Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 20, 1995 TAG: 9506200082
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"Our commitment to Southwest Virginia is real and continues to grow," said Jochen Sander, president of the German company that is a subsidiary of Warner-Lambert. "Blacksburg is a perfect home for Tetra's North American headquarters," he said at a news conference held on the lawn outside Tetra's plant in the Blacksburg Industrial Park
Local leaders, each in his own metaphoric manner, expounded on a continuing specific success in economic development.
Blacksburg Mayor Roger Hedgepeth likened the competition for corporations to the recent National Basketball Association championship.
"In the end, a strong player puts the ball in the basket for the final time and the game is over," he said. "Tetra put the ball in the basket ... and the game was over. But Tetra was on our side."
Montgomery County Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Linkous, compared the county's commitment to economic development to something different. In a ham-and-eggs breakfast, he said, a chicken is involved, but a pig is committed.
"Montgomery County is like the pig; we're truly committed to economic development," Linkous said. "We must be doing something right [if a company like] Tetra is interested in expanding."
The 21-year-old company, which also manufactures products in New Jersey, moved into a shell building in the industrial park in 1993, and has since added 87,000 square feet of plant size to the original 110,000-square foot plant. It employs 88, will hire 15 new workers and transfer five managers from a New Jersey company it acquired in 1993.
Tetra is the world's leading manufacturer of home aquariums, outdoor fish ponds, and aquarium and terrarium products. Last year it boasted worldwide sales of $220 million, a 20 percent increase over the previous year, Sander said.
Officials have often pointed to the company as an example of the clean, environmentally friendly type of manufacturer any community would like to have.
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, who introduced Tetra executives to the New River Valley in 1988 on one of his "Showcasing Southwest Virginia" tours, was quick to touch on that angle.
"Our region is competing well for new industry when matched against some of the most attractive regions of the country," Boucher said. He said more than $100 million in new investment had come to the 9th District as a result of the "Showcasing" efforts, which were designed to acquaint corporations with the benefits of the area.
by CNB