Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 95

ALL-FD1TIONS 60 years in graphic arts Woman in printing company here looks back Tk THE AEIZONA-ItoUBIIO i DUSineSS Real Estate (Section D) Page 15 Sunday, May 16, 1976 By A. V. GULLETTE Associate Business and Financial Editor finance Joe Cole Business and financial editor Tough to ignore high labor costs Mary C. O'Neil, who will be 80 in October, has the graphic arts era from mimeograph to electronic reproduction. At her desk in O'Neil Printing, where she still works daily, Mrs.

O'Neil looks back this way: I "The time has all gone so fast. I just can't believe it's been almost 60 years." i As Mary Schroder, she drove a horse buggy 16 miles a day from a ranch jwest of Phoenix to attend Phoenix Union High School. "'After her graduation in business "'courses, she went to work as an apprentice at the O'Neil Letter Shop, then at 38 N. First Ave. the letter shop, she was married to the owner, W.

D. O'Neil. With him she carried on the business until his death in 1966. In 1942, the firm was joined by another typist Doris Koerner, who now handles composition and layout. The firm was located at First Street and Pierce in the summer of 1950 when it figured in the first live TV coverage here of a fire.

Cameramen shot pictures of the blaze from the Westward Ho Hotel tower, she recalled. After several moves, O'Neil Letter Shop located in its present home at 368 N. Second Ave. Rapubllc phots by Mlk SmMl Mary C. O'Neil, 79, at her bookkeeping desk in O'Neil Printing, Inc.

From mimeograph and multigraph the company progressed into conventional printing, offset and full service graphics. Along the way, the company installed its first electric typewriter in 1952, its first offset press in 1960, and in the last few years went on to complete electronic composition and mechanization. From the six employes which the firm had when Mary joined it in 1918, the The firm was incorporated in 1963. Active management was assumed by Harry Findor, who is president of the corporation. The cost of labor keeps popping up somehow as we make our rounds these days.

(This is one of those columns where you wonder how you're ever going to be able to mention "raise" to the boss after you write it.) Labor costs came up, for instance, at the International Telephone and Telegraph annual meeting the other day. Lewis Gilbert, professional minority shareholder, entered a "strong protest" to the nearly $800,000 a year that Harold S. Geneen, ITT board chairman and chief executive, is paid. Geneen, from the dais of the Adams Hotel grand ballroom, allowed back as how this was "about the worst" year to bring up that particular topic. Geneen took a pay cut last year $13,000 to $776,000 in salary.

Besides, he said, he's "outclassed" by ball players, soccer players, rock musicians, network news announcers. On top of that, Geneen said, he really isn't doing all that well since 1970, ITT sales have risen $6 billion under his guidance, while his salary has only gone up $10,000 or so. (Geneen did say he didn't need he was just setting the record straight.) The subject came up again later in the ITT meeting, when a shareholder complained about ITT's accepting a Communication Workers of America settlement last fall for a 32.1 per cent raise over three years. ITT dividends have gone up only 6.3 per cent in the past three years, the shareholder said, suggesting that dividends henceforward match wage increases. It was unbecoming of ITT to have to accept the industrv standard on wages, he said in response to an explanation by an ITT official.

The subject the cost of labor has come up in most annual meetings around here this season. We already know what the truckers won this year and what the rubber workers want. Phoenix building permits his own elbow grease into his auto Closer to home, everyone is keeping an eye on what the opening demands in the construction trades contract negotiations will be. Here's one even closer right at home, in fact. Summer brought the cost of labor right into the business editor's household last week.

The air conditio.iing unit gave up its cool with a sigh. The man came and fixed a leak that was casting my freon to the summery rooftop wind. He spent less than an hour on the roof mending the leak and recharging the unit. The freon cost $12. The labor cost $33.

(At least this company came within two hours of our call incredibly prompt. Other firms said there was no possible way they could make it In less than 48 or even 72 hours.) The subject also comes up in your local automobile "service" station. Have you noticed how the price of getting the oil and water checked and windows washed has gone up with the boom in self-service islands? In some major chain stations, the spread is 6 or 8 cents per gallon between self-serve and "full serve." With a 16-gallon tankfill, that means you're paying a buck or so for service that once was included in the price when the price was lower. The real magnitude of the 'matter came to literal light the other day, though, on hearing about the efforts of a very close friend who is going into business. She was ordering telephone service, and the sales rep told her all about all the equipment and service options.

i The basic service would be such-and-such, and the this would be so much, and the hold button would be that amount, and the blinking light on the hold button would be $3 a month. For perpetuity, presumably. We assume it's for labor costs the little person down in the telephone innards, working the switch on the lamp. That accounted for most of the difference between the totals for the two periods. Private non-residential construction showed a strong increase in April, to $7.07 million from $3.87 million a year earlier.

For the year to date, one highlight was the fact that the number of new residential permits moved ahead of the year-earlier level, to 1,176 permits from 921. Valuation still lagged, $26.01 million versus $31.64 million for the first four months. Moving date set by Arizona Bank Arizona Bank has set "mid to late July" for Its move to the 31-story high-rise that will be its home office in downtown Phoenix. The bank will occupy 10 levels amounting to 128,000 square feet and including six floors of parking in the building on First Avenue between Monroe and Adams. Del E.

Webb Realty and Management which is leasing agent for the new building and the one Arizona Bank occu-pies, reported the new building is 60 per cent leased. Arizona Bank owns Its present home at 44 W. Monroe, across Monroe from its new home. It will retain space there for three administrative departments and lease the rest of 70,000 square feet of office space. Teen creates a business High school grad bypasses college to form his own profitable auto reconditioning firm She cut wet stencils for mimeographing such things as Arizona Country Club -bulletins and rode the street car on 'Fifth Avenue to and from work.

"We used brass rollers in L.C. Smiths to make multiple copies of contracts, lists and other things," she recalled. "All the work was done by hand stapling and stamping and sealing of letters." After seven years as an employe of Company here brakes system If or storefronts Another made-in-Phoenix product is on Jhe market. Aluminaire-Standard Glass has demised and is manufacturing its own 'storefront system for immediate delivery to glazing contractors throughout Arizona. The product is called Series 'Aluminaire Storefront System.

2000 1 Gene Kadish, president of Aluminaire- v. Standard Glass, noted that the system is produced in its plant at 4235 E. Winslow 'and is" the first locally distributed for ithe wholesale glazing market. i He explained the product this way: Storefront systems are used as entries 'in most commercial establishments, and 'the doors and glass framing members are manufactured and sold as systems. "Our new 2000 series line is not only available at a competitive price, but it also incorporates some new features.

"The new features Include a greater on the glass for an additional 'margin of safety and a number of "Innovations to increase efficiency and 'iease of installation." He said the system can fully prefabricated in the company's Alumi- naire manufacturing plant or can be Vfurnished in stock lengths. He reported the. system already has with general approval of architects are familiar with Aluminaire's line fof sliding windows, patio doors and I'window wall systems. Aluminaire has been manufacturing locally designed products of glass and aluminum since 1956. California plans FRANCISCO (UPI) The mini-mum wage for adults working in Call-Jfornla will go up to $2.50 per hour higher than the federal minimum under proposed new regulations of the JState Industrial Welfare Commission.

The commission estimated that there Mitch Emerson puts April 1976 April 1975 Permits Valuation Permits Valuation New residential 324 $6,236,871 335 $9,799,347 Add'ns, Alter'ns 468 3,540,967 445 19,581,529 Non-residential 763 7,144,175 648 11,088,404 Total 1,573 $16,922,013 1,443 $40,469,280 Year through April 1976 Year through April 1975 Residential 1,176 26,011,783 921 31.641,382 Add'ns, Alter'ns 1,840 14,086,055 1,681 29,731,356 Non-residential 2,505 27,865,774 2,097 29,383,946 Total 5,521 $67,963,612 4,699 $90,756,684 Toiali mw no) mtm DacauM of omission ol minor llami In sub-categorits. force has grown to 18 and the name of the company has been changed to conform with customer usage to O'Neil Printing, Inc. cleanup business. He studied the market for detail shops for more than five months before opening his shop in October 1975. Besides studying equipment, operations and procedures, he talked to automotive dealers and pounded pavements soliciting business.

Then he happened on his location, a self-service car wash midway between major auto dealer locations on Camel-back east and west of N. Central Financing required a pro forma statement, estimating anticipated income and expenses and working capital needed. This statement he took to the manager, of the branch bank where his father does business. The manager said It was much better titan presentations of many, more experienced businessmen. "When my father showed the confidence in me to put his name on the dotted line for the money, it gave me a great lift," Emerson said, "but I knew I had to produce.

"My problems were really just beginning. Since the building was a former 25-cent car wash, it was not suited for my needs and the equipment was useless. "So I looked around for someone in that business who might be able to use the equipment" A car wash owner took it all in return for some of the specialized equipment Emerson needed. Other businessmen helped him in getting steam-cleaning equipment and supplies and gave him an intensive training course in handling the equipment That paved the way for the startup. Emerson advertised for help, hired a crew and trained them, and finally' bought the necessary insurance.

Emerson admits that he got a speedy education, thanks to helpful businessmen: "I cannot say enough about the cooperation of the businessmen who took an Interest in me and gave me all kinds of help in getting started. As my business grows, I hope that my Increased purchases from them might repay them in a small way." Office leasing outstrips rate of construction Absorption rates of office and industrial space in the Valley are improving, a research report by a broker of commercial property indicates. Officer space is being leased faster than it is being built, and industrial space construction is slowing, the report shows. The report, by the Phoenix office of Grubb and Ellis Commercial Brokerage indicated office space was being absorbed at an annual rate of 700,000 square feet in the first quarter of this Such space was being constructed or vacated at a combined annual rate of about 500,000 square feet during the quarter, said George S. Iliff, vice presi dent and general manager of the Grubb and Ellis office.

In the industrial sector, Grubb and Ellis said, speculative space in major developments was being absorbed in the first quarter at a rate of 650,000 square feet a year, compared with about 1.1 million absorbed last year. Construction of such space was at the -rate of 950,000 square feet a year during the most recent quarter, compared with nearly 1.5 million square feet built in all of 1975. The report covered office development of 10,000 square feet or more and industrial projects of speculative space of 15,000 square feet or more. In spite of the gains, Iliff said, leasing activity is still very slowly reducing the 1 5 million-square-foot office space inventory in the city. "At the present rate, it would take more than two years to deplete our current office inventory, even if no new or releasable space were added to the total," he said.

''On the other hand, the fact that absorption is exceeding construction and vacancy rates is a sign of recovery," he said. Iliff acknowledged that the commercial real estate market remains soft, but he added that it does -appear to be recovering from its building excesses and shows signs of continuing to improve during the rest of the year. One of the strongest areas of office absorption in the first quarter, he said, was the northeast portion of Phoenix, roughly Seventh to 44th streets and Thomas Road north to the mountains. The downtown area, with leasing volume leading construction and vacancy activity by more than 60 per cent, is another strong area of activity, he said. Copper-zinc find made in Wisconsin CRANDON.

Wis. (UPI) Excited. Stunned. Wary. Maybe an end to the peaceful life.

These are some of the reactions of residents in this northern Wisconsin town to news that what may be one of the 10 largest known sulphide deposits containing copper and zinc has been 'discovered in Forest County, about six miles south of here. Most of the residents of this town of about 1,600 persons felt the discovery and subsequent mining by Exxon USA would spark up the area's sagging economy. City construction permit figures indicate industry upturn slight A teen-ager who decided to do without college has created his own business with six employes. Mitch Emerson, 19, reports the business is turning the corner to profitability this month. Emerson was graduated from Sunny-slope High School last year and announced his decision not to go to college and not to work for someone else.

Emerson, the youngest of four sons of Elliott Emerson, public relations executive, is president of Arizona Auto Reconditioning, 4833 N. 11th Ave. Emerson and his crew steam clean engines, shampoo interiors, clean trunks and tires, wash and wax cars and clean and dye vinyl tops for auto dealers and individuals. Emerson's father said the son did everything about starting the business from research to selecting equipment and a site and hiring and training employes. The father said his only contribution was to co-sign a note at the bank to help finance young Emerson's business.

Emerson has always been able to keep himself profitably occupied, the father recalled. "One summer a friend and he bought up go-kart and bicycle parts and put them together to sell the completed products through want ads. "Another summer he spent painting address numbers on sidewalks on sidewalks in front of houses and working as a supermarket carryout boy. "The summer before graduation he spent in an automotive detail shop for a new and used car dealer and decided that there was a need for additional detail shops In Phoenix." $2.50 wage bottom are presently 1.6 million workers in the state making less than the proposed $2.50 minimum, which was expected to be in effect by Labor Day. The new minimum, which compares with a federal minimum of $2.20 to $2.30, was announced today by the commission chairman, Howard A.

Carver. The Valley's construction industry Is still far from well, despite the general economic recovery, April building permit figures for the City of Phoenix indicate. The number of permits issued for April and for the year to date at the end of last month showed slight improvement from the year-earlier levels. Dollar valuation of the construction permits fell off 58 per cent in April from the April 1975 level, the city figures showed. Most of the drop was accounted for by a drastic decline in the amount of money being spent on public projects, the report showed private non-residential construction showed a healthy increase.

Residential construction permits lagged in April in both numbers and value, the report said. The city building safety department provided these main figures: Total permits Issued last month were 1,573 with a valuation of $16.92 million, compared with 1,443 permits and valuation of $40,469,280 in April 1975. For the year to date, permits reached 5,521 at the end of April, with valuation of $67,963,612, compared with 4,699 permits and $90,756,684 at the same point a year earlier. The report showed that public spending on non-residential buildings and on additions And alterations combined was $24 million less In April 1976 than in April 1975, with $17 million of It In the "additions and alterations" category..