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

DATE: FRIDAY, March 24, 1995                   TAG: 9503240097
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE                                LENGTH: Medium

ROOFING COMPANY PURCHASES 2-ACRE INDUSTRIAL PARK SITE

Acrylife Inc., a company making and installing self-adhering roofing, will locate its corporate offices and warehouse in Fairview Industrial Park, with plans to add manufacturing facilities within two years.

The joint industrial development authority of Wythe County, Wytheville and Rural Retreat announced Thursday that it had approved the sale of two acres in the park.

Acrylife now has facilities scattered throughout Wythe County. ``What we're doing is consolidating all that into one facility,'' said Charles Johnson, a Virginia Tech graduate who is president of the corporation.

He said Acrylife will break ground for a 13,800-square-foot building in April, and hopes to complete construction within 30 days. He anticipated having 10 employees at the site within a year. No dollar value of the project was given.

Acrylife roofing systems are designed for flat or low-slope metal and built-up roofs. The process is used most often to cover a metal roof which is deteriorating. Acrylife vice president Alan Hawthorne said the company is one of a few in the United States offering an alternative to conventional industrial roofing.

The product combines asphalt and acrylic materials in a light-weight polyester mat, resulting in a roof covering which expands and contracts with temperature changes instead of cracking and blistering as asphalt does when it becomes brittle.

They said their first roof, installed in the late 1970s, is still intact.

Since then, Acrylife roofs have been installed from Florida to Pennsylvania on commercial and industrial buildings including shopping centers, apartment complexes, banks, restaurants and warehouses.

Most installations are done by independent roofing contractors trained in using the material. The new building will also be used as a training center for contractors and sales representatives.

The company oversees its own installations in Wytheville and the surrounding area.

Acrylife has been in business since the start of 1991. It is a spin-off of New Concept Roofing Inc., which began operations in Wytheville in 1982.

by CNB