BUSINESS MEMO

Raben Tire Co., Airport & Nash Road. recently held a pancake and sausage day for its customers and their families. Shown here, chef Chris Cakes, left, demonstrated his pancake flipping abilities to Pat Zellmer, advertising director of the Southeast Missourian newspaper, and Herman, Lintner, right, manager of Raben Tire.

The Small Business Development Center will conduct counseling sessions in three areas this month.

The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available March 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office. The counseling sessions (about one hour) are free. Call (314)-335-3312 for appointment.

He will conduct sessions at the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce March 21, from 9 to noon. Appointments are available by calling (314)-471-2498. He will hold sessions at the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Office in Perryville March 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments are available by calling (314)-547-8357.

Sessions will be held March 16 at the Malden Chamber of Commerce office, from 9 to 11 a.m. Appointments are available by calling (314)-276-4519.

The Small Business Development Center represents a "Partnership for Economic Development" between Southeast Missouri State University, the U.S. Small Business Administration, local financial institutions, area utility companies and Southeast Missouri municipalities. The goal of the center is to stimulate diversity and growth in small-business by assisting new and existing businesses to become more productive and more profitable.

The Sylvan Learning Center in Cape Girardeau has received an "Excellence in Business Award," from Missouri Small Business Development Centers.

The award is presented to small businesses that exemplify qualities necessary for business success.

The Sylvan Center here was nominated by Buz Sutherland, director of the Small Business Development Center at Southeast Missouri State University and Bob Mothershead, a counselor with the center.

Jack and Carlene Stanley, owners of the Sylvan Center that opened in June accepted the award.

The small business center assisted the Sylvan Center with its business plans. The small business center operates in cooperation with the Small Business Administration. In Missouri, the system includes 11 full-time regional centers, 17 University Extension business and industry specialists and a centralized administrative office.

Construction activity in Missouri was up in January, but residential construction was down 23 percent.

The F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill, an authority on the construction market, reported January's construction at $447,391,000, up 51 percent from the $297,080,000 for January 1994.

Nonresidential construction in the state during the year, which includes commercial, manufacturing and other buildings not designed for shelter was reported at $252,074,000, more than doubling the $120,169,000 figure of January 1994.

Residential construction for the month was $112,210,000, compared to $145,525,000 in January 1994.

Nonbuilding construction, which includes streets, highways, bridges, river and harbor developments, airports and a few other projects, was reported at $83,107,000 for January, up from the $31.3 million of January 1994.

Ferrell Manufactured Homes of Benton has been honored as a top retailer of manufactured homes built by Clayton Homes Inc., headquartered at Knoxville, Tenn.

The Ferrell company received a plaque in recognition of the company's $1 million in purchases of Clayton manufactured homes during 1994.

Clayton is the fourth largest producer of manufactured homes in the United States, providing the homes in a 27-state market.

"Bigger and Better" is the theme for the 1995 SEMO Home Builders Home and Garden Show, to be held March 31 and April 1 and 2 at the Show Me Center on Southeast Missouri State University campus.

In addition to home and garden seminars throughout the three-day event, a Missouri State Beef Cook Off and regional quilt show will be held.

The cookoff, featuring five contestants selected from around the state, and sponsored by the SEMO Missouri Cattlewomen's Association, will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Winner of the cookoff will receive $1,000 in money and prizes and advance to the National Beef Cook Off.

More than 40 quilts will be on exhibit, including two traveling displays, the display, from Silver Dollar City and Springs Industries-Springmaid Fabrics and Pilgrim-Roy.

Tickets are $2.50 for adults, children 12-under free. Additional information is available by calling (314)-334-7410.

"Business After Hours," will be held March 21, at Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The monthly gathering, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce's Membership Committee, is designed to unite chamber members in a relaxed atmosphere and encourage members to meet, mingle and make new business contacts.

This month's meeting is sponsored by MVP Communications.

Delta Ford New Holland of Charleston has received the Zimmatic distinguished performance award for outstanding Zimmatic sales in 1994.

The award is presented by the Lindsay Manufacturing Co., which produces automated irrigation equipment, including Zimmatic center pivot, corner and lateral move systems, as well as computerized monitor and control units.

Lindsay, headquartered in Lindsay, Neb., has dealers in 38 states and Zimmatic products operating in more than 80 countries worldwide.

Boatmen's National Bank of St. Louis and Mercantile Bank of St. Louis were the Nos. 1 and 2 loan partners with the Small Business Administration on loan approvals to small businesses in the St. Louis District's Eastern Missouri 54-county area during fiscal year 1994.

Boatmen's Bank was involved in 78 business deals, for $9.2 million and Mercantile was involved in 31 loans, for $2.6 million. Third on the list of small business lending partners was Central Trust Bank of Jefferson City, with 27 loans for $5.2 million. Rounding out the top five were Capital Bank of Columbia, with 198 loans for $2.9 million, and Magna Bank of St. Louis with 19 loans for $1.5 million.

Rounding out the top 10 lenders were Allegiant Bank, St. Louis, 16 loans, $1.3 million; Exchange National Bank, Jefferson City, 16, $1.6 million; Commerce Bank of St. Louis, 12, $1.2 million; First Bank, Creve Coeur, $1.2 million and The Money Store, Clayton, $2.6 million.

Through the partnership between these lenders and Small Business Association 242 small business concerns received loans totaling in excess of $33.1 million.

D&K Wholesale Drug Inc., headquartered at St. Louis, has completed the acquisition of Krelitz Industries Inc. of Minneapolis.

D&K, a full-service regional wholesale drug distribution company with facilities at Cairo, Ill., Lexington, Ky., and Duluth, Minn., previously announced the purchase of Krelitz and on March 2, during a special meeting of Krelitz shareholders, the transaction was approved on terms previously announced.

Krelitz is now a wholly owned subsidiary of D&K and will operate as Twin City Wholesale Drug Co.

"We welcome the customers and employees of Twin City Wholesale Drug to the D&K family," said J. Hord Armstrong III, D&K chairman and chief executive officer.

D&K will soon move its Cairo facility to Cape Girardeau.

DETROIT -- The Ford Motor Co. was alone among the Big Three automakers in reporting an overall sales increase for February, when the auto industry's U.S. performance was down from a year ago for the second month in a row.

The No. 2 automaker said Friday its February light vehicle sales were up 3.6 percent, pickups, vans and sport-utility vehicles were 11.5 percent ahead, while its passenger car sales slipped 3.4 percent.

Earlier this week, General Motors Corp. reported overall sales down 9 percent and Chrysler Corp. said sales dropped by 5.7 percent.