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Show The National Enterprise, June 29, 1977 Page four Contractor conspiracy charges our would onearth Why ccmpetiilionhateiis? Actually, for a tot of good reasons: st Wool Co. in connection with the utility's Insulation Now (IN) program. Demanding $450,000 in damages, Mikes Bestway Insulation Co. of Ogden filed the complaint June 20, charging small companies have been unable to compete with Mountain Fuel's advertising and financing capabilities. For starters, Budget is the fastest growing 1. major car rental company on earth? Z Weve fought our way right into the terminals of over 200 airports worldwide. We offer customers low weekly vacation rates on all size cars. 3. have over 4. the have 5. cars. We 1 6. Customers can take advantage of Budget in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe, Africa, Australia, Latin America and the Caribbean. 7. S. The snap 9. CO. advance toll-fre- e 800-228-96- 50. Budget Super Rez system makes it a to reserve and rent a car. Arrington said his company considered using rockwool and fiberglas to comply with MFS standards, but couldnt find a distributor who would supply him with either prod- arise Complaints about from contractors of cellulose insulation, of which Bestway is one. After studying similar programs in other states, Mountain Fuel decided to include only contractors of rockwool and fiberglas in the program. Installers of cellulose, a shredded newspaper commission to Travel Agents is an industry model of simplicity and predictability. They were all booked, and wouldnt accept any new cust- Demand exceeded supply," he said. Arrington added he, too. has considered filing a complaint against omers. nt MFS. Unlawful arrangements 750 South Main 322-558- Of about 80 insulation companies along the Wasatch Front, 16 are actively participating in IN. Others were 1 SIX Airport 363-150- 0 disqualified for in behalf of competing in- contractors. Also, the complains Bestway, utility is practicing an "unlawful sulation tying arrangement" by paying contractors in cash when installation is complete, and offering utility customers financing through the utility's monthly billing system. has Allred demanded $150,000 in damages resulting from profit loss due to the IN conspiracy," $200,000 in damages resulting from statements made about him and his company by both Mountain Fuel and Rock Wool, and $100,000 in punitive damages. MFS responded to the Bestway claims in a press release which calls the lawsuit frivolous," saying it will contest the matter and is considering a possible counter-clai- m against Bestway. ITT posts higher net uct. and mixture, were barred from participation, as the utility claimed the material was a fire hazard. fire-retarda- 1975, (before IN began), our yearly gross was over $300,000," he said. In 1976, once MFS began IN, that gross dropped to $160,000." IN 10 rent a car "In Cellulose contractors complain Budget has the only hotline exclusively for Travel Agents. Our Curt Arrington, president of Solar Heat and Insulation, said the IN program has been devastating to his cellulose installation business. programs in other states. In supplements to its monthly bills, the utility has been urging homeowners to help conserve energy by installing insulation in their ceilings. Since the program began, Mountain Fuel reports, about 8,000 houses have been insulated through the program. a fleet of 47,000 GM and other Budget offers customers a reservation phone number: Sales slashed in half The IN program was initiated by Mountain Fuel two years ago, modeled after similar ,000 rental locations around world. We now fine interest to the material they install or their inability to meet stringent personnel and insurance standards required After by Mountain Fuel. signing a contract with the utility, participants are given job leads on a rotating basis and must pay MFS $10 for each lead that results in comAccording to pleted work. Mountain Fuel, the 16 participating contractors have seen $2 million in referrals since the program began. Others have seen losses. insulation company in Ogden has Filed an anti-trusuit against Mountain Fuel Supply Co. and U.S. Rock A small The suit filed in U.S. District Court by Mike Allred doing business as Bestway, claims Mountain Fuel, as a public utility and monopoly, should not be permitted to advertise various reasons, ranging from lack of International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. (ITT), owner of five Salt Lake City companies, has announced second quarter earnings 20 percent higher than that of the similar period last year. to Harold S. Geneen, chairman and chief executive of the corporation, the improvement reflects continued progress in such key areas as automotive products in Europe, further recovery' by the Sheraton Hotel and Hartford Insurance groups, and According telecommunications opera- tions in Italy, Spain, France and Belgium. D dtooifti ffogjthrG: wrSlli wiitf my amiymore. to be hard for me to get away on a business trip without getting in a good argument with my wife. Part of it was not being sure about plane schedules, car rentals, the whole logistical problem of commercial travel. Before finally got away would be grumpy and ITT owns Continental Baking, Hartford Insurance, ITT Terryphone, ITT College Ex- ecutive Insurance, and Aetna Finance in Salt Lake City and Grinnell Pipes plant in It used I I sullen. Now everythings changed. I let TRAVEL DESK handle all my business trip planning. It doesnt cost me anything extra and I always Know that things will go smoothly. In fact, TRAVEL DESK has done such a good job with my business trips, Im letting them plan our vacation. Sort of a second honeymoon. A lot of DESK. things have gotten better since called I TRAVEL THE NATtONM Enterprise Subscriptions S24.00 per year 50 C ents Per Cops 891300 The National Enterprise is published weekly by the National Enterprise Publishing Company, Inc., 500 Continental Bank Bldg., P.O. Box 11778, Pioneer Station, Salt Lake City, Utah 84147. (801) 5330556 Second Class Postage Paid in Salt Lake C'ii. I uh R. GEORGE GREGERSEN Publisher ALENEE. BENTLEY Editor mary mcmillan gaber News Edita DEANALSUP SHERI POE Staff Writers Travel Desk, Inc. 341 South 5th East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102 801 355-347- 7 KRISTOPHER R. PASSEY PETER HARRISON Creative Directa Production Manager Opinions expressed by columnists herein are not necessarily the opinion policy of the National Enterprise. a Send all submissions to P.O. Box 11778. Sait Lake City. Utah B4147. |