Sign In
Free Newsletter
Dairy products manufacturer to expand in Augusta
Shamrock Farms, an Arizona-based dairy products manufacturer, will invest $59 million to expand its Augusta County manufacturing operation, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. Shamrock Farms expects to create 28 jobs through the expansion, which will add 81,000 square feet to the manufacturer’s 250,000-square-foot facility in Mill Place Commerce Park. The company opened its Augusta facili[...]
Cava opens Verona production and packaging facility
Nearly three years after announcing its initial plans, Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand Cava has opened a production and packaging facility in Augusta County‘s Mill Place Commerce Park. The company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility in May. The Washington, D.C.-based company invested roughly $35 million to open the 55,000-square-foot facility to help centralize product[...]
Agriculture 2023: NEIL A. HOUFF
Founded in 1975, family fertilizer business Houff Corp. expanded to provide a variety of agricultural and industrial services to farmers in the Shenandoah Valley, including crop fertilization and trucking. “We don’t fit in a box,” says Houff, president since the early 1990s. “We are a third-party logistics company that uses warehousing, rail and trucking to […]
A time to build
The Shenandoah Valley Partnership had more economic development activity than “anyone anticipated in 2022,” says Jay Langston, the partnership’s executive director. During the calendar year, the partnership saw close to $140 million in investment and 520 jobs. In Fishersville, Amazon.com Inc. is building a $120 million, 1 million-square-foot nonsortable fulfillment center, which handle[...]
Incubator hopes to grow Virginia winemaking
Tim and Ben Jordan are first-generation grape growers on a Shenandoah Valley farm that has been in their family since the 1700s. Although the brothers “leapt off the ground quite blindly” to pursue their passion, Tim Jordan says — first planting grapes in 2007 — their dream of building a winery on the farm proved […]
Return to form
In terms of business activity and economic development wins, 2021 turned out to be a stellar year for the Shenandoah Valley. “We have exceeded what we anticipated from a business activity perspective,” says Jay Langston, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, which promotes economic development from Shenandoah County to Rockbridge County. “When government shut […]
Amazon to open Augusta County distribution facility
Amazon.com Inc. will open a 1 million-square-foot, nonsortable fulfillment center in Augusta County, creating 500 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The facility at 32 Trader Road in Fishersville will open in spring 2023 and will pick, pack and ship bulky or larger-sized items, such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment or rugs. “This new 1 […]
Daikin dojos offer workforce training
In the U.S., the Japanese word “dojo” generally refers to a martial arts training space, but in recent years, the term’s also been adopted in business for workforce development. In October 2021, Daikin Applied, a Minneapolis-based commercial HVAC equipment manufacturer, expanded the training dojo program at its Verona production facility, doubling the number of welding […]
CAVA to build $30M facility in Augusta County
Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain CAVA will spend more than $30 million to establish a new processing and packaging facility in Augusta County, a project expected to create 52 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. CAVA will build the 57,000-square-foot facility in Mill Place Commerce Park in Verona. “Food and beverage processing is at […]
Virginia, other states sue Augusta County company Nexus Services
Updated 3:30 p.m. Feb. 22 Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring joined Massachusetts and New York in suing Virginia-based bonding company Nexus Services Inc., alleging in the suit that its Libre by Nexus subsidiary “preys on consumers held in federal detention centers by offering to pay for consumers’ immigration bonds to secure their release.” In exchange […]
Va. jobless claims fall to lowest level since March
The number of initial jobless claims filed last week fell to its lowest level since the pandemic’s employment effects began to be felt in mid-March, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Initial jobless claims in Virginia dropped by 29.7% last week compared with the previous filing week, according to the VEC, while continued claims fell […]
Hershey announces $135M Augusta County expansion
The Hershey Co. will invest $135 million to expand its manufacturing operation in Augusta County, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The 90,000-square-foot expansion of the Stuarts Draft facility will create 110 jobs. Hershey Chocolate of Virginia Inc. has operated in Augusta County for more than 30 years, employing more than 1,000 workers. The Augusta County […]
