DATE: Wednesday, October 8, 1997            TAG: 9710080508

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY AKWELI PARKER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   50 lines

TECHNOLOGY ON PARADE AT THE PAVILION

Manufacturers, suppliers and other companies from around the country will flex their muscle at the Virginia Beach Pavilion today and Thursday. They'll underscore the growing importance of technology and the need to keep up with it to stay competitive.

The show, sponsored by the Peninsula Advanced Technology Center, will include displays from nearly 200 exhibitors - most from Virginia but with a few from New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and even Texas.

``The main thing is the added exposure for our high-technology manufacturers in this area,'' said Kay Megorden, a PATC spokeswoman.

PATC wants the show to grease the wheels of local economic development by introducing area firms to one another and local development officials.

PATC will also put in a plug for itself, explaining how it can help companies tap into programs and local resources - like universities and federal labs - to boost the bottom line.

Funding for PATC comes from, among other places, the cities of Hampton and Newport News and Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.

Advances in manufacturing technology have been less obvious to consumers than modern info-tech marvels like the Internet, but they haven't gone unnoticed by factory managers. Computers and automation have enabled labor-saving, cost-cutting techniques like just-in-time manufacturing.

Technology allowed G&R Metals, a Hampton-based fabrication shop, to guarantee its customers on-time delivery, said G&R President Randy Gilliland. The company will have a display at the show.

A year after installing a suite of production management software, Gilliland says his company's on-time delivery rate has shot up to about 97 percent.

Where was it before? Said Gilliland, ``We don't like to talk about that.''

There was a learning curve, but he says the move paid off.

``We had a whole bunch of people who knew how to weld and machine, not run computers.'' But now that employees have the system figured out, Gilliland said, ``we're able to use fewer people to do the same function.''

The show will also feature seminars on topics such as ``How to Do Business with the Navy,'' and ``What to Expect When a Virginia Occupational Safety & Health Compliance Officer Arrives at Your Workplace.'' ILLUSTRATION: Show Facts

Where: Virginia Beach Pavilion

When: Today, noon to 9 p.m.; Oct. 9, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

How much: $5 at the door, but free tickets available through

Peninsula Advanced Technology Center.

For more information: Call PATC at 766-7850, ext. 283

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