Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 22, 1993 TAG: 9312220121
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Officials from the U.S. Army, Hercules Inc. and the arsenal's union - which traditionally have had separate agendas - huddled behind closed doors this month to hammer out a mission statement.
The sessions came during a particularly stressful time. Hercules and the Army are under pressure to come up with a contract that will allow commercial work at the plant along with defense operations.
"We realized that if we don't do something like this, then we are going to be floundering as we go down the line," said Lt. Col. Bill Forrester, the arsenal's commander.
"In this day and time, if we pull apart then we might not be around much longer," chipped in Ken Thompson, president of the local Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union.
Rumors of a spat between the Army and Hercules have been flying around the arsenal for months, and plant officials said they are hopeful that a common vision will put them to rest.
Nicole Kinser, spokeswoman for the arsenal, said it's not surprising that tempers are on edge because commercial work is a new concept to the plant.
"It's only natural that there be tension when you're dealing with something so different," she said.
Nine people from the three groups met for more than 18 hours at the Blacksburg Holiday Inn on Dec. 2-3 to come up with the plant's mission and outline for the future.
Thompson said everyone approached the meeting with caution because the three groups all had different mind-sets.
For several years the Army has had one main goal: cut costs. The end of the Cold War had meant huge cuts to the national defense budget and in turn thousands of layoffs at the Radford arsenal.
Hercules, a public company that must answer to its stockholders, has another goal: make money. And the union wanted secure, well-paying jobs for thousands of unemployed workers in the New River Valley.
Employment at the arsenal has dropped from 4,000 to 2,000 over the past three years.
"It's a fine line that we had to walk," Forrester said. "[Thompson's] view and my view may be different, but that doesn't make mine right and his wrong."
Bob Whistine, a spokesman at the arsenal's headquarters in Rock Island, Ill., said the Army is encouraging its 16 ammunition plants to take a team approach in developing goals.
"We feel that's the best approach to meeting the needs of the future," he said.
"This is a plan that we're going to follow through with," said Dick Best, Hercules plant manager.
One of the first steps will be drawing up the contract that essentially will turn the arsenal's 4000-acre plant into an industrial park run by Hercules.
The facilities contract is part of a bill approved by Congress that allocated $200 million to help lure commercial companies to government-owned ammunition plants.
Possible incentives for private companies that want to use the plant include: rent-free use of some of the 1,200 dormant buildings, loan guarantees and infrastructure improvements.
Kinser said 23 companies have expressed an interest in locating at the arsenal, but only one has officially submitted a proposal.
A proposal from the Denovo Corp. to build a wastepaper recycling plant that would employ 120 workers when fully operational has been given technical, but not final, approval from the Army.
The company is asking the government to pay for a feasibility study, aid in upgrading wastewater treatment and electrical systems and provide a loan guarantee.
Hercules will take a serious look at any type of environmentally sound business, Best said.
Everything from catfish farming to child care to plastic molding companies have been discussed.
No company can move onto Army property until the contract, scheduled to be signed next month, is completed.
Best said Hercules also is considering selling its propellant to make commercial ammunition for rifles, pistol and shotguns.
"But the only way we can do that is to get the price of the product down to where we can be competitive," he said.
That means cutting costs, which often means cutting the company's work force.
The plant manager wouldn't speculate on whether layoffs are imminent, but said it's not out of the question.
"We have to look at everything," he said.
by CNB