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

DATE: FRIDAY, July 21, 1995                   TAG: 9507210032
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN                                LENGTH: Medium

MARKET, ROADS LED TO NEW PLANT

Company President Jim Balogh said Mar-Bal purchased the former Flow Labs property to be nearer customers in Virginia and North Carolina. It also liked the plant's proximity to Interstates 81 and 77 and its potential for expansion.

"We decided to go where the customers are," Balogh said. "It's a beautiful area. This is a huge potential for Mar-Bal."

Balogh said Mar-Bal would begin hiring up to 35 workers within two months to work three shifts producing products such as plastic trash cans for use in hospitals and hotels, electrical parts for power transmissions, and insulating materials for toasters, ovens and other items.

"We'd like to move as fast as possible because the clock is ticking," Balogh said.

The company is expected to invest $2.5 million in the plant, according to state Secretary of Commerce and Trade Robert Skunda.

The two Flow Labs buildings have stood vacant since the company moved out in 1990, said Peter Huber, assistant administrator for Pulaski County. The company will receive some funds for training new workers; otherwise no state or local money was involved.

The 25-year-old, privately held company employs 180 people at manufacturing plants in Cuba, Mo., and Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It had about $15 million in sales last year, Balogh said.

Balogh said Mar-Bal had been looking to establish a third plant for about five years, but had put off the move several times in favor of expanding its other plants. He said the Pulaski County plant eventually could employ as many as 100 workers.