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Show gj DESERET NEWS, WEEKEND OF JANUARY 1 1, W7 1975 AMC introduces 75 Pacer as 'different' Truckina firm find a a By Arnold I tee Deseret New s business editor spacious, Not i evolutionary but different thats the way American Motors C orp introduced its new small car, the Pacer, this week attractive Undoubtedly, AMC is Pacer hoping the two-dowill help stimulate Sagging or ftuto world new home sales in showrooms throughout the country, A couple of hundred pounds heavier than the subcontract Gremlin, the Pacer has a 10 inch wheelbase, standard 232 eubte-inoMs cylinder engme with optional overdrive and, says AMC more mside room than any other American small h ' car w a standard There are three versions of the Pacer model, a sporty X and a luxury DL model 0 erali length o( the pacer 171 5 inches Offered as six cyunder engine. A larger optional is h 258 cucsc-incfuel tank is expected to give the car a range of more than 500 miles under highway dnving conditions. That figures out to about 22 miles per gallon Tne aerorivnamie design of toe bodv cuts air resistance !2 percent, helping to up the gas mileage, the company By Joseph Lnudstrors Deseret New s staff writer h FB (for faster ar.d better) Truck lines Inc , moved into new and , ' . FB Trucklines (for attractive corporate headquarters a far t,ry from toe recently operation when it was housed in a tmy cffice above a gas station m Murray just Six years ago The move marks the ramd growth of the firm under the leadership of its president and chairman of the board, Merlin J faster ind better) have more thn 200 rigs (above) order contract to independent drivers. Firm moved into new offices (right) at the Norton t One of the unique features of the Pacer is the enlarged model. door on the passenger side of the The door is four inches wider than tbs driver's doer to er permit easier entry and exit for rear scat passengers Both doors are cut into the roof to further facilitate entering and exiting Industrial Center, native Utahn who began dnving a truck parttime while a student at Utah State University, Norton spent 17 years m the trucking industry in the Midwest before returning to Salt Lake City and purchasing the company, which consisted of about 50 vehicles, from Reed Brrnton m 1968 Today ihe company employes 100 persons in 10 locations in sue states and owns or has more than 1 200 vehicles under contract FB Trunklines headquarters now occupies a 18 000 square foot building on 10 acres of land purchased by the company The total investment is approximately $72O0OO, company officers said When the new building was completed, the land and building were sold for $1 million, and the triple ret cunipdii took a lease at eight percent annual interest However, the company has not taken the profits and the interest has been reduced to five percent, Norton said Sal of the remaining four acres should further reduce the interest rates, he A bringing company workers all under one roof. Photos by Dave Conley Much of the firm's business :s transporting heavy steel products to the west coast In addition, the construction industry is a major client of the trucking company. Company officials explained that the company is an irregular route common earner" that deals mostly in direct shipping Manufacturers have sound that they can reduce inventory and warehousing costs by shipping immediately and directly to markets and retailers. It is that kind ot business that has helped spur FBs growth. An unusual feature of the company's operation is that it owns a flat large v anety of trailers beds, double drop, double and gooseneck, and heavy haul then contracts with independent drivers who own their own tractors to pull the trailers The company has more than 200 such drivers under contract explained Under one roof, the company should be able to double its sue without needing additional office space, according to the company They make good money, they can work their own hours as long as they want they are berter drivers, safer, take care of their equipment, and do a bettor job through service and public relations, said Larry Sailing, marketing manager president FB Trucklines specializes in the haulage of specific commodities, including steel, macmneiy, con sinieOon and mining equipment, forest products, and size and weight items. American Motors introduced 1975 Pacer this week. for their ngs, and to toe general public for all types of vehicles and tne Transport Finance and Insur- Outside of its Salt Lake head- quarters, the trucking company has offices m Fontana, Torrence, Sacramento, and Haywood, Calif , Eugene and Portland, Ore , Phoenix, Anz . Missoula. Mont, and Boise, Idaho. Pro- Co In 1951, he went to work in Topeka, Kan , for the Little Audreys Transportation Co He rose to become executive vie president of the firm with headquarters in Chicago He returned to Utah in 1968 and purchased FB Trucklines Vice presidents of toe company are Kenneth W. Barber, sales; latter firm, a licensed This insurance broker, manages the company insurance portfolio and oifers liability and casualty insurance at fleet rates to the mdepen dent contractors FB is a publicly held corporation and listed on the NASDAQ Exchange with the symbol FBTK The system interconnects and In addition to the truckime operation, FB also owns three subsidiaries They are Transport Maintenance and leasing Inc , and Contract Transportation Inc , w hich owns the trailers ued by the company and also leases trailer' to customers; Super Tread Company, Inc , a tire recapping franchise that sells new tires to the company for its traders, to tractor on owners duce ance Co The offices are intei connected by a special telephone system called the SS-installed in the new building by Mountain Bell. enables the out offices to be ui constant touch with truck lor Pacific Fruit and David J Lister, traffic, and Norton Parker, chief financial officer. The new offices, located at 1945 S Redwood Road, in the Industrial Center, were designed by Von M White & Associates The buildei was MGM Construction, Inc The budding is on three levels, with openess a dominant characteristic of the offices No one is locked up in an office all to himself except the top executives Landscaping of the grounds will be completed in the spring FB's truck terminal is a few blocks to the west Last year, net earnings totaled $561 445, compared to $113,506 m when the company was 1969, operating out of its Murray office above the service station Billings that first year were about $1 million Today that figure has increased 10 times. Norton was born in Salt Lake City but reared m Spnngviile He attended Bngham Young University and then transferred to USU. While there he drove a delivery The sticker price of the Pacer will be $3,299 when the v.ar goes on sale in early Mai eh. The luxury D;L package will be $289 extra. It consists of individual reclining seats, special decor, custom basketoy fabric and other special v m trim items wii! bucket include The X package, priced at $339, seats, sports steering wheel, sick style T.eeIs and other r( special items f -- Large rear trntet i A large rear hatch provides easy access to the luggage area behind the rear seat The back seat can be g folded forward for added capacity, The makers say the Pacers expansive window area offers excellent visibility and that the roomy interior has exceptional head, shoulder, hip and leg room. Other features include a wide front tread for road hugging and improved driver control with rack and pmion steering Isolated front and'rear suspensions help smooth the nde. cargo-carryin- New windshield wiper mourned Celar.ee Plastics Co , Newark. N J. , is molding the plastic housings for a new type of windshield wiper invented in England Instead of robber blades, the wiper housed is made up on more than twenty 20 in the plastic bociy assembly. The maker claims the scrubbers are most effective in removing dirt, oil, rubber and insect bodies from windshields The announcement says nothing about snow and ice which is the big problem for us Utahns, right mini-brush- Fashion Fabrics officer Multi-reso- rt a sales boost Recreational executive vice president and progress in strengthening overall operations were reported today by John W Boud, president and chairman of the board of Fashion Fabrics, Inc John Taft Benson, general manager, has been promoted to the executive vice presi-dtnt- 's position Previously, he has served as secretary and general counsel of the retail fabrics chain The previously announced program of closing unprofitable stores has been under way since October and will be completed this month, Boud said Boud also stated that ar rangement had been made with the firms bunks to pay off $6 2 million in loans on a schedule extending through May I, 1976. The entire amount had been due March 1, 1975 months wetc sales m toe six ended Oct 31, 1974, O AiUiiWl CUlllJJBUSvl with $19 5 million in the same period a year previously. Principally, because of the store dosings, the Lim sui- te! ed & net loss in the six months of 12T4 amounting to $5 9 million cr t2 P9 per share in recreational One of the attractively decorated rooms that will be displayed. Trevi Towers open house more than $4 million. The building was started about a year ago. Topping out of the ninth level penthouse will be completed this month Utah An open house will be held Sunday at the new Trevi Towers Condominium 245 N Vine St , builder-develope- Thomas Miller p announced Realty and Construction dominiums The company had sales of more than $3 million for 1974 The most successful project of the year, Swiatc-said, was the multi-resoownership plan which offered units at Sweetwater Park, Jackson Hole and Park City The programs allow for a minimum of five weeks usage rt Mortgage Loan Corp is handling the interim financing Miller is prtBident of Miller Ogden con- Co , today Amalgamated may lower prices On display in the nearly completed Capitol Hill building will be three model suites which will demonstrate the alternatives OGDEN (AP) Amalgamated Sugar Co. is speculating in an annual report that its sugar prices will drop, depending on a v anety of circumstances. to available buyers of the 63 apartments. Miller said the facility is about 20 percent p Costs of the one-- , two- - and and penthouse units from $51,000 to tbto uuu Facilities include a svimming pool, health spa, storage area, party and reception rooms, and indoor pat long on three levels. ' re-so- ld Total sales for per year and cost a fraction Sweetwater, developers of Sweetwater Park resort on Bear Lake and other real estate projects, were reported as great for 1974 Brian C Swwton, president, said the firm had m substantial increases property sales coupled with introduction of a new concept The appointment of a new three-bedroo- m Cst nt cfwti action dl b , now. In its annual report, Amalgamated says there are several reasons for a possible price reduction by the Utah based company, including. Less use of sugar and more use of cheaper substitutes such as corn syrup. Amalgamateds speculation is in keeping with announcements by major Northeast sugar refiners that they are cutting prices by . Increases in sugar production $3 SO a hundredweight. worldwide. Reallocation by Congress c! a share of The eu s by the Festern processors is tbs the US sugar market to foreign producers first such price reduction since Dec 13 In the annual report to shareholders, CPC International g Industrial Division M urfiBW S. Eccies, charmu, and A. E. began the move Thursday by anaouiniBg a new price of $53 per 10 pounds for Senmng, president, said that, because ot extra fens grenuirted aari $53 per 190 pounds to, .to gaips j& ugs? paces, farmers witf increase their sugar bet plantings this year. for No 2 liquid and bulk granulated sugar regular recreational dominium, Swmton said. of a con- Introduced last January, the multi-resoprogram was sold, only to Utah residents and accounted for $1 5 million rt of the firms total sales We expect the plan to play an even more significant part m Sweetwaters future sales program. said Swinton, It exceeded projections of $506,000 by 217 percent. We S.L. motor lodge names manager The new general manager of the Howard Johnson Motor W. South Temple, Lodge, is Nathan B. Hale who has been manager of the Oak- - -- Ireco dividend set st 20 cents An tetenm dividend of ?o cents per share has been eiared by the director of Ireco Chemicals, Inc Hie till ,J tea is payable Jan 7, to shareholders of record Jan. 17. ( v 4 Mr. Hale ndge Country Club, Farmington, Davis County, for the past six years. Hale is a former vice president end secretary of Beeline Refining Co. and of Frontier Refining Co. Ho managed the Sjj It I afee Gmmrry (tosh W jo years, previously serving assistant manager far three years. Active in civic organizations Hale is s past president of toe Sugar House Siwaa CLa, past president of toe " Executive Food Handers Association of Utah, a past president of the Utah Chib Managers Association and was secretary treasurer of toe latter group during the past year consider mat really pronus mg for the first year of the program, he added He noted that summer occupancy cLmbed 88 percent at toe Bear Lake development during the year Many persons wary of traveling long distances for great lengths of tune found it equally as satisfying and far more convenient to vacation close to home. And Sweetwater profited, he said. I u i |