If there's a common thread running through the business community in the first decade of the new millennium, it's the toll job losses have had on the community and the psyche of the American worker.From the layoffs at Hewlett-Packard Co., Agilent Technologies Inc., LSI Logic and Eastman Kodak Co. in the early part of the decade to Celestica Inc.'s shutdown in 2005 and the economic meltdown that affected 4,500 jobs this year, businesses and their workers have been on quite a roller coaster ride. Here is a recap of the top business stories of the past decade as ranked by Coloradoan business reporters during the past 10 years.
2000
- The split between Hewlett-Packard and Agilent became official when HP distributed its holdings in Agilent to HP stockholders.Agilent's electronic testing equipment represented about half the company's $8.3 billion in sales in 1999.In Fort Collins, the Semiconductor Products Group was Agilent's primary business, representing about 90 percent of the 1,400 Agilent workers here.In Loveland, Agilent's 1,600 workers focused on development and manufacturing of test equipment, such as voltmeters and board-test systems.
2001
- The softening economy forced major high-tech companies throughout Northern Colorado to trim more than 1,200 workers.The largest single job loss came at Advanced Energy, which eliminated 174 workers, followed by Kodak Colorado in Windsor, which trimmed 150.
- Meanwhile, real estate agents sold more than 4,000 homes in the Fort Collins area as total housing sales ballooned by 9 percent.The record number - 4,054 units - marked the first time sales surpassed the 4,000 threshold in Fort Collins.Average prices also hit new highs, exceeding the $200,000 mark.
2002
Fort Collins suffered another blow from the layoffs of nearly 4,300 workers, home sales soared, HP merged with Compaq and an announcement by McWhinney Enterprises kicked off a yearlong race to build the first so-called lifestyle center in Northern Colorado.
- HP, Agilent Technologies, Advanced Energy Industries, Celestica, Veeco,Kodak Colorado, Woodward Governor and LSI Logic again reduced their work forces as the high-tech and telecommunications industries continued on a downturn.
- The city of Fort Collins broke a record for single-family home building permits. By the end of the year, builders had pulled 1,224 permits for single-family homes, beating the record of 1,162 set in 1998.
2003
Northern Colorado suddenly became a hot spot for a trendy new lifestyle center retail concept as no fewer than five companies vied to become home to a regional shopping facility, while Foothills Mall, one of Fort Collins' oldest shopping meccas, changed from local to out-of-state ownership.
- The lifestyle race eventually came down to Poag & McEwen, which wanted to build at Centerra, and Bayer Properties, with land in FortCollins.Both vied for the same retailers, and eventually, Poag & McEwen broke groundfirst, opening the Promenade Shops at Centerra in 2005.Front Range Village, developed by Bayer, lagged behind several years, opening its hybrid lifestyle/big-box center in 2008.
- There was the steady stream of layoffs and thousands of jobs were lost, including 500 at Agilent's sites in Fort Collins and Loveland, the largest single reduction in Northern Colorado.Unemployment hovered between 5 and 6 percent as large employers such as Woodward Governor, Hewlett-Packard, Advanced Energy and Kodak Colorado also announced layoffs.
- Heska announced it would move from Fort Collins to Loveland, andIn-Situ announced it was moving its environmental technologymanufacturing company from Laramie, Wyo., to the banks of the PoudreRiver.
- And there was snow - lots of snow. Three feet fell in just three days, damaging about 120 businesses.Bed, Bath & Beyond's roof collapsed, forcing it to move into temporary facilities.
- And after 30 years, Fort Collins-based Everitt Enterprises sold Foothills Mall to Chicago-based real estate trust, General Growth Properties, the second largest mall owner in the country. The projects were expected to bring nearly $300 million in development to Centerra.
2004
- Massive high-tech job losses continued as a downturn in the semiconductor market led to about 150 job losses at LSI Logic and Agilent Technologies.Between March 2001 and January 2004, the state lost 115,000 jobs, or 5.1percent of all its payroll jobs. Larimer County lost about 2,340 jobs during that time.Advanced Energy moved its manufacturing to China, laying off about 200 workers, and Celestica slashed 44 jobs.
- As a result of the lingering economic downturn, the Fort Collins City Council formed a new committee - the Economic Vitality and Sustainability Action Group, or EVSAG, and hired its first economic adviser.Even as high-tech workers were getting laid off, other companies across Northern Colorado were building new offices and hiring new workers.
- Loveland-based Group Publishing Inc. announced it would double the size of its facility in an expansion project that would bring about 120 new jobs to Northern Colorado.
- Kodak Colorado in Windsor landed a $30 million to $40 million digitalimaging expansion project, allowing the company to add 60 new jobs toits local work force of 1,700.
- And Fort Collins lost one of its last locally owned grocery stores when Toddy's Super Market, 2601 S. Lemay Ave., closed its doors in May. TheTodd family sold the store's assets to Longmont-based Sunflower Market, which opened in the same location in the fall.
2005
A turbulent year filled with closings and layoffs left many in the technology sector without work.
- Toronto-based Celestica closed its Fort Collins site along the Harmony corridor in 2005, putting 800 people out of work. Intel Corp. bought the tech company's building for $13 million, but laid-off employees were left with few options in terms of work.
- Intel announced it would move its 300 Fort Collins employees across the street from the Hewlett-Packard Co. campus on Harmony Road to the former Celestica building.
- Vancouver-based QLT Inc., a biotech company with two sites in Fort Collins, cut its work force in half and announced plans to sell its Fort Collins manufacturing division. And LSI Logic consolidated its operations from two facilities to one, leaving vacant a 119,000-square-foot building along East Harmony Road.
- The 700,000-square-foot Promenade Shops at Interstate 25 and U.S.Highway 34 opened in Loveland, and Alabama-based developer Bayer Properties canceled plans for an upscale shopping center along the Harmony corridor due to increased competition from The Promenade Shops at Centerra in Loveland. At the same time, the company still planed to build a shopping center called Front Range Village.
2006
Fort Collins attracted new jobs and retail outlets in a year centered on growth.
- Global computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices opened the new year with a January job fair at the Fort Collins Marriott. Northern Colorado's highly skilled employee base beat out competitive cities around the world, and AMD established its eighth design center in the same market where rival Intel had employees for years.By November 2006, half of the 200 new employees started at the Harmony Corporate Center, the former site of LSI Logic.
- After four years, Alabama-based developer Bayer Properties received final approvals to build a shopping center at Harmony and Ziegler roads. A Super Target and Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, among other shops, would anchor the 800,000-square-foot center.
- Microbreweries felt resurgence as New Belgium Brewing Co., Odell Brewing Co. and Fort Collins Brewery all made significant expansions to their facilities in Fort Collins and hired new employees. The breweries also continued to expand distribution into new markets.
- Hotelier John Q. Hammons nearly severed a partnership with Larimer County to build an Embassy Suites hotel and conference center at the fairgrounds. Commissioners brought Hammons back to the table with a renegotiated contract and timeline.
- Fort Collins, after more than a year of searching, hired local businessman Mike Freeman as the city's economic adviser and made him the council's ambassador to the business community. CSU and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. jointly hired regional economist Martin Shields.
2007
Larimer County took its first steps to becoming a clean-energy economy; the county's largest credit union was seized by federal regulators; and the regional health-care landscape changed with the opening of Medical Center of the Rockies.
- Vestas, the Danish manufacturer of wind turbine blades, announced in March it would build its first U.S. plant in Windsor, bringing in about 400 jobs. As construction on the $60 million plant neared an end, Vestas announced it was adding two additional production lines and 250 more jobs, bringing the total to more than 600.
- AVA Solar, a spinoff from Colorado State University, planned its manufacturing plant at the southwest corner of Interstate 25 and Prospect Road with as many as 600 employees within two years but backed away from that plan and opened its manufacturing facility in Longmont. It changed its name to Abound Solar.
- Bayer Properties finally broke ground on its new shopping center at Harmony and Ziegler roads that was slated to generate about $2.2million in annual sales-tax revenue for the city's general fund.
- Larimer County's financial world was rocked in July when Norlarco Credit Union was taken over by federal regulators.State regulators seized the institution in May but kept the news secret, hoping to avoid a run on the credit union.At the state's request, federal regulators in July took over as lawsuits filed by borrowers alleged the credit union ignored credit worthiness when approving construction loans for Florida residents who had never stepped foot in Larimer County.The credit union lost hundreds of members and millions of dollars after the news became public. The credit union's assets were acquired in 2008 by Public Service Credit Union.
2008
Fuel prices soared, Front Range Village became a reality and prospects of a Foothills mall revitalization diminished.
- After watching discretionary income disappear into their gas tanks for the first six months of the year, consumers got a reprieve as prices at the pump fell below $2 in November for the first time in nearly two years.Gas prices topped out at $4.042 per gallon for regular unleaded on July 6, forcing consumers to jump on buses, bikes and scooters, consolidate trips and trade in gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles, all in hopes of saving a buck or two on the cost of driving.
- Tired of watching the taillights of local shoppers and their wallets heading south to Loveland, city officials celebrated the long-awaited opening of Front Range Village on Harmony Road with its first anchor tenant, Lowe's.
- Prospects for a revitalized Foothills Mall in Fort Collins grew more dismal throughout the year as owner General Growth Properties' financial woes forced the developer into bankruptcy.
- For the first time since Prohibition ended, liquor stores in Colorado were allowed to open on Sundays beginning the July Fourth weekend.
- Housing sales throughout the Fort Collins area plummeted through the year, saddling the region with its first year-to-year decrease in average selling price for the 33 years that records had been kept.
- Old Town lost its most upscale restaurant when Nico's Catacombs closed after 35 years. Owner Nico Zentveld said the restaurant fell victim to a slowing economy, changing dining habits and increased competition from more restaurants.
2009
From Wall Street to Main Street, the global economic recession hit virtually everyone in some form in 2009.From high unemployment to rampant foreclosures, the recession was one of the worst in recent memory.Consumer confidence waned as people worried about their jobs and lending tightened up, leaving residential and commercial building in limbo.The area's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in October, down from 5.9 percent a month earlier. That was well below the state rate of 6.9 percent and the national rate of 10.2 percent.
- Federal regulators clamped down on banks, leading to the demise of 193 banks nationally, including New Frontier Bank in Greeley.First National and Advantage banks reached agreements with regulators to modify their banking practices.
- Numerous Fort Collins' companies were forced to cut staff and hours or close completely. Institutions such as New Frontier and Iron Mountain Autoplex closed, impacting not only the employees but the community as a whole.
BY PAT FERRIER
PatFerrier@ coloradoan.com
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