20110214-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_--
2/11/2011
3:23 PM
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$1.50/FEBRUARY 14 - 20, 2011
VOL. 32, NO. 7
Sales of new Steris processor lag Hospitals forced to replace predecessor; competitors seek piece of pie By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com
If Steris Corp. is to hit its sales goal for the machine it developed to replace its flagship System 1 medical equipment cleaning processor, it will need to sell a whole bunch of
Garfield Hts. project may get another shot of life Bridgeview Crossing first stalled 2 years ago By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com
A California-based developer of outlet shopping centers has assumed a behind-the-scenes role that could lead to the eventual revival of construction on the languishing Bridgeview Crossing shopping center in Garfield Heights. Through an entity called Garfield Hope Acquisition LLC, Steven L. Craig, CEO of Craig Realty Group in Newport Beach, Calif., recently bought the defaulted, $29 million construction loan on the Bridgeview Crossing project from Huntington Bank, according to Cuyahoga County land records. Three developers are interested in buying the Bridgeview Crossing mortgage, Mr. Craig said. Two are from Northeast Ohio and the third is from Chicago. Mr. Craig declined to identify them. He also wouldn’t specify how much he paid for the defaulted mortgage or what price he has put on it. Unpaid contractors walked off the Bridgeview Crossing job two years ago. Workers left the skeleton-like steel of an unfinished building exposed to the elements as the 90-acre site of the proposed, 800,000-square-foot shopping center went quiet after construction claims and lawsuits
them over the next six weeks. Mentor-based Steris sold about 50 System 1E processors in December, when the medical equipment provider started shipping the new machines. Since then, however, it has not sold large numbers of the System 1E, which is designed to
clean endoscopes and other heatsensitive medical equipment, Steris CEO Walter Rosebrough said during a conference call with securities analysts last Tuesday, Feb. 8. Steris expects to sell 1,000 machines by March 31, the end of its fiscal 2011, Mr. Rosebrough said.
The company is trying to ramp up sales of the processors quickly because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is forcing hospitals nationwide to find replacements for the original System 1 machine by the end of August. The FDA in December 2009 revoked its approval for the original
INSIDE Tax man is on the prowl The state soon will intensify its effort to find the estimated 380,000 businesses behind on the so-called use tax, which is owed on purchases where sales tax isn’t applied. Read Michelle Park’s story on Page 3.
See STERIS Page 17
A NEW CHAPTER Municipalities slowly accept that drastic action might be in the offing By MICHELLE PARK mpark@crain.com
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here are those who think the unthinkable is on the verge of happening. Some observers in local legal and political circles speculate there will be municipal bankruptcies in the near to intermediate future as governments seek relief from the pressure of decreased revenues and increased costs. If a municipal bankruptcy happens, it would be the first Chapter 9 reorganization ever filed in Ohio, at least as far as the auditor of state’s office is aware. Mike Caputo, who chairs the government affairs See BANKRUPTCY Page 7
JESSE KRAMER/ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE BENNETT
John Licastro, the mayor of Bratenahl and president of the Cuyahoga County Mayors and City Managers Association, said municipal Chapter 9 reorganizations are possible.
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It’s good to have choices, especially when it comes to health insurance.
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