Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page 26

C2 THE HARTFORD COURANT: Thursday, February 21, 1991 Couple taps into hot market for tapes I STATE Questions raised about Pratt's plan Continued from Page Cl some of your ongoing capability." Demisch added, however, "there's a lot of bone to go through at Pratt Whitney." Pratt, the largest division of Hartford's United Technologies employs 25,500 workers in Connecticut and 45,000 worldwide. Pratt, despite its backlog, may be facing "a hole in its production schedule," Demisch suggested. He explained that, while financially strapped airlines may be extending delivery dates for engines under order, the drop in spare-parts orders means there might not be enough near-term work to support Pratt's existing employment levels. In addition, analysts cite automa be paid $2 a share in cash, NATION Order in jeopardy FORT WORTH, Texas American Airlines might refuse delivery of a second MD-11 jumbo jet from McDonnell Douglas Corp. because it is having computer and fuel problems with the first plane.

American ordered 19 airplanes, including options on four planes that it exercised two weeks ago, and has options to purchase 31 more. But at employee meetings Monday and Tuesday, American chairman Robert Crandall said the carrier is "very, very, very unhappy" with the MD-11 it received Feb. 1. WORLD WI.CT-TV motion Lawyers for the major creditors of Astroline Communications Co. owners of WHCT-TV Channel 18, filed a motion Wednesday in U.S.

Bankruptcy Court in Hartford to liquidate the Hartford station. A decision on the case is expected at a hearing scheduled for 2 p.m. on Feb. 28, before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert L.

Krechevsky. Astroline has been trying to emerge from Chapter 11, a section of the bankruptcy code that protects a company from creditors while it works out a plan to pay off its debts. But creditors moved Wednesday to convert the filing to Chapter 7 liquidation to pay off creditors. REGION Child World stske AVON, Mass. The parent company of Child World Inc.

said Wednesday it plans to sell its 82 percent stake in the financially troubled toy retailer to a group led by former Toys Us Inc. executives. CNC Holding Corp. said it signed a letter of intent to sell its shares in Child World in a non-cash transaction to WC Acquisition which is led by W. John Devine and Ronald E.

Tuchman, both formerly of Toys Us, and institutional investors. Stockholders who own some 2.02 million shares in the company will City. Joining them was former "Saturday Night Live" producer Jean Doumanian, who had produced the Bubbe's series. As the group began to chat, Wemstein's and Block's lack of business experience came through quickly. They had no business plan.

Instead, they sold their potential. "We're bright. We're creative. We're a dynamic duo," Weinstein said he told the Kants. It worked.

"We had the contracts; we formed the company," he said. Classic Telepublishing's budget, less than $200,000 in the first year, grew to $275,000 for the second By the third year, it was $450,000. Block and Weinstein have learned how to save money in a variety of areas, including package production. For example, with the "Joy of Passover" video, the box holding the video cost $1.50 each to produce. But when they marketed the "Brick" video, Weinstein and Block said the cost was 13 cents for each box.

"We've learned to print in large quantities of 10,000 at a time," Weinstein said. They've also learned that advertising is out. The first year, Weinstein and Block spent 30 percent of their budget on print ads for the "Joy of Passover" film with "zero return," Block said. With those experiences behind them, Weinstein and Block see a successful future, even if more distributors set up shop. "Sure there are people who do this, but it's not a competition," Weinstein said.

"The market is endless." Continued from Page CI distributing videos, Weinstein and Block prefer to get involved with the videos from the beginning, Weinstein said. "We like to oversee the project to ensure it will be one that can be marketed to as broad an audience as possible," he said. Sometimes, as with the video "Auto Repair for Dummies," test-marketing the film at Sears Auto Centers and American Automobile Association clubs, around the country aims the product right at its audience, Block said. Educational videos, such as "Kids for Safety," a videotape on bicycle, fire and personal safety, are marketed to schools and libraries with a guide for teachers and student activity sheets to be used as a learning tool. Other marketing mechanisms include listing the video in catalogs and putting it in a point-of-purchase display at supermarkets and other stores.

"We exploit as many niche markets as possible," Weinstein said. Multifaceted promotion is key, Block said. Because Classic Telepublishing has exclusive rights to market the videos in its collection, "we push every tape as if it were our own," she said. Weinstein and Block have tapped into a hot market, said Jere Mansfield of the Monterey Movie an international and domestic film distributor in Los Angeles. "The non-theatrical, consumer-oriented market is exploding If I go to the lumberyard to Judge dismisses Travelers suit! over 1987 loan for $35 milliori January housing starts fall Continued from Page CI issued in January." In Bridgeport, the state's largest city, only one residential permit was granted.

Housing experts have attributed the continued problems in the housing market to several factors, including the regional recession. The building boom of the mid-1980s left a great number of unsold homes on the market when it began to decline. Housing and land prices, although dropping, are not low European sir help BRUSSELS, Belgium The European Commission, in a step that Is being eyed warily by U.S. airlines, adopted a variety of temporary measures Wednesday that are de-! signed to help cushion the blow that' the Persian Gulf war has dealt to European air carriers. The measures adopted by the commission, which regulates airlines inl the 12 European Community na tions, will enable British Air, Air-France, Lufthansa and others to; more easily raise and lower fares.

From staff and wire report; stockholder of McCall through his! investment concern, TLC Group. "We're disappointed with the court's decision," Travelers spokesman Alan Fletcher said. "But we stand by our complaint and the pa- pers we filed with the court, and are considering our right to appeal." Lewis filed a $100 million defamation suit against Travelers last June! in response to Travelers' suit against him. That suit was stayed by an agreed ment by both sides, but that may change since Lasker's decision bodes well for the case, said W. Kevin Wright, vice president and general counsel for TLC Beatrice International.

Also pending is a 1989 suit by Crowthers McCall against Lewis; charging he left the company insolvent. Lewis is contesting that; Wright said. Crowthers McCall has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy pro? ceedings and has been sold to Dimel-ing and Schreiber in Philadelphia, Wright said. Wright said Crowthers McCaU's financial problems may have stemmed from the lack of a line of credit. Crowthers was acquired by another British firm, Coloroll, which tried unsuccessfully to sell the sewing pattern company and did not maintain a line of credit for it, according to TLC Beatrice.

Occupancy By DIANE LEVICK Courant Staff Writer Travelers Corp. has lost a lawsuit stemming from a default on a $35 million loan it made to a sewing pattern company. U.S. District Court in New York City dismissed Travelers' suit against financier Reginald F. Lewis, who was chairman of McCall Pattern Co.

Travelers' suit accused Lewis of helping to misrepresent financial information about McCall to Travelers and to conceal information. In September 1987, Travelers loaned $35 million to Crowthers McCall Pattern Inc. the company's name after Lewis sold McCall to the John Crowther Group, a publicly-held British firm, in June 1987. Crowthers McCall defaulted on the Travelers notes in September 1988. In a decision late Tuesday, Judge Morris E.

Lasker said "Lewis had no involvement whatsoever in the transaction between Crowthers McCall and Travelers and did not receive any of the proceeds of the loan." Lewis had no knowledge of any fraud, Lasker wrote. Lewis is chairman, chief executive and principal shareholder of TLC Beatrice International, a multinational food company. From 1984 to June 1987, Lewis was principal Nationally, residential construction falls sharply pick up some paint there's a video for that," Mansfield said. "If I go to the stationery store, there's a video on how to write a business letter." Weinstein, 43, and Block, 40, put up close to half of the $125,000 it cost to produce "The Joy Of Passover," their entry Into the home-video market. A New York company shared the production costs, Weinstein said.

Weinstein and Block did the acting themselves to keep costs down. The film also featured their three children. "We had acted in the past; we knew we could do it," Block said. As Weinstein and Block marketed their production by themselves, they knew they needed more money to make it a success. Block believes that "divine intervention" led them to Pan-Imago a California company that produces feature films and special-interest videos.

Hal and Jesse Kant of Pan-Imago are creators and producers of videotapes such as "Passover at Bubbe's" and "Chanuka at Bubbe's." After producing the tapes, however, they had the same problem Weinstein and Block had: There was no marketine network for special distribution. "They saw the success we had with 'The Joy of and our name came to their attention when they made 'Chanuka at Weinstein said. After four months of telephone conversations, Weinstein and Block met the Kants at the May-fair Regent hotel in New York enough to attract new buyers. Developers continue to have trouble getting construction loans from struggling banks, and mortgage rates have not dropped enough to overcome other factors. John Papandrea, the former housing commissioner, in assessing the low year-end total reported last month, said that consumer uncertainty is adding to the problem.

"All the negative factors which have been weighing heavily on Connecticut's housing market are being the South a record. Only in the West did they post a gain, a slim 0.9 percent advance to 235,000 units. The Department of Commerce said starts totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 850,000 units, the lowest level since construction began on 843,000 units in January 1982. But the January 1991 level was far below the average number of starts during the 1981-82 recession, said economist Martin Regalia of the National Council of Savings Institutions. Starts totaled 1.084 million in 1981, Regalia said, falling to 1.062 million the next year.

He attributed part of the current decline to a 1986 tax law that eliminated many build outstanding; it purchased more than 280,000 shares between Dec. 21 and Feb. 14. Walsh, Greenwood said it does not plan to acquire more than 9.9 percent of the company's outstanding common shares. Regulators would have to approve ownership of more than 9.9 percent.

Society for Savings officials declined to comment Wednesday. Officials at Walsh, Greenwood could not be reached for comment In another stock transaction relating to Society, a group including Heine Securities Corp. of Short Hills, N.J., said it has lowered its stake in Society for Savings to 4.3 percent 1 W. Joseph Campbell Mary Agnes Carey Cyndie D. Greer Joanne Johnson Susan E.

Knsman Pamela Klein Diane Levtck Lynne B. Maston Lawrence B. Rasle Michael Remez Robert Welsman Stephen Williams Manufacturing, foreign trade, economy Inside Business Appointments, calendar, new business, corporate facts Banking Utilities Retailing Insurance Real estate notes Real estate Labor, workplace issues Defense Industries, aerospace Personal finance, marketing Freelance submissions! Freelance articles and proposals should be submitted to Patricia E. McNerney, deputy business editorweekends at 241-3850 or toU-free, 1-800-524-4242, Ext. 3850.

General Information! The Courant publishes several Ksts In Business Weekly each Monday, Including business appointments, coming events, new businesses and marketing news. To submit Information for these lists, please cafl Patricia E. McNerney, doputy busings editorweekends, at 241-3850 or toll-free, 1-800-524-4242, ExtSSSO. 73 in state magnified by the apprehension surrounding the Persian Gulf crisis," Papandrea said. In January, New London County reported the largest increase compared with the previous month, up 59.4 percent, with 51 permits issued, compared with 32 in December Hartford County registered the biggest decline 59.6 percent, with just 40 permits issued, compared with 89 in December.

New Haven County reported the largest number of new units in January, with 73 permits issued. er incentives, particularly for multi-fapuly units. Regalia and other analysts were particularly concerned with the Commerce Department report on single-family units, which were down 15.6 percent to an annual rate of 632,000 the lowest level since 613,000 houses were started at an annual rate in June 1982. "The housing downturn is now approaching deep recession levels with a sharp drop in single-family construction," said economist Robert Sheehan of the National Apartment Association. "The Persian Gulf war has compounded the problems that the homebuilding industry already faced." from 5.5 percent.

Society announced a major restructuring in early December, including plans to sell nearly 40 percent of its assets and trim its work force by 15 percent As of December 1990, Society had assets of about $4.2 billion, with plans to cut that by $1.6 billion to $2.6 billion. Bank officials have said they plan to get out of the troubled real estate market and refocus on basic retail banking. Associated Press WASHINGTON Builders cut the number of new housing projects by 12.8 percent in January, to the lowest level since the severe 1981-82 recession, the government said Analysts attributed the decline in housing starts the 11th in 12 months to the credit crunch and consumer uncertainty over Middle East developments, both of which failed to outweigh falling home prices and mortgage rates. In January, housing starts plunged 29.3 percent, to 77,000 units, in the Northeast. They were down 15 percent, to 198,000 units, in the Midwest and 15 percent, to 340,000 units, in tion and other efficiency moves, and an increase in engine subassemblies being built abroad by partners on Pratt's engines.

Andy Romegialli, directing labor representative of Machinists District 91 in East Hartford, warned the new layoffs could damage Pratt's long-term business prospects. The International Association of Machinists represents the 13,725 hourly workers at Connecticut Pratt Whitney plants. "We see the trend with the airlines," he conceded. "However, we firmly believe that all these layoffs aren't necessary if the company is planning for the future, especially with that backlog they have. "If they don't retain some of the people they're laying off, and retrain them for higher-skilled jobs, they're going to find themselves in trouble two years down the road," Romegialli contended, saying a union team would raise these issues with Pratt's management next week.

"It seems like we're more worried about their future than their top management is," he added. Linke disagreed, saying, "I don't think that we're taking any action that will interfere with our ability to respond to market conditions." But he acknowledged that Pratt production workers who are laid off could land other jobs in Connecticut or out of state, making it difficult to recall them if business improves. That always a risk, especially with skilled workers," Linke said. Speaking of skilled production workers, Fairfield University economics professor Ed Deak said, "Those are hard people to get back. They tend to get absorbed quickly.

Pratt and others have been reluctant, in the past, to go after their blue-collar base because there's a shrinking pool of skilled people who work with their hands." And they could be needed, industry expects said, if air traffic rebounds in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War and U.S. recession. "Air traffic is very sensitive to the economy," said Nick Perna, economist for Connecticut National Bank in Hartford. "We've got a lot of historical data that says when the economy picks up, air traffic picks up." With recent cutbacks also hitting hourly workers at Pratt's sister UTC divisions Hamilton Standard of Windsor Locks, Sikorsky Aircraft of and Norden Systems of Norwalk some worry the belt-tightening may be putting too much pressure on remaining workers. "Firms are reluctant to take on additional labor in this environment," Klepper-Smith observed.

Earnings AMITY BANCORP Naw Haw 4th quarter ended Dec. 31 1990 1989 Net Interne- (St. Urn) Par Shirt ($1.20) M.le Assets SIM. 04m sm.Sm (loans) SMS.Sm SHl.Jm Peewit SUI.Sm Sl70.m Year ending Dec 31, 1990 1989 Net Interne (SI. em) si.

5m Par Shara (S2.73) $1.43 Amity Bencorp owns Amity Bank, which Is beted Woodtxidge end atao has orficee In New Heven, Brmn-tord, Norwafc, Stemtord and Greenwich. Amity Bencorp also owm Amity Loans which hai offices in California, Colorado, Kansas. Kentucky. North Carolina and Texas. Psrentheiet Indicate tosses.

Masonry and steel construction 100 sprinklered Zoned for heavy industrial use (I-3) Heavy-duty concrete floor in warehouse Group seeks higher stake in Society for Savings 34,000 Sq. Ft. I NEW BRITAIN I One-Story Modern Industrial Building $2.99 Sq. Ft. any commercial use Immediate Bflsit tiaikUnt fzr: 'StJihW: ROWLAND APPOINTED TO NEW POSITION -J First Time Available.

WW Continued from Page Cl Walsh, Greenwood could not be reached for comment, but an analyst i said the investors could be interested in selling all, or part, of the bank. "It could mean finding a buyer for the bank," said John D. Rooney an analyst with Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. of New Haven. "It doesn't necessarily, but it could." Society for Saving's directors in-" formally have agreed to elect Jerome Grossman, a representative of Walsh, Greenwood, to its board after the group obtains additional stock in the company, the filing says.

The group now holds a 7.13 percent stake in the company's common shares How can va hsfp you? We Invito readers to write, call or visit to share their opinions, ideas for news stories and tetters to the editor. The business-news office Is located at 285 Broad Hartford, and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Telephone: 241-6736 or toll-free, 1-600-524-4242, Ext 673S, 1 1 Louis J. Golden, business editor, oversees all business sections.

He can be reached by calling 241 -385 for toll-free, 1 1-800-524-4242, Ext 3857, News releases may be Louts J. Golden Business Editor sent to him at zss Broad St, Hartford, CT 081 1 5. James Doody, deputy business editornews, supervises the business sections that appear Tuesday through Saturday. He can be reached by calling 241-3907 or toll-free, 1-800-524-4242, Ext. 3907.

Patricia E. McNerney, deputy business editorweekends, supervises the Sunday business section and Business Weekly. She can be reached by calling 241-3650 or toU-free, 1-600-524-4242, Ext. 385a Business staff members may be reached directly by cailing 241-6736 or toll-tree, 1-800-524-4242. Ext 6738.

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