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

DATE: THURSDAY, April 13, 1995                   TAG: 9504130078
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PLANT COULD HELP WESTERN VA.

First, Motorola would shop outlying areas for supplies "from toilet paper to materials for actually making the product," said spokesman Ken Phillips.

A plant the size contemplated by Motorola can spawn entire new industries dedicated to furnishing its supplies, said John Knapp, an economist at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. That has happened at Japanese-owned auto plants in the Midwest, Knapp said.

But it's too soon to know if Roanoke is close enough to the site Motorola proposes for a new semiconductor plant in Goochland County to be a supply hub, said Beth Doughty, executive director of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership.

"The question is, is this the right location for [suppliers] or do they need to be closer to that plant?" Doughty said.

Second, Motorola executives said they would expect to forge ties to Virginia Tech if the plant is built.

"We would be supportive with time and money to help the university produce the skills we need," said Paul Shimp, a Motorola senior vice president.

Motorola likely would hire engineering professors to teach its employees and hire Tech engineering graduates to work at the plant, he said. Motorola interacts with major universities near its existing plants in that fashion, he said.

Company executives said the Richmond project depends on many factors and stressed that they have not committed to proceed. At the same time, they have raised expectations by stating that the project would create two jobs outside the plant for each of the 1,000 initial jobs in the plant.