Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 13, 1993 TAG: 9308130010
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
President and Chief Executive Officer B.C. Wampler said the $10 million-plus investment will bring the company fully into the computer age.
The plant will have computerized woodworking machinery that can be operated only by skilled employees. Both the Virginia Department of Economic Development and New River Community College will be involved in their training.
Hiring has already started for a cadre of people who will train the new workers after receiving training themselves.
Pulaski Furniture officials signed a contract this week with the H.S. Williams Co. of Marion to construct the addition. They received their permit Friday from the state Department of Environmental Control, Wampler said.
"With this technology, we believe that - instead of chasing behind someone - we'll be in the forefront," he said.
He said the computerization will allow the company to keep down its costs and to offer better products to customers such as Grand Piano & Furniture Co. of Roanoke.
During 1994, the emphasis will be on perfecting the technology in Pulaski, Wampler said. "But it will eventually spill over into all our other plants."
Besides its 1.4 million square feet of buildings in Pulaski, the company has plants in Dublin, Christiansburg, Martinsville and Ridgeway. It has 2,200 employees, and Wampler said the investment in the new technology is being made more to protect those jobs than to add new ones.
The company has been working with both Pulaski County and the Town of Pulaski in planning the expansion, he said.
Pulaski County offered space for the new operation at its industrial park, Wampler said. "We decided not to use that because it just makes sense for us to tie it in to the existing operation."
Pulaski Town Council on Aug. 3 approved the closing of 40 feet of an alley behind the lot where the expansion will be built, between Fourth and Fifth Streets North. The company will now be able to use that alley for the movement of equipment and trucks.
Products made in the new facility will include curio cabinets, consoles, hall trees and entertainment center furniture. The plant will also have the capability of running more than one shift, Wampler said.
"We plan to start construction by the end of August," Wampler said. "We plan to be in this facility producing furniture in April of '94 and pretty much in full production in May."
by CNB