ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 22, 1996 TAG: 9602220027
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
BLACKSBURG -The orchestra was good. But the airport got bad marks.
So it went when Motorola Inc., checked Roanoke in its search for a new semiconductor plant site. Last April, the electronics giant announced plans to build a $3 billion, 230-acre semiconductor plant in Goochland County near Richmond.
"Roanoke was on the list and made it past the first couple of rounds," said Jim George, a Virginia Tech alumnus and corporate vice president for Motorola's General Digital Processing Division.
Proximity to Tech certainly went into Roanoke's "pro" column. But too few flights from a too-small airport did not, said George, who said he wasn't on the site selection committee, though he sat in on a few meetings.
George spoke Wednesday at a meeting assembled to observe Engineer's Week at Virginia Tech.
While Richmond got the plant, the whole state can benefit, he said. "I would challenge the basic university system in the state of Virginia to get together" to develop centers of excellence to help train students for design, development and related jobs for the microchip industry, George said. -Staff report First Union's letters of credit go on-line
First Union Corp. said Wednesday it is the first bank in the world to offer international trade finance services on the Internet.
Starting in March, First Union's domestic corporate trade customers will be able to apply on-line for commercial letters of credit through a new World Wide Web service called Cyberbank LC, accessible from the bank's home page at http:\www.firstunion.com.
First Union said the Internet service should allow the bank to review requests and issue credit more quickly than paper transactions. -Staff report Roanoke law firm is Va.'s 5th-largest
Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove has become the fifth-largest law firm in Virginia, according to the latest annual listing compiled by Virginia Lawyers Weekly.
After last month's addition of seven lawyers and offices in Charlottesville and Washington, D.C., the Roanoke-based firm traded rankings with Hazel & Thomas of Falls Church, which dropped to sixth.
Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove has 78 lawyers and a total staff of 211. -Staff report Japan to investigate photo film market
TOKYO - Two days before a visit by Japan's prime minister to the United States, Japan's Fair Trade Commission said Wednesday that it will investigate competition in the Japanese photo film market.
U.S. film giant Eastman Kodak Co. had demanded a probe, saying the film market in Japan was dominated by four wholesalers loyal to Kodak's rival, Fuji Photo Film Co.
The announcement gives Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto a concrete development he can cite when meeting Friday with President Clinton in California.
Kodak says Fuji pressures the major photo film wholesalers to handle only Fuji products. Fuji denies it, saying Kodak has a 10 percent market share in Japan because it hasn't tried hard enough to sell its products. -Associated Press Briefly ...
Universal Self Care Inc., a Roanoke-based provider of products and services to diabetics, said it has signed a one-year agreement with BGF Industries of Greensboro, N.C., a fiberglass fabric manufacturer. BGF, which will include Universal's mail order supply and drug program as part of its employee benefits package starting next month, has plants in Altavista and South Hill and in Greensboro, N.C., and Cheraw, S.C.
The American Angus Association of St. Joseph, Mo., has listed eight bulls owned by Lynn Brae Associates of Roanoke in its 1996 spring sire evaluation report. The report, issued in spring and fall, contains the latest performance information on 4,236 sires. The information is compiled from Angus herd improvement records submitted by breeders.
Barr Laboratories Inc., Pomona, N.Y., maker of generic pharmaceuticals with plans for a plant in Bedford County, has declared a 3-for-2 stock split in the form of a 50 percent stock dividend. About 4.7 million additional shares of common stock will be distributed March 25 to shareholders of March 4.
Starting Monday, callers will be required to use the new 423 area code exclusively to reach telephone numbers in East Tennessee. Calls to Chattanooga, Kingsport, Knoxville, Johnson City and most of the territory in the state's Eastern time zone are affected. The 615 code no longer will connect calls to East Tennessee homes and businesses.
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