Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 20, 1994 TAG: 9408220092
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FINCASTLE LENGTH: Medium
But the move of Sematco Inc. into EastPark Commerce Center along Alternate U.S. 220 is a wash for the region's economy.
In other words, Botetourt's gain is Roanoke's loss.
Paul Allen, the company's operation manager, said a lack of available land for expansion made the Sematco move inevitable.
In Botetourt County, Sematco will have a plant 2 1/2 times its current size. In Roanoke, it could have expanded only by about 10 percent, Allen said. The company now is on Buford Avenue Southwest near Walker Machine & Foundry Corp.
The company's new eight-acre site would allow it to expand further if customer demand dictates, Allen said.
Sematco, which produces metal machine parts for Fortune 500 companies in much of the Southeast, is expecting to expand its work force from 25 to 40 employees once its Botetourt County site is up and running.
It plans an initial investment of about $3 million, a company news release said.
It is the third Roanoke company to announce a move to Botetourt County is the past year. New River Electrical Corp. and Lawrence Transportation Systems Inc. are constructing several million dollars' worth of new facilities along U.S. 11 in the Cloverdale area.
Botetourt County recently paid $795,000 to purchase an additional 104 acres along U.S. 11 in an attempt to woo potential industrial prospects. Several industries have already shown interest.
The county's economic development efforts were bolstered further Friday after the Greater Roanoke Valley Development Foundation and the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Corp. agreed to help construct a 75,000-square-foot shell building in Eastpark to show to industrial prospects.
The supervisors Friday also agreed to spend $377,000 to expand access roads within the park to make an additional 42 acres available for potential businesses.
"It could create badly needed jobs for Botetourt County and the valley," Board of Supervisors Chairman Bob Layman said.
by CNB