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Prompted by shifts in consumer buying trends, Shenandoah Valley farmers are investing heavily in automated systems and cutting-edge growing processes to position themselves for the long haul in an industry that’s changing rapidly. Once dubbed the “breadbasket of the South” because of its bountiful wheat crops, Virginia’s northwestern region has remained an agricultural powerhouse. [...]
Manufacturing 2023: KOEN KNIPPENBERG
A longtime Volvo Group employee, Knippenberg moved from his home country of Belgium to become vice president and general manager of the New River Valley Volvo Trucks plant in April 2022. Before that, he was vice president for the company’s plant in Ghent, Belgium, as well as managing director for Volvo Group Belgium for five […]
Manufacturing 2023: ROBERT H. SPILMAN JR.
Spilman, who has been CEO of home furniture manufacturer and seller Bassett Furniture since 2000, said in March that the company has fulfilled a large backlog of orders and subsequent supply chain disruptions created during the pandemic. In the second quarter, consolidated revenue declined by 22% compared with last year, although the reported $100.5 million […]
Manufacturing 2023: WILLIAM ‘BILLY’ GIFFORD JR.
Gifford became Fortune 500 tobacco product manufacturer Altria’s CEO in 2020, after having served as president and CEO of subsidiary Philip Morris USA and holding other executive posts at Altria for the past 25 years. After four challenging years, during which Altria saw the value of its 35% stake in Juul Labs’ e-cigarette company plummet […]
2023 Virginia 500: Manufacturing
Bradford “Brad” Beauchamp PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARPENTER, RICHMOND Manmeet S. Bhatia PRESIDENT AND CEO, TMEIC AMERICAS, ROANOKE Howard Broadfoot PRESIDENT AND CEO, ELECTRO-MECHANICAL, BRISTOL Ester Codina CLUSTER PRESIDENT NORTH AMERICA AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, ALFA LAVAL US SALES, RICHMOND Rob Collier PRESIDENT, CHEMTREAT, GLEN ALLEN [...]
Manufacturing 2023: ROB COLLIER
Collier has worked for ChemTreat, an industrial water treatment company owned by Danaher, two different times. His first stint was from 2012 to 2018, when he was in the marketing department. He left to become president of Danaher subsidiary McCrometer, a California-based flow meter manufacturer, and returned to ChemTreat in 2020 as senior vice president […]
Manufacturing 2023: CHRIS KEFFER
Keffer took over leadership of U.S. operations for German chainsaw and power tools manufacturer Stihl in early August, after joining the company in 2022 as vice president for sales and marketing. He previously spent about two decades with Stanley Black and Decker. He replaced Terry Horan, who led the division for a little more than […]
Manufacturing 2023: CHARLES ‘CHARLIE’ LUCK IV
The third generation of Lucks to lead the crushed stone company and its real estate subsidiary, Charlie Luck is currently celebrating the company’s 100th anniversary. Over the years, Luck Cos. has established a footprint that extends throughout Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, with about 950 employees. In February, the company applied to build […]
Manufacturing 2023: SCOTT KEOGH
In 2022, Keogh left his position as president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America to serve as head of Scout Motors, the German automaker’s new electric truck and sport utility vehicle division. Scout is a revamp of the iconic Scout all-terrain vehicle brand produced by International Harvester in the 1960s and ’70s. In 2021, […]
Manufacturing 2023: BRYAN FAIRBANKS
In 2020, Fairbanks became president and CEO of publicly traded composite decking and railing manufacturer Trex, one of Fortune’s 100 fastest-growing companies that year. For fiscal year 2022, benefiting from a pandemic-era increased demand in home improvement, Trex brought in more than $1.1 billion, expanding distribution in Texas and launching a new decking line. In […]
Manufacturing 2023: ANDY GIRVIN
As plant manager for New Jersey chemical manufacturer AdvanSix’s largest factory, Girvin has navigated some challenges this year. In April, 340 union workers went on strike at the Hopewell plant, seeking wage increases. The strike ended in May, but that didn’t end troubles at the plant, which annually produces 400,000 tons of caprolactam, a compound […]
Manufacturing 2023: MANMEET S. BHATIA
Bhatia joined Japanese-owned Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corp. (TMEIC) in 2003 as general manager of operations for Toshiba and Mitsubishi’s U.S.-based joint venture with General Electric that ultimately became TMEIC Americas, a regional subsidiary that designs and develops advanced automation systems, large AC and DC motors and photovoltaic inverters. During his career at[...]
