ISRAEL DIGEST

Specially compiled by Me Jerusalem Post

—$1 EQUALS 2.945 NIS (shekels) - Close Price 11110193—

Economic Climate Improves

Economic activity in Israel has
been more vigorous than pre-
viously thought, based on in-
dustrial productivity, retail
trade and tax collection indi-
cators, the Israeli Treasury an-
nounced last week.
Treasury Economic Advis-
er Tsipi Gal-Yam said the eco-
nomic picture is improving
based on updated industrial
productivity figures.
According to the Central
Bureau of Statistics' produc-
tivity index published last
month, figures for the second
quarter, which until now ap-
peared down, were adjusted

to show that productivity was
unchanged from the previous
quarter.
During July and August, in-
dustrial productivity rose 2.4
percent compared to the sec-
ond quarter. However, pro-
ductivity gains were not
evenly spread throughout dif-
ferent industries. Construc-
tion and allied industries'
productivity increased sharply
by 8.4 percent, while light in-
dustries registered a 6.2 per-
cent rise. By contrast,
productivity fell 2.4 percent in
plastics and chemicals and 0.7
percent in the food industry.

Saudis Buy Into Istec

Investors from Saudi Ara-
bia have purchased 5 per-
cent of Istec Industries &
Technology in the frame-
work of a private placement,
the company announced last
week.
Istec, which is traded over

Dr. Steven Ajluni and Dr. Joel Kahn work together at Beaumont Hospital.

a good person, it shouldn't mat-
ter what religion you have. Are
you going to work with a
Lebanese person who is a good
partner or a Jewish person who
is a bad partner? Clearly you
are going to work with the
Lebanese partner."

Dr. Ed Schervish, who is
Lebanese and Dr. Guz's part-
ner, said he was encouraged
that peace would finally spring
in the Mideast.
"It's been a long time coming
and I hope it lasts," Dr.
Schervish said. "But it is real

difficult to say if there is a
durable accord. Despite the war
and the whole problem with ter-
rorism in the Middle East, Pm
not so sure there's as much a di-
vision in this country as people
think. From my experience, it
hasn't been a problem." ❑

R.J. KING SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

L

fastest growing company by
BDO Seidman, a public ac-
counting firm in Troy. Inc. mag-
azine also selected the firm as
one of the 500 fastest growing
companies in the nation.
Still, for all its recent success,
Mr. Zucker said the company's
early development was slowed
considerably by a lack of hands-
on management, lackadaisical
employees and limited site se-
lection.

The average person
receives 31 cards
per year, including
7 birthday cards.

"When management is far
away from its main operation,
there can be problems, and we
had them," said Mr. Zucker, 68.
"The management team at the
store had no concept of what
was going on. When we would

Mideast Trade To Soar

Exports to Arab and Muslim
countries could reach $570
million annually within a
number of years, according to
an Israel Manufacturers As-

sociation survey.
In addition, the organization
estimates that local business-
es lose $200-600 million an-
ni
due to the Arab boycott.

Ohio Awards Contract

Zucker's Card Shops
Pay Hefty Rewards

ocal developers at first
were cool to Bill Zucker's
idea of opening a discount
card and gift shop, so he
headed 90 miles north to Sagi-
naw.
"We wanted to be in a pow-
er center with a department
store anchor, but at that time
(1985), the developers here said
no because we had no track
record," said Mr. Zucker, secre-
tary and treasurer of the fast-
growing Southfield-based 112
Off Card Shop.
"Anyone in his right mind
would have kept searching in
metro Detroit, especially since
we lived here, but we were op-
portunists," Mr. Zucker said.
"We knew all the mistakes not
to make, but we went ahead
and made them anyway."
Today, 1/2 Off Card Shop,
Inc. operates 30 stores in Michi-
gan and Ohio. The company
employs 500 people and projects
revenues of $26 million for 1993.
Earlier this year, the retail
chain was named Michigan's

the counter in New York,
raised approximately $2.73
million through a private
placement of 2 million
shares this week. Investors
from Saudi Arabia pur-
chased half of the shares.

visit, the ashtrays in the back
room were full and the area was
often in a mess.
"Some of our managers
would call in, and when they
knew we weren't coming up
they would stay home all day.
We had a routine as far as when
we visited, and some of the
managers took advantage of
that. Finally, we found out what
was going on and kept working
until the right team came along.
It's safe to say we'll never have
those problems again."
Mr. Zucker was joined in the
company's founding by his son,
Leonard Zucker, and nephew,
Steven Zucker, who serve as
vice president and president.
The elder Mr. Zucker has a long
track record in the greeting card
industry. Since 1963, he has op-
erated a warehouse in Berkley
to service area card shops.
"Where we've been success-
ful is in filling our niche, which
is offering the best selection of

CARDS page 41

IIS Intelligent Systems an-
nounced it has been awarded
a $6.4 million contract by the
Ohio Department of Human
Services.
HS, through its U.S. mar-
keting and distribution sub-
sidiary Lee Data, will supply
and service controllers, ter-
minals and printers from the
department's mainframe on-

line systems.
The contract also provides
the option for 79 other state
governmental bodies and re-
lated institutions, such as uni-
versities and local
municipalities, to purchase the
company's equipment at sim-
ilar conditions and prices un-
til June 1996.

Treasury Reduces Borrowing

The Israel Treasury plans to
reduce government borrowing
in the capital market for the
remainder of the year, a move
that is expected to lower in-
terest rates.
The Finance Ministry an-

nounced last week that the
rapid pace of privatization and
higher-than-estimated tax
revenues have lowered the
government's borrowing re-
quirements by $790 million.

Tadiran Gets Contract

Tadiran reported it has been
awarded a $50 million con-
tract from the Australian
army.
Under the contract, the
company will supply its tacti-
cal military communications
system which provides fully
integrated communications
coverage of battle areas.
Tadiran will supply the mo-
bile channel radio terminals
and centrals, as well as sys-

tem accessories, which when
linked together provide both
telephone and computer com-
munications capabilities.
Tadiran said the order was
a "breakthrough," and expects
it will now be able to enter
new markets more easily. The
Koor Industries subsidiary al-
ready has sold aspects of the
system to armed forces in the
Far East, South America, and
the United States.

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