Business Notebook

Company adding 58 jobs

MYRTLE BEACH A business that makes loading racks and fall protection equipment is adding more production capabilities to its Georgetown County facility, a $9 million investment that is expected to create 58 jobs, officials announced Wednesday. SafeRack LLC, which moved into the Georgetown County Business Center industrial park in 2005, is expanding so it can manufacture more customized products and meet increasing demand for its products, David Raines, SafeRack’s chief financial officer, said in a news release. Hiring for the new jobs already has started. Those interested in applying should e-mail Pwardsaferack.com with “employment” in the subject line. The S.C. Technical College System will offer pre-employment training.

Force Protection got 3 buyout offers

CHARLESTON Summerville-based Force Protection Inc. attracted three prospective buyout offers before cutting a deal to sell itself for $360 million last month, the company said in a new federal filing. This latest disclosure was released ahead of a key court hearing that was set for Thursday in Nevada, where a judge was to consider requests to postpone the sale. The offer from defense giant General Dynamics Corp. expires Friday. Force Protection investors have brought at least 15 lawsuits seeking to halt the fast-moving sale of the armored-vehicle maker. Among other allegations, most said the purchase price of $5.52 a share represents a “rushed low-ball offer,” according to a complaint filed in Charleston County.

CEOs reluctant to hire

WASHINGTON Two-thirds of chief executives of the largest U.S. companies don’t plan to hire in the next six months, mainly because of sluggish growth in the United States and financial turmoil in Europe. The Business Roundtable said Tuesday that about one-third of its member CEOs expect to add employees and spend more on large equipment in the next six months. That’s little changed from three months ago. The group predicted in its quarterly outlook survey that the economy will expand 2 percent next year. That’s not enough to produce job growth. Existing employees will be expected to handle increased business.

Microsoft case deliberations begin

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah A jury began deliberations Wednesday in a Utah company’s $1 billion federal antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. Novell Inc. sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming the Redmond, Wash., company violated U.S. antitrust laws through its arrangements with other software makers when it launched Windows 95. Novell said it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss. The company claims Microsoft duped it into developing the once-popular WordPerfect writing program for Windows 95 only to pull the plug so Microsoft could gain market share with its own product. Microsoft lawyers have argued that Novell’s loss of market share was its own doing because the company didn’t develop a compatible WordPerfect program until long after the rollout of Windows 95.

The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News, The (Charleston) Post and Courier and The Associated Press contributed.