Silk City Printing to create 93 jobs in Fluvanna County

Silkscreened apparel company Silk City Printing LLC will invest $5.7 million to establish a new production operation in Fluvanna County, creating 93 new jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. 

Silk City will relocate its corporate headquarters from Paterson, New Jersey, to a former Thomasville facility in Fluvanna that has been vacant since 2007. Silk City was established in 2017 and produces branded, silkscreened apparel for retail outlets including Target and Walmart. The company has an additional facility in New Jersey.

“We are honored that Silk City Printing has chosen Fluvanna County and Virginia as its new home,” said Northam in a statement. “This important project will create 93 valuable jobs for a rural community while also transforming a long-vacant facility into a state-of-the-art production operation. Stimulating growth across diverse business sectors will help advance our economic recovery, and we thank Silk City Printing for this investment in the commonwealth and our people.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with Fluvanna County and the Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Northam approved a $70,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Development Opportunity Fund to assist Fluvanna County with the project. Funding and services to support Silk City Printing employee training activities will be provided through VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

“This project is an exciting win for Fluvanna County, the region and the commonwealth,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball. “The company will revitalize a plant that has been empty for 13 years while also providing critical opportunities for alternate career paths to Fluvanna County’s high school population. We look forward to building a strong partnership with Silk City Printing as the company ramps up in Virginia.”

“We’re excited to be moving our headquarters to Virginia,” said Mark Summers, president of Silk City Printing. “Our intention as a company is to build a world-class facility in Fork Union with the most modern and technologically advanced machinery available within the industry. Silk City Printing fully plans to recruit locally with training programs supported by Fluvanna County. Virginia and the county have made us feel extremely welcome and made this relocation an easy decision.”