Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 24, 1995 TAG: 9510240043
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
More than 400 people already have applied for work at the factory that Bacova Guild Ltd. is building - even through it won't begin advertising for workers until next month.
That means the company will have at least twice as many applicants as it needs to fill the 175 jobs at the new facility in Low Moor, a state labor official said Monday.
Bacova, a Bath County maker of home decor items, announced in May it would build a new plant in Alleghany County. When it opens in January, Bacova expects to transfer about 150 workers there from a plant in Millboro. Some workers will transfer from the company's plant in Bacova, which will remain open.
The job applications are being accepted by the Virginia Employment Commission in Covington. Bacova will advertise them next month. Those who already applied do not need to do so again, said Jerry Barnett, VEC job services manager.
The new plant will employ manufacturing and distribution workers, paying $5 to $6 per hour, Barnett said. Company officials in May estimated wages between $6.50 and $10.
The factory is in Alleghany Regional Commerce Center, an industrial park beside Interstate 64. Burlington Industries of Greensboro, N.C., which bought Bacova in January, will help pay the $7.2 million project cost.
Bacova is a fast-growing producer of home furnishings best known for its doormats and mailboxes.
The VEC's Barnett cited the county's unemployment rate as explanation for the popularity of the new Bacova jobs. The jobless rate in August in Alleghany County and the cities of Covington and Clifton Forge was 5.6 percent, about a point higher than the statewide average.
Bacova is projecting its sales will reach $50 million this year and $100 million by the end of 2000.
by CNB