Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 24, 1993 TAG: 9301260184
SECTION: ECONOMY PAGE: EC-22 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
FAMILY CAREFULLY FOLLOWING ECONOMIC NEWS, SAVING
Charles E. `Hayes, technical services supervisor for Magnetic Bearings Inc., and his wife "pay a lot more attention to economic news" these days.Hayes, who drives to his Roanoke County job from Belspring in Pulaski County, has been watching the uncertainties of business and industry. As business improves, the Hayeses plan to build a house in Montgomery County.
But his forecast is that the economy "probably will stay where it is for at least a year . . . Everywhere, people have more uncertainty . . . I'm anxious to see how Clinton handles problems in today's world. If he's effective, it will give new confidence."
Hayes, who leads a staff of seven, also runs the company's electronics laboratory. The firm assembles and services bearings that turn in a magnetic field, a new and growing market. About half of the service problems can be handled by a telephone call, one of his specialties.
Magnetic Bearings last year expanded and moved from Radford to a new building in Roanoke's Valleypointe business park, and some of its employees commute or keep their Radford area homes.
Hayes, an electrical and electronics honor graduate of New River Community College at Dublin, spent a year at James Madison University and worked at Inland Motors before joining Magnetic Bearings. He is 37 and he and his wife, Valerie, have two sons.
They switched their investment to land when they didn't get the returns they expected on securities. "It's hard to save" in this economy, he said, but they began putting money aside for their sons' college education as soon as they were born.
Hayes said he gave more to charities this year "when I realized the situation others were in . . . We've fared very well."
"Outrageous" medical costs were a problem for his family last year. As a means of keeping extra money, "we're not going to the limits of our budget," he said, but he expects they probably will start spending this year.
The Hayes family delayed buying a new car, and they spent less for Christmas. They don't eat out as much as in the past, and they save on vacation spending by taking weekend camping trips.
Driving Interstate 81 is nerve-wracking, he said, but when the Montgomery County home is built, his commuting distance will be shorter.