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byline: Jason Roop

Dollar Tree launches digital media network

Chesapeake-based Fortune 500 discount retailer Dollar Tree has launched a digital media arm that aims to connect advertisers with potential customers via its Family Dollar retail brand, it announced today.

Dollar Tree says its new venture, the Chesapeake Media Group, will offer services that help companies place ads on Family Dollar’s website and mobile app  — which has 14 million users registered for the Family Dollar Smart Coupons program.

“Brands will be able to directly reach millions of families across America through a variety of digital options,” Dollar Tree’s enterprise chief merchandising officer, Richard McNeely, said in a statement.

The company announced partnerships with Swiftly and Aki Technologies on the new digital platform.

Dollar Tree, which operates 15,685 stores in the United States and Canada, is one of three Fortune 500 companies in Hampton Roads.

Henrico-based The Hilb Group announces four acquisitions

Henrico County-based insurance company The Hilb Group LLC (THG) announced a series of acquisitions in the last three weeks, bringing its total offices to more than 100 in 22 states.

The company has been focused on acquisitions in recent years. Founded in 2009, THG has been a portfolio company of Washington, D.C.-based investment management company The Carlyle Group since late 2019.

Recently announced transactions include:

  • STAR Insurance, based in Indiana. The acquisition became effective March 1.
  • A book of business of quick-serve restaurants clients, effective Jan. 1, 2021. The clients represent more than 100 locations in New Jersey and New York, and will fall into THG’s Alternative Solutions Insurance Company program.
  • McCartha, Cobb & Associates Inc., based in South Carolina, effective April 1. The agency specializes in contract and commercial surety bonds to the construction industry.
  • Clarus Benefits Group LLC, an employee benefits and human resources consulting firm based in Texas, effective April 1.

U.Va. names new engineering school dean

The School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia announced Friday the appointment of its first female dean, Jennifer L. West. She will start July 1.

A researcher, inventor and entrepreneur, West comes from Duke University, where she’s been associate dean of doctoral education for a little more than six years at the Pratt School of Engineering. She’s been the Fitzpatrick Family University Professor at the engineering school for nearly nine years, in the areas of biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering and materials science.

West previously was the first faculty member hired by Rice University to form its Department of Bioengineering. During her time at Rice, West helped develop curricula and hire faculty and played in integral role in the development of the university’s Bioscience Research Collaborative, a 477,000-square-foot facility where bioengineering faculty were co-located with key collaborative groups.

U.Va. cited West’s 25 years of experience in engineering education and leadership, noting her election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2016 and the National Academy of Inventors in 2017.

University Provost Liz Magill called West a “creative and bold leader,” saying West is “nationally recognized as a change-agent in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.”

West’s research is focused on “biomaterials, nanotechnology and tissue engineering, applying engineering approaches to studying biological problems and solving unmet medical needs,” according to the U.Va. announcement. She also holds 19 patents that have been licensed to eight different companies, including two bioscience startups, Focal Inc. and Nanospectra Biosciences Inc. — which West cofounded.

West is a 1992 graduate of MIT and earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

BWX Technologies lands $2.2B in naval nuclear contracts

Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies Inc. has landed $2.2 billion in U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program contracts, the nuclear components and fuel supplier announced Tuesday.

Approximately half of the contract was awarded in the first quarter of the year, with the rest as options subject to congressional appropriations, according to the company, which employs approximately 6,600 people across 12 sites in the United States and Canada.

Lynchburg will be the site for some of the contract work on Columbia and Virginia class naval nuclear reactor component manufacturing and material procurement activities, the company said.

“Today’s announcement marks a continuation of a more-than-65-year-old trusted relationship with the U.S. government to provide the reactors that power our nation’s nuclear navy,” BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc. President Joel W. Duling said in a statement. “We are proud to continue manufacturing essential components for this generation of sailors.”

The eight-year contract begins this year.

Earlier this month, the company announced a contract extension with the U.S. Department of Energy worth up to $690 million.

$59.6M hydroponic operation coming to Va. Beach

Agriculture startup Sunny Farms LLC plans to build a $59.6 million, 32-acre hydroponic operation in Virginia Beach — creating 155 jobs and one of the largest greenhouses on the East Coast, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday.

The facility, which will cover 1.2 million square feet when completed in three years, will be located at Taylor Farms off Dam Neck Road, south of the Oceana Naval Air Station and approximately six miles west of the beach.

The company’s cofounders, veterans Jim Arnhold and Wayne Zinn, worked with the School of Plant and Environmental Science at Virginia Tech and other industry experts to develop the greenhouse, whose production system will be sourced from Virginia-based Prins-USA, according to the announcement.

“Farm-to-table has never been a shorter journey,” Arnhold said in a statement. “As a long-term member of the real estate and development community, I’ve witnessed the erosion of crop and food production within Virginia Beach. Sunny Farms’ highly productive and clean growing initiative makes sense for our area, and we’re proud to be leading the way.”

The project also will be the site of a new nonprofit, One Matters Inc., aimed at providing workforce development opportunities for underserved populations, according to the announcement.

State incentives for the project include a $600,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund and a $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund. Sunny Farms also will be eligible for tax credits by creating new, full-time jobs. Other support comes from a workforce initiative called the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, created by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership with the Virginia Community College System and other higher education partners.

3Pillar Global closes third acquisition within year

Fairfax-based product lifecycle management company 3Pillar Global Inc. has completed an acquisition of North Carolina-based software firm Software Development Europe, it announced Tuesday.

It’s the third acquisition for 3Pillar during the past year — part of a growth strategy fueled by an investment from New York-based private equity investor CIP Capital, according to 3Pillar.

The company, founded in 2006, purchased Costa Rica-based Isthmus Software in August, adding 200 employees, and Tempe, Arizona-based Tiempo Development in December, adding 400 employees.

The acquisition announced this week brings the company’s total employee count to more than 1,800 in six countries, it said.

3Pillar, whose clients include CARFAX, Fortune and PBS, also notes that the acquisition allows it to offer service around the clock to clients through Software Development Europe’s development centers in the Czech Republic.

“Combining the strengths of the Software Development Europe team with the skilled team at 3Pillar allows us to deliver expanded engineering excellence and development expertise to our clients,” CEO David DeWolf said in a statement.

United Methodist Family Services gets new chief

Nancy Toscano has become president and CEO of United Methodist Family Services (UMFS), a 121-year-old nonprofit statewide provider of social services programs for high-risk children and parents.

Promoted from chief operating officer, Toscano succeeds Greg Peters, who is retiring after more than 20 years leading the Richmond-based nonprofit.

Toscano, who was named to the role in October, will be the nonprofit’s first female president and CEO. A New York native, she spent part of her career overseas and opened a school for youth with autism in Malaysia. She’s held leadership roles at UMFS and its Charterhouse School for nearly 14 years and was named COO in 2018.

Toscano is a graduate of Siena College and holds a master’s degree in social work from New York University and a Ph.D. in public policy and administration with a concentration in nonprofit leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.

“As the agency moves forward and takes on new and increasingly complex challenges, we will be well-served by Nancy’s strategic thinking, organizational skills and the values she brings to the job every day,” Mike Giancaspro, chairman of the UMFS board, said in a statement.

In a statement, UMFS also lauded Peters for transforming a local foster care services organization into a statewide provider of 18 social service programs helping 13,775 children, teenagers and family members.

Fed says Fifth District economy shows moderate growth

The economy has grown “moderately” in recent weeks, with strong production increases, employment rising and consumer spending up in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District, which includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland, according to the latest edition of the Fed’s Beige Book, released Wednesday.

The Beige Book, which is published eight times a year, reflects economic conditions based on anecdotal information gathered from the 12 Federal Reserve Banks about economic conditions in the Fed districts.

Manufacturers are reporting robust growth and demand to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, citing production challenges because of labor constraints, shipping delays and material shortages. Trucking volumes remain at “near-record high levels” and ports are seeing “strong increases in shipping volumes.”

In an industry hit hard by the pandemic, tourism and travel are growing modestly, according to the report, with outdoor attractions and beach destinations popular. Restaurants said they hope warmer weather will bring more outdoor diners.

Retailers are seeing traffic increase, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into sales for clothing stores. Food and home goods are in high demand.

In real estate, demand for homes and a decrease in inventory have houses selling fast — some “within hours,” according to the report. But commercial real estate leasing remained below pre-pandemic levels. Demand for industrial real estate was strong, the report noted.

The new round of Paycheck Protection Program loans has led to modest growth in business lending, according to the report, and new stimulus payments created strong deposit growth for banks. Loan activity has grown moderately.

Employment is increasing modestly, according to the report, but recruitment and turnover is a challenge, depending on the industry.

“One manufacturer said that they needed to hire and train three workers to retain one,” according to the report, while a professional business firm reported that engineers and technical professionals are difficult to find because “those workers [are] hesitant to change jobs.” A staffing agency said some firms were raising rates to increase interest in open hourly and lower-wage positions.

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Mary Baldwin University announces $5 million gift

William H. “Bill” Goodwin Jr. and his wife, Alice, have made a $5 million gift to Mary Baldwin University to fund the launch of a new hybrid doctor of nursing practice degree program.

The prominent Richmond philanthropic couple, who have given tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes, said in a statement that they hope their gift “will inspire others who share our passion for helping people.”

The Staunton-based university says the new nursing degree program will launch in August at the university’s Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences.

Alice Goodwin attended Mary Baldwin College in the class of 1966, the university notes. Bill Goodwin is the retired chairman and president of Riverstone Group LLC.

“Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin are extraordinary advocates for improving the lives of others through advances in healthcare and how it’s delivered,” Mary Baldwin President Pamela R. Fox said in a statement.

Half of the gift will go toward a program that provides research opportunities to connect scientific research with day-to-day clinical practice, the university said. The other half will help with startup costs for the doctor of nursing practice program, which aims to “close the gap between research discoveries and their practical application to patient care,” the Goodwins said.

The Goodwins and the estate of their late son, Hunter, who died from cancer in 2020, pledged $250 million in March to found the Break Through Cancer foundation, which will support cancer research.

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Economic development consultancy taps Roanoke partner

Longtime economic development executive John J. Smolak has joined Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting (SHEDC) as a partner, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based consultancy announced this week.

Smolak, who will be based in Roanoke, worked for 25 years with Appalachian Power. He’s well known in the Southwest Virginia region, where he will help the firm expand, says SHEDC Managing Partner David W. Denny.

After graduating from Kent State University, Smolak began his career with the West Virginia Development Office before joining Appalachian Power. He spent six and a half years as president and CEO of Franklin Southampton Economic Development in Hampton Roads and served as chairman of the 17-state Southern Economic Development Council, according to the firm’s announcement.

In July 2020, Smolak retired from Appalachian Power, where he oversaw growth in three states, and opened an advisory services and consulting business.

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