Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 3, 1993 TAG: 9310060114
SECTION: INDUSTRY RECOGNITION PAGE: IR-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BY JOANNE ANDERSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A study by American Express reports that companies with 100 to 1,000 employees are positioned for explosive growth. James A. Firestone, executive vice president of American Express's corporate card division, stated that these midsize businesses may create as many as 2 million jobs in the next few years.
"These firms are small enough to take advantage of economic opportunities agilely, but big enough to have access to credit and to operate on a national, even international, scale," said Firestone.
Products manufactured in these local factories can be found around the world and around the region. The automotive industry seems to be the largest customer, but major retailers, the federal government, home and lumber centers, high tech manufacturers and places that don't want to be left in the dark, so to speak, purchase manufactured goods from Montgomery County.\
C & S DOOR CORPORATION, CHRISTIANSBURG
John Sutherland, Vietnam vet and former manufacturer's representative, would like to have returned to college for a four-year degree. His company of 103 employees is turning away business, adding 40,000 square feet to its facility and investing in $2 million of new equipment, and he just doesn't have time to go to class. His two-year degree in business management from New River Community College seems to have provided an excellent foundation for success.
C & S Door buys wood from as far away as Brazil and Chile to manufacture interior doors. Two-, four- and six-panel doors, solid and hollow core, lauan (a mahogany wood), birch, oak and others. A second company in Elkton, Va., produces shutters and bi-fold doors.
Forty percent of the company is employee-owned by an elaborate Employee Stock Ownership Plan set up by Sutherland, who in turn contributes 15 percent of payroll to his employees' retirement funds annually.\
CHRISTIANSBURG GARMENT CO. INC., CHRISTIANSBURG
A Mickey Mouse shirt you buy in Orlando or Anaheim, Calif., may be made in your hometown. Owned by Donnkenny Apparel, Inc., Christiansburg Garment makes ladies apparel from purchased fabrics. Many of their products are made for Mickey and Co. and shipped to Disney stores and shops licensed to sell Disney merchandise. Other clothing is distributed under the Donnkenny label to J.C. Penney, Montgomery Ward and other major chains and specialty stores.
The local factory is headed by vice president of manufacturing Raymond Mabry. Donnkenny has expanded several times in southwest Virginia, according to corporate chief financial officer Edward Creevy. The garment industry "is highly competitive on a global scale," Creevy said from the New York headquarters. "We choose to grow in southwest Virginia because of state cooperation and the good labor pool."\
CORNING, INC., CHRISTIANSBURG
From a glass manufacturing facility to a closed and deserted factory to a maker of ceramic substrates for catalytic converters, the Corning plant is adding a third production line to its operation. Plant engineer Kelly Bridge said the company is already recruiting and assessing its increased labor needs.
The division of the Fortune 500 Corning, Inc. of Corning, N.Y., starts with raw minerals and clays, grinds them into fine powder, adds some moisture and creates a piece that can be compared to a three foot loaf of Italian bread. The ends are cut off and the remainder sliced into six or so pieces. The pieces are fired in a kiln and inspected. Each piece has tremendous surface areas because, like the bread, there are zillions of tiny holes. These substrates are forwarded to a coating manufacturer and on to the company which puts them in the final product for the auto industry.
Corning is proud of its high performance, team-based management system which has been written about in well-known publications like "The Washington Post," "U.S. News & World Report" and "Business Week." From the flagpoles outside the building wave the American flag, the Virginia flag and the American Flint Glass Workers AFL-CIO Local #1022 flag.
by CNB