Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 3, 1993 TAG: 9310060048
SECTION: INDUSRTY RECOGNITION PAGE: IR-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BY JOANNE ANDERSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In 1992, D & B was viewed as "wildly optimistic," according to a June 21 "Business Week" article, when it predicted growth of 1.9 million jobs. When the final tally was in from the Labor Department, job gains were 1.6 million.
An assortment of industrial firms in Montgomery County with less than 16 employees has created a diverse business mix where metal machined parts may be fabricated a stone's throw from biotechnological gene splicing.
Several of the county's small firms are machine shops, an important industry that produces many of the primary resources for manufacturing tools and equipment.
Printing, house design and manufacturing, ready-mixed concrete products, special controls and contract engineering services co-exist with high tech businesses involved in medical diagnostics and optical character recognition.
ACCUTEK, INC., BLACKSBURG
After one year in business in Montgomery County, Steve Hill is pleased that he moved Accutek from New Jersey in August of 1992. The little company of three, which Hill purchased in 1991, makes precision metal stampings out of nickel alloys and clad materials for many customers, including Motorola in Taiwan, AT&T and Honeywell. Accutek also has a niche market, being the only supplier in the U.S. for cold weld bases for frequency controlled products.
Hill is a West Virginia native and Virginia Tech graduate who said he decided to relocate here because "business costs are reasonable, and there's a good work ethic" in the area. He is optimistic that some outstanding quotes for the auto industry will convert into orders, increasing his business.\
BELDING TOOL AND MACHINE CORPORATION, CHRISTIANSBURG
David Harvey and Allen Gusler work side by side in a 1,500-square-foot shop creating precision tools, dies and molds. While Federal Mogul is the largest customer locally, the Belding company, headquartered in Michigan, services many industries such as agricultural, food processing and aerospace.
The company created its Christiansburg facility in 1985 because the area "was a good market for a tool shop and the people are hard workers," according to Mike Peterson of the Michigan facility.
Thirty-eight-year-old Harvey, a Giles County native and former Federal Mogul employee, knew the tooling business very well, and approached Peterson to run the Belding operation in 1986. Gusler joined him a year later.\
BLUE RIDGE TIMBER FRAME, CHRISTIANSBURG
If you want to see all the timber frame homes designed and erected by Blue Ridge Timber Frame in the decade it has been in business, don't pack too lightly. You'll be traveling, among other places, to Tokyo, Japan. From there go west 80 or so miles into the island countryside. And you'll find two Blue Ridge timber frame houses.
Self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades Al Anderson is founder and president of this custom business where timber buildings, mostly houses, are designed and cut, erected to a skeleton and enclosure stage, with doors and windows supplied.
There are currently 15 people on staff, mostly professional woodworkers and designers, and Anderson is quick to emphasize that it's the employees who make the company successful.
"It's been a roller-coaster ride much of the time, but business is strong right now," stated Anderson.\
CHRISTIANSBURG PRINTING COMPANY, CHRISTIANSBURG
Most of Christiansburg Printing's customers are within a hefty stone's throw, says president Michael Abraham. But everyone needs printing, and personal contacts have resulted in customers in Washington State, North Carolina, Massachusetts, the Caribbean. Whoa, the Caribbean? "My dad was scuba diving down there when someone asked what he did. He said he was in the printing business, they said they needed some brochures and booklets."
Michael's dad, Robert Abraham, retired a few months ago from the business he started in the 1950s. Today, Christiansburg printing uses eight presses, a darkroom, and computerized composition and typesetting equipment. There are 15 employees, and Michael - who left part of his heart in Seattle after 10 years there - takes advantage of the recreation opportunities in the New River Valley.\
E & W CUSTOM FABRICATION, INC., MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Sole owner Steve Watterson has one employee in his small leased building where they perform custom steel fabrication work to specification. Products made for local and regional companies include transformer enclosures, brackets and computer boxes.
Watterson was born and raised in the New River Valley and hopes to expand his 12-year-old company. "We're always looking for new opportunities," he said.\
EAS-Z MILLWORK, INC., CHRISTIANSBURG
O. Wayne Rorrer, one of the original founders of Eas-Z Millwork in 1978, left the firm over a disagreement with stockholders and returned to buy the company in 1988 when he heard it was being shut down. "The company wasn't closed more than three days when I bought it and opened up again," he explained.
With a dozen employees, Eas-Z Millwork assembles doors and is a wholesale distributor for pre-hung doors and windows. The door jambs, casings and hardware are ordered separately and assembled on interior doors at the West Cambria Street facility. Customers include lumber companies such as Lowe's, Reed's and Moore's in several states.
Rorrer is a native of Pulaski and graduate of Pulaski County High School, class of 1966.\
IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES, BLACKSBURG
The popularity of fax machines attests to the viability of a company involved in document scanning. At Image Processing Technologies, electronic printed circuit boards are designed and built for the scanning industry, then shipped to manufacturers who install them in document scanning equipment.
Also profiled: Mert's Tool and Design, Christiansburg; New River Concrete Supply Company, Blacksburg; Techlab, Inc. Blacksburg; Universal Controls and Engineering, Christiansburg; Vatell Corporation, Blacksburg.
Memo: NOTE: Some text missing - see microfilm for final text.