THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130500
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Passenger count up at Peninsula airport
Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport announced Tuesday that 17.6 percent more passengers flew through the airport in November than in the same month last year. The airport commission said 34,899 passengers used the airport last month, flying on USAir Express, United Express and ValuJet. So far this year, passenger traffic through the airport has risen 4.8 percent to 351,581. Much of the growth can be attributed to ValuJet, which started flying from the airport earlier this year, and increased traffic on USAir Express. (Staff)
Engineering firm plans office in Newport News
BTG Inc., a Vienna-based engineering services firm, announced Tuesday that it plans to open an office in Newport News that will employ 18. The office will help expand BTG's services to the Air Force Air Combat Command/Civil Engineer at Langley Air Force Base. It will seek other military, government and civilian work in the mid-Atlantic region as well. BTG has 870 employees and offices in 10 states and Europe. BTG also said Tuesday that it is opening a 12-person office in Indianapolis. (Staff)
Manufacturers gloomy about Christmas sales
Manufacturers are less optimistic about Christmas sales than a year ago and expect slower growth in 1996, according to results of a survey released Tuesday. The managers who buy supplies for U.S. industrial companies expect consumers to keep a tight grip on their wallets next year, driving down demand for everything from leather coats to plastic goods, the National Association of Purchasing Management reported in its semiannual forecast. Just 34 percent of NAPM's members said they think Christmas retail sales will be good, compared with 77 percent who forecast good sales last year. It was the lowest number to forecast a jolly Christmas since 1991, when the country was in a recession. (Associated Press)
Third of town's population lose jobs when mill closes
Jackson Mills in Iva, S.C., is closing, taking with it 395 jobs - roughly a third of the town's population. ``This is very traumatic,'' said Butch Harris, president and chief operating officer of Jackson Mills, which makes fabric for the women's apparel and home furnishing markets. People who work the day shift and several supervisors were spared temporarily. They will finish the production schedule until the shutdown is complete sometime in the next 10 weeks, Harris said. A severance package was not mentioned. (Associated Press) by CNB