DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997             TAG: 9704230440

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Briefs 

                                            LENGTH:   76 lines

LOCAL SCENE

NORFOLK

NORFOLK SOUTHERN DECLARES DIVIDEND: Norfolk Southern Corp. on Tuesday declared its regular quarterly dividend of 60 cents per share on its common stock, payable June 10 to stockholders of record on May 2.

ZIMMERMAN AND GRODNER JOIN LAW FIRM: Ingrid Zimmerman was named an associate at Vandeventer, Black, Meredith & Martin. She will concentrate in tax and commercial law. She had worked for Hunton and Williams in Richmond. Also, Vikki Grodner was named marketing director for the law firm. Prior to this, she was an independent public relations consultant and the publisher of two community publications in Virginia Beach.

PENINSULA

WILLIAMSBURG COMPANY COMPLETES INSTALLATION AT WISCONSIN PLANT: Morgan Products Ltd. said its new high-speed door assembly line has been installed in its manufacturing division in Oshkosh, Wis. Morgan said the late delivery of this equipment coupled with the closing of the company's Lexington, N.C., manufacturing facilities resulted in restructuring charges in the second half of 1996 and will result in additional charges in the first half of 1997. Morgan Products Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of specialty building products through its three business units: Morgan Distribution, Morgan Manufacturing and Morgan National Accounts.

VIRGINIA

AIRLINE EXPANDS OPERATIONS AT DULLES: Atlantic Coast Airlines, the United Express carrier for the Eastern United States, will expand operations at Washington-Dulles International Airport. A $10 million investment, the expansion consists of an 85,000-square-foot aircraft maintenance facility, which will create 300 new jobs. Gov. George F. Allen approved a $175,000 Governor's Opportunity Fund grant for Loudoun County to assist the project. The airline operates in 39 cities throughout the eastern United States, with nearly 200 daily departures from Washington-Dulles, more than any other airline carrier. Corporate headquarters are in Sterling, Va. The state competed with Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia for the expansion.

DMV SIMPLIFIES LIEN RECORDS: The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has launched an electronic information exchange system that will benefit customers, lenders and motor vehicle dealers. In partnership with Crestar Bank, DMV developed an electronic system that allows the state to hold a vehicle title with a lien for the lenders. Notifications of placements of liens and satisfaction of liens are made electronically. Clear titles will then be printed and mailed to customers by DMV. With the new system, lenders do not have to sort, check and file paper titles. Lenders estimate the new process will eliminate eight steps when filing paper titles. First Union Bank, Chase Automotive Finance and Chase Manhattan Bank have joined with Crestar in implementing the electronic lien process.

MISSILE DEFENSE VENTURE: Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co. and TRW Inc. said Tuesday they formed a joint venture to develop a system to defend against ballistic missile attacks. The companies will own equal parts of the joint venture, to be called United Missile Defense Co. and located in Crystal City, Va.

PAPER COMPANY REPORTS FIRST QUARTER NET LOSS: Chesapeake Corp., a Richmond-based paper and packaging company, announced a first quarter net loss of $3.5 million, or 15 cents a share, down from first quarter 1996's net income of $7.9 million, or 33 cents a share. First quarter net sales of $294.5 million were up 6 percent from first quarter 1996 net sales of $277.7 million. Chesapeake Corp. also announced recently that it has reached preliminary agreement in principle with St. Laurent Paperboard Inc. (Toronto and Montreal: SPI) regarding St. Laurent's purchase of Chesapeake's West Point, Va., kraft products mill, four box plants and other related assets, for approximately $508 million. The proposed transaction would represent a major step forward in Chesapeake's long-term business strategy of focusing on its faster-growing packaging and tissue operations. MEMO: To submit an item, send it to Local Scene, The Virginian-Pilot

Business News Department, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510.

Photos are welcome. Or fax your submission to 446-2531. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

Zimmerman

Grodner

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