ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080062
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
A California pillow maker will hire 100 people to run a newly announced factory in Henry County, officials said Thursday.
American Fiber Industries, based near Los Angeles, said last year that it sold $21.5 million worth of company-made pillows, fibers for crafts and batting - four times its sales five years ago.
With this year's sales projected to reach $30 million, the company sought a way to relieve the strain on its Commerce, Calif., plant - its only other production facility - with an expansion in the Eastern United States. It starting looking just three months ago for a site that could be up and running this summer, said Greg Parbs, who will be plant manager.
Introduced to Henry County by the Virginia Department of Economic Development, company officials found a vacant industrial building owned by Frith Construction Co. Inc. of Martinsville. They signed a five-year lease, buoyed by reports about the availability of textile workers in the area, Parbs said.
Local and state taxpayers will cushion the company against the cost of its expansion by furnishing financial incentives worth an estimated $600,000, said Frank Novakowski, executive director of the Patrick Henry Development Council. Parbs called the incentives a major factor in the company's decision to choose Henry County over sites in northeastern North Carolina to which it gave serious consideration.
Novakowski said the company is expected to collect its incentives during the next five years and that their exact value will not be known until that period is up. The largest incentive stems from Henry County and Martinsville having taken advantage of the state's enterprise zone program, which helps localities bring new commercial and manufacturing businesses into marginal areas in exchange for financial incentives. Because American Fiber is the first new employer to make a commitment to the new enterprise zone, it will be eligible for $300,000 in cash from the state and $50,000 to $75,000 in local real estate and property tax rebates if the project meets hiring and investment projections, Novakowski said.
The other incentives, Novakowski said, are likely to include a state income tax credit of $150,000 and state-funded employee training assistance worth $80,000.
The plant is scheduled to open in July. The 100 jobs, which will be filled by the end of the year, will pay an hourly wage of $5.50 to $6. Top producers could make up to $9 with incentive pay, Parbs said.
The plant's equipment and installation are expected to cost $1.5 million in the first phase; Parbs would not say what the company will pay Frith Construction to lease the building. A $1 million expansion that could result in 150 more jobs is envisioned, Parbs said.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines KEYWORDS: JOBCHEKby CNB