April 2023 Top Five
The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from Feb. 14 to March 13 included an update on the Lego Group’s Chesterfield County factory, which is expected to begin production in 2025. 1 | Lego to hire 500 Chesterfield employees by year’s end The Danish toymaker expects to create more than 1,760 jobs at […]
German electronics manufacturer to add 100 Va. jobs
Germany-based Zollner Elektronik AG will invest $18 million to expand in Virginia, including boosts to its electronics manufacturing operations in Danville as well at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Leesburg, adding 100 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The expansions include $14 million to expand manufacturing operations in the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Industria[...]
Auto parts maker to establish North America HQ in Salem
German auto parts manufacturer STS Group AG will establish its North American headquarters in Salem, a $32 million investment expected to create 119 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. In April 2021, the company announced a greenfield project in Wythe County, but will now use an existing facility in Salem instead, “due to changing market […]
Filling the steel gap
Metallurgical coal may be an unknown to the general population, but it’s very important to the manufacturing of steel and also valuable in the current economy. In August 2022, Australia-based Coronado Global Resources Inc., which produces metallurgical coal, announced a $169.1 million expansion of its Buchanan Mine Complex in Buchanan and Tazewell counties, expected to […]
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 […]
Filling in
Industrial real estate is a hot commodity in Southwest Virginia. “It’s hard to find available space of anything that’s above 15,000 to 20,000 square feet,” says Jonathan Belcher, executive director of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA), which represents Lee, Wise, Scott, Buchanan, Russell, Tazewell and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton. Leaders […]
A titanic win
After enduring the exodus of companies like Burlington Mills and Daystrom Furniture over the past two decades, Halifax County is celebrating its biggest manufacturing announcement in decades — the arrival of Virginia’s first titanium demonstration facility. Last fall, Charlotte, North Carolina-based IperionX Ltd., a minerals company, announced an $82.1 million investment to establish the natio[...]
Take a load off
One thing Brian Dail noticed as he spent a day and a half in February 2020 participating in step van manufacturer Morgan Olson’s new hire training in Loudon, Tennessee, was the physical strain. After the first hour, he told his colleagues, “‘Gosh, I’m not used to being on my feet. I’m ready to sit down.’” […]
Farmer Focus to create 300 jobs with $17.8M expansion
Harrisonburg-based Farmer Focus is planning a $17.8 million expansion that will create 300 jobs and double its processing capacity, the organic poultry producer announced this week. Part of that expansion will be paid for with a $3.6 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). U.S. Secretary […]
Health care venture to establish manufacturing facility in Norfolk
Princo LLC, a joint venture comprised of health care companies Premier Inc., Vario Labs LLC and Caretrust LLC, will invest up to $23.8 million to establish a health care products manufacturing facility in Norfolk, creating an expected 284 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. Princo will initially invest $18.1 million with the potential to invest […]
Lego to hire 500 Chesterfield employees by year’s end
The Lego Group plans to hire approximately 500 people for its $1 billion Chesterfield County manufacturing facility by the end of this year, according to the Danish toymaker’s head of talent operations in the Americas, Karra McCormack. Lego expects to create more than 1,760 jobs over 10 years. The company and Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced […]
It’s official — Ford plant going to Michigan
Ford Motor Co. announced Monday that it will build an electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan, a $3.5 billion project that Virginia was considered for until Gov. Glenn Youngkin pulled the state out of it late last year. Youngkin’s concern, he said in January, was over the involvement of China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL), […]