HAWAII
Water company opens new bottling plant
Hawaiian Natural Water Co., whose growth capabilities have long been hampered by an inadequate bottling facility in Keaau on the Big Island, dedicated the $2.2 million expansion of its plant this afternoon.The facility, which increases production capacity to 3.1 million cases from 500,000 cases annually, also has been expanded to 12,500 square feet from 9,000 square feet. The new machinery will be able to produce up to 300 bottles per minute.
Omaha, Neb.-based Amcon Distributing Co., which acquired Hawaiian Natural Water last December and made it a wholly owned subsidiary, had kept the company afloat with cash infusions prior to the deal closing. The company sells natural water under the Hawaiian Springs label.
"We overproduced for two weeks and then shut down for eight weeks," said Roger Morey, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Hawaiian Natural Water. "During the shutdown time, we took out the old machinery, did some renovations and moved in the new equipment. We reopened again on July 3."
Hawaii All-Collectors Show set to go
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Tyson Kaneshiro, 18, looked at some of his Japanese dolls as he prepared yesterday for the Hawaii All-Collectors Show at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. He helped his grandfather, Dennis Beppu, from Mango Marketplace in Wahiawa. The show opens at 4 p.m. today and runs through Sunday.
MAINLAND
Former Motorola exec hired as new Tyco CEO
BOSTON >> Edward Breen, the new chief executive of Tyco International Ltd., got a vote of approval today when its stock surged 47 percent on hopes he can restore confidence in the battered conglomerate.But Breen, who was appointed CEO yesterday in a surprise move after being hired away from Motorola Inc., where he was a well-regarded president, faces a daunting to-do list. One of his most pressing issues is to clear the air over Tyco's accounting on numerous acquisitions once and for all, analysts said. Concerns about accounting and corporate ethics have stripped $90 billion in market value from Tyco this year.
None the less, Tyco's stock soared $3.78 to close at $12.03 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Kamehameha plans to sell Michigan land
DETROIT >> Kamehameha Schools' plan to sell nearly 390,000 acres of Upper Peninsula land in Michigan has raised concern among some conservationists and area residents. A tract of forest and lakeshore that spans 10 counties will go up for sale this year, officials at Kamehameha Schools told the Detroit Free Press. The trust expects to make more than $150 million on the sale, said Martin Wilk, president of Shelter Bay Forests, which manages the land.Kamehameha Schools had no comment.
The land includes several miles of Lake Superior shoreline, most of a small island, and more than 200 inland lakes, Wilk said. "It should be placed on the market by the end of this year, and sold by early next year," he said.
Some Upper Peninsula residents fear a developer will buy the land in an effort to construct homes and log forests. The land is covered by the Commercial Forest Act. That means the owners receive a tax break in exchange for keeping the land open for snowmobilers and hunters. New homes could cut off such access.
WTO says U.S. erred on lumber duties
Geneva >> The World Trade Organization said the U.S. violated trade laws in the way it calculated tariffs on Canadian lumber, signaling the WTO may strike down the duties that have strained ties between the two biggest trading partners.The ruling is on a preliminary 19.3 percent tariff the U.S. imposed last August on $6 billion worth of Canadian pine, fir and spruce lumber that was challenged by Canada at the WTO.
Since the U.S. has replaced the preliminary tariff with a final duty, today's ruling has no practical effect on the protection for such companies as International Paper Co.
[Hawaii Inc.]
On the board
>> Michael A. Rosenberg has been re-elected as a national vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Rosenberg, president and general manager of KITV-TV, was elected to a new one-year term as a volunteer leader of the national health organization during its recent annual meeting in Los Angeles>> The newly elected president of the Honolulu Theatre for Youth board of trustees is Marcia E. Lee, a board member for the past six years and chair of HTY's Golf For Youth tournaments. Other officers for 2002-03 are vice presidents Stanford Carr and Tony Pisculli, secretary Kristine Altwies Nicholson, treasurer Wallace G. K. Chin and past president Candice Naito. New board members are Tim Bostock, whose production company brings musical and performing arts events to Hawaii; Wallace Chin, controller at Kamehameha Schools and treasurer and director of finance for Ke Alii Pauahi Foundation; Janet Henderson, theater supporter; Lorie Nagata, corporate treasurer at Hawaiian Electric Co.; and Mary Weisman, senior vice president for credit and risk management at Bank of Hawaii. Marcy Fleming, Laurel Bowers Husain and Lyn Zukerkorn have retired from the board.
New Jobs
>> The Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa has named Gary Nelson senior conference and conventions manager in its catering and conference services department. He will be responsible for convention and catering group programs, and assisting in executive catering planning and annual budget planning. Nelson was most recently catering, meetings and conventions manager with the Hilton Hawaiian Village.>> Hawaiiana Management Co. has appointed two new management executives, Allan Doherty and Harry Harris. Doherty previously worked as a platoon sergeant in the Marine Corps. Harris brings 25 years of property and construction management to the company.
