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

DATE: THURSDAY, March 19, 1992                   TAG: 9203190081
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

NOW IT'S LAYOFFS; BUT LOOK AGAIN

In a yo-yo business pattern, VFP Inc. of Roanoke worked overtime in January, has laid off 22 employees but plans to start construction of an expanded Botetourt County plant in April.

And the maker of fiberglass buildings for communication systems probably will be back to overtime by June, said the company's president, Frank Van Balen.

The layoffs, he said, are the result of delayed orders by customers - phone companies BellSouth, Cellular One and AT&T, he said. They still have their plans, but they have slowed the construction, Van Balen said.

VFP has a backlog of more than $4 million in orders, he said. The slowdown is in domestic orders, Van Balen said. The company's work for overseas projects is continuing.

After the layoffs two weeks ago, he said, the company has a work force of 90, still larger than a year ago.

VFP, now operating in a 37,000-square-foot plant in Blue Ridge Park for Industry, plans to move to a building with about 70,000 square feet in EastPark Commerce Center, an industrial park on Alternate U.S. 221, north of Bonsack.

The Botetourt County Industrial Development Authority has approved a tax-free industrial revenue bond issue of $2.5 million for the project.

by CNB