Agency makes 'quality acquisition'

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 18, 2003 by Capital-Journal

4B

TUESDAY

FEBRUARY 18, 2003

Insurance sale

Group forms coalition to stop sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas

Wednesday in The Capital-Journal

The markets were closed for the Presidents Day holiday

Group awarded

program parts

ATCHISON --- Atchison Casting Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: AHNC) announced Monday that its Inverness Castings Group has recently been awarded several new program parts with DaimlerChrysler.

The parts awarded are for the Jeep Grand Cherokee front axle program, which consists of four aluminum die castings. This business will launch in the 2005 model year. The vehicle will be produced in DaimlerChrysler's JNAP facility in Detroit. The axles will be built at the Detroit Axle Plant.

ICG also was awarded two castings for the new LX vehicle, which debuted at the Detroit North American Auto Show as the "Magnum." The parts are a transmission mounting bracket and a suspension spacer.

These awarded castings will contribute approximately $5 million in annual sales.

ACC produces iron, steel and nonferrous castings for a wide variety of equipment, capital goods and consumer markets.

Company offers anti-piracy reward

Offering a whole new take on Customer Appreciation Day, a Missouri company announced a $10,000 reward Tuesday for tips leading to the conviction of anyone using its DVD-copying software for piracy.

The move is the latest attempt by St. Louis-based 321 Studios to demonstrate its anti-piracy fervor. That is important because the major Hollywood studios want to ban 321's products on the grounds that they promote piracy.

The two sides have taken their dispute to a federal court in Oakland, Calif., where a trial is scheduled to begin April 25. At issue is whether 321's programs violate federal copyright law by enabling users to pick the electronic locks on DVDs and copy them.

Robert Moore, founder and president of 321 Studios, contends that most of his customers use the software to make back-ups of DVDs they own. While Moore's attorneys say that is legitimate, the motion picture companies' attorneys say the law doesn't allow electronic locks to be circumvented for any purpose.

The reward applies to 321's latest product, DVD X Copy. The catch: The $10,000 would be paid only for tips that lead federal prosecutors to convict a pirate.

Xbox Live leads

gaming trend

Microsoft is leading a charge from back room to living room with an online service that already boasts more than a quarter-million Xbox players.

Xbox Live offers gamers the ability to play their favorite games against a world of friends and strangers online, in real time.

For a nickel shy of $50, players get a headset and boom mike, two mini Xbox games and access to an international broadband network supported by Level 3 Communications.

Xbox Live launched in November, but it wasn't until the beginning of this year that Microsoft saw the fruits of their online labor, nearly doubling their best sales predictions for the Live kit.

Microsoft also is working on adding more games that attract a broader base, not just the hard-core gamers who frequently are early adopters.

That drive for online gaming diversity is helping Microsoft grab a whole new breed of gamers.

Towns raise money with credit cards

OMAHA, Neb. --- Some Nebraska schools, churches, chambers of commerce and even a handful of government entities have discovered a new way to raise money.

Nonprofit organizations, from the McCook Chamber of Commerce to the Sacred Heart Catholic Parish in Norfolk, are offering their own credit cards. In many cases, each time one of the cards is used, the nonprofit group gets a kickback of 1 percent of the total purchase.

Hastings State Bank handles credit card services for 22 nonprofit groups in the state at no cost. It designs and produces the cards, provides card applications, and mails a check every three months to the sponsoring groups based on the amount of purchases made on the cards.

The program started in 1996 when the bank came up with the idea to generate extra money for the city of Hastings. Now more than 3,000 people carry Hastings' Hometown Pride cards, which feature an image of the city's Fisher Fountain illuminated at night.

--- From wire reports

NICK KRUG/The Capital-Journal

Janet Nelson, left, president of Jade Travel, 2901 S.W. 29th, recently purchased Mark 1 Travel, which closed its business Friday. By acquiring the agency, Nelson not only rid herself of competition, but, she also added another experienced agent to her staff with Melinda Smith, right.

Venture: Topeka's Jade Travel buys out Mark 1 Travel despite slumping post-Sept. 11 economy

Jade Travel

- Location: Brookwood Shopping Center, 2901 S.W. 29th

- Owner: Janet and Dennis Nelson

- Hours: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

- Phone number: 273-1226

By Chris Moon

The Capital-Journal

Today's economic climate isn't the most conducive for business expansion --- especially if you are a locally owned travel agency.

After all, the economy is suffering. Companies are tightening their belts, keeping corporate travel to a minimum.