Tenant found for park near TeePee Junction

A manufacturer of masonry products will be the first tenant for a new North Lawrence business park.

Jim Browning, president of Capitol Concrete Products Inc., confirmed Tuesday that his company has signed a deal to build a distribution and wholesale/retail sales center at the Maple Grove Subdivision, a new business center just north of the intersection of U.S. Highways 24/40 and 24/59.

The new facility will replace the company’s current Lawrence sales office at 900 E. 15th St. The City of Lawrence purchased that property about two years ago. The company was allowed to remain on the site while it searched for a new location.

Browning said the company, which sells bricks, concrete blocks and other masonry products, will open at the new location by the end of the year. The company currently manufactures all its products at its Topeka plant, and Browning said there are no plans to add manufacturing capabilities at their new Lawrence location.

Above, employee Wayne Johnson moves haydite blocks at the company’s current location. The Lawrence facility has three full-time employees, and Browning said that number is not expected to change.

Oil industry: Shell, Pennzoil seek merger

Shell Oil Co., in need of a new motor oil brand, is more than replacing the Havoline name it is losing its $1.8 billion purchase of Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. will turn the U.S. arm of Royal Dutch/Shell Group into the industry leader.

The agreement, announced this week, will give Shell the company that makes and markets the nation’s top two motor oil brands Pennzoil and Quaker State and the parent of more than 2,100 Jiffy Lube oil change outlets. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2002, pending approval by shareholders and regulators.

State economy: Kansas exports increase

Kansas exports increased eight percent in 2001 to a record $5.4 billion, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce Tuesday.

Japan and Canada were the top two countries to buy Kansas products, each purchasing $1.1 billion worth of goods. Mexico was third with $782 million in purchases.

Transportation equipment, which includes products from the state’s aviation industry, and food products were the top export industries in Kansas, each selling $1.5 billion in goods. Agricultural crops accounted for $526 million in exports.

The increase continued a trend of growing exports for the state. Kansas exports have jumped $1 billion, or 25 percent, during the past three years.

Lawsuit: Telephone firms ask for new decision on cable

Consumer groups and competitors to companies that sell high-speed Internet service over cable modems are asking the courts to throw out a decision by federal regulators leaving that business largely unregulated.

Telephone company Verizon Communications filed suit against the Federal Communications Commission on Monday in a U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.

The commission earlier this month made a ruling essentially exempting cable companies from open-access requirements, saying the decision was necessary to increase deployment of broadband service.