Here to stay

Composite decking and railing manufacturer Trex Company Inc. has called the Winchester community home for more than 25 years, so when it came time for the company to construct a new global headquarters, Winchester was top of mind.

“Trex was already based in the area, so they were familiar with the city and approached us when they began considering sites for their new headquarters,” says Winchester City Manager Dan Hoffman. “From there, it was important to start building a relationship and listening.”

Last spring, the publicly traded company broke ground on its 64,000-square-foot, $7 million global headquarters on eight acres along Crossover Boulevard near Interstate 81. The company’s corporate offices, approximately 40,000 square feet, are currently located on Exeter Drive in Frederick County.

About 200 people will work in the new headquarters, which is set to open midyear. In 2020, Trex was one of the nation’s 100 fastest-growing companies, according to Fortune magazine, and it brought in more than $1.2 billion in fiscal 2022.

“Trex has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. As the company rose to meet the demands of our customers, it quickly became clear that our current headquarters location could no longer support the growth of our team,” says Bryan Fairbanks, its president and CEO. “We began to look for an opportunity that would afford us the space we needed but also the modern work environment and technologies that our team members desired.”

Early in the process, the company had considered other locations in Winchester and Frederick County but was drawn to the I-81 corridor.

There are limited sites along I-81 that are already prime for development and also have access “to the amenities that Winchester has to offer, such as an excellent school system, an extensive network of parks and trails, and a historic downtown,” Hoffman says.

The location along Crossover Boulevard also offered space for future expansion as well as easy access to transportation routes and visibility along I-81. The new headquarters will feature eco-friendly elements such as electric vehicle charging stations and rooftop solar panels.

As with any modern workspace, the new corporate headquarters “will provide opportunities for greater collaboration and recruitment of top talent,” Fairbanks says. “Additionally, the location is closer to our Winchester manufacturing campus, which will support synergies across our work streams and sustain growth moving forward.”

Between the new corporate headquarters and a 200,000-square-foot expansion for decking production added to its Frederick County manufacturing campus on Shawnee Drive in 2021, Trex expects to create about 350 jobs in the Winchester and Frederick area, including 150 manufacturing jobs, many of which the company says already have been filled.

One of the components of the headquarters deal was the promise of incentives. “The incentive itself was fairly straightforward, so it just needed to go through the proper approval processes. Our economic development authority and city council both had to approve it,” Hoffman says.

Under the agreement, Trex will pay all assessed property taxes on the new building, but for the first seven years, the Winchester Economic Development Authority will refund any portion of Trex’s tax payment that exceeds the amount currently being generated by the site. 

The deal went smoothly, Hoffman says. “We were very upfront about what was possible, and the executive team at Trex was great to work with. My hope is that this sends a message to other companies looking for a new home,” he continues. “We have other sites in the city that would be ideal landing spots for a large or midsized company.”

“We are honored the city of Winchester is the destination for Trex corporate headquarters,” says Rick Cobert, executive director of the Winchester EDA, adding that having “one of IndustryWeek’s 50 best U.S. manufacturers exemplifies our focus on target industry attraction.”

Trex has a long, rich “history in the Winchester and Frederick County area and is proud to be part of such a strong and supportive community,” Fairbanks said in a statement. “This is our home, and we are pleased to be able to contribute to the health and prosperity of the area through jobs creation, community involvement and national recognition from our industry-leading products and brand.”