THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 1, 1995 TAG: 9506010443
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
James River Corp. is considering moving its headquarters from Richmond to Connecticut, and has told city and Virginia officials it might need a package of financial incentives to stay.
Robert C. Williams, chairman and chief executive officer of the Fortune 500 paper company, met last week in Richmond with City Manager Robert C. Bobb, state economic development director Wayne Sterling and city economic development director Joseph J. James.
``We had a good, open discussion,'' Williams said. ``We'll evaluate all the alternatives available'' on the company's consolidation efforts.
James River's top management has been studying the company's future headquarters as part of a sweeping effort to shed businesses and focus on James River's consumer products, such as Quilted Northern bathroom tissue and Dixie cups and plates.
Williams and other James River executives have been studying the pros and cons of moving the company's headquarters to Connecticut. The company's $2.4 billion-a-year consumer products business is based in Norwalk, Conn.
Williams alluded to Virginia incentives that would give Motorola Inc. $85.6 million for building a $3 billion high-tech factory in Goochland County, west of Richmond. The bulk of the incentives are geared toward high-tech development and must be approved by the General Assembly.
``Certainly a Motorola-type package could be persuasive in the future'' for James River to keep its headquarters in Richmond, Williams said.
Motorola plans to employ 5,000 people here within 10 years, while James River employs 500 people at a riverfront headquarters and a nearby downtown office.
James River was founded in Richmond in 1969.
James, the city's economic development director, confirmed he had met with Williams on what he called a ``business retention call.''
``James River is an important company to the city, and we'll do whatever we can reasonably do to encourage their growth and expansion in our city,'' he said.
James also said ``the city's highest priority is expansion and retention of existing companies.''
Sterling, the state's economic development director who played a key role in the Motorola deal, said he couldn't discuss details of the meeting with James River's chief.
``We are certainly proud of James River Corp.,'' Sterling said. ``They're a valued employer'' with which he plans to ``work closely,'' he said.
Williams said this marks the ``fourth time in the last five years'' that James River's leadership has considered moving the headquarters to Norwalk.
James River employs about 450 people at its Norwalk offices, which are about the same size as the Richmond facilities, according to company spokesman Richard Elder. by CNB