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

DATE: SATURDAY, December 10, 1994                   TAG: 9412120081
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN BUSINESS

GRETNA. - A New England company will employ 100 workers to make computer parts at a shell building at the Gretna Industrial Park in Pittsylvania County.

Precismetals of Westbrook, Maine, will manufacture metal cabinets for computers, as well as electronic components such as back panels, cabling, fans and power supplies that go into the cabinets.

The $6 million investment was partially funded with a $700,000 revolving loan from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

Precismetals purchased a 40,500-square-foot facility in the park from the Industrial Development Authority of Pittsylvania County, company President Charles Caron said.

``The growth of our company's customer base in markets north and south of Virginia made this facility a logical choice,'' Caron said. The company also looked at sites in North Carolina and South Carolina.

The company expects to begin manufacturing in Gretna by the beginning of March, Caron said.

- Associated Press

SCC warns of IRA claim

RICHMOND - Virginians should be wary of investments promoted as ``IRA approved'' or ``IRA sanctioned,'' the State Corporation Commission said this week.

The investments often do not operate like tax-deferred IRAs, or individual retirement accounts, and they may carry a lot of risk, SCC officials said.

The SCC has joined in a national push to steer consumers away from the shaky investments, often advertised on national television with lengthy ``infomercials'' that urge investors to call a toll-free number for more information.

Some advertisements already have lured Virginians into calling and making investments that promise big returns with minimal risk, SCC officials said.

The term ``IRA'' makes people think the investment somehow is approved by the Internal Revenue Service. The investments are not reviewed by the IRS, regulators said.

The warning campaign was initiated by the North American Securities Administrators Association.

- Associated Press