ROANOKE'S WORK FORCE DREW ORVIS

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

DATE: FRIDAY, January 17, 1992                   TAG: 9201170169
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
ROANOKE'S WORK FORCE DREW ORVIS
Orvis Co. has cited Roanoke's larger work force as the primary reason for moving its customer service and shipping departments from its headquarters in Manchester, Vt.
The mail-order company - which already has its fulfillment center in Roanoke - announced this month that it plans to consolidate its telemarketing, customer service and fishing merchandise warehouse inventory units here.
The move will add the equivalent of up to 50 jobs, allowing the company to extend work to some employees it had hired for the Christmas season.
Orvis, requiring an extra 200 employees for the busy holiday season, couldn't find them in Manchester, a community of about 1,000 people, said Tom Vaccaro, the company's chief financial officer.
"In Roanoke, we can draw from a population of 200,000," he was quoted as telling the Manchester Journal newspaper.
Orvis officials have placed advertisements in four Vermont newspapers and one in neighboring New York state to help find jobs for about 42 employees who will be out of work by June as a result of the departmental moves.
The ads say Orvis is leaving "experienced, loyal, dedicated employees [who] have developed very high standards of customer service."
Orvis is offering other businesses employees' names and information about their job skills and talents, Vaccaro said.
Orvis also is saying that times are hard, said Fran Hicks, assistant district manager of the Vermont Department of Employment and Training in Bennington, Vt.
The company, started in Manchester in 1856, said it will keep its headquarters, advertising, purchasing and dealer staff in Vermont.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB