical school administration. Across
the country such programs have met with varied success. The Journal
sees several positive indicators for the CCC.
Those interviewed include Cleveland Hammonds, St. Louis School District
superintendent, Richard Grebel, CCC’s current board president and
president of KCI Construction Co., Lanette Meyer, CCC’s administrator,
and Gerald Tirozzi of the National Association of Secondary School
Principals, as well as a few students and parents.
About 90 CCC students just completed their freshman year. The program
keeps a focus on academics so students can be prepared for college,
as well. In addition, though, participants are learning basic carpentry,
plumbing and masonry, as well as other construction related skills.
According to the story, 270 students have applied to join next year’s
freshman class, an indicator of the CCC’s potential to bring new
workers into the construction industry. AGI, whose sponsorship is
covering up to half of the cost of each student in the program,
will determine the return on investment by how many graduates choose
to pick up hammers.
The Boston Globe Story Reads Like a St. Louis Visitor’s Guide
St. Louis may be seeing more New Englanders visit thanks to a May
29th story in The Boston Globe. “Meet Me In St. Louis,” by
Globe Correspondent Sally Cragin, started with an enthusiasm
for history, pointing out many of America’s first stories occurred
in New England, but our country’s continuing history includes the
Lewis and Clark expedition, the Dred Scott case, and Charles Lindbergh’s
flight across the Atlantic.
Cragin, of course, highlighted the world-recognized Gateway Arch,
calling it “one of the best investments any city ever made,” and
is a big bonus for St. Louis. She describes the Arch experience
for visitors from the interesting views at the bottom to the ride
up in “quirky four-seat cars” for the spectacular view. The article
continues with accolades for the St. Louis region’s museums, architecture,
rivers and the archeological intrigue of nearby Cahokia Mounds.
And surely, St. Louisans will welcome these New England vacationers—even
if they show up in their Super Bowl Championship T-shirts. |
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