93-12-23 New Center Could Serve As A Model Program For State To Keep Its Small Manufacturing Firms Thriving

NEW CENTER COULD SERVE AS A MODEL PROGRAM
FOR STATE TO KEEP ITS SMALL MANUFACTURING FIRMS THRIVING

      MARTINSVILLE, Va., Dec. 23 -- In an era of intense global competition
and rapid changes
in technology, the hundreds of small manufacturing firms that are the main
source of jobs in
Virginia's non-urban areas are increasingly under threat.
      But an innovative new program serving a large section of the
Commonwealth's heartland
could become a model for helping small and midsize manufacturers not only
survive but grow and
thrive, say state leaders in education, government and industry who helped
set the program up.
      The A.L. Philpott Manufacturing Center in Martinsville, created by the
General Assembly
last year, helps small manufacturing firms identify and use advanced
technologies that will enable
them and their employees to stay competitive in world markets by offering
increased flexibility and
quality.
      The center, which recently received a $1.6 million federal grant and
will soon hire five
manufacturing extension specialists, serves some 22 counties and 11 cities in
the Southside region
along the southern tier of the state.
      "The model the center offers is not exotic, but it could be the
linchpin for a state strategy
regarding manufacturing modernization," says Robert de Voursney, professor at
the University of
Virginia's Center for Public Service who helped organize the center and
serves as an adviser to its
board.
      The idea is simple:  "it's technology-pull, not push," he says.  "And
it's a growth-from-within
strategy for economic development," as opposed to a strategy of waiting for
outside industry to
move in and provide jobs. 
      The center, named in memory of one of the regions's most revered state
legislators, serves
some 1,400 manufacturers, including three bordering North Carolina counties. 
The industries are
in fields ranging from apparel and printing to metal, glass and wood
products, all areas that are
increasingly vulnerable to foreign competition and technological
obsolescence, according to Max F.
Wingett, the center's board chairman and president of Patrick Henry Community
College, where
the program is based.
      The five manufacturing extension specialists will be based  at several
locations across
Southside.  They will offer hands-on, on-site assistance to small and
midsized companies, on the
same model agricultural specialists aid farmers, said Wingett.   "They will
supply companies with
practical real-world advice at the plant floor level."
      The specialists will be engineers and other professionals with strong
backgrounds in
manufacturing, which is the economic heart of Southside.   The region's
economic base faces threats 
from defense conversion, changes in technology and overseas competition,
according to John
Hudson, the center's interim director.  "Helping Southside manufacturers keep
their competitive
edge by adopting up-to-date manufacturing methods will translate into
protecting today's jobs and
creating new ones."  
      The grant was through a national competition under the Technology
Reinvestment Program,
a federal initiative to aid defense conversion and promote manufacturing
modernization.
      The center's board includes leading manufacturers from the region and
the presidents of
U.Va., Virginia Tech and University of Richmond and Patrick Henry, Danville
and Southside
Community Colleges.

      Last fall Virginia voters approved $2.5 million for a facility to house
the center as part of
the statewide higher education general obligation bond issue.
                                    ###
                                                         December 22, 1993
      For further information or interviews contact:

      Robert M. de Voursney, professor, U.Va. Center for Public Service,
(804) 982-5559 (office),
973-7126 (home).

      Max F. Wingett, chairman, A.L. Philpott Manufacturing Center and
president of Patrick
Henry Community College, (703) 638-8777.
 
Karen Castle, Office Services Specialist, University News Office
P.O. Box 9018, Booker House, Charlottesville, VA  22906
(804) 924-7116, kac@virginia.edu

[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Mon, 3 Jan 94 13:00:04 EST]