Norfolk company establishing operation in Danville

The Launch Place announced Monday that it is investing $250,000 in Norfolk-based Netarus LLC to help with the expansion of its visual safety and analytic platforms.

As part of The Launch Place’s investment criteria, Netarus will establish operations in Danville that will create at least five jobs with an average salary of $50,000 in the next three years.

Netarus produces HoistCam, a wireless camera system that provides an operator with a direct video feed from anywhere on a job site.  The product aims to help operators and managers increase safety and productivity during blind and distant operations.

“We are truly pleased to be working with The Launch Place and the Danville region,” Netarus President Mark Shaw said in a statement. “After looking across the state, we found that the region’s focus on technology development coupled with The Launch Place’s strong leadership team would be a natural fit to help rocket our business to the next level.”

The Launch Place assists with business development and job creation and retention in the Dan River Region, which includes Danville, Pittsylvania County and Caswell County, N.C. The organization was created from a $10 million grant from the Danville Regional Foundation, which is working to revitalize the area after the decline of the tobacco, textiles and furniture industries.