St. Louis Named “Red-Hot Center of Genius” by Esquire Magazine
St. Louis is spotlighted in the November 1999 issue of Esquire magazine’s top “Twenty-Six Places in America that are Inventing the Future.” Washington University and Monsanto were listed as unique assets for the selection of St. Louis, noting:
From tomorrow’s genetically modified foods to seed design to Pet-scan innovations, this academic/industrial complex constantly generates ideas that translate into markets.
The list is limited mostly to national centers of science, technology and design. Esquire states that all of these places are creating breathtaking change.
Others listed included:
- National Center for Super-Computing Applications at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. “Supercomputers are the DEW line of digital exploration. What they do with high-bandwidth simulation now, desktops and the Net will be doing within a decade.”
- Disney Imagineers in Glendale, Calif. “Current generation—from super-computer designers to computer graphics wizards to mathematicians—guarantees the mouse will lead in the technologies of pop culture.”
- Johns Hopkins, Baltimore. “Still pioneers protocols for medical care and now also cutting edge in brain chemistry and gene therapy. Knows how to package innovations for the marketplace.”
- Center for International Development at Harvard. “Finance ministers of the Third World-America’s growth market-turn to Jeffrey Sachs et al. For policies and tools to accelerate economic development and improve standards of living.”
Enterprise Again Recognized as World-Class Leader in Technology
For the second time in a year, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and its employees were recognized with a prestigious national 1999 CIO-100 Award. CIO Magazine recognizes 100 companies around the world that “possess the ability to grasp and anticipate the changing dynamics of the new information-based economy.”
The magazine attributed the award to the privately held company’s successful management of a changing work force; ethical management; solid training and retention record; effective use of the Web and Internet to better serve customers; and practical use of technology to improve communication and to harness the power of teams.
Headquartered in St. Louis, Information Systems (IS) Group employs 750 people and is the “nerve center” of the nation’s largest rental car company. As one of only a handful of companies to manage its own satellite network, Enterprise also is one of the only rental car companies with a completely centralized computer system. Enterprise’s technology is essential for the tracking of 450,000 rental cars, linking 4,000 branch locations and connecting electronically with insurance company business partners.
“Our IS group is a strategic asset in the company’s growth, and we’ve always been committed to investing in the best talent and providing ongoing technology training,” says Andy Taylor, president and CEO. “This award goes to the people in IS who are making a difference in the way our company provides exceptional customer service.”
Fortune Magazine identified Enterprise, which supports campus training and outside course work, as “one of the “100 Best Companies to Work for in America.”
CVC Wins 1999 Gold Service Award
The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (CVC) has won the 1999 Gold Service Award from the readers of Meetings & Conventions magazine (M&C), a trade publication for national meeting and convention planners.
“Through totally unaided recall, these meeting planners voted for the top convention and visitor bureaus throughout the world and selected St. Louis as one of the best,” writes Bernard W. Schraer, a group publisher for Cahners Travel Group, publishers of M&C. “The St. Louis CVC is a part of the elite membership of Gold Service winners, and its staff should be honored by this accolade from the industry’s most discerning audience.”
The St. Louis CVC is the sales and marketing organization that sells St. Louis as a convention, meeting and leisure travel destination. The CVC also operates the America’s Center convention complex.
Seven Area Engineering Firms Ranked Among Nation’s Top List
Based on revenue for design services performed in 1998, Engineering News Record ranked seven area engineering firms in their top 500 list.
The survey, which the magazine has produced since 1965, ranked Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK) at 25, Fru-Con Engineering, Inc., at 160, Casco at 254, Horner & Shifrin, Inc. at 310, Farnsworth & Wylie at 328, Crawford, Murphy and Tilly Inc. at 353, Hampton-Tilley Associates Inc, at 419.
Design revenue for the top 500 firms rose 11.5 percent over 1997’s billing levels, as reported in the magazine. The domestic market numbers are even better, with 1998 revenue up 18.4 percent over 1997 billing levels, while international design revenue rose a respectable 4.9 percent over 1997 billings. In the United States, design firms saw increases in every market sector except manufacturing. The technological revolution among design firms also has increased the emphasis on interconnectivity and the Internet, the article states.
