by Robert Powell
All the offices in Philip Morris USA’s new Center for Research and Technology in downtown Richmond measure 10 feet by 10 feet.
The spaces are small because the company wants to nudge its scientists, engineers and marketing people away from their desks and get them talking about new product ideas. The $350 million building in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park in downtown Richmond is designed to “drive collaboration and innovation,” said Richard P. Solana, the company’s senior vice president of research and technology.
Solana talked about plans for the 450,000-square-foot center Thursday morning during a tour arranged for about a dozen journalists. The building, where 100 employees now work, eventually will house 500 workers. The center will focus on developing new tobacco products and finding ways to reduce the harm caused by smoking.
The U.S. cigarette industry generated $70 billion in sales in 2005, roughly the same total revenue as soft drinks. But the volume of cigarettes sold has declined by 2 percent a year for the past 20 years.
Philip Morris’ response has been an “adjacency strategy.” in which new products build on the strength of existing brands such as Marlboro. For example, the company is test marketing Marlboro Virginia Blend, a cigarette using Virginia flue-cured tobacco, and Marlboro Snus, a smokeless tobacco product.
Philip Morris expects the center to spark a host of new product ideas. The space is set up for creative brainstorming. Groupings of chairs and tables throughout the building are often accompanied by a white board, even in the company cafeteria and the break room. The interior is filled with glass and open space, and cubicle partitions are low so that employees on the same floor are always within line of sight of one another. Also, offices are grouped by projects rather than field of expertise so that employees working on a new product can quickly get together.
One third of the space is devoted to laboratories. Another section is used for market research. In some rooms, researchers behind one-way mirrors will watch groups of consumers discuss their product preferences, while in other rooms customers will fill out questionnaires.
Solana noted that some of the center’s work will involve “sensory research,” finding ways to make new products appealing to consumers. He noted that years ago Philip Morris developed the Accord, a battery-powered cigarette designed to reduce ashes and smoke, but it failed to gain acceptance among consumers.
The 56 –year-old Solana, who does not smoke, has two personal goals for the technology center: reduce the harm caused by smoking and ensure that Philip Morris remains a viable, growing company. He is confident the facility can achieve both goals. “Great ideas come from smart people working together,” he said.
Look for C. F. Sauer Co. to roll out new products in the next 120 days as part of its 120-year anniversary celebration. The company celebrated 12 decades of business today with a cake and ice-cream celebration at its Richmond corporate headquarters, the company’s home since 1911.
Details on what the nation’s largest producer of spices and extracts may come out with next weren’t made public. However, President C. F. Sauer IV did unveil a new packaging look for Sauer’s trademark spices, which adds a soft green color to its typical scheme of yellow and red.
Sauer’s was founded in 1887 by Conrad Frederick Sauer. The private business has remained in the family continuously for four generations, no small accomplishment in today’s competitive business world. Many family members attended the celebratory event. “We’re proud to be a part of your lives and to be present at your meals,” Sauer told employees and Richmond city officials who turned out for the celebration.
Speaking of meals, everyone got a piece of cake. It was made with Duke’s Mayonnaise, one of Sauer’s many products.
by Jessica Sabbath
Two months ago today I married my college sweetheart. Life as a newlywed has been completely blissful, but the ordeal of changing my legal name and new address has been anything but. It’s daunting thinking about how many organizations I have to contact about the change, from the Social Security Administration to my credit card accounts, not to mention the magazines I subscribe to and the local running club.
Rock the Vote can help with at least one change. Last week, I received a notice in the mail reminding me I needed to update my voter registration records. Not only did the flier include a voter registration application already filled in with my name and address, but it included an envelope already addressed to the Virginia State Board of Elections. It even had a special section for changing your name. Perfect for recent brides.
Rock the Vote, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization encouraging youth participation in elections, is currently conducting a one-time field experiment to remind young people who have moved to reregister to vote. Chris Kennedy, a research analyst with Rock the Vote, is managing the project. Kennedy told me they are sending snail mail and e-mail to 18-to-29-year-old voters who have moved recently, using Post Office data to devise their lists.
Young voters move twice as often as the average population, Kennedy said, and the group is testing methods to help people reregister.
Perhaps Rock the Vote’s strategy will work. It certainly can help check off one entry on that long list of things to do after a move.
Need to register to vote? Follow this link, and Rock the Vote can help. http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_register.php?ms=vabusiness
Fall ushers in the best fashion show of the season: burnt orange pumpkins, yellow mums, and the golden browns of falling leaves. In October, the reds belong to Virginia wines. This is the month the state celebrates its growing wine industry with many festivals and special events. You can stomp grapes, take in a winery from a hot air balloon or visit several wineries in one day on one of Virginia’s six wine trails.
With 130 wineries stretching from the Eastern Shore to Appalachia, Virginia is fifth largest wine-producing state in the country. And its wines are getting noticed. In July Travel+Leisure magazine named Virginia one of the five up-and-coming wine destinations in the world, along with wine-producing regions in Italy, Spain, Chile and New Zealand.
So, if you’re near a tasting room, why not raise a glass to the glories of fall.
