Business Briefs
The Business Review (Albany)
Area will see some job growth, Manpower survey predicts
Modest job growth is projected for the Capital District this winter, according to Manpower Inc.'s employment outlook survey.
Nineteen percent of the firms surveyed plan to increase staffing levels in the first quarter of 2001. Sixty-four percent expect no change, 10 percent project reductions in staffing, and 7 percent are uncertain of their work force needs.
Manpower projects a 9 percent net increase in the local work force during the first quarter, compared to 15 percent in the state and 17 percent nationwide.
Job opportunities are expected in non-durable goods manufacturing in Albany, Fulton and Montgomery counties, and in durable goods manufacturers in Troy, Schenectady and Glens Falls. Opportunities are expected in wholesale and retail trade in Albany and Troy, and in public administration in Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga Springs.
Cuts are expected in construction, durable goods manufacturing and education in Albany; in finance, insurance and real estate in Saratoga Springs; and in public administration in Glens Falls. Wholesale and retail cuts are expected in Fulton and Montgomery counties and Glens Falls.
Mohawk Community Bank to use KeyBank N.A.'s ATMs
Mohawk Community Bank of Amsterdam has struck a deal to allow its customers to use KeyBank N.A.'s automated teller machines in the Northeast.
Previously, the only ATMs Mohawk Community customers could use free of charge were the 17 in the thrift's branches. The pact adds 456 Key ATMs in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
Mohawk is the thrift subsidiary of Ambanc Holding Co. Inc. (Nasdaq: AHCI) of Amsterdam. John Lisicki, CEO of Ambanc, said the agreement will allow Mohawk to expand its customer service without having to incur the costs of enlarging its own network. It will instead pay KeyCorp, the Cleveland-based parent of KeyBank, to accept and process the remote ATM transactions.
KeyCorp announced earlier this year that it would begin offering such agent services to smaller banks, thrifts and credit unions. The initiative is part of the company's effort to improve profitability, partially by increasing non-interest income.
Clifton Country Mall changes name to Clifton Park Center
Clifton Country Mall in Clifton Park has changed its name to Clifton Park Center to reflect the mall's new image. Mall management is determined to take advantage of the increase in prestige and in shoppers from the new Boscov's department store.
The name change is a way to distance the mall from its former problems, said Fred Miller, the mall's manager.
Philip Barrett, Clifton Park town supervisor, organized an e-mail campaign for town residents to actively lobby Boscov's to choose Clifton Park. The company last year had narrowed its choices to the Clifton Park mall or the Wilton Mall in Wilton. Boscov's also has a store in Colonie Center in Colonie.
Miller said the new Boscov's is doing "tremendous business," better than the mall and the company expected.
Miller said the mall has completed exterior renovations, including an upgrade of the mall's facade and a repaved parking lot. Mall management is now working on interior changes including a new color scheme and updated lighting.
Consortium formed to teach skills for clinical drug trials
The state University at Albany's School of Public Health, the Albany College of Pharmacy and Omnicare Clinical Research in Troy have established the Pharmaceutical Development Consortium to develop a course to train pharmacy students and professionals in how to conduct clinical drug trials.
Omnicare Clinical, formerly drug manufacturer and research company Coromed Inc. of North Greenbush, was acquired by Omnicare Inc. in 1998.
Katarina Holbrook, program director for the School of Public Health, said the goal is to license the course for use by other colleges of pharmacy and pharmaceutical companies nationwide.
The drug development process can take 10 to 15 years from identification of a new drug in the lab to introducing it to the marketplace. Much of the later testing phases require skilled workers to coordinate tests with as many as 10,000 patients in several locations. There is a shortage of qualified, experienced staff, said Islah Ahmed, project director for Omnicare.
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