FIBER-OPTICS COMPANY GOING TO WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 20, 1993                   TAG: 9303200183
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium
FIBER-OPTICS COMPANY GOING TO WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
Siecor Corp., an international fiber-optics company that had considered building a plant in Montgomery County, announced Friday that its new plant will be built in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The announcement came despite efforts from state and federal officials to try to revive Siecor's interest in Montgomery County.
Siecor will build a 215,000-square-foot facility that will make fiber-optic cable and employ 603 workers when it reaches full capacity in five years.
A tract in Montgomery County near the Falling Branch Elementary School had been one of the final four sites considered by the company, but county officials were told last month it was no longer in the running.
U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, said Friday that he called Siecor's president and asked that Montgomery County be given a second chance to meet the company's specifications.
Montgomery County was ruled out because Siecor's board of directors wanted the plant to be built within six months, Boucher said. Rapid construction wasn't possible at the Falling Branch site because of its rough terrain and concern about the stability of its subsoil.
"The county did everything possible to offer Siecor an attractive package," he said.
Winston-Salem was chosen because of the quality of its work force, the availability of public services, access to interstate highways and a comprehensive incentive package, said Joseph Hicks, Siecor's president.
"We had to give the whole city," said Bob Leak, president of Winston-Salem Business Inc. "They were very tough to negotiate with."
Leak said Winston-Salem offered an incentive package between $1.5 million and $1.9 million. That money will be used to help Siecor purchase the 108-acre site and for site preparation.
"We offered a very good incentive package, but it wasn't a whole lot different than [Montgomery County's]," he said.
Don Moore, economic development director for the county, said Montgomery County offered Siecor a "fantastic" incentive package, but would not release its exact amount.
"It was by far the best we've ever provided any prospect," he said.
Leak said Siecor officials also liked the Winston-Salem site because it was in a developed industrial park.
The Falling Branch site recently was zoned industrial, but much preparation is still needed before it will be ready for industrial use.
In early 1991, the county received a $25,000 state grant to help prepare the site for development.
Other finalists for the Siecor factory were Greensboro and High Point, N.C.
Lois Boynton, a spokeswoman for Siecor, said the company was impressed with the proposal from Montgomery County.
Siecor, a joint venture between Corning Inc. and Siemens Corp., is headquartered in Hickory, N.C., and has plants in Rocky Mount, N.C., and Keller, Texas.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB