THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 19, 1994 TAG: 9410190474
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
If it weren't for a lieutenant commander in the Coast Guard, Norfolk might have missed out on landing the United States headquarters of Desmi Inc.
Jan Harvest, president of Denmark-based Desmi, said the company was looking for spots on the East Coast but hadn't considered Norfolk until he talked to Lt. Cmdr. Tom Coe in Washington.
``We were chatting with him a few months ago and he said, `Well, I think you should set up in Norfolk,' '' Harvest said Tuesday from the company's new headquarters in Norfolk Commerce Park.
So Harvest called the people in the Norfolk Department of Development, and he squeezed in a Saturday visit before making a decision.
``It was fortunate,'' said Ernie Franklin, marketing manager for the department. ``I heard about them because they were about to make a commitment.''
Since the company's business is supplying equipment used for maritime operations, Desmi wanted a coastal location.
``We wanted something that was not too far north and not too far south,'' Harvest said. ``This will bring us into closer proximity to where the Navy and Coast Guard are based in Washington.''
Desmi Inc. sells equipment to the Navy, Coast Guard and other response groups charged with cleaning up oil spills in waterways. The company's equipment was used to help clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
The corporate headquarters in Norfolk results from the merger of Rotan Pumps Inc., formerly based in Charlotte, and Desmi Inc., previously located in Cleveland.
Despite being the national headquarters, Desmi's Norfolk operation initially will consist of just five employees in a 3,500-square-foot warehouse. Harvest said it would likely grow to a 20-worker operation within three years.
The company will provide industrial rotary pumps to manufacturers, marine pumps to shipyards and equipment for combating oil spills. by CNB