Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 21, 1994 TAG: 9412220036
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Dick Robers, executive vice president of Maid Bess, said the site will be the former Premiere sewing factory on U.S. 11 in Fairfield, about 8 miles north of Lexington.
That 40,000-square-foot building has been vacant since Premier closed and laid off about 90 workers three years ago.
"The timing is just perfect," said Stu Litvin, executive director of the Rockbridge Area Economic Development Commission. "We are really pleased that a company with the reputation of Maid Bess will locate here."
Maid Bess, which makes uniforms for nurses, laboratory workers and others in the health care field, employs more than 500 workers at its Salem plant.
Robers said the decision to locate in Fairfield was driven by the fact that the old sewing facility was available. "There are also a lot of good, skilled laborers in that area," he said.
Maid Bess hopes to begin limited production in January. It plans to hire 150 workers during the next two years, Robers said; the jobs will pay about $6 or $7 an hour.
The Rockbridge plant will be Maid Bess' seventh factory. Others are in Salem, Dublin, Galax, Lebanon, Castlewood, and Jefferson, N.C.
by CNB