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

DATE: FRIDAY, September 1, 1995                   TAG: 9509010068
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TEXTILE FIRM PLANS ON 20 LAYOFFS

New River Industries, Radford-based manufacturer of acetate fabrics, said Thursday about 20 of its employees will be laid off later this year.

The workers will lose their jobs because the company plans to replace obsolete looms around the second week of November, Larry Maust, vice president of manufacturing, said in a prepared statement. The company did not disclose wages of the workers to be displaced.

Economic pressures created by imported textiles also influenced the decision to reduce the company's work force, Maust said.

The acetate fibers made by New River Industries are used in coats, linings, taffetas and satins. The company employed 490 people in 1993, the latest figures available.

The company said it has been progressively modernizing its equipment for five years. The older looms marked for elimination apply "extreme pressure on productivity, costs and quality."

"When you talk about modernization, you are usually talking about layoffs because better machines need less people," Maust said in a 1992 interview.

The company said it will help the discharged employees find new jobs or relocate.

by CNB