Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 22, 1993 TAG: 9301220409
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
70 JOBS COMING TO ROANOKE AREA
Transkrit Corp., a Brewster, N.Y., manufacturer of specialty mailer business forms, confirmed Thursday that it will build a Roanoke plant initially employing 70 people.The company expects to start work by May on an $8 million plant in Roanoke Centre for Industry and Technology. It expects to begin production by October, according to Frank Neubauer, Transkrit chairman.
Neubauer said he hopes "a fair number of employees" will move from Brewster to the new Roanoke operation, but he has no estimate of how many.
The announcement at the Radisson Patrick Henry Hotel and arranged by the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership drew a crowd of Roanoke-area business leaders who were anxious to hear good news in the face of recent layoffs.
Thursday's announcement was expected. A week ago, Neubauer said in an interview that his company was in the final stages of deciding to locate in the Roanoke Valley, but it had not picked an exact site.
Transkrit chose a 15.5-acre site in the city industrial park, next to Advance Auto Parts. A runner-up site was the tract west of Salem selected and later turned down for an Allied-Signal brake plant.
The choice followed a four-month search involving about 25 sites in Virginia and North Carolina, Neubauer said. Transkrit considered Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Bristol and Virginia Beach, among other cities, said Robert Gibson of the state Economic Development Department.
A number of Transkrit personnel in management positions may move to the Roanoke Valley, Neubauer said. The number who transfer will determine the number who will be hired here, he said.
Experienced press operators in the new plant will earn $12 to $14 an hour and production and office employees will be paid about $18,000 to $20,000 a year, Neubauer said.
Although he declined to speculate on future expansion at the site, Roanoke officials said the company expects to grow in employment if the new operation is successful.
City Manager Bob Herbert said the city has a policy of selling a new business enough land for it to double its size.
Neubauer said his company is the second-largest U.S. maker of continuous mailers used by hospitals, medical offices and other billing operations. Transkrit operates as a wholesaler, selling to more than 600 distributors, he said.
His company chose Roanoke as a good place to live and raise children, for its strong business climate, for its cultural activities "and most importantly, for its warmth and for a bunch of people who care," Neubauer said.
Neubauer praised the presentation made to him by economic development officials representing the state and the Roanoke Valley.
Cathleen Magennis, state director of economic development, came from Richmond for the announcement. The company's decision is "for a way of life, not just the bottom line," she said.
The state's economic development marketing team will try to turn around the Roanoke area's recent pattern of layoffs, Magennis said.
\ TRANSKRIT CORP.\ \ Founded as a specialty printer in 1938 in New York City by Fred and Richard\ Neubauer. Fred Neubauer's son, Frank, is now chairman.\ \ Based at Brewster, N.Y., it has 900 employees who work in plants there and at Fort Smith, Ark.; Sparks, Nev.; Miami, Fla.; and Lincolnwood, Ill., as well as 15 regional sales offices.\ \ Transkrit is 90 percent owned by Maclean Hunter Inc., a Toronto diversified communications business with annual sales of $1.5 billion in cable television, radio and consumer magazines. Annual sales are $90 million.\ - Source: The company