Virginia’s Growing Regions
From Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia to Southwest, a year of expansion

Hampton Roads
The corporate headquarters of Lindab USA is coming to Portsmouth to be next to its existing manufacturing facility. The company announced a $6 million project in April to relocate from Stamford, Conn. The move will add 57 jobs to the 115 already in Portsmouth. Lindab USA develops, manufactures and markets sheet metal products.

In Norfolk, another manufacturer is expanding. USG Corp., which makes building materials, is investing $132 million to expand and modernize its manufacturing facility. The project will add 25 jobs to the 116 already at the plant. USG is the maker of Sheetrock gypsum panels, and the expanded facility will let it use synthetic gypsum in its manufacturing process. Synthetic gypsum is a recycled product of coal-fired power plants.
Norfolk also was able to keep one of its biggest employers in place. Trader Publishing Co. is investing $51 million to expand its division headquarters for electronic media. The project will add 600 jobs and keep the 550 existing jobs in place. Trader has more than 300 offices in 177 cities and is the publisher of AutoTrader magazines and several related publications.

"We operate in 38 states and thus have a considerable amount of knowledge about site location considerations," said Trader’s President and CEO Conrad M. Hall in announcing the project. "Our final decision was based on a compelling package of economic incentives and the fact that we will be able to continue to be a part of the remarkable story of renewal and growth of the city of Norfolk."

The presence of the Port of Virginia in the Hampton Roads region helped it snag the world’s biggest retailer. Arkansas-based Wal-Mart chose James City County for an expansion project that will create 125 jobs. The existing facility is an import storage center for products that are distributed on a seasonal basis to Wal-Mart’s regional distribution centers. The new $28.5 million project, in the GreenMount Industrial Park, is a 1 million-square-foot building on an additional 243 acres.

Central Virginia
Philip Morris USA in April announced plans to invest up to $300 million to open a research and technology center in Rich-mond. The facility would employ 500 people, including scientists and lab support staff.

"We believe this investment will be a major benefit to the Richmond area in general and the downtown area in particular," said John R. Nelson, Philip Morris USA president of operations and technology, in announcing the project. "This part of the city is already home to a growing research community made possible by the Biotech Park and Virginia Commonwealth University."

One of Greensville County’s biggest employers is expanding. Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers, a developer of luxury homes, announced a $5 million expansion last fall at its manufacturing facility in Emporia and the relocation of its warehouse to the Greensville County Industrial Park. The expansion will create 100 jobs and help the region hold onto the 190 jobs that could have been lost had Toll Brothers chosen another location.

Emporia also landed a new employer last fall, when Charah Inc., which handles ash for coal-fired electric utility plants, announced a $3 million plan to locate in the city, creating 28 jobs. Charah uses waste ash in a concrete mix.

A mortgage lending and servicing company already in the Innsbrook Corporate Center near Richmond is expanding. Saxon Capital last fall announced plans for a $17 million investment to build a 115,000-square-foot building next to its current location. The new building is expected to provide 234 jobs over three years.

One of the biggest independent food service distributors in the country is putting a warehouse and distribution facility in Prince George County. Wisconsin-based Reinhart FoodService will operate the facility, which will employ 120 people. The company chose the Prince George location because it’s expanding in the mid-Atlantic market and the site gave it good access to major transportation corridors.

Valley
Roanoke’s long tradition as a railroad city made a comeback in January with the announcement by FreightCar America that it would open a manufacturing facility, creating 400 jobs in the next few years.

The company will invest $5.5 million in the plant, which will be in a portion of Norfolk Southern’s holdings in the city. Chicago-based FreightCar America also has manufacturing facilities in Illinois and Pennsylvania. It is the world’s biggest maker of aluminum railroad freight cars and a leading builder of steel and stainless steel cars.

A few miles west in Pulaski County, another manufacturing business is planning an expansion. Dublin-based BondCote Corp., a maker of coated and laminated industrial fabrics, announced a $2.7 million project in January to expand its production and add 27 employees to its current work force of more than 150 people.

The additional capacity will let BondCote increase its production by about 20 percent. BondCote was created more than 55 years ago in Pulaski. Its materials are used in applications such as truck covers, military tents and commercial roofing materials. In announcing the project, BondCote’s President and CEO Ted Anderson, cited the decline of the textile industry in Virginia. "Textile manufacturing in general has had difficult times recently, but with our dedicated work force and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s and community’s support we are bucking that trend and decided to expand in Virginia instead of another region or going overseas."

Pulaski County also picked up a new manufacturing employer. In February, James Hardie, a maker of fiber-cement siding used in the construction industry, announced plans to open its first Virginia plant. The $98 million investment will create 200 jobs. "Pulaski’s strategic location on the East Coast brings us closer to our key suppliers and meets our company’s market needs," said James Hardie CEO Louis Gries in announcing the deal.
In Roanoke County, a manufacturer of composite products announced plans in April to open its first Virginia plant, creating 58 jobs. North Dakota-based Tecton Products LLC is opening the plant in part be near one of its biggest customers, Marvin Windows and Doors, which recently opened a production facility in the county.

At the north end of the Shenandoah Valley, one of Virginia’s biggest manufacturing sectors held onto a major employer. Richmond-based Interbake Foods LLC in March announced plans to invest $40.2 million in a new cookie and cracker factory in Warren County. The new plant will replace Interbake’s Richmond plant, which employs 248 people. That site couldn’t be expanded.

Northern Virginia
A major employer in Fairfax County has plans to get even bigger. Booz Allen Hamilton announced a major expansion last fall, investing $133 million over five years and producing about 3,700 jobs with an average salary of $79,000.

The McLean-based consulting firm already employs more than 8,000 people at its offices in Fairfax and Arlington counties and in Alexandria and Norfolk. It provides management, financial and information-technology consulting services to government and private-sector clients. The expansion will create new facilities in Herndon and Norfolk and add jobs at existing sites. Company officials say that job growth over the five-year period could top 4,600 employees.

Joining Booz Allen Hamilton is Science Applications International Corp., which is planning a $96 million investment that could create 4,515 jobs in locations around Virginia, including Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Charlottesville. "The Commonwealth of Virginia’s strategic assets helped confirm our decision," said Arnold Punaro, SAIC’s general manager for its Washington, D.C., operations in announcing the project. "The talented work force in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Charlottesville will contribute high-tech expertise to SAIC as we land more government contracts."

Also, SRA International announced plans to hire 1,400 employees as part of a $50 million expansion in Fairfax and Arlington counties. SRA International, which provides IT services to government and private-sector clients, had already added more than 400 jobs in Virginia in the prior year.
Northern Virginia’s strength as a technology cluster was demonstrated in May with the announcement by BAE Systems that it would invest $25 million for a new IT work center and hire 700 people over three years. The company already has 30 facilities in Virginia.

And in June, Virginia snagged the headquarters of BNA Inc., a publisher of print and electronic news that will move from its Washington, D.C., location by 2007, bringing 1,000 jobs. The firm’s new headquarters will be in Crystal City in Arlington County. BNA is a leading source of news on developments in fields such as law and health care.

Southwest
The forestry industry in Southwest Virginia helped attract North Carolina-based log home builder AmerLink Inc., which in February announced plans to invest $3 million in a new plant in Carroll County.

The new facility, which will provide about 200 jobs, will handle both sales and manufacturing. The company chose the location near Interstate 77 in part because of the ready supply of raw materials, said its CEO and chairman, Richard Spoor.

The region also attracted two call centers. The first came in November with the announcement by Global Contact Services LLC to take over a former grocery store building in Saltville. The center will have about 200 employees and handle outsourced services. The company also operates a facility in Pulaski County.

In May KCG Call Centers LLC announced plans to invest $1 million in Lee County, where it will open a 100-employee call center. The Florida-based KCG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kavanaugh Consulting Group. The Lee County center will be part of the Results Network, which is a group of about two dozen call centers managed by Florida-based Results Cos.

Southwest’s manufacturing sector was boosted by the March announcement that Strongwell Corp., a maker of fiber reinforced plastics and polymer concrete, would expand its manufacturing plant in Washington County near Abingdon.

Strongwell’s investment of $4 million will create 65 jobs. The expansion will let the company begin production of its Quazite polymer concrete boxes, which are used to house telecommunications lines and equipment.

In Russell County, leaders of two Virginia-based businesses are creating Designer Wood Tile & Finishing Inc., a prefinished hardwood flooring business, creating 155 jobs. The company is owned by executives of two existing Russell County businesses, Clinch Mountain Hardware Flooring and Leonard Cos. The $4.2 million investment will create a manufacturing facility to make hardwood flooring, molding products and finished stair tread, which will be sold nationally.

Southwest’s location and its access to interstate highways helped it attract a $140 million investment by PepsiCo Inc., which in June announced plans to open a manufacturing and distribution facility in Wythe County’s Progress Park. Wythe is crossed by Interstates 81 and 77.

The plant will employ about 250 people, and produce two products: Gatorade Thirst Quencher and Propel Fitness Water. PepsiCo already employs more than 2,000 people in Virginia in 22 locations, said Gov. Mark R. Warner in announcing the project.

Southern Piedmont
Danville garnered about 200 new jobs after the announcement last summer that Columbia Flooring would invest $13.5 million to expand its manufacturing facility there. Columbia Flooring, based in Danville, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Forest Products and a leading marketer of hardwood and laminate flooring.

The Danville region scored again in February when cabinet maker Yorktowne Cabinetry announced a $19 million investment in its first Virginia manufacturing plant. The plant is expected to create 540 jobs over five years. It will be in the Cane Creek Centre, a collaborative development between Danville and Pittsylvania County.

And, in April, India-based Essel Propack America LLC announced its $15 million plan to expand its Danville manufacturing facility. Essel Propack makes laminated and plastic tubes for the oral, health-care and cosmetic industry, and the expansion will let it supply tubes and caps to Procter & Gamble and other U.S.-based companies. The expansion will create 40 jobs.

In June, Warner delivered the 11th job announcement for Danville in less than two years. EIT Inc., a provider of electronic design and manufacturing services, will invest $12 million in a new manufacturing facility in Danville, creating 120 jobs. EIT now employs about 230 people at its headquarters in Sterling, near Dulles International Airport. Its Danville facility will be in the city’s Cyber Park.

Another Virginia-based company expanded in the region, this time in Mecklenburg County, where Henrico County-based Home Care Delivered, a home health-care products company, is planning a new business development center.

The company’s new site will be the Virginia Lakeside Commerce Park. The project will produce 147 jobs over the next few years and keep another 50 jobs at the company’s headquarters.