Armored-car retrofitter to relocate from Florida to Danville

Virginia Business
June 2006

Danville is trying to diversify its economy and shake its image as a textiles and tobacco town. That changeover effort got a big boost when an armored car company announced it is moving in.

Armet Armored Vehicles Inc. (AAVI) will relocate its Largo, Fla., plant to Danville. The company retrofits vehicles with bullet- and blast-proof glass and steel.

Frank Skinner, president of AAVI’s U.S. Division, says the Ontario-based company needs to be closer to its customers, which include the Department of Defense and many law-enforcement agencies. Company officials chose Danville over locations in West Virginia because of the city’s strong work force, low cost of living, small-town feel and proximity to suppliers. “It really has everything we need from a production standpoint,” Skinner says.

AAVI will invest $850,000 in a 15,000-square-foot plant, which it expects to have operating before the end of summer. The company initially said it would hire 60 workers over 30 months. Skinner, however, says demand for the company’s services has been so strong that he suspects it’s going to be higher than that, and that the company will have to run multiple shifts.

Armoring a vehicle, he notes, is more than just adding steel or glass. AAVI’s process involves researching a customer’s location for information on the types of weapons that could be encountered. The vehicle is stripped down to the frame and then rebuilt using bullet- and blast-proof components.

The armoring service, which is also used by banks, heads of state, VIPs and celebrities, can cost from $30,000 to $100,000 per vehicle.

The company already has begun reviewing résumés from job applicants at its Danville plant. It is looking for workers with fabrication skills and strong aptitudes for pattern analysis.

Denise Dahl, research and marketing manager for Danville’s Office of Economic Development, said that AAVI will “add a unique and very interesting component to our business community.”

Since March 2004, she notes, Danville has created 2,571 new jobs and announced commercial investments totaling $112 million. The city’s new companies include Luna NanoWorks (carbonaceous nanomaterials), Columbia Flooring (hardwood floors), Unarco (shopping carts) and TWM Cabling Solutions Inc. (cable assemblies).