FOR THE
              RECORD        

      By Leila Marija Ugincius

This report is compiled from company releases, business journals and newspapers from around the state. If you have an item for these listings, mail it to Leila Marija Ugincius at VIRGINIA BUSINESS, 411 E. Franklin St., Suite 105, Richmond, Va. 23219, e-mail it to ForTheRecord@va-business.com, or fax it to (804) 649-6311.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Crown Simplimatic Inc., a packaging machinery company in Lynchburg, plans to purchase certain assets of Ortmann + Herbst GmbH, a Hamburg, Germany-based bottle manufacturer. Terms were not disclosed.

Electronic Systems Inc., a Virginia Beach-based systems integration company, plans to acquire Electronic Systems of Richmond, a security consulting company, for an undisclosed amount.

H. Baum & Son Inc., an Alexandria office furniture company, is merging with Springfield-based Capitol Office Furniture Co. The new company, which will be in Springfield, will be called Capitol-Baum Office Furniture Co.

Heilig-Meyers Co., a Richmond-based furniture company, purchased Bedding Experts, a Chicago-based, 54-store chain, for approximately $25 million in a stock deal.

The Lendman Group, a Virginia Beach-based job fair company, is being purchased by New York-based Kaplan Educational Centers for an undisclosed amount.

McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe, a Richmond law firm, absorbed Jacksonville, Fla.-based Mahoney Adams & Criser.

Papco Oil Co. of Virginia Beach purchased Chesapeake Petroleum Service from Richmond-based Southern States Cooperative for an undisclosed amount.

Southern States Cooperative plans to purchase Michigan Livestock Exchange of Lansing, Mich., for an undisclosed amount.

The TAF Group, a Virginia Beach-based architectural and engineering firm, plans to merge with Hampton-based Smith Demer Normann, an engineering firm. Terms were not disclosed.

United Dominion Realty Trust Inc. of Richmond plans to acquire ASR Investments Corp. of Tucson, Ariz., for $300 million.

NEW PLANTS & COMPANIES

KMC Corp., a valve manufacturer in Korea, plans to build its first U.S. plant in Portsmouth. KMC America Inc. will invest more than $5 million to build the 124,000-square-foot plant, which will be one of the largest in the city. The company plans to employ 20 people, and the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will help with employee training. Michael Oh of Virginia Beach has been named president and CEO of the U.S. subsidiary.

Quigley Designs, a Texas-based custom woodworking company, plans to locate a manufacturing plant in Franklin County.

DIVESTITURES

Norfolk Southern Corp. plans to sell its trucking division, North American Van Lines, to New York-based Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. for $200 million.

EXPANSIONS

Five years ago, Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc. of Richmond consisted of one employee. Today, the public company has outgrown its headquarters and plans to build a 30,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Chesterfield County to better provide research assistance to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

The company plans to invest $4 million in the new facility and create 30 jobs within the next year. Commonwealth Biotechnologies, a spinoff from Virginia Commonwealth University, provides peptides and synthetic materials for research to more than 300 clients worldwide.

Government Employees Insurance Co. of Chevy Chase, Md., plans to invest $17 million to build an office in Virginia Beach, possibly employing up to 2,000 people.

CUTBACKS AND CLOSINGS

One of western Virginia's largest employers plans to cut roughly 245 jobs. Faced with high costs and an insufficient workload, General Electric Co. of Connecticut plans to lay off about 170 hourly workers and 75 salaried employees. This is the latest downsizing for the Salem plant, which had four rounds of layoffs in 1997.The cut will affect employees hired in the past five years. The company says it hopes to hire most of them back in the summer, when business usually picks up.

EXECUTIVE PROMOTIONS

Mark T. Jones, president, Q.E.D. Systems Inc. of Virginia Beach.

Ken MacDonald, president, Cellar Door Productions of Virginia in Virginia Beach.

Elliot Needleman, president and CEO, American Systems Corp., a Chantilly-based information technology company.

DIRECTORS

Frank Batten Jr., chairman, Landmark Communications Inc. of Norfolk.

Kent Guichard, American Woodmark Corp., a Winchester-based cabinet manufacturer.

CONTRACTS

Mid-Eastern Builders Inc., Chesapeake: $17 million from the Navy for four steel replacement fuel storage tanks at the Defense Fuel Support Point, Craney Island.

Space Technology Development Corp., Arlington: $55 million from the Navy and the Department of Defense to develop a remote-sensing satellite.

REAL ESTATE

The Seaboard Center, a 36,000-square-foot office building in Norfolk, was purchased by a nonprofit group, the Mortimer Levitt Foundation of New York, for $5 million.

STOCKS

Eastern Virginia Small Business Investment Corp., a Norfolk-based investment company, filed for an initial public offering of 800,000 common shares for $13 each.