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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 [&hell[...]
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, Taze[...]
DroneUp takes off
Virginia Beach’s DroneUp LLC is riding the leading edge of the unmanned aerial vehicle industry wave. Founded in 2016, the company, which specializes in commercial drone delivery, flight services and software, has grown its ranks from three to 530 employees. Retail giant Walmart Inc. is a new partner, and DroneUp is close to c[...]
A time to build
The Shenandoah Valley Partnership had more economic development activity than “anyone anticipated in 2022,” says Jay Langston, the partnership’s executive director. During the calendar year, the partnership saw close to $140 million in investment and 520 jobs. In Fishersville, Amazon.com Inc. is building a $120 million, [...]
A sampling of Virginia’s major road projects
HAMPTON ROADS Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project Work continues on Virginia’s largest highway construction project, the $3.9 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) expansion. The contract ends in November 2025, but the contractor — Hampton Roads Connector Partners, a joint venture led by Dragados USA Inc. — [...]
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.’” […[...]
Making the grade
For Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, this is the state’s rebuilding era. Although his Democratic predecessor, Gov. Ralph Northam, trumpeted Virginia’s unprecedented consecutive two-time run as CNBC’s Top State for Business, Youngkin has been critical of the state missing out to our Southern neighboring states on big manufactu[...]
Sweet valley high
For Paul Mahoney, chair of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, the past year has stood out for bringing an “explosion of development” to the county. Home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. Inc. opened a new distribution center. North American Specialty Laminations LLC established a mid-Atlantic production facility. And [...]
Moving in
Southern Virginia is laying out the welcome mat for a growing number of companies seeking to locate in areas with lower taxes, better proximity to supply chains, a skilled workforce and improved quality of life. During 2022, a variety of businesses, ranging from an automotive education and entertainment firm to a moving and tr[...]
Defense and defensibility
When it comes to tech and government contractors, Northern Virginia’s national profile continued to rise in 2022. Arlington County, where Amazon.com Inc.’s multibillion-dollar HQ2 is continuing to take shape in National Landing, made headlines around the globe in spring 2022. Fortune 500 companies Boeing Co. and Raytheon Tec[...]
It’s complicated
Going by media coverage alone, you’d be forgiven for thinking that 2021’s Great Resignation turned into “quiet quitting” in 2022, but as always, the national mood is more complicated than any two-word phrase could convey. There are still significant labor shortages in certain sectors — notably health care, education a[...]
