Garelik moves from ‘natural’ to ‘fresh’
FRANKLIN – Garelik Farms has decided to drop its “all natural” label and replace it with the term fresh. In dropping the “all natural” description, the company also abandoned the competitive campaign that it had waged for the last four years, principally against H.P.Hood, emphasizing that it used only natural contents in its milk. Specifically, Garelik has been emphasizing that it used only natural vitamin supplements in its milk, derived from fish products, in contrast with its competitors who used “synthetic” vitamins. Now Garelik has announced that “times change,” and its customers don’t care where the vitamins come from, as long as the milk is fresh and of good quality. A company spokesman said Garelik had no intention of embarking on a new ad campaign emphasizing the “freshness” of its milk.
Lernout & Hauspie completes Dragon acquisition
BURLINGTON – Lernout & Hauspie announced that it had completed its acquisition of Dragon Systems of Newton. Both companies are leaders in producing computerized systems responsive to voice commands. Lernout, a Belgian company with executive offices here in Burlington, makes systems, which convert text to speech through robots. Janet Baker, co-founder of Dragon, will become a senior executive in Lernout as part of the agreement. The stock given to Dragon in the acquisition declined in value from $600 million when the deal was first offered to $460 million now, according to the Boston Globe. The combined company will have 2,000 employees, the Globe reported.
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Lucent to expand in North Andover
NORTH ANDOVER – Lucent Technologies, Inc. announced that it is expanding the corporate role of its operation here, making the plant one of four “global systems integration centers” in the United States for its new optical equipment. The company employs 5,600 people at its plant here, and it is predicted that its enhanced role as an optical center could lead to additional hirings. The company’s other centers are in New Jersey, Ohio and Oklahoma.
New Bedford unemployment higher than national level
NEW BEDFORD – The unemployment level in this city was measured at 4.3 percent in April, making it the only metropolitan area in New England with an unemployment level higher than the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national rate is 3.7 percent. The lowest rates in New England – all below 2 percent–are Danbury and Stamford, Conn., Portsmouth, N.H. and Burlington, Vt.
Raytheon settles U.S. suit for $1.0 million
LEXINGTON – Raytheon has settled suit brought by the federal government regarding equipment testing at its Quincy plant. The company agreed to pay the U.S government $1.06 million for deficiencies in its testing of electronic weapons components as part of a settlement of the government’s suit against Raytheon. In 1996, the company announced that it had fired 17 employees and disciplined 9 more, as a result of an investigation of the issue, the Boston Globe reported. The dispute was resolved under the terms of the Pentagon’s Voluntary Disclosure Program because Raytheon had reported the problems that arose over a seven-year period. There was no indication of any negative impact on the components, both the U.S. attorney and Raytheon said, according to the Globe.
PerkinElmer buying NEN Life Sciences
WELLESLEY – PerkinElmer, Inc. will be relocating its life sciences division from Finland to Boston as a result of its acquisition of NEN Life Sciences from a private investor for $400 million. PerkinElmer will move its life sciences unit into NEN Life Sciences offices on Albany Street near the Boston Medical Center. PerkinElmer’s life sciences division makes laboratory equipment used in genomic research and drug discovery. NEN, formerly New England Nuclear, makes chemicals and radioisotopes used in genomic screening, drug discovery, and nuclear medicine. NEN employs about 500 people, most of them in the Boston area. PerkinElmer, formerly EG&G, has about 12,000 employees worldwide, working in life sciences, aerospace, photographic, semiconductor, and telecommunications applications.
Internet marketing firm buys MediaBridge
ANDOVER – Engage, Inc., an Internet marketing firm, announced that it was acquiring MediaBridge Technologies, Inc. in a stock transaction worth $268 million. CMGI, an Internet incubator company, owns a majority share in Engage, which collects anonymous data on millions of Internet users so that targeted ads can be displayed to Internet viewers when they visit Engage-linked Web sites. Engage hopes to use MediaBridge’s closed-loop targeted marketing system to reach more traditional businesses that may not have an aggressive Internet marketing program. The Boston Globe reported that the transaction is expected to close by late summer. MediaBridge, which employs 185 people and has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and London, England, is to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Engage.
Westwood One buying Smart Route Systems
CAMBRIDGE – Westwood One, Inc., the nation’s largest radio network and information group is buying SmartRoute Systems of Cambridge which provides traffic reports for WCVB, Channel 5 in Boston and New England Cable News. Westwood reported it would pay $25 million and assume unspecified debt. SmartRoute Systems, which was founded in 1991, is also known as SmarTraveler. SmartRoute employs about 185 workers (about 65 of them in Cambridge) in 10 cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The company has reported it plans to expand into 18 more cities this year, including New York City and Baltimore.
