Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Upcoming Event

Best Places to Work in Virginia

Hamburger Menu Hamburger Menu

Tag: Grayson County

Va. agricultural damage from Helene totals $159.3M

Hurricane Helene’s agricultural damage in Virginia totals more than $159.3 million, according to Virginia Cooperative Extension agents’ research.

Hurricane Helene made landfall on the Gulf Coast in Florida as a Category 4 storm late on Sept. 26 and tore through the Southeast into Sept. 27, causing catastrophic flooding in parts of Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee even as it weakened. The storm’s death toll totals more than 220 across six states.

The extension agents worked across 21 localities — 20 counties and the city of Radford — to complete the agricultural damage assessment, and the Virginia Department of Forestry provided information on timber losses, according to a Tuesday news release from Virginia Tech.

According to the report, 3,672 Virginia farms suffered losses from hurricane damage.

Of the 21 localities, Grayson County had the biggest losses, amounting to $61 million — 38% of the statewide damage. Wythe, Smyth, Washington and Carroll counties were the next four localities with the most economic losses from the hurricane, with respective damages of approximately $22.7 million, $18.4 million, $12.9 million and $12.1 million.

“Farming is a critical contributor to the rural economies where these losses occurred,” Dan Goerlich, the extension’s associate director for economy, community and food, said in a statement. “It is our hope that this assessment will help guide resources for recovery to these farms and communities that are so vital to Virginia’s economic prosperity.”

Virginia vegetable and crop damage totaled an estimated $38.1 million. Of those, the heaviest losses came from timber ($25.9 million), hay ($3.3 million) and pumpkins ($2.3 million).

Livestock, aquaculture and apiary losses amount to $1.5 million, with beef cattle producers losing $1.2 million. Trout producers’ losses came to about $130,700, and damages to dairy cow farmers were about $15,250.

Facilities, land and infrastructure losses totaled $119.6 million, with damage to fencing, structures and land comprising the largest losses. Damage to fencing totaled $54.3 million, and structure damage accounted for an estimated $27.8 million. Land damage and debris removal represented an estimated $25.5 million.

Established in 1914, Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership between Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. It operates out of 107 offices, 11 agricultural research and extension centers and six 4-H centers.

Extension agents have set up 10 centers around the region for collecting and distributing supplies for recovery efforts. They’re also hosting hay donation days on Saturdays throughout November. The extension, Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Agribusiness Council and Farm Credit of the Virginias have partnered to form the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Relief Program, which connects farmers with volunteers and hay, feed, fencing and other donations.

Finding new solutions

Movers and shakers in Southwest Virginia wanted to try a new approach to economic development.

The stakes were (and are) high.

Naturally, the decline of the coal industry had a devastating impact on Virginia’s coalfields. The Appalachian Regional Commission classifies four counties in Southwest Virginia — Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee and Wise — as economically distressed.

Every county in Southwest Virginia saw a drop in population over the past decade, according to the 2020 census, leading to the loss of a delegate seat.

Trying to turn the tide, leaders in the area created InvestSWVA, a public-private economic development and marketing initiative for Southwest Virginia.

The idea for the initiative was born, according to Will Payne, InvestSWVA’s director, out of a desire by several current and former state legislators representing the region, including the late state Sen. Ben Chafin, state Sen. Todd Pillion and Dels. Terry Kilgore and Israel O’Quinn, to see Southwest Virginia be more proactive and assertive in pursuing business leads.

One member of the group or another, according to Payne, heard a rumor that EarthLink CEO Glenn Goad, who grew up in Wise County, was considering bringing some customer service operations from overseas back to the United States.

Kilgore drove to Atlanta to visit Goad in November 2019, according to Payne. In January, a larger group consisting of Kilgore, O’Quinn, Pillion, Chafin, Payne and Duane Miller, executive director of the LENOWISCO Planning District Commission, traveled to Atlanta to talk again with the head of the high-speed internet and mobile phone service provider.

The personal approach worked.

In September, EarthLink announced plans to invest $5.4 million to build a customer support center on property that sits on a reclaimed mine site in Norton, creating 285 jobs.

Miller feels confident it was the efforts by lawmakers and leaders to make personal connections with business executives that caused Southwest Virginia to be successful with EarthLink.

“Everyone has just said, ‘OK, let’s roll our sleeves up, and let’s just get to it,’” Miller explains.

Big news in Wythe County

Experts say there are two must-haves for sealing economic development deals: the right infrastructure and the right location.

Virginia committed $8.5 million to upgrade infrastructure at Progress Park in Wythe County to secure a deal with Connecticut-based Blue Star NBR LLC to invest $714 million to build a manufacturing facility that will produce nitrile butadiene rubber and medical gloves, creating more than 2,000 jobs. (See related story.)

The state’s investment in the project includes $3 million to expand the Fort Chiswell Wastewater Plant, $1.5 million to extend public sewer infrastructure and $4 million to build a water tank serving Progress Park.

Another new tenant at Progress Park will also get to benefit from those upgrades. STS Group AG, a supplier of interior and exterior parts for commercial vehicles, announced in April it plans to invest $39 million to bring its first U.S. manufacturing operation to the Wythe County business park, creating 120 jobs.

Slot machines and sawmills

Southwest Virginia’s biggest economic development news in 2020 was, of course, Bristol voters’ overwhelming approval of a referendum allowing Hard Rock International Inc. to build a $400 million resort and casino.

In late 2021, Hard Rock International announced construction has begun on a temporary casino at the former Bristol Mall, set to open in the first half of 2022, creating an expected 600 jobs. The temporary, full-service casino will offer about 900 gaming slots and 20 tables for gaming, as well as a restaurant and lounge in a 30,000-square-foot space.

Smyth and Grayson counties celebrated a win in August 2021 when Woodgrain Inc., a manufacturer of wood molding and trim, announced plans to invest nearly $9 million to expand its Smyth County operations and put $8 million more into purchasing and expanding Independence Lumber sawmill in Grayson County.

“If this hadn’t have worked, it probably would have closed,” Mitch Smith, deputy county administrator for Grayson County, says of the sawmill, which is the county’s largest private employer.

This deal means the sawmill’s 80 workers will keep their jobs, and Woodgrain is set to add 20 jobs at the sawmill over the next three years, according to Smith. Additionally, the expansion is expected to create 80 jobs at the facility in Smyth County.

Energy opportunities

Del. Will Morefield, R-Tazewell, believes there’s a perception that Virginia’s coalfield communities are opposed to alternative energy. “In reality, we’re not,” he says. “We welcome it with open arms.”

Morefield is working closely with Kentucky-based Edelen Renewables, which is partnering with Kansas City-based solar developer Savion LLC to build a 700-acre solar farm on a former surface mine in Buchanan County. The $100 million solar farm is expected to generate about $100,000 annually in tax revenue and create about six permanent jobs and
250 construction jobs.

Although he’s a supporter of what he describes as “an-all-of-the-above approach” to energy, Morefield isn’t abandoning coal.

He was pleased when SunCoke Energy Inc., a producer of high-quality coke for blast furnace steel production, announced plans in May 2021 to invest $50 million to refurbish its manufacturing operation in Buchanan County and to perform upgrades allowing the facility to produce foundry coke, which is used for melting iron and other metals. Work on the project is expected to last several years, according to a company spokesperson.

“They’re one of the largest buyers of coal in Southwest Virginia,” Morefield says of SunCoke. “The multiplier effect that that company has on the local economy is significant.”

Growing established companies

“We’re seeing some really good growth among our existing manufacturing companies in the area,” says Jonathan Belcher, executive director of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority.

For one, Tempur Sealy International Inc. is expanding its Duffield facility in Scott County, investing $16.7 million and adding 25 jobs to meet growing demand for its foam mattress and pillow products.

In another win for Scott County, VFP Inc., which manufactures enclosures to protect critical infrastructure, announced plans in November 2021 to invest $7.2 million to expand its operation there, enabling the company to produce larger concrete shelters and meet future market demand.

Tazewell County also benefited from an expansion by a longtime area employer in 2021. Family-owned heavy metal fabricator Lawrence Brothers Inc. announced plans in April to invest $3.2 million to upgrade and modernize its machinery and equipment to increase capacity and double production. The expansion is expected to create 40 jobs.

Good fits for Russell County

Some economic development offices get obsessed with landing a whale, according to Ernie McFaddin, chairperson of Russell County’s industrial development authority. While he’ll certainly take a corporation bringing 2,000 jobs to the area, he’s also happy to land medium-size deals.

“I know for us that an employer with 50 to 150 jobs is really the sweet spot,” he says. The county got just that with Ceccato S.p.A. In September, the Italian vehicle-washing equipment manufacturer announced plans to invest $1.75 million to build its U.S. headquarters in Russell County, creating up to 50 jobs over the next three to five years.

Ceccato USA President and CEO Jimmy Sisk settled on the Russell Place building in Lebanon the first time he looked at it, according to McFaddin.

“I think the biggest thing he liked was that he really didn’t have to do anything to it,” McFaddin says. “Clearly they were looking for a place where they could get started quickly.”   

 

Southwest Virginia’s recent deals

Blue Star NBR LLC

Wythe County

2,464 jobs

EarthLink

Norton

285 jobs

Amazon.com Inc.

Bristol

200 jobs

STS Group AG

Wythe County

120 jobs

Maine Five Distributors LLC

Buchanan County

100 jobs

Woodgrain Inc.

Smyth County

80 jobs

Ceccato S.p.A.

Russell County

50 jobs

Lawrence Brothers Inc.

Tazewell County

40 jobs

Mohawk Industries Inc.

Carroll County

35 jobs

VFP Inc.

Scott County

30 jobs

Source: Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Facebook bringing broadband to Grayson County

Facebook, Appalachian Power and Gigabeam Networks are partnering to bring faster internet to Grayson County residents, the social media giant announced Thursday.

The trio of companies will bring fiber-to-the-home and wireless internet to about 6,000 households in Grayson, a Southwest Virginia county with a population of about 15,000. Gigabeam will begin offering internet service in the fall.

Facebook is building new long-haul fiber routes, which will connect Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina data centers. When completed, they will allow small local carriers to use the excess capacity to provide connectivity in underserved areas. Last year, the company opened a $1.75 billion center in Henrico County.

Facebook’s network will connect with Appalachian Power’s middle-mile fiber network along its electric infrastructure grid, which Gigabeam Networks built on, extending fiber-to-the-home, bringing customers broadband access. Facebook’s long-haul network will allow for increased access to backhaul (transmission of a signal between sites). It also brings engineering, construction and technical resources to the table.

Gov. Ralph Northam and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner have focused efforts on bringing broadband access to all underserved areas of Virginia. In July, Northam said he wants to spend $700 million of the state’s federal relief funding on expanding access to Virginia in the next 18 months, and earlier this month, Warner secured $219.8 million in extra federal funds for Virginia, part of his $10 billion allocation nationwide to help states, territories and tribal governments increase broadband access.

“I’m a big believer that with this level of high speed and connectivity, people won’t be forced to move away to cities to find good quality jobs,” Warner said in a statement.

Woodgrain Inc. to invest $17M in SW Va., creating 100 jobs

Woodgrain Inc. will invest $9 million to expand its operations in Smyth County and invest $8 million more to purchase and expand the former Independence Lumber sawmill in Grayson County, producing 100 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday.

The family-owned business based in Idaho is one of the largest millwork companies in the world, manufacturing wood moulding and trim. Woodgrain has 27 facilities and more than 3,500 workers.

The two projects will save 80 jobs and increase purchases of Virginia-grown forest products, the governor’s office said in a news release.

Independence Lumber is Grayson County’s largest private employer, and when the sawmill upgrades are complete, it will become the primary supplier for Woodgrain’s Smyth County operation. It will also allow Woodgrain to source 90% of its new forest product needs from Virginia, leading to the purchase of an additional 9 million board feet of Virginia-grown forest products over the next three years.

“Forestry is the commonwealth’s third-largest private industry, supporting more than 107,000 jobs in our rural communities and providing an economic impact of $21 billion annually,” Northam said in a statement. “Woodgrain continues to bring welcomed employment opportunities and capital investment to Southwest Virginia, supporting my administration’s goal to bring economic vitality to all corners of the commonwealth. I’m thankful to Woodgrain for their commitment to Virginia forest products and look forward to continued partnership in the future.”
In addition to millwork manufacturing, Woodgrain owns and manages forestlands and several sawmills in the Pacific Northwest. The dimensional sawmill in Grayson County will be the company’s first sawmill on the East Coast. Woodgrain plans to retain the sawmill’s existing employees and create 20 new jobs at the facility. In Smyth County, Woodgrain will improve its existing manufacturing facility and expand into another building, creating 80 jobs and increasing that facility’s purchases of Virginia-grown forest products by nearly 20%.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, and Virginia’s Industrial Advancement Alliance worked with Grayson and Smyth Counties to secure the project for the state. Northam approved $350,000 in awards from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development program, and funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

Grayson County food manufacturer announces $1.5M expansion

Organic meat snack brand Grayson Natural Farms LLC will expand its Grayson County operation by 35,000 square feet through a $1.5 million investment, creating 40 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday.

Grayson Natural Farms produces Landcrafted Food, which are grass-fed, organic meat snacks. Its smokehouse and production operation is currently located at 226 Industrial Lane. The company first opened its facility in 2017. 

“The success of existing businesses is paramount to Virginia’s economic recovery, and we remain committed to helping them thrive amid these trying times,” Northam said in a statement. “Our commonwealth has built a strong reputation as a leader in the food and beverage sector, and the continued growth of Grayson Natural Farms in Southwest Virginia is a testament to the many competitive advantages that make this region appealing for expanding companies like Grayson Natural Farms.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Grayson County, Virginia’s Industrial Advancement Alliance and the Port of Virginia to secure the project for Virginia. Northam approved a $50,000 Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund grant to help Grayson County with the project. 

Grayson Natural Farms is also eligible for Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program benefits, as well as the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The Virginia Jobs Investment Program will provide funding and employee training.

“Grayson Natural Farms has become a strong asset to the agricultural economy in Southwest Virginia, and we congratulate the company on its expansion in Grayson County,” Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball said in a statement. “The company’s continued investment in Virginia and commitment to economic sustainability for family farms is much appreciated, especially in these challenging times.”

 

Subscribe to Virginia Business.

Get our daily e-newsletter.

S.C. manufacturer relocating to Grayson County

Metalworx Inc., a manufacturer of highly-engineered and precision-manufactured components, assemblies and products for industrial uses, is investing $7.6 million to relocate its headquarters and manufacturing operations from South Carolina to the former Core Fitness Complex in Grayson County, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday.

Virginia competed with North Carolina for the project, which will create 59 jobs.
“Virginia had a strong foundation for job growth before the pandemic and Metalworx’s decision to relocate to our commonwealth demonstrates that companies remain confident in our economy and its people,” Northam said. “This project is a win-win, as the company will return a vacant facility to productive use while creating 59 high-quality jobs in Southwest Virginia and tapping into the region’s dedicated manufacturing workforce and training programs.”
Founded in Summerville, South Carolina, in 1997 by Michael and Leah Sawer, Metalworx manufactures low-to high-volume components, assemblies and products for use in industries including medicine, defense, aerospace, power generation, transportation, communications and wind energy. Metalworx partners with three related entities: Real Performance Machinery, a sawmill equipment manufacturer; Innovative Medical Solutions Group, a medical equipment mounting manufacturer; and Range of Motion Enterprises, a product development consulting firm.
“We are pleased to move forward with our expansion into Grayson County and we anticipate this will help us continue to meet our growing customer demand,” Metalworx President and CEO Michael Sawer said in a statement. “We hope to provide Grayson County and the surrounding area with skilled manufacturing employment opportunities, competitive wages and benefits, and expand our existing apprenticeship program.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Grayson County, the Town of Independence, Virginia’s Industrial Advancement Alliance and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission to secure the project for Virginia. Northam approved a $150,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Grayson County with the project. The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission approved $265,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds for the project. Metalworx is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and funding and services to support Metalworx employee training activities will be provided through VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program.