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Tech manufacturer to add 32 jobs in Newport News

Newport News-based automated machinery designer Mühlbauer Inc. will invest $9 million to expand its Newport News operation, a project expected to create 32 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday.

Mühlbauer Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of German company Mühlbauer Group. The company will make upgrades to its Oakland Industrial Park facility and add production equipment.

“Mühlbauer’s decision to upgrade and expand its operation demonstrates the renewed trust manufacturers have in the commonwealth,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Mühlbauer has a history of success in the city of Newport News, which fosters an impressive business climate to attract and retain a robust manufacturing industry. We thank the company for its investment and long-term commitment to the commonwealth.”

Founded in 1981 in Germany, Mühlbauer Group manufactures automated machinery used to make chip-based cards, radio-frequency identification (RFID) labels or smart tags. It also manufactures inspection equipment used in currency and semiconductor chip production. The company offers security software solutions for authentication and verification at border crossing stations and airports. Mühlbauer Group has about 4,000 employees worldwide and operates centers in the U.S., Germany, China, Malaysia, Serbia and Slovakia.

In 2009, Mühlbauer Inc. opened a 30,000-square-foot facility in Oakland Industrial Park. The subsidiary provides hardware and software for automation solutions for ePassports, electronic identity documents and others.

“We started our success in Virginia 25 years ago and would like to continue our path in Virginia,” Mühlbauer Group founder and CEO Josef Mühlbauer said in a statement. “We have grown to love this area and the Virginians. Our company has always appreciated the support we have received from the city of Newport News as well as the state of Virginia. Mühlbauer is also very proud that the Virginia driver license is manufactured and personalized with Mühlbauer equipment.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the city of Newport News, the Hampton Roads Alliance and the Port of Virginia to secure the project, for which Virginia competed with Oregon. Youngkin approved a $227,700 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Newport News. Mühlbauer is eligible to receive benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a workforce initiative created by the VEDP and Virginia Community College System, will provide customizable recruitment and training services at no cost to the company.

Northam extends ban on elective surgeries until May 1

Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday extended the ban on elective surgeries at Virginia hospitals until May 1, despite the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association’s (VHHA) letter sent to Northam urging him not to extend the executive order.

Northam issued Order of Health Public Emergency Two on March 25, prohibiting non-emergency medical procedures in an effort to preserve in-demand personal protective equipment (PPE) needed for medical workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic. The order was originally set to expire tomorrow, Friday April 24. The governor and State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver said they needed more time to evaluate the easing restrictions and also to secure more PPE.

“We have increased our supply of PPE, but before we allow elective surgeries to resume, we must first be assured that the doctors, nurses, and medical staff who are fighting this virus or conducting emergency surgeries have the necessary supplies,” Northam said. “We are working with medical facilities on plans to ensure that we can resume elective surgeries safely and responsibly.”

The VHHA, however, said that the elective surgery ban has preserved enough PPE and freed up enough hospital bed space and should be ended immediately.

“Virginia’s hospitals voluntarily postponed non-urgent medical procedures on March 18 out of an abundance of caution, to preserve personal protective equipment and free up bed space to prepare for the fight against COVID-19,” Julian Walker, VHHA vice president of communications, said in response to Northam’s extended ban Thursday evening. “In the five weeks since, circumstances have changed. Our hospital members have available staff, thousands of beds and ventilators, and access to PPE to accommodate both COVID and non-COVID patient treatment needs.”

The VHHA estimated Thursday that 60,000 inpatient and outpatient procedures have been deferred in Virginia. As of Thursday, Virginia hospitals are treating 1,379 COVID-19 patients, have 5,327 beds available and have 2,264 ventilators available to provide respiratory support to patients, according to the VHHA COVID-19 Data Dashboard.

“While the crisis is far from over and COVID-19 will continue to be the primary focus of our hospitals and health care providers for the foreseeable future, we are mindful of the tens of thousands of Virginians who have deferred care for chronic conditions and other non-urgent medical needs,” VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton wrote in the letter to Northam. “We are concerned that continuing to delay their care while we have available capacity to address and/or stabilize their conditions will have long-term negative impacts on health across the commonwealth.”

As a result of declining revenues from canceled elective surgeries and drastically decreased patient traffic, many hospital systems, including Ballad Health, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Carilion Clinic and Inova Health System, have each furloughed hundreds of employees and instituted other measures such as executive pay cuts. 

“We believe [the Virginia hospital community is] in a position to resume serving the estimated 15,000 Virginia patients who each week are being forced to delay needed medical procedures like colonoscopies, mammograms, and other important care,” Walker said of Northam’s extended ban. “Like their counterparts in at least 17 other states that are moving to resume non-emergency procedures … Virginia hospitals and health systems have the capacity to meet the medical treatment needs of thousands of patients who need essential procedures that have been postponed due to the pandemic while also maintaining a high level of care for COVID-19 patients.”

 

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