Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990                   TAG: 9007130197
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GROVE PLANT DELAYS START-UP

The company said it will be late fall before it begins producing aerial work platforms at the plant.

Replacement of foundations needed for overhead cranes at the former Sav-A-Stop building have delayed the start by four to six weeks, said Charles Warner, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania-based company.

Most of the plant cleanup has been completed, but slow delivery of equipment is another factor, he said. While Grove is not as far along as it had expected to be by now, Warner said, "We are very pleased with the progress."

About 15 to 20 employees are working at the plant, mainly learning to weld, he said.

In February, Grove officials said the company hoped to have 200 to 250 workers on the job by the end of the year. But Warner said "business has leveled off to some degree" and that could push the starting schedule back. He declined to say what the projected work force will be in December.

He said the company is watching the economy very closely. Hiring will progress toward the 200 to 250 number as needed, he added.

Initially, components for the platforms will be made in Salem and the units will be assembled at the Shady Grove, Pa., headquarters plant, Warner said.

He said the company has been "overwhelmed" by more than 5,000 applications to work at the plant. Similarly large numbers of job seekers have applied at Couvrette Building Systems in Salem and Montgomery Ward & Co.'s new store in Roanoke, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.

They are people who are working but are seeking better paying jobs or different hours, said Marjorie Skidmore, Roanoke manager for the Virginia Employment Commission.

"A lot of bumping and grinding is going on" as people look for better jobs and the right niche, she said. Some say they are underemployed, she said.

At Couvrette, 10 trainees are starting on fiberglass enclosures and shields for automated teller machine shelters. Metal workers will be hired soon, said Jim Galloway, the company's personnel director.

The company will start production within two weeks, making four or five of the ATM kiosks at the outset, Galloway said. Full production will be about 20 units a month, requiring 120 employees.

Thirty employees, including a dozen management and skilled people who moved to Salem from El Cajon, Calif., will be in the initial production work force. Couvrette will halt its California production, leaving a production and design operation there.

Galloway said his company has "the best experienced applicant pool" he's seen in a long time. Other manufacturers "have been hit in the head" by employees seeking better jobs, he said. Some have service or lower-paying jobs.

Couvrette has new product lines - a fiberglass envelope dispenser and a mechanical conveyor system to carry substantial amounts of money to load an ATM.

Galloway said the company has opened sales offices in Cincinnati, a Philadelphia suburb and Atlanta, in addition to Roanoke and San Diego.