BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hawaiian Airlines planes 82.1% full
Advertiser Staff
Hawaiian Airlines said its planes were 82.1 percent full in December.
The state's largest carrier said it flew a total of 567,940 passengers on its interisland and trans-Pacific flights last month, which was up 2 percent from December 2006's 556,660.
For the full year the airline said it served nearly 7.1 million passengers, which was up 14.4 percent from 2006's 6.2 million. Hawaiian said its load factor for the full year was 87.3 percent, which was up from 2006's 86.4 percent.
TARGET TO BREAK GROUND HERE JAN. 21
Representatives of retail giant Target Corp. say they will break ground on both its Kapolei and Salt Lake stores during the week of Jan. 21.
The nation's No. 2 retailer had previously announced it intends to open the two stores, its first in Hawai'i, in March 2009.
The Kapolei store will be in the to-be-built Kapolei Commons shopping complex on Kalaeloa Boulevard behind Home Depot. The Salt Lake store will be on the site of the former Costco in the Bougainville Industrial Park.
HAWAII SELF STORAGE SITE HONORED
Hawaii Self Storage's Kaimuki location has been named winner of the 2007 Self Storage New Facility of the Year by an industry trade publication.
The Kaimuki facility, which opened in January 2007, received the national honor over hundreds of other entries from across the United States.
"Considered the self-storage industry's highest recognition for excellence, the Self Storage Now! and Mini-Storage Messenger trade publications determine the winner based on performance, unique design and construction, marketing, and innovation and amenities, Hawaii Self Storage said in a news release.
Winners were named in five categories: Overall, Construction, Conversion, New Facility and Specialty Storage. The Kaimuki facility was designed by Hawaii architecture firm Kober-Hanssen-Mitchell Architects.
HAWAI'I SLIPS IN ECONOMIC INDEX
Hawai'i ranked 40th out of 50 states in a new economic competitiveness index released by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston.
The annual index, which has been published since 2001, is aimed at identifying strengths and weaknesses in economic performance across the country.
Utah, Massachusetts and Colorado were the top three states in the survey. Hawai'i ranked 42nd in 2006.
The competitiveness index is based on 42 indicators that evaluate government and fiscal policy, security, infrastructure, human resources, technology, business incubation, openness and environmental policy.
SOPOGY WINS VENTURE CAPITAL AWARD
The Hawaii Venture Capital Association named Sopogy Inc. its Venture Capital Deal of the Year winner for 2007.
Sopogy, which was founded by entrepreneur Darren Kimura, has technology that provides solar power to the distributed power generation market. The company raised a large funding round from local and Mainland venture capital firms qualifying it for the award.
Sopogy and other winners will be honored at HVCA's annual Venture Capital Deal of the Year awards luncheon on Jan. 24 at the Plaza Club in Honolulu.
