Morgan Olson has paid back a $500,000 Virginia Port Authority grant after the Michigan-based manufacturer of walk-in step vans failed to employ an agreed-upon number of workers at its facility at the Cane Creek Centre Industrial Park in Pittsylvania County.
It’s not the jubilant future economic developers had envisioned when celebrating the company’s October 2019 announcement of plans to invest $57.8 million to bring its operations to a former Ikea facility at the park located outside Danville. At that time, the company, which is a business unit of Texas-based JB Poindexter & Co., expected to create 703 jobs.
By summer 2020, Morgan Olson had its 925,000-square-foot automotive manufacturing facility operating in Pittsylvania.
Two years later, the Port of Virginia awarded Morgan Olson a $500,000 Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Grant, an incentive designed to encourage businesses to locate maritime-related employment centers in the commonwealth or to expand existing facilities. At that time, the company was well on its way to building its promised workforce in Virginia. The Pittsylvania facility employed 612 workers in October 2022, according to a news report.
But circumstances change. Morgan Olson laid off 435 employees at Cane Creek Centre in 2023 and an additional 130 this August, according to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. Currently, there’s only “limited staff there in the facility,” according to Matt Rowe, director of economic development for Pittsylvania County.
On Sept. 25, Stephen Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, which runs the Port of Virginia, sent a letter to Greg Pairitz, vice president and chief financial officer of Morgan Olson, asking for the state grant to be repaid due to failure to comply with “one of more” obligations agreed to in a memorandum of understanding.
“The VPA has determined that Morgan Olson has failed to maintain at least 25 new, permanent full-time positions prior to the performance date of June, 30, 2025,” the letter states.
Edwards gave Morgan Olson 60 days to repay the money. The company repaid the funds on Nov. 20, according to Joe Harris, a spokesperson for the VPA.
A request for comment to a spokesperson for Morgan Olson was not immediately returned.
Rowe on Tuesday remained optimistic about the situation.
“I think the fact that Morgan Olson just came and immediately paid back the $500,000 to Virginia is a very strong testament to them as a company,” he said. “I think it also speaks very strongly to their financial well-being and [to] their commitment to Virginia.”
Rowe speculated that the Morgan Olson facility could have a second chapter. “There’s certain contracts that can’t be publicly discussed that Morgan Olson is negotiating,” he says.
If the Cane Creek facility isn’t occupied by the van maker, Rowe suggested JB Poindexter & Co. could find another use for it.
“The value proposition to the parent company is just too strong for them to not utilize that space,” he says.
In regular talks with Morgan Olson leaders, Rowe said, “they have stressed over and over again that they’re committed to this community, to this facility.”
Rowe speculated that the layoffs were due to Morgan Olson losing a key client. The popularity of electric vehicles and high interest rates, he thinks, could also have impacted customer demand for the company’s custom commercial step vans.
“When the interest rates are high, you tend to make do with what you have, or repair what you have, instead of going and buying something,” he says.
A 2019 announcement about the facility noted Morgan Olson was eligible for several state and local grants, including a $7 million custom performance grant from the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission and $1.195 million from the Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund.
Jordan Butler, public relations director for the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, said on Wednesday that the commission paid $770,775 of those funds to Morgan Olson in May 2024 for creating 561 jobs. Company leaders could have requested the remainder of the funds at the end of September, he noted, if they had created 703 jobs at the Pittsylvania County facility.
The commission changed grant agreements several years ago, Butler added, to require that the created jobs are maintained throughout the performance period and are only dispersed once at the end of the performance period. “So good news is that that this situation couldn’t occur again,” he said.
A spokesperson for VEDP did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information about the Tobacco Regional Opportunity Fund.
Tennessee-based Microporous will invest $1.3 billion to build its battery separator manufacturing facility at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill in Pittsylvania County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The company expects the project to create 2,015 jobs.
The megasite’s first tenant, Microporous will develop Lot 1 at the park in two phases, with each phase being about 500,000 square feet. According to a news release from the governor’s office, the state anticipates Lot 2 of the megasite will be under consideration for Microporous’ potential future expansion. Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina for the project.
During the ceremonial groundbreaking for the project, Youngkin nodded at the controversy created in 2023 after word broke that the governor had pulled the Southern Virginia Megasite out of the running for a $3.5 billion Ford Motor Co. electric vehicle battery factory over national security concerns that a Chinese company would be involved in its operation.
“I want to say it very clearly,” Youngkin said Wednesday. “This is an American company using American technology that will hire American workers and supply American companies.”
For more than eight decades, Microporous has produced separators for lead-acid batteries, the oldest rechargeable battery technology, which is typically used in vehicles and to power grid systems. The company’s headquarters are in Sullivan County, Tennessee, near Bristol, Virginia. It also has a facility in Austria.
At the megasite, Microporous plans to expand into creating battery separators for lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles, energy storage systems and other applications.
Microporous CEO John Reeves said Wednesday that the facility will be at the forefront of clean energy. “We are driven by commitment to innovation, sustainability and growth, and today marks an extraordinary step in that journey,” he said.
The company’s Berry Hill manufacturing facility will be fully operational by 2026, according to Reeves.
The Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill is owned jointly by the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County through the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority (RIFA). Leaders in the two counties have worked to make the site a reality since 2008.
Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors Chair Darrell Dalton called Microporous’ selection of the megasite “a testament to how two localities work together [to] pull themselves out of economic hardship, to where they’re generating optimism for the future.”
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announces Microporous’ $1.3 billion facility in Pittsylvania County. Photo by Beth JoJack
Vic Ingram, chair of the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Authority and a member of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, considers Microporous selecting the megasite for its facility as the start of something great.
“We were once known as the world’s largest tobacco market and home of Dan River Mills, or Dan River Fabrics,” he said. “Many of us vividly remember those tobacco fields, but moving forward, we will be known nationwide, if not worldwide, for advanced manufacturing technology,” he said.
State Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, a commissioner on the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission’s board, noted Wednesday that the commission has invested over $60 million in the project. “And we’re looking forward to getting returned with great paying jobs and great investments here,” he said.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Microporous was among seven recipients of federal funding totaling $275 million designed to strengthen the country’s clean energy supply chains. The majority of the selected projects were planned to be in or adjacent to disadvantaged communities. Microporous was tapped to receive the largest chunk of those federal dollars: $100 million.
In a news release distributed Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, D-VA, noted that Microporous’ Virginia facility will also be eligible for “additional federal incentives because it falls within an area designated that has been designated an ‘energy community’ by the Inflation Reduction Act.”
For several years, progress at the megasite at Berry Hill had stalled because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would not issue a permit to grade the land unless a tenant had been secured. Warner and Kaine worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and advocated for the work to be permitted.
“This is a testament to years of hard work and collaboration, including working in a bipartisan way to address permitting challenges at economic development sites in Southside,” Kaine stated. “With major federal investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and smart moves to cut red tape, it’s clear our work is paying off.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Danville-Pittsylvania County RIFA, Pittsylvania County, the City of Danville, the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission and the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission to secure the Microporous project.
Microporous will be eligible to receive an MEI Commission-approved special appropriation of up to $60.6 million for the company’s investment of more than $1.3 billion and the creation of more than 2,000 jobs, subject to the approval of the Virginia General Assembly, according to a news release from the governor’s office. Additionally, the company is eligible to apply for state grants from the Port of Virginia.
The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a program run by VEDP with higher education partners, will provide recruitment and training services to the company.
When CoStar Group was searching for its new headquarters in 2022, Central Place Tower at 1201 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington County, with its impressive accompanying bird’s-eye views, captured the company’s attention.
Located about a quarter mile from the Potomac River, the gleaming, 391-foot-tall Class A office building features floor-to-ceiling windows across its 31 stories, reflecting the sky, all topped off by a 12,000-square-foot observation deck providing a panoramic view of the area and D.C. landmarks like the Washington Monument. The deck’s three stories of windows and a terrace looked like it would make an ideal meeting place for a company flying in clients from places like Los Angeles, London and Singapore.
Outside the 560,000-square-foot building, a 16,000-square-foot outdoor plaza provides a place to take a break or eat lunch, and across the street stands the Rosslyn Metro station, where passengers can catch a train to either of the region’s two major airports.
“What really appealed to us was the opportunity to have a significant presence up in Rosslyn on a transportation hub … and something that’s a real iconic building [where] we could gather folks coming from around the world for meetings and the like,” explains CoStar founder and CEO Andy Florance.
CoStar, a global real estate data and analytics company best known for its Apartments.com and Homes.com brands, first contacted the Virginia Economic Development Partnership about potentially relocating its corporate headquarters to Virginia from Washington, D.C., in September 2022. During CoStar’s assessment of more than 25 sites in D.C., Arlington and Fairfax County, the company narrowed in on Central Place Tower.
But the building came with a challenge for CoStar: The observation deck, then called The View of DC, came with a county easement that kept it open to the public as a tourist attraction and events space. The View of DC recorded 32,188 visits in 2023, of which about 27,000 were from non-Arlington residents.
“For us,” Florance says, “when we’re trying to bring people in from around the world and having these meetings and partner meetings and staff and client training, having a special space to gather people was important, and having public access and secure, confidential meetings would be difficult or not feasible.”
That’s when Arlington rolled up their sleeves. To address the easement question, explains Arlington Economic Development Director Ryan Touhill, his team worked with the county’s planners, attorney’s office and board “to determine, ‘Could we unwind that?’ and that way, that could give CoStar full access to this prime, trophy office building, and then [the county could] use the funding that we would get from that to reinvest in the neighborhood.”
In February, CoStar announced it would relocate its corporate headquarters to Central Place Tower, purchasing the building for a reported $339 million with plans to invest $20 million in the move. The company is formulating its renovation plans for the building, including lobby and security improvements.
Some CoStar employees are already working at Central Place Tower, and the company plans to have “a significant percentage of [its] team in the Washington metropolitan area” based there by May 2025, Florance says, with all corporate headquarters staff moving to the building by the end of 2025.
CoStar reached a deal to obtain sole use of the observation deck, paying Arlington County $13.95 million, funding the county manager proposed to be used toward the planned redevelopment of the nearby 3-acre Gateway Park, home to the annual Rosslyn Jazz Festival.
In July, the Arlington County Board approved a site plan amendment and a zoning ordinance amendment allowing CoStar private use of the observation deck and allocated the funds for the park’s redevelopment.
CoStar CEO Andy Florance, pictured at the construction site for the company’s Richmond campus expansion, cites Virginia’s strengths in higher education as well as proximity to major global airports as factors that convinced him to move his company’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Arlington. Photo courtesy CoStar Group
“This actually helped accelerate the redevelopment of that park space by nearly a decade, and so now we’ll have a truly world-class amenity in the heart of Rosslyn that will benefit those folks that come to work there every day,” Touhill says. “It’ll benefit the residents and any visitors that we bring to the park.”
Arlington’s negotiations with CoStar to reach an agreement on the observation deck is one example of the flexibility Virginia state and local officials demonstrate when attracting and retaining large economic development projects, including multiple major corporate headquarters relocations.
Lay of the land
Twenty-four Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Virginia, not counting Amazon.com, which officially opened its East Coast headquarters, HQ2, in Arlington’s National Landing area in June 2023. Additionally, since 2020, huge companies like ASGN, Boeing, RTX and CoStar have announced headquarters moves to Virginia.
Winning Amazon’s HQ2 in 2018 was a coup for Virginia, which triumphed over nearly 240 competing bids from other cities and states.
HQ2 was “a real catalyst in some ways,” says VEDP President and CEO Jason El Koubi. “I think it sent a signal to the rest of the world that Virginia is America’s East Coast tech hub, that Virginia is sort of America’s corporate hometown, a place where you have a real density of corporate headquarters that are thriving.”
Along with state and local officials’ willingness to negotiate, Virginia has attracted corporations like Amazon because of its business-friendly environment, educated workforce, location and track record.
Although the state’s recent headquarters wins have garnered big headlines, it’s not a new phenomenon. In past decades, Virginia has been the corporate base for companies like ExxonMobil, AOL, Circuit City and A.H. Robins Co. And it’s currently home to international defense contracting giants like Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics.
The commonwealth historically has had success attracting major headquarters, says Todd Haymore, managing director of Hunton Andrew Kurth’s global economic development, commerce and government relations consultancy and a former Virginia secretary of commerce and trade.
“Look at the broad scope of time,” Haymore says. “It’s not just happening in the last couple of years; it’s happened across decades, and I think it’s fostered by the fact that we are recognized as that pro-business, pro-growth, pro-job creation state.”
For instance, Virginia is a right-to-work state, meaning employees cannot be required to join a union as a condition of employment.
Factors such as these, along with the state’s strong foundation in higher education and workforce training, have contributed to Virginia’s record six wins as CNBC’s Top State for Business in the cable business news network’s annual rankings for 2024, 2021, 2019, 2011, 2009 and 2007.
Also aiding the state’s business-friendly reputation is its stable regulatory environment.
“Companies generally look at Virginia and say, ‘OK, doesn’t matter who’s in the governor’s mansion, doesn’t matter who’s controlling the General Assembly, it’s still going to be pro-business.’ That means a lot,” Haymore says.
CoStar worked with local and state officials, including multiple gubernatorial administrations, on bringing its campuses to Virginia and expanding its footprint in Richmond.
“Virginia generally is very supportive in their economic development efforts to help make it easy for companies like ours to make the sort of massive investments necessary to move your location into the state. They’ve been very supportive. They have gone the extra mile,” Florance says.
The state’s fiscally responsible as well, El Koubi points out. In November 2023, Fitch Ratings affirmed the Virginia government’s AAA long-term issuer default rating, the highest rating Fitch issues. In September, S&P Global Ratings affirmed the commonwealth’s AAA long-term rating on its general obligation debt outstanding, though its appropriation-backed debt received an AA+ rating. Virginia first received an AAA rating from S&P Global in 1962.
Additionally, the commonwealth has maintained a corporate income tax rate of 6% since 1972. “From a tax and regulatory standpoint, Virginia is a very reasonable, predictable, stable operating environment for businesses,” El Koubi says.
That steady corporate tax rate can reduce costs for businesses relocating from other states, providing a competitive advantage for Virginia. For example, neighbors Maryland and Washington, D.C., have an 8.25% corporate income tax rate.
When companies select his county for their headquarters, “it’s a vote of confidence in Arlington and Virginia’s business environment,” says Arlington Economic Development Director Ryan Touhill, “and like-minded companies take note of that.” Photo by Shannon Ayres
Sweetening the pot
Along with Fairfax County’s location, a factor in Hilton’s decision to relocate its headquarters there in 2009 from Beverly Hills, California, was that the move would significantly reduce operating costs, according to the Fortune 500 global hotelier.
“Northern Virginia places Hilton strategically in a central location near our nation’s capital, where we’ve had the benefit of operating in a stable business climate and have simultaneously reduced our operating costs,” Hilton’s senior vice president and global head of talent, Christine Maginnis, said in a statement to Virginia Business.
Similarly, while not always related to company costs, incentive packages offered by Virginia and its localities also help secure large economic development projects like headquarters relocations and major corporate campuses.
For example, CoStar’s Richmond campus, which predates its headquarters move to Arlington by nearly a decade, demonstrates the state’s success in tailoring benefits for companies.
In 2016, CoStar announced it would build a research and technology center in Richmond. Five years later, the company announced a $460.5 million expansion of its Richmond presence into its Corporate Innovation Campus, housing sales, marketing, software development and various other functions. CoStar expects to create 1,984 jobs and have 1 million square feet of office space in the expanded riverfront campus, which is expected to be completed in 2026.
As part of the benefit package for CoStar’s Richmond expansion, the state legislature approved a $15 million grant fund reimbursing the company for public infrastructure improvements, including commuter access and parking and pedestrian access. If, however, CoStar does not reach at least 90% of its pledged job creation and capital investment by Dec. 31, 2028, the company will have to repay an amount proportional to any missed targets.
For CoStar’s Arlington headquarters relocation, Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved $3.5 million for a Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant (a performance-based cash grant), and a $1.25 million grant for Arlington County from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund, a cash grant awarded to local governments on behalf of a company to offset or reimburse certain project-related costs.
Nevertheless, economic incentives are generally just one of several factors that companies consider when locating headquarters or other major assets in Virginia, not the deciding factor.
For instance, when Boeing announced it would relocate its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington in May 2022, the Fortune 100 aerospace and defense contractor did not receive discretionary state incentives. Nor did Fortune 100 defense contractor RTX, at the time branded as Raytheon Technologies, which announced in June 2022 that it would move its headquarters from Massachusetts to Arlington.
Planning ahead
Access to an educated labor force is another important component of a company’s considerations when locating a headquarters, and another place where Virginia is strong.
“I would say that one of the key things that attracted us to Virginia is the higher education system — Virginia Tech, VCU, James Madison, just a whole range of great educational institutions [that] gave us the confidence that we would have the workforce we’d need,” says CoStar’s Florance.
Amazon’s decision to build HQ2, its East Coast headquarters, in Arlington was a “catalyst” for other companies, says Virginia Economic Development Partnership President and CEO Jason El Koubi. “It sent a signal to the rest of the world … that Virginia is sort of America’s corporate hometown.” Photo by Matthew R.O. Brown
In U.S. News & World Report’s education rankings for states, Virginia ranks No. 10 in education overall, No. 9 in pre-K-12 education and No. 20 for higher education.
In Arlington, 78% of the county population holds a bachelor’s or higher degree, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey one-year estimate.
Additionally, Virginia is ripe to target businesses seeking tech talent. Part of the state’s successful bid to land Amazon HQ2, Virginia’s Tech Talent Investment Program aims to produce 31,000 in-demand computer science and related graduates in the next two decades. The program is 2 1/2 years ahead of schedule, according to El Koubi.
It also showed Virginia’s commitment to a long-term strategy, says Chris Lloyd, director of infrastructure and economic development with McGuireWoods Consulting: “I think that that showed that Virginia wasn’t just in it for the short term, but that we were going to build this 20-year pipeline of tech talent and obviously everything else associated with that. … Instead of thinking short term, we thought long term, and leading companies are recognizing that.”
The tech talent program has fueled large state investments in higher education infrastructure, such as Virginia Tech’s $1 billion Innovation Campus in Alexandria, which enrolled its first class in 2020 in temporary space. The campus’ first academic building is set to open in spring 2025. Meanwhile, George Mason University is building its $178 million Fuse at Mason Square, which will have 345,000 square feet for research and development labs, corporate innovation centers and related facilities.
“Almost every business operation now is in part sort of a tech operation, where, corporate headquarters included, … they need tech talent as part of their overall talent needs, and so we’re really doubling down on that and investing in our talent pipeline and solidifying that as one of Virginia’s differentiators,” El Koubi says.
When ASGN moved its headquarters from Calabasas, California, to Henrico County, announcing in 2020 that it would invest $12.4 million on the move, the decision was partly because the Fortune 1000 IT company already had a major subsidiary, Apex Systems, headquartered in Henrico, but ASGN President and CEO Ted Hanson also cited the state’s talent pipeline.
“Virginia’s strong pipeline of information technology talent for both the commercial and government sectors make it an ideal place for us to have our headquarters and continue to grow,” Hanson said in a statement at the time.
Boeing was also attracted to Virginia in part because of its talent pool, according to a statement then-CEO Dave Calhoun made during its announced relocation from Chicago: “The region makes strategic sense for our global headquarters given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders, and its access to world-class engineering and technical talent.”
Boeing had previously made a $50 million, multiyear commitment to Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus.
It’s “pretty extraordinary for a company to pick up its headquarters and move to another state,” says VEDP President and CEO Jason El Koubi, noting Virginia’s wins in attracting multiple large corporate headquarters from companies like Boeing, RTX and CoStar in recent years. Photo by Matthew R.O. Brown
Location, location, location
Outside of tech talent, corporate headquarters need a large professional services core, and the Northern Virginia and Richmond regions offer that, says Lloyd. If you’re going to be establishing a headquarters, he says, “you need to have large law firms and large accounting firms and large ad firms and all the cluster around you.”
Virginia’s central Eastern Seaboard location gives it another boost in headquarters location decisions. “Virginia offers corporate headquarters companies proximity to key economic hubs around the East Coast [and] critical consumer markets,” El Koubi says.
Plus, Northern Virginia features two major airports, with Washington Dulles International Airport offering nonstop flights to 59 international destinations. And the statewide Port of Virginia system, which processed 3.5 million 20-foot equivalent units in fiscal 2024, provides convenient shipping and rail access.
“In Northern Virginia, the airports are a critical factor for a global company [that has] people coming in from around the country and around the world,” says Florance. The headquarters building in Rosslyn was particularly appealing because of its location on the Metro line between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the Dulles airport, he says.
RTX’s 2022 announcement of its headquarters move to Arlington cited the Washington, D.C., region “as a convenient travel hub for the company’s global customers and employees.” And in 2009, Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta touted the commonwealth’s “central location from which to operate a global organization.”
Additionally, Northern Virginia’s proximity to the nation’s capital and the Pentagon makes the region attractive for headquarters, particularly for federal contractors.
“It’s appealing to be headquartered in the D.C. area, not just from a talent access perspective or business climate perspective in Virginia, but because [companies] have close proximity to the federal government from a lobbying and government affairs standpoint,” says Michael Hartnett, JLL’s research lead for the mid-Atlantic region.
Virginia’s competitive advantages for landing corporate headquarters also have grown through the wealth of companies that have previously relocated to the commonwealth.
“Part of what makes Virginia a very business-friendly state and a very strong ecosystem for headquarters,” El Koubi explains, “is the fact that you have a very high density of corporate headquarters in Virginia. … These headquarters companies like to cluster to some extent, in part because of the talent but also because of some of the things that a corporate headquarters needs, including connectivity to the rest of the country and the rest of the world.”
On the local level, Arlington also is profiting from its record of attracting companies like Amazon, Boeing, RTX and CoStar.
“When these companies select us,” Touhill says, “it’s a vote of confidence in Arlington and Virginia’s business environment, and like-minded companies take note of that.”
Electro-Mechanical — an electrical equipment manufacturer headquartered in Bristol — will invest $16.55 million to expand in Washington County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday.
“Electro-Mechanical’s significant expansion in Washington County demonstrates the strength of Southwest Virginia’s manufacturing sector and business climate,” Youngkin stated in a news release.
The company plans to add a 200,000-square-foot facility in Washington County, creating over 109 jobs, according to the governor’s office. Electro-Mechanical hopes to complete the expansion in 2025, according to spokespeople for the company.
Electro-Mechanical also has three manufacturing facilities in Bristol, one in Canada and another in Mexico, they noted. About 520 of the company’s 700 employees work in Bristol.
“We are excited to once again be expanding our Bristol, Virginia, operations,” Howard Broadfoot, president and CEO of Electro-Mechanical, said in a statement. “We have experienced tremendous growth in our business over the past several years and this additional manufacturing capacity will allow us to better serve our customers for years to come.”
Electro-Mechanical’s roots date to 1958 when Frank Leonard opened an electrical apparatus repair shop on Bristol’s Williams Street, according to a company timeline.
Initially, the business primarily served the textile industry, but when a major client went out of business in the late 1960s, Electric Motor Repair and Sales refocused its business on serving the region’s mining industry. In 1971, the company changed its name to Electro-Mechanical and launched Line Power, a division providing electrical distribution and control apparatus.
Electro-Mechanical purchased Federal Pacific Transformer in 1986 and moved the company from Chicago to Bristol. That division offers dry-type transformers and medium-voltage switchgear.
Graycliff Partners, a New York investment firm, purchased Electro-Mechanical in 2021. The next year, Electro-Mechanical acquired Mirus International, a Canadian manufacturer of specialized power quality improvement products.
Graycliff Partners sold Electro-Mechanical to funds managed by California’s Oaktree Capital Management in March.
Virginia competed with Tennessee for the Electro-Mechanical expansion. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Washington County to secure the project for Virginia.
Youngkin approved a $300,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund, a state incentive to spur economic development, to assist Washington County with the project. Additionally, Electro-Mechanical is eligible for state benefits through the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, a state and local government partnership designed to promote job creation and investment. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, created by VEDP in collaboration with higher education participants, will provide recruitment and training services.
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Granules Consumer Health, a subsidiary of Granules India, will invest $1.5 million into expanding its operations in Prince William County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday.
The company plans to install new manufacturing lines at its existing Manassas facility, with an aim of creating nearly 100 new jobs.
“Granules’ decision to expand their operations reinforces Virginia’s position as a cutting-edge hub for advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing,” Youngkin stated in a news release. “This investment … underscores the Commonwealth’s commitment to supporting businesses that drive innovation in healthcare and life sciences.”
In 2022, Granules Consumer Health announced plans to invest $12.5 million to establish a facility on Cushing Road in Manassas for pharmaceutical packaging and distribution. The operation currently has Our Chantilly location is Granules Pharmaceuticals Inc. where the manufacturing occurs. The Manassas operation currently has about 105 full-time workers, according to Bret Svedberg, head of human resources for the company’s North America operations.
“Since its opening in early 2023, we have nearly doubled our workforce by hiring local talent,” Krishna Prasad Chigurupati, chairman and managing director of Granules India, stated in a news release. “This is a big step forward for us, and we are glad to be growing alongside the community.”
Founded in 1991, Granules India has a presence in more than 80 countries.
Granules has 323 employees in North America, including about 185 who work at Granules Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturing facility, in Chantilly, according to Svedberg.
Granules Consumer Health launched in 2014 to manufacture over-the-counter, generic pharmaceutical products.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Prince William to secure the project. Granules Consumer Health will receive support through the state-funded Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides services and funding to support employee recruitment and training.
A Fairfax County-based stone products manufacturer and distributor, Marble Systems, will invest $9.7 million on a warehouse and distribution center in Caroline County, creating an estimated 59 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday.
Virginia competed with South Carolina, New Jersey and Georgia for the project, which will also include cut stone and stone product manufacturing facilities, according to the governor’s office.
In a statement, Marble Systems CEO Munir Turunc said, “By investing in our home state of Virginia, we have achieved an outstanding geographic position that bolsters our ability to serve our distribution and dealer networks and gives us ready access to the Virginia ports and the I-95 corridor. And importantly, we will have access to great employee talent for both immediate and future hiring needs.”
Headquartered in Fairfax, Marble Systems was founded in 1982 and has presences across the country, from Florida to California, as well as a tile outlet in Chantilly. It also has offices in Turkey and Germany, and three factories in western Turkey.
“Marble Systems’ decision to expand in Caroline County underscores Virginia’s commitment to fostering homegrown businesses,” Youngkin said in a statement. “This $9.7 million investment is a win for Virginia’s construction and design industries, and cements the commonwealth’s unparalleled reputation as a hub for high-quality stone product manufacturing.”
Marble Systems will receive consultation and funding for employee recruitment and training through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, a state-funded initiative. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Caroline County and the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance to secure the project for Virginia, and the company is also eligible for benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program.
Currie Medical, a medical device manufacturer, plans to invest $1.22 million to expand its operations in Norfolk, creating an estimated 60 jobs, the governor’s office announced Friday.
Based in Franklin, Tennessee, Currie Medical will lease a 30,000-square-foot building at 3701 E. Virginia Beach Blvd. in Norfolk, where it will house its medical device reprocessing operation and distribution center. Currie has 15 employees in Norfolk and employs about 45 people total between Virginia and Tennessee, according to co-owner Carter Smith. The new facility is expected to be in full operation and fully staffed in the first quarter of 2025, he added.
“Currie Medical is excited to expand our operations into the vibrant business community of Norfolk,” Smith and co-owner Owen Griffin said in a statement. “This region offers us a skilled workforce, strong infrastructure and a supportive environment that fosters growth and innovation in the medical technology sector. With this investment, we are committed to bringing new job opportunities to the area and continuing to develop new solutions in medical device reprocessing. We look forward to contributing to the advancement of health care with our growing Norfolk-based team.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Norfolk and the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance to secure the project, and the Virginia Jobs Investment Program will assist Currie Medical with consultation and funding for recruitment and training activities. The company is also eligible for state benefits through the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program.
“Currie Medical’s expansion in Norfolk highlights Virginia’s growing prowess in specialized manufacturing,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “This project not only adds to our skilled workforce but also strengthens our reputation as a hub for innovative medical technology solutions. We are proud to have them in the commonwealth for years to come.”
VFP, a manufacturer of enclosures used to protect critical infrastructure, will invest $5 million to expand its Scott County facility, a move expected to create 50 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday.
The expansion will allow VFP to respond to a growing data center market.
“Virginia’s robust data center industry relies on manufacturers like VFP, and those synergies have created a robust ecosystem of partners and suppliers,” Youngkin stated in a news release.
Founded in 1965 in Roanoke County, VFP began manufacturing products in Scott County in 1997. It currently employs 350 workers at its campus in Duffield, according to Scott File, its president and CEO.
Scott File is president and CEO of VFP. Photo courtesy VFP
Workers at the employee-owned company, manufacture a variety of products using materials ranging from heavyweight concrete to lightweight flexible metal. VFP shelters are used primarily by utility providers, municipalities, data centers and broadband providers. The products are used on all seven continents.
“Since relocating to Scott County over 25 years ago, VFP has experienced continued growth across all market sectors,” Scott File, president and CEO of VFP, stated in the release. “VFP attributes this success to the loyalty and talent of our employee-owners who share the common goal of supplying industry-leading, quality products and services to our valued customers.”
In 2008, VFP participated in the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade Program, an international business acceleration program offered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. It’s also part of the VEDP’s Supply Chain Optimization Program, which helps companies evaluate their supply chain management and import processes.
The VEDP worked with Scott County to secure the project for Virginia, which competed with Louisiana and Missouri.
Youngkin approved a $75,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Scott County with this project. Support for VFP job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program. The program, created by VEDP in collaboration with higher education partners, offers recruitment and training services at no cost to the company.
KSB USA/North America, a Henrico County-based pump and industrial valve supplier, will invest $25 million to more than double the square footage of its facility there, a project expected to create 32 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday.
As part of the expansion, KSB will add another loading dock office space and update its shipping and receiving area, as well as employee common areas.
“KSB’s expansion of its Henrico County facility is just the latest example of the resurgence of manufacturing in Virginia,” Youngkin said in a statement. “The Greater Richmond region offers the skilled workforce to support KSB’s continued growth, and we thank them for their investment in Virginia.”
A subsidiary of Germany-based KSB Group, KSB USA/North America has operated in Henrico since 1988. The company manufactures pumps, valves and mixers and provides spare parts and services, which include testing, automation and distribution services at the Henrico facility. Through a network of representatives and distributors, KSB serves varying industries, including energy, chemicals and petrochemicals, amusement parks, food and beverage processing and others.
“With initiatives like service efficiency consulting, regional sales and distribution, and expanded operations, today’s groundbreaking of our Henrico County facility will lead to positioning KSB as a market leader in several strategic target segments in the USA,” Luis Maturana, regional executive officer for KSB North America, said in a statement. “This state-of-the-art site, featuring an expanded warehouse, workshop and sustainable infrastructure, is an investment in our future as a market leader.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Henrico County to secure the project for Virginia. VEDP will support the company’s employee training through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, a three-year incentive program that provides cash grant reimbursements for associated human resources costs after a company has had new employees on the payroll for at least 90 days.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week announced $126 million in Virginia Business Ready Sites Program development grants to fund work on 23 industrial sites in the commonwealth.
Virginia’s growing inventory of project-ready sites was a factor in CNBC naming the commonwealth America’s Top State for Business in July, Gov. Youngkin noted in a Thursday news release. The financial news network weighted infrastructure heavily this year in its rankings and rated the state third in the nation for infrastructure, saying that Virginia is a good spot for “companies that want to build fast.”
“Before we took office, Virginia was significantly behind our competitor states,” Youngkin said in a statement Thursday. “We must continue the concerted effort we’ve made to invest in sites over the course of my administration.”
Localities can apply for matching grants from the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program to assist with the initial assessments of sites and to develop project-ready sites. The program is administered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. In January, 21 projects received $90 million in grants for site preparation.
The City of Chesapeake got the largest grant of those announced Thursday: a $35 million award for its Coastal Virginia Megasite, which encompasses more than 4,000 acres near the Virginia and North Carolina lines.
The site is currently designated Tier 3 by the state, meaning it is zoned for industrial or commercial development and that due diligence has been completed on the property, according to Steven Wright, Chesapeake’s director of economic development for Chesapeake. Wright says the $35 million will help the site move toward a Tier 4 designation, meaning all infrastructure is within a year of being in place and that all permitting issues have been identified. Tier 5 is the highest designation, meaning land is “shovel-ready.”
“So that’s a pretty heavy lift,” Wright said. “This $35 million is really going to help us do that and expedite that process.”
The City of Roanoke received a $7.5 million grant that will be combined with a $2.5 million match of city funds to develop its 82-acre “Tract 8” property that is located near Blue Hills Drive. It’s one of the last developable properties in the city for manufacturing.
Currently, the property is designated Tier 3, according to Alicia Cundiff, an economic development specialist for the city.
“This funding will help it get all the way up to a Tier 5, which is great, because once it’s a Tier 5, it’s deemed shovel-ready, and we can start showing it to prospects,” she said.
In the project’s first phase, design and permitting work will be completed. The second phase will be construction. “So clearing the land and grading the land and finishing the access road,” Cundiff noted.
Other Virginia Business Ready Sites Program development grants announced Thursday included:
Chesterfield County received $13 million for Upper Magnolia Green
Prince George County received $10 million for Crosspointe Logistics Centre
The City of Staunton received $9 million for Staunton Crossing
The City of Danville received $9 million for the Coleman Site
Greensville County received $8.5 million for the Mid-Atlantic Advanced Manufacturing Center
Pittsylvania County received $6 million for the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill
Franklin County received $5.5 million for the Summit View Business Park
Wythe County received about $5.1 million for lot 10 of Progress Park
Rockingham County received $4.5 million for Innovation Village at Rockingham
The City of Suffolk received $3.5 million for the Port 460 Logistics Center
The City of Radford received $3.5 million for the VCI Property
Sussex County received $1.5 million for Sussex Green Enterprise Park
Bedford County received $1.5 million for the New London Business and Technology Park
Brunswick County received $1 million for Stonewall
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