Staff Reporters

Family businesses in WA, be they in their “first” generation or their fourth, are wide and varied, however there is no doubt they are an important contributor to the State’s economy.

PROPERTY syndicator Glenmont Properties is moving to St Georges Terrace and into the 10th floor of the AXA building.

MUCH more than goodwill flowed from this week’s launch and handover of the Abeer Thirty Eight at Cockburn Sound’s Australian Marine Complex.

CHANGES to the Financial Services Reform Act imposing ‘ethical’ disclosure obligations on superannuation, life insurance and managed funds are adding fuel to an emerging new ethical industry.

ELECTRONIC transactions provider IPT systems has received more than $800,000 that had been held in trust by law firm Steinepreis Paganin.

NEWLY appointed state manager of stockbroking firm Bell Potter Securities Andrew Coppin (pictured) said he intended to build the group’s profile as part of an expansion for the business in WA.

WESTERN Power this week released its annual report and, as is often the case, a small detail caught the eye of WA Business News.

SOME multinationals take protecting their brand very seriously, as Perth-based foundry and plumbing supplier Galvin Engineering discovered.

IN Australia, 80 per cent of all businesses are family owned and operated and each year Family Business Australia celebrates their achievements through the Family Business Awards.

AN Australian trade mission visited Sri Lanka recently to take advantage of the improved investment climate in the country in an effort to boost two-way trade and investment.

MANY WA companies are missing out on rebates by not adequately claiming on R&D spending.

FURTHER evidence is emerging that WA businesses are seeking protection under the Federal industrial relations system, particularly through the use of Australian Workplace Agreements.

ONE of the most crucial aspects of branding is to protect the brand itself.This can take two main forms – protecting what the brand stands for and taking legal avenues to ensure no other company can use the strength of that brand for its own ends.

THE sixth radio ratings survey for 2002 reveals some quite significant shifts in listening patterns across the market.

A 24-YEAR-OLD Swan Brewery project engineer has saved the company 50 million litres of water a year and won himself the Young Engineer of the Year Award.

THE North West Shelf LNG project’s latest market success has raised expectations of a boost to international market confidence in WA’s Pilbara region.

NEWS may be quiet on the nickel laterite front in WA, but BHP Billiton remains on target, preparing for its planned 20-year project near Ravensthorpe.

ENERGY Minister Eric Ripper, Western Power chief David Eiszele, AlintaGas managing director Bob Browning and Electricity Reform Task Force chairman John Hyslop hold the future of WA’s electricity market in their hands.

A SECOND executive with fledgling eye laser firm CustomVis is involved in legal action with his former employer and rival eye laser surgery company Q-Vis Ltd, an investigation by WA Business News has found.

A SPATE of recent accidents involving ships under pilotage in Australian waters, including two off the WA coast in the past month, and the increasing litigiousness of ship owners is prompting a rethink of the rules ship pilots operate under.

WHILE talk of blackouts and brownouts may seem to be exaggerated, the fact remains that if WA’s electricity market is not reformed, privately-owned generation will not

THE PR world is changing in many ways – the operators, their areas of speciality and the prices they charge for services among them.

University of WA Graduate School of Management associate director Ray Fells said these disputes were far worse than any wage dispute.

WHILE the medium-term outlook for the Western Australian economy has strengthened following the announcement of the $25 billion deal to supply LNG to China, the near-term could prove to be more testing.

PROPOSALS from Federal Treasury for a major overhaul of Australia’s international tax system could have a fundamental impact on WA’s ability to attract business investment and talented individuals.

THE WA Industrial Relations Commission has yet to hand down a decision on the application for a Union of Employers.

WESTERN Australia’s rock lobster industry is teaching the Middle Eastern how to maintain a sustainable industry.

NOVA 937 has announced that it has completed its market research work ahead of the launch later this year.

REFRACTIVE laser company CustomVis is expected to announce that it has raised $10 million in private funding to commercialise its products for correcting vision disorders.

THE City of Perth has approved a $14.5 million redevelopment of the CTA building on The Esplanade despite concerns about the provision of $25,000 by the developer to improve the public amenity of the area.

TMP Worldwide is seeking a manager for the marine support unit for one of Australia’s largest defence contractors.

A REPORT by the WA Auditor General on public universities caught my attention the other day, but it was the research following that I found most captivating.