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Wednesday, September 11, 2002

By Jim McKay, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

After Sept. 11, Bricmont Inc. President David Gilbert cut back on air travel for his employees and told them to drive whenever possible -- all for safety reasons.

A year later, the engineering company is still restricting travel, but now it's as much because of the tight economy as any fear of terrorism.

Washington County-based Bricmont, which employs about 65 people, now asks employees to drive to destinations that are less than about 500 miles away, where before they would have taken a commuter flight. They book flights further in advance and sometimes switch airports to save money.

But security is also a continuing focus.

Employees don't fly to the Gulf States in the Middle East, and for other foreign travel, they pay attention to the U.S. government's advisories.

"If they say don't go, we don't go," Gilbert said.