A new Fort Worth company with plans to invest in the North Texas aerospace industry announced its first acquisition Wednesday, Fitz Manufacturing Industries of North Richland Hills.
Novaria Group, formed last year by two aerospace executives, said it purchased the closely held manufacturer of aircraft parts because of its long-term potential. "They have a great reputation," Earl Larkin, managing partner of Novaria, told the Star-Telegram's Bob Cox.Novaria plans to retain the management at Fitz but will bring added financial and management resources to help grow the business, Larkin said, and "to better serve customers while preserving the culture and reputation for high quality that Fitz has built over the last 16 years."The company will be renamed Fitz Aerospace. Founder Greg Fitzgerald will remain an equity partner and CEO.Fitz is a major provider of forged and machined small parts to Boeing's commercial aircraft division as well as other aviation and defense companies. The company employs about 150 and is looking to add staff to meet demand for its products.Novaria was launched a year ago by Larkin and Bryan Perkins, both former executives at the Fort Worth aerospace division of Parker Hannifin.Wal-Mart proposalRepresentatives of Wal-Mart shared the latest designs for a proposed Neighborhood Market at the corner of West Berry Street and Hemphill Street with neighborhood groups Tuesday night, as they try to meet requirements for building in Fort Worth's Hemphill/Berry Urban Village.In a community meeting at the Travis Avenue Baptist Church South Annex -- which Wal-Mart has under contract and would raze to build the grocery store -- the retailer's design consultants presented their latest plan, which was recently rolled out to the Fort Worth Zoning Commission. The commission recently put off a zoning decision for a month to give Wal-Mart and the neighborhoods time to meet."It's a good store; it's a catalyst," said Tom Galbraith, representing Dunaway, a Fort Worth firm working with Wal-Mart.Wal-Mart is still tinkering with the design to get the right percentages of clear windows on the Berry Street side of the building. It learned Tuesday night from the city staff that its plan for the Hemphill side of the building might not meet masonry requirements.Though Wal-Mart has made concessions already -- its latest plan includes more glass and a greater orientation of the building toward Hemphill -- neighborhood leaders want an exterior design that better fits with the neighborhood and lots of pedestrian-level transparent glass that highlights activity inside the store and draws patrons in. Currently, Wal-Mart's plan for the Hemphill side includes exterior opaque glass at eye level, because tall produce cases are inside the wall."We want a store, but we want it to comply with the urban village," Fernando Florez, head of two of the neighborhood groups, reiterated.Rick Kubes, representing the Berry Street Initiative, said that if the neighborhoods and city grant Wal-Mart deviations from the urban village plan, the neighborhoods will be vulnerable to requests for more exceptions down the road."Once you set the precedent for this corner, then you've got problems over here," Kubes said.Some residents voiced support for the store."I think this is a good layout, and I would love to see it here," one man said.After Councilman Joel Burns quietly entered the meeting and sat toward the side of the room, another man asked for a show of hands in support for the project. Several hands went up.Foreclosure reportsGeorge Roddy Sr., president of Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service, has been compiling and releasing area residential foreclosure numbers each month for a couple of decades.But that's changing soon. Although the numbers will still be compiled every month, starting in February, Roddy will release the data quarterly instead of monthly.Roddy said changing the schedule will allow him extra time to delve into the numbers and provide better analysis. Some customers have been asking him to find something new to say about the data, he said.Quarterly numbers, Roddy said, "will have a little more impact."Foreclosures set record highs in the past few years in North Texas as they have nationwide. In the current housing crisis, about 8 million Americans will face foreclosure.In North Texas, residential foreclosure postings fell in 2011 to the lowest level in three years. Tarrant, Dallas, Denton and Collin counties recorded 56,358 postings, down 12 percent from 2010.Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727sabaker@star-telegram.comScott Nishimura, 817-390-7808snishimura@star-telegram.comBarry Shlachter, 817-390-7718barry@star-telegram.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
