Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 27, 1995 TAG: 9510270123
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The Richmond Times-Dispatch, citing a source it did not identify, reported in its Thursday editions that the two companies were looking at a state-owned site near the Richmond International Airport.
In a joint statement issued Wednesday in Munich, the two companies announced their partnership in a U.S.-based chip plant, but they declined to say where the plant would be located.
State and local officials also refused to comment on any possible link between the announcement and the site just east of Richmond.
Motorola is building a $3 billion semiconductor plant in nearby Goochland County.
``There is no comment on any economic development project that we may be working on or that people think we may be working on,'' said state Commerce and Trade Secretary Robert Skunda.
Gov. George Allen's press secretary, Ken Stroupe, said the governor would not comment.
Allen visited with Siemens officials in Munich during a trade mission to Europe this summer.
Thomas Varney, spokesman for Siemens Corp., the U.S. subsidiary, said a decision and announcement on the plant's location is planned by the end of the year. Construction would begin by mid-1996, and chip production would start by 1998, he said.
Linking the proposed plant to the airport property is ``pure speculation,'' Varney said.
Jeff Gorin, spokesman for Motorola's semiconductor products sector in Phoenix, said the two companies would not release details before a formal announcement.
by CNB