THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 6, 1995 TAG: 9511040198
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: TALK OF THE TOWN
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
Motorola Inc. was once a quiet Illinois company, its name familiar to mayors and city managers throughout the nation for its production of radio dispatch systems used in police cars and ambulances.
Then came the consumer electronics boom.
Motorola sales climbed: $6 billion in '86, $10 billion in '89, $17 billion in '93. Last year, the manufacturer of computer chips and electronic equipment reported after-tax profits of $1.56 billion on sales of $22.2 billion.
On its way to becoming a $22 billion powerhouse, the company never lost its touch at bargaining with mayors and city managers. Last week, the Florida community of Plantation learned this first hand.
Motorola said it might expand its Plantation plant, creating 1,000 jobs, if the state and local government provided grants and tax abatement worth about $7 million.
Considering the deal is worth about $7,000 per job, Florida would get off lightly compared to what other states have provided Motorola.
In recent months, Motorola has moved two manufacturing operations that originated in Plantation to Atlanta and Fort Worth, expanded in Illinois, and broken ground on a $5 billion chip plant near Richmond.
By one rough estimate, economic incentives offered Motorola ranged from about $6,000 in Georgia to $13,000 in Illinois to $17,000 in Virginia for every new job.
Norfolk State entrepreneurs: Norfolk State University has added entrepreneur to its business school name. The official name: School of Business and Entrepreneurship. NationsBank and the Coleman Foundation last summer awarded the university grants to emphasize entrepreneurial endeavors.
The university will continue regular seminars exploring topics pertinent to entrepreneurs.
These topics include manufacturing (Nov. 16), tax update for the self-employed (Dec. 7), developing a relationship with banks (Jan. 18), minority-owned business issues (Feb. 1), successful women entrepreneurs (Feb. 16), teaching children about free enterprise (Feb. 29), building and keeping family businesses (March 14), international ventures (March 28). All meetings are breakfast sessions on campus in the Scott-Dozier Dining Hall.
Law list: Recently we listed Hampton Roads residents who passed the Virginia Bar Examination. We left three names off the list: Warren Trent Dudley of Virginia Beach, Mark Kevin Groves of Williamsburg, and Rebecca Lynn McFerren of Norfolk.
Tidewater trolling: Don't get your hopes up if you responded to that diplay ad recently in the classified pages of The Virginian-Pilot. It said the New York Times Co., publisher of the national newspaper by that name, was looking for employees for a venture in Hampton Roads.
Companies often run ads to test the labor market. And the Times' ad was no exception. The company is considering Tidewater for a consolidated financial processing center that would open in 1996.
The Times' Nancy Nielsen, vice president of corporate communications, said details of the business aren't available and are still in the planning stages.
Coffee roast: Nestle Beverage wants to right-size its coffee business. Nestle will close a New Orleans plant and shift production, but not jobs, starting in January to its more modern coffee roast plant in Suffolk.
Built in 1987, the 320,000-square-foot Suffolk roasting operation employs 250 and produces Hills Bros., Chase & Sanborn, MJB and several store brands.
``Right now we don't anticipate any increase in employee head count, primarily because of our decision to downsize,'' said Nestle's Melissa Ignacio.
Virginia tech: Long known as a place for lovers, Virginia soon will become a place for computer literate tourists. When the White House tourism conference opened last week, Virginia's first lady, Susan Allen, was on hand, showing off the Virginia Department of Tourism's information site on the Internet's World Wide Web - the Web address: http://www.virginia.org.
Folks planning Commonwealth vacations can read about the Old Dominion on their computers. Businesses can be added to the site by calling the Division of Tourism at (804) 786-2051.
What the governor's spouse showed off was the Virginia Information System for the Interactive Traveler, or VISIT Virginia.
It was created by Virginia Tech's Public Service Program using $100,000 from the state tourism department. Within a year, the information in the data base will be available in several languages.
Home sales: September marked the third straight month for improved home sales in South Hampton Roads. The Virginia Association of Realtors said 2 percent more existing southside houses were sold in September compared to September '94. Peninsula house sales rose 9 percent.
The summer's numbers look good, especially after winter and spring, when sales were slack on both sides of the water.
They were so slack that Hampton Roads' overall home sales for the first nine months of '95 trail the same '94 months. South Hampton Roads' sales are off nearly 11 percent. The Peninsula is down 3.8 percent.
Our heros: Politicians have said they want to tame big government. In fact, almost all austerity measures have been borne by the Department of Defense. Adjusted for inflation, '95 military outlays are down almost 25 percent compared to '90. by CNB