Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 1, 1992 TAG: 9203010084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE: MARION LENGTH: Medium
Most of Southwest Virginia is about two hours by truck from Knoxville, Tenn., and the intersection of Interstates 81 and 75, Boucher said. Automotive plants have congregated along the Interstate 75 corridor and are natural customers for products like the rack-and-pinion steering gears being assembled at the plant in Mountain Empire Industrial Park, east of Marion, he said.
Boucher said other automobile-component plants in the region include Dana Corp., which operates a facility in the same industrial park as TRW and another in Bristol, and BBA Friction, which will open a brake-parts plant this summer in Pulaski County.
A TRW representative said he became interested in a Southwest Virginia location for a plant after taking part in one of Boucher's "Showcasing Southwest Virginia" tours two years ago.
"We really had an opportunity to locate this plant anywhere we wanted to," said Chester Macey, executive vice president for the TRW Steering and Suspension Systems group.
"We came to Southwest Virginia and we liked what we saw. Now we can say that our initial impressions were correct," said Chris Hawkins, the Marion plant's operations manager. "We've been overwhelmed with the quality and dedication of the work force we've assembled."
The TRW managers joined Boucher and TRW employee Carrie Sparks, chosen by her fellow workers to represent them, in cutting a ribbon to formally dedicate the 71,000-square-foot facility. The plant, which began operations in mid-1991, has 150 employees.
TRW, based in Cleveland, has 44 plants in 16 countries. It is the world's largest independent producer of rack and pinion steering gears. Half the production of the Marion assembly operations plant is exported to Germany and Korea, Macey said.
by CNB