For the Record – Southern Virginia, November 2013

The Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce announced the start of a Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) in the Danville Pittsylvania County region. YEA! is an innovative program that guides students through the process of starting their own real business. YEA! is open to students between the ages of 11 and 18 and leads them through the process of launching a real business or social movement over the course of an academic year. (WorkItSoVa.com)

Tennessee-based Eastman Chemical Co. is expanding its manufacturing facility in Henry County.  As part of the expansion, Eastman is investing $40 million over three years and creating 25 jobs. The company’s facility in Henry County manufactures window and performance-coated film. The operation currently employs 500, according to a statement by Jim Cheng, Virginia’s secretary of commerce and trade. The company serves customers in about 100 countries and had 2012 pro forma revenues of approximately $9 billion. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

North American Mold Technology (NAMT) will establish an operation in Danville, creating 120 jobs.  NAMT will invest $4.35 million to produce and refurbish the molds used in the manufacture of tires. NAMT’s customers will include almost all major tire manufacturers in the U.S. The company will be establishing its operation in a 260,000-square-foot facility. Virginia competed against Ohio for the project. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission awarded the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center two grants to strengthen Southern Virginia’s workforce. A grant of $163,750 will fund an Advanced Manufacturing Bootcamp initiative, and a second grant of $20,886 will fund the initial cohort of participants in the SVHEC’s new welding lab.
(News release)

Unilin Division of Mohawk in Danville added 50 jobs this year and plans to add 40 more jobs next year, according to plant manager Bert Eades. He said that, while the plant did suffer some layoffs during the recession, now the number of employees is up to 270. A $3 million expansion is planned to further automate the plant, Eades said, and they are looking at what they can do to improve parking in the tight space the plant currently owns. The plant makes only engineered hardwood flooring, which Eades said has “more stability than solid hardwood” and can be installed on concrete-slab floors. (Danville Register & Bee)