Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 3, 1993 TAG: 9310060318
SECTION: INDUSTRY RECOGNITION PAGE: IR-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BY JOANNE ANDERSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
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.
ELECTRO-TEC CORPORATION, BLACKSBURG
On 10 acres and inside 120,000 square feet, Electro-Tec makes slip rings and subassemblies for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The bulk of its business, about 70 percent, is defense-related, down from around 90 percent a few years ago. The balance of business is OEM projects.
However, not to sit idly by while defense contracts shrink, the company has begun developing its own product line, starting with construction equipment safety devices. One for monitoring weight loads on huge cranes got a positive reception at a construction exposition in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Electro-Tec is owned by Kaydon Corporation of Clearwater, Fla.\
FEDERAL MOGUL CORPORATION, BLACKSBURG
There is a good possibility that you have an engine bearing made by Federal Mogul in your vehicle. "Our bearings are shipped to the big automakers, John Deere, Catepillar and others," said new business manager David Baker. With headquarters in Southfield, Mich., and 33 plants in the U.S., Federal Mogul is the largest domestic manufacturer of engine bearings.
The local facility employs close to 700 people and covers 226,000 square feet. The plant opened in 1971 and was located in Blacksburg to be close to the engineering research offices at Virginia Tech, with which Federal Mogul had done some joint studies.
From raw materials of steel and aluminum to engine bearings ranging in size from 1.3 inches to 5.6 inches in outside diameter, Federal Mogul performs all the processes to manufacture 100 million engine bearings annually in-house.\
FORCE INC., CHRISTIANSBURG
When you watch the 1994 Winter Olympics from Lillehammer, Norway, try to remember that the digital video serial data link which connects to the fiber optic system that relays the action from the ski slope to control center to satellite to your home in Montgomery County was designed and developed by this local 15-year-old company.
Originally a subcontractor and contract manufacturing firm, Force, Inc. has evolved into a cutting edge technical entity with international recognition. Wendell Hensley, vice president of marketing, explained that their transmitters and receivers are used to convert data or video transmissions from using copper or electrical signals to fiber optic cable. One of the many advantages of such a conversion is a reduction or elimination of the devastating effect of lightning on the lines.
Force's customer list reads like a Who's Who in the Fortune 500 club: IBM, TRW, AT&T, Raytheon, Hewlett Packard, 3M, Boeing, in addition to government agencies like NASA and Los Alamos Laboratories. The company is well-positioned for growth and planning to expand.\
HERCULES, INC., MONTGOMERY COUNTY
On Aug. 16, 1940, a contract was signed between Hercules Powder Company and the U.S. War Department for the firm to manufacture propellants and explosives for the government. One day less than eight months later, production began. Peak employment was close to 13,000 during World War II, 9,000 during the Korean war and Vietnam conflict, and is 1,670 now.
The Montgomery County property was selected in part for its location on the New River. "Our production process requires a great amount of water," explained Dick Kidd of human resources. And water for fire protection was most likely a consideration.
The company plans to continue its manufacturing operation, while working on a facilities contract whereby, Hercules, the private contractor, can lease space to commercial interests that will bring work onto the facility and income into the community. The facility will be similar to an industrial park.
HUBBELL LIGHTING, INC. CHRISTIANSBURG
If you happen to be at a Redskins game at RFK Stadium after dark, admire the light fixtures. They were made at the local Hubbell factory. The same goes for Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh or Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech.
Hubbell Lighting is a subsidiary of Hubbell, Inc. of Orange, Conn., and is the headquarters for the five Hubbell Lighting plants in the country. The lighting division was formed in 1972 when Hubbell, Inc. purchased two companies, one in Chicago and one in California and merged them to form the lighting division.
There are 530 employees locally, and their facility includes complete sheet metal forming and aluminum die castings capabilities, as well as assembly for lighting for industrial and commercial applications, outdoor, directed and track illumination. The firm has met the quality and procedure standards of ISO 9002.\
LITTON POLY-SCIENTIFIC, BLACKSBURG
There are four facets to the Poly-Scientific business at its two Main Street locations. Slip ring assemblies are purchased by aerospace and medical industries. Security systems that monitor buildings and property perimeters are supplied to financial institutions, museums, retail establishments and other security conscious concerns.
Their fiber optic sensors can be a stand-alone product or a part incorporated into a larger piece of equipment. Fractional horsepower DC motors are tiny motors for commercial and defense applications that may be as small as 1-by-1 1/2 inches.
The company started 40 years ago as a research and development firm and became a division of Litton Industries in 1963. Today there are 610 employees.
MARSHALL CONCRETE PRODUCTS, CHRISTIANSBURG
A third generation family-owned business, Marshall has evolved from a sand and gravel hauling company to a computerized ready mix concrete and masonry block supplier. With 75 employees in all, Marshall has four plants in the New River Valley.
The Christiansburg facility in Montgomery County produces ready mix concrete and masonry blocks.
President Steve Marshall operates his firm with the same sound philosophy of the company founder, his grandfather: "Respect your employees, produce a high quality product and take pride in what you do and in your community."\
TETRA SALES USA, BLACKSBURG
Tetra products are for "people who keep creatures of nature in and about their homes," said general manager Alan Mintz. Food and accessories for fish reptiles are the major items distributed out of their 100,000 square foot facility.
The company consolidated operations from Pulaski, Dublin and New Jersey into Blacksburg on March 1 this year. An 80,000 square foot addition is being constructed, and the firm expects to continue experiencing the double digit per year growth it has over the past ten years.
A division of Warner-Lambert Co. of New Jersey, Tetra customers include Kmart, Wal-Mart, pet distributors and pet chain stores as far away as Australia and New Zealand and places in between here and there.
WEIMAN COMPANY - UPHOLSTERY DIVISION, CHRISTIANSBURG
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Bassett Furniture Industries, The Weiman Company has enjoyed three decades of success in its Christiansburg facility. Bassett is the fifth largest producer of home furnishings products in the country and has 46 manufacturing plants in 16 states.
Here in Montgomery County, Weiman performs only custom upholstery work on the high end of the furniture spectrum. Their customers "expect far more than they do at the medium price points," explained Mike Collins, assistant plant manager.
Customers may specify little details for a piece of furniture, such as an inch higher or shorter or perhaps deeper cushions.
The local plant, which has led the company in employee safety for the past two years, employs about 80 highly skilled people with "a work ethic and commitment to excellence," according to plant manager Marsella Graham, a Weiman employee since 1967.\
WOLVERINE GASKET AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, BLACKSBURG
Wolverine understood the concept of "global economy" before it became popular. Ten years ago, the company had the foresight to look around the world for its business. As a result, the firm expanded because it embraced a worldwide vision for its product and increased its market share in the gasket industry.
Most of their gaskets, explained plant manager Al Guarino, are the result of a critical process of reducing raw rubber to a liquid state and coating it on steel or aluminum.
The chemical process permanently alters the two substances to become one, creating a sealant through which moisture, chemicals, air and other elements cannot pass. The company also makes brake insulators to eliminate brake squeals.
The firm set up its Blacksburg plant in the mid-70s and now employs 270 people. With headquarters in Inkster, Mich. and a plant in Leesburg, Fla., Wolverine is part of the Eagle-Picher Automotive Group of Eagle-Picher, Inc.
by CNB