THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 11, 1995 TAG: 9512090227
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: TALK OF THE TOWN
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Hundreds of engineers packed Peak Engineering's recruiting fair last week in the Newport News Omni Hotel. Little wonder. Peak was hiring about 40 temporary workers for $14- to $42-per-hour jobs, not including benefits, at Newport News Shipbuilding.
``They're in a pinch. They need to get people in there,'' said Peak's Jeff Jones about the giant shipyard. ``We'll be hiring from now until March.''
The NNS labor force, which exceeded 30,000 in the '80s, numbers more than 18,000 workers currently, with forecasts of 16,000 by late '96. Peak employees are being brought on for one to three years, chiefly for work on the Double Eagle double-hull tankers, the yard's first commercial ships in 16 years.
The yard will build four tankers for Eletson Corp. of Greece. NNS also agreed to build up to 16 additional tankers for two other shippers.
Let's deal: Downtown Norfolk's newcomer, the Coast Guard Maintenance & Logistics Command Atlantic, will lease office space for $12.50 per square foot when it moves almost 500 personnel into NeVa Properties' Main Street Tower. Considering the average cost on downtown class A space, that's a deal. Not only is $12.50 a couple dollars shy of the average rate for premier space, it's a long way from the $17 asked in months gone by for downtown digs.
Ah, Freedom: Hambright Calcagno & Downing, the Virginia Beach ad agency, picked up a sweet account. Freedom Ford, the fast-growing Norfolk car dealership, threw HCD its $1 million-a-year ad budget. Previously, Freedom had handled its marketing in-house.
Game plan: Washington would slash the government's procurement workforce and privatize a host of functions. What's it all mean? The Tidewater Association of Service Contractors wants a panel of Washington experts to air the possibilities.
TASC, which represents an array of defense companies in Hampton Roads, has invited Paul White, the deputy secretary of defense, to the Norfolk Waterside Marriott on March 26. Others invited include Adm. Jeremy Boorda, Chief of Naval Operations; Bill Coleman, Office of Federal Procurement Policy deputy director; Eleanor Spector, federal procurement director, and Paul Kaminski, defense undersecretary for acquisition and technology.
No-price club: Among the prolific number of discount chains in Tidewater is Price Club.
Its Hampton and Norfolk stores usually charge new members $35. Now it's handing out free membership vouchers for a year. by CNB