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Business Today

Gerdau Ameristeel names new CEO

By wire services
Published January 21, 2006

Canadian-owned steelmaker Gerdau Ameristeel, headquartered in Tampa, has named Mario Longhi as chief executive, pursuant to a succession plan announced in June.

CEO Philip Casey remains chairman. Longhi had spent 23 years in the aluminum industry with Alcoa before joining Ameristeel. Gerdau Ameristeel is North America's second-largest minimill steel producer.

The Small Business Administration will open its first area field office Wednesday in Tampa. Business owners can get one-on-one financial or other professional advice for free at the office at the Hillsborough County Small Business Information Center, 7402 N 56th St.,

Doubletree Hotels has opened a refurbished 125-room hotel in North Redington Beach after a $2.1-million renovation. Doubletree Beach Resort Tampa Bay was formerly a Hilton hotel. It's owned by North Redington Beach Associates Ltd. and operated under a franchise agreement with Doubletree Hotel Systems Inc. Doubletree has four other bay area properties.

Lovett Miller & Co., a Tampa venture capital fund, said Oracle Corp. has acquired portfolio company 360Commerce of Austin. Terms of the cash transaction were not disclosed. 360Commerce provides point-of-sale and work force management software to retailers such as Home Depot and Gap. W. Scott Miller, Lovett Miller's managing partner, had served on 360Commerce's board.

Shares of Google Inc. had their biggest drop after the company was sued by the Justice Department to hand over information on Web searches and as concern mounted that sales growth may slow. Google, which more than doubled last year, fell 8.5 percent Friday. Shares dropped $36.99 to $399.46 on Nasdaq, closing below $400 for the first time in two months.

Grain marketing company Cargill said it would set up tax-free health savings accounts for farmers who pledge to sell a portion of their grain to the company. The program, which officials say is the first in the nation, is aimed at helping farmers who are struggling with rising health insurance costs while guaranteeing business for Cargill in an increasingly competitive grain market.

Maybe the lassies will swoon, maybe not.

But the kilt-wearing, bottle toting, deliverymen of Highland Water in Littleton, Colo., are going to draw attention, said Keith Warner, the company's 45-year-old owner.

That's because his employees began arriving at customers' doors in kilts this week.

"Water is an undifferentiated commodity," he said. "How many of your customers remember you were there the following day? This is a way for us to get uninvisible."

The company's fleet of seven trucks and vans now bear stenciled signs that scream "Men in Kilts Deliver." Also pictured is a deliveryman in a kilt.

Last year Warner was thinking about ways to make Highland Water stand out when he went to the Renaissance Festival held each summer in Colorado. Surrounded by participants dressed in the robes and rags of the Middle Ages, he got the idea.

As the pomegranate becomes downright chic, Coca-Cola's Odwalla unit this week launched a juice line that showcases the stylish fruit. There's the basic pomegranate drink and versions mixed with berry or mango.

Coke is just the latest company to capitalize on the trend:

- A new fragrance called Pomegranate Noir from Jo Malone is on sale at upscale department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.

- SheerBliss, a Florida ice cream company, is selling chocolate-covered pomegranate ice cream on a stick.

- And bars boast a version of the classic martini called Pom Pom.

So what makes a fruit cool? Well, the pomegranate has a lovely crimson color. It tastes yummy. And there's been buzz lately about its health properties.

The pomegranate has antioxidants - substances that naturally occur in foods and combat so-called free radicals in the body, which can contribute to cancer.

SIX FLAGS BANS SMOKING: Six Flags Inc., the theme-park operator run by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, banned smoking in most areas of its parks to boost their appeal to families. Designated smoking zones will be set aside within each park to accommodate smokers, the company said.

General Electric Co.: The huge industrial products, financial services and media conglomerate said its fourth-quarter profit fell 46 percent as it absorbed nearly $3-billion in losses as it sold most of its insurance business. The results matched Wall Street's expectations, and GE raised the lower end of its earnings guidance for the year.

Citigroup Inc.: Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest financial institution, on Friday said its profit rose 30 percent in the fourth quarter, largely on the strength in its international operations and a gain on the sale of its asset management business.

Information from the Denver Post, Cox News Service and Bloomberg News was used in this report.

[Last modified January 21, 2006, 01:33:17]