Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 16, 1991 TAG: 9104160196
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER/ NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
It will be Magnox's largest expansion ever and will increase the number of its employees from 155 to about 170 over the next eight to 12 months.
Magnox will finance the expansion through an industrial-revenue bond issued by the Pulaski County Industrial Development Authority.
New facilities are being added to all plant areas to nearly double the production capacity for high-performance magnetic oxides for audio and video tapes.
Hiawatha Nicely Jr., vice president of operations and administration at Pulaski, said Magnox had increased its Pulaski work force over the past three years by more than 30 percent. The current expansion is expected to increase employment by another 13 percent, he said.
"Most of the increase will come from the bottlenecking of existing processes already in the plant," he said. Asked when the hiring would start, he replied: "We've already begun."
The new employees will work mainly in production, maintenance and professional areas, with the major specialties in chemical engineering, he said.
The announcement came from Magnox President Frederic H. Pollard at the corporate sales and marketing office in Wilmington, Del. Pollard stressed that the investment will increase capacity for new generation products developed at Pulaski, which have won an increasing share of the world market.
He said Magnox has been successful in keeping ahead of its world competitors largely because it spends more each year for research and development.
The investment is four times greater than average in U.S. industry, he said. The company also has continued to invest in new facilities in Pulaski to strengthen its long-term future.
Executive Vice President Donald P. Winquist, also in Wilmington, said the increased capacity is needed to meet projected demand in the foreseeable future.
The company also said its 1990 sales were 50 percent higher than 1989's. More than 60 percent of the products made in Pulaski are exported to Europe and Asia, particularly Japan.
by CNB