ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040086
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
A visit by leaders of Poland's mining industry to regional businesses and Virginia Tech this week could pay off in new jobs for Southwest Virginians.
The nine-person Polish delegation includes the official in charge of restructuring Poland's mining industry and two members of the Polish parliament. They've come to Southwest Virginia in response to last year's visit by two Virginia Tech professors to Poland and other Central European countries.
Poland is making major changes in its mining industry and Virginia needs to take advantage of the opportunity and show the Poles that it has the equipment they need and the best mining experts in the United States, said Joe Adams, an economic development specialist with Virginia Tech's public service programs office.
The U.S. Commerce Department has named Poland, a country of 40 million, as one of the big emerging markets of the world, Adams noted. Poland presents opportunities for growth that may not exist in U.S. markets, he said.
Adams and Douglas McAlister, executive director of the Tech office, visited in Poland and other Central European countries last year to talk about Tech's educational and research programs, particularly those related to the environment and new technologies in mining and construction equipment. The trip was funded by a Commerce Department grant to Tech and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, formerly called the Virginia Department of Economic Development.
The Poles' visit to Southwest Virginia was paid for by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. It was timed to coincide with next week's National Mine Expo in Las Vegas, where 25 Virginia companies will be represented and which the Polish delegation will also attend.
George Hiller, international marketing manager for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, said this is not the first time officials from Tech or other state schools have worked with the state government on economic development issues.
"Virginia Tech has a very substantial working relationship with the Economic Development Partnership," he said. Hiller mentioned specifically an economic development school Tech holds each fall and a 10-year old program in which students from master's-of-business-administration programs at Tech and 10 other state schools do market research for Virginia companies interested in exporting their products overseas.
Tuesday morning, the Poles attended training sessions at Tech on subjects such as advanced mining techniques, environmental reclamation of mine sites and new technology for cleaner burning of coal. Tech, which has the largest mining engineering school in the United States, could provide much of the expertise Poland needs, Adams said.
Today, the delegation will visit mining companies and equipment makers including Pittston Coal Co.'s offices in Russell County, Fairchild International Inc.'s plant in Giles County and Long-Airdox Co.'s plant in Tazewell County. For the rest of the week, the Polish group will visit mining-related companies in Lexington, Ky. and Pittsburgh, Pa.
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