DATE: Thursday, May 1, 1997                 TAG: 9705010547

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   41 lines

HARDEE'S DEAL WON'T HURT COMPANY

The buyout of Hardee's isn't likely to affect one of Hampton Roads' newest corporate residents even though the firm is closely tied to the fast-food chain.

FFM International moved its headquarters to the region from Rocky Mount, N.C., in February. It is the international arm of Fast Food Merchandisers Inc., which makes and distributes food and related products to Hardee's, Shoney's and other retail and institutional food service providers.

Fast Food Merchandisers will remain a subsidiary of Imasco Ltd. even as Imasco sells Hardee's Food Systems Inc. to CKE Restaurants, said Jim Hutcheson, Fast Food's senior vice president of operations services. CKE, which owns the West Coast chain Carl's Jr., announced its $327 million acquisition of Hardee's on Monday.

Imasco is trying to expand Fast Food Merchandisers' customer base and believes the firm will be better positioned as an independent supplier, Imasco said.

FFM International's customer base is already somewhat diverse. While Hardee's operates in 10 other countries, FFM International ships to clients in about 35 nations.

The firm moved to Hampton Roads for better access to the port, Hutcheson said. Fast Food Merchandisers also liked the region's favorable international business climate, he said.

It ships about 80 containers of food through the port every month, including about 40 filled with dry goods and about 40 with frozen meats, an official said.

FFM International is building a 23,000-square-foot office and small warehouse in Portsmouth's PortCentre Commerce Park. The building should be completed by July. It has temporary offices in Virginia Beach and employs about 14 workers.

Headquartered in Rocky Mount, Fast Food Merchandisers made $23 million on sales of about $1.5 billion in 1996 and employs 2,800 people. FFM International also has an office and warehouse operation in the United Arab Emirates, a tiny, oil-rich Persian Gulf state.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu