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COMMERCE IN BRIEF
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Environmental
Champions Honored
Above:
Pictured are the champions who were honored with Environmental
Excellence Awards at the eclectic “recycled” Windows Off Washington
in downtown St. Louis on May 21, 2001.
Choose Environmental Excellence – Gateway Region recently presented
the Environmental Excellence Award to schools, businesses, individuals
and organizations for their commitments to improving the environment
in the St. Louis region.
The “environmental champions” were recognized for a range of positive
actions such as:
- Selling
recycled office supplies for the benefit of the community
- Managing
corporate grounds for the benefit of wildlife
- Creating
a reference book to guide contractors, designers and others
in the construction industry to minimize negative impact
on the environment
- Producing
the world’s first zero mercury-added zinc air hearing
aid batteries
- Setting
up and maintaining comprehensive recycling programs in
their workplac
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Choose Environmental
Excellence hosts an annual awards event to honor the award recipients
as well as to present an opportunity to others in the community
to learn how they can help the environment. Among businesses receiving
this year’s Environmental Excellence Awards were: Energizer, General
Motors Truck Group Wentzville Assembly Plant, HOK, Inc., Monsanto
Company World Headquarters’ Wildlife Habitat Team, Pedro’s Planet,
and St. Mary’s Hospital of East St. Louis.
To find out how your business can take advantage of the resources
offered by Choose Environmental Excellence – Gateway Region, please
call 314/772-8787 or visit www.ceegr.org. The organization serves
the metropolitan area as a central reference point for a variety
of environmental issues, including waste reduction and recycling
practices, energy efficiency, air quality, transportation efficiency
and water conservation.
Brennan Purchases McKelvey Homes
After a 48-year career of building more than 5,000 homes and apartments
in 30 communities in the St. Louis and St. Charles areas, Bob
McKelvey sold his 103-year-old family-owned company to Jim
Brennan.
Brennan, a former executive of another St. Louis homebuilder and
a past president of the Home Builders Association of Greater St.
Louis, purchased the assets of McKelvey’s operations and four on-going
new home communities. McKelvey retains McKelvey Building Co. along
with Mid County Properties and will serve as chairman emeritus of
McKelvey Homes.
“I look at our transaction as a strategic alliance,” Brennan says.
“I was looking at several opportunities. I kept coming back to McKelvey.
They have an unmatched reputation for exceptional homes.”
McKelvey’s grandfather, James, started the company in 1898, building
in downtown St. Louis. He is credited with building the city’s first
gasoline station. In the late 1930s, he and his son took the business
to West St. Louis County where they built more than 1,000 homes.
Bob McKelvey joined the family business in 1953, and formed McKelvey
Homes in 1961, following his grandfather’s retirement. He saw new
opportunities in St. Charles.
The company is currently marketing four new home communities: The
Bluffs, just west of Lake St. Louis; The Fountains in Wentzville;
Turtle Creek in O’Fallon; and Somerset Hills in St. Charles County.
CSI Expansion Includes Move
Above:
CSI Inc. moved administrative offices and staff of two subsidiaries
now occupying more than three-quarters of this former Monsanto building
at 9990 Old Olive Street Road in Creve Coeur.
Computer Sales International Inc. (CSI), a leading independent computer-leasing
firm, has expanded its headquarters by more than 30 percent, moving
into a former Monsanto building. The company has leased 42,000 square
feet at 9990 Old Olive Street Road in Creve Coeur, in what had been
Monsanto Company’s “M” Building. The new space will house 167 of
CSI’s 297 employees, including administrative offices, CSI Trading
and Partec Inc., both subsidiaries of the firm. Lawrence Group Architects
provided the interior Design. The general contractor was ICS.
Nooter Corp. Forms New Subsidiary
Nooter Corp. has announced the formation of a subsidiary, Nooter
Fabrication Services Inc. (NFS). The new company will market, sell,
and provide project management services for equipment to be fabricated
at its affiliates, which include Amalgamated Metal Corp. in Malaysia
and Consorcio Industrial S.A. de C.V. in Mexico.
Mark Huck, formerly vice president of global alliances at Nooter
Fabricators Inc., will serve as NFS president. “The vision for NFS
simply marries the best qualities of Nooter and those of our affiliate
companies,” Huck explained. NFS combines Nooter’s fabricating experience
with the products offered by the affiliate companies. In return,
the affiliates offer locally fabricated items such as vessel and
heat exchangers, ideal for markets in Asia, the Pacific Rim, and
North and South America.
UGS Presents $6.3 Million Grant to St. Louis Community College
To create a center for advanced manufacturing technology, UGS
offered a $6.3 million grant to St. Louis Community College (SLCC).
The grant will supply the college with Unigraphics, UGS’ computer-aided
design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software, as well as hardware
and training.
“This Unigraphics lab will elevate our Advanced Manufacturing Center
facility to a new level of excellence in technology and collaborative
learning,” said Ashok Agrawal, chair of the SLCC-Florissant Valley
engineering and technology department. “Opportunities of joint project
activities with the University of Missouri–Rolla will give our students
valuable exposure to collaborative design work.”
Unigraphics is also playing a role in the Advanced Manufacturing
Center project, which is being created through a combination of
public and private support in cooperation with the St. Louis Community
College Foundation. The center will focus programs to develop worker
skills to meet the needs of St. Louis area manufacturers.
Butterfly House Joins Missouri Botanical Garden Operations
Above:
The Butterfly House in Faust Park formed an alliance with the Missouri
Botanical Garden.
The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House & Education Center has joined
operations with the Missouri Botanical Garden. Trustees of the Garden
and directors of the Butterfly House approved the alliance, which
became effective July 2, 2001.
Dr. Peter H. Raven, director of the Garden, said, “This inspiring
display of butterflies and their role in our world’s biodiversity
will uniquely complement the Garden’s mission.”
Located in Chesterfield at Faust Park, the Butterfly House opened
three years ago. Its main attractions are an 8,000-square-foot conservatory
showcasing tropical butterflies in free flight, and an outdoor habitat
designed to attract and nurture native and migratory butterflies.
Evelyn E. Newman, founder and president of the Butterfly House,
said, “In less than three years since the Butterfly House opened,
it has distinguished itself as a major St. Louis attraction and
one of the premiere butterfly houses in the nation.”
St. Charles County Incubator Spawns Award-Winning Firms
Two clients of the Economic Development Center of St. Charles County
are making progress. Herst & Associates Inc. was named the National
Business Incubation Association’s 2001 Incubator Client of the Year
in the service category. In addition, The Marketing Depot has graduated
from the business incubator at the EDC and has moved its corporate
headquarters to west St. Louis County.
Herst & Associates provides hydrogeologic, hydrochemical and general
environmental consulting to industrial, commercial and manufacturing
clients across the U.S. Debby and Ward Herst formed the company
in 1998. They joined the EDC business incubator program and moved
into their facility after realizing the benefits of the package
of services. The company now has 17 employees and about 50 clients.
The Marketing Depot is an agency that provides advertising and marketing
services to small and middle market businesses. Their new headquarters
is at 112 Clarkson Executive Park in Ellisville.
“We’ve been thrilled with the resources the EDC has been able to
offer us,” said Tim Rasmussen, president of The Marketing Depot,
who has seen his business outgrow the facilities available through
the EDC. “While reluctant to move out of St. Charles, more of our
business is in St. Louis and St. Louis County.”
A member of the National Business Incubation Association, the EDC
of St. Charles County offers seminars for fledgling local businesses
as well as a reception area, offices and conference rooms to help
young companies present a professional image.
Nationwide, business incubation programs catalyze the process of
starting and growing companies, giving entrepreneurs expertise,
networks and tools to make ventures successful. These programs boost
the local economy with new jobs and business diversity. The concept
has grown from 12 business incubation programs in 1980 to more than
800 in North America.
McCarthy Hosts Minority Youth in Construction Field Trip
Above:
McCarthy Building Companies’ Midwest Safety Director Kevin Maitland
discusses the importance of safety on a construction site with students
in the Minority Youth in Construction program
General contractor, McCarthy Building companies hosted 35 ninth
through twelfth graders for a unique field trip aimed at providing
minority youth a first-hand look at construction trades. The Minority
Youth in Construction (MYIC) program is one component of McCarthy’s
Lifelong Learning Continuum philosophy. Participants in the MYIC
field trip enjoyed hands-on demonstrations in safety, carpentry,
electrical wiring and installation as well as heavy machinery operation.
Students also enjoyed an opportunity to have lunch with McCarthy
executives to discuss careers in construction |
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