Sign In
Free Newsletter
On deck
There’s massive work underway in the Hampton Roads maritime industry, with much more on the horizon. The region is hiring, big-time. But are there enough qualified candidates to fill the jobs? Regional leaders want to get ahead of the question, they say, considering the window of opportunity and what’s at stake for the area�[...]
Smoother flow
Just a year and a half ago, it wasn’t uncommon for a truck at the Virginia International Gateway to spend two to four hours waiting to pick up and drop off cargo. The Port of Virginia would open the gate at 1 a.m. and wouldn’t close until 10 p.m. “It wasn’t a sustainable system,” says […]
Newport News Shipbuilding moving from three to two shifts
Newport News Shipbuilding is moving from three shifts to two shifts beginning Monday, with a three-hour period in between to allow cleaning of high-touch surfaces, President Jennifer Boykin announced Thursday during a virtual news conference. As another response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company will also begin taking the te[...]
Amazon to build two operations facilities in Hampton Roads, create 1,500 jobs
Amazon.com Inc. will build two operations facilities in Hampton Roads, creating an expected 1,500 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. Both facilities are anticipated to open in 2021. The first facility is a multi-story robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk, which will create 1,000 jobs. The second is a 650,000-square-foot processing center in Chesapeake, which will […]
Eggs in several baskets
Southern Virginia ended 2019 with some of the largest investments the region has seen in recent years and strong economic momentum — a far cry from 15 to 20 years ago when the area experienced downfalls in employment and capital investment after the textiles industry moved operations outside the country. Last July, the positiv[...]
Port of call
Hampton Roads’ deep-water port continued to be a dominant factor in attracting companies to the region in 2019, especially cold storage and warehousing and logistics firms. “As we try to bring industry into this area, the port is a significant driver of our economic development,” says Doug Smith, president and CEO of the H[...]
$49M recycled pulp facility coming to Chesapeake
Oregon-based Total Fiber Recovery LLC will invest $49 million to establish its first pulp recycling facility in Chesapeake, creating 68 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The Chesapeake facility is set to begin operations in 2021 and annually process 300,000 tons of mixed paper and recycled fiber from materials recovery facilities in the region. The […]
“Port host communities” receive revitalization funds
The General Assembly allocated $1 million in grants to redevelop port-related properties in Virginia’s “port host communities,” including Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The goal of the funding is to enable timely redevelopment of port structures for economic development and employment growth, according to the Department of Housing and Community […][...]
Maritime Association turns 100, eyes expansion
In the Virginia Maritime Association’s 100th year, Ashley McLeod has a wish for inland businesses to recognize the impact of the Port of Virginia on the entire state. “One in 10 jobs in Virginia is related to maritime supply chains,” says McLeod, the association’s vice president for communications and marketing. “We wa[...]
Here’s the tea: Traditional Medicinals to invest $29.7M in Franklin County
Rohnert Park, California-based wellness tea company Traditional Medicinals Inc. will invest $29.7 million to establish its East Coast operation, an herbal tea manufacturing and processing plant, in Franklin County’s Summit View Business Park, creating 56 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The company will build a 125,000-square-foot facility for production of its organic and herbal […][...]
Deep-water terminal sold for $8.15 million
A 55-acre deep-water terminal in Chesapeake has been sold to Norfolk-based Ruth Industrial LLC for $8.15 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced this week. The property at 700 Rosemont Ave. includes about 60,000 square feet of industrial space and a 400-foot concrete pier. The seller is OEP Rosemont LLC, based in [...]
Port of Virginia begins $350M dredging project
The dredging project to make Virginia the East Coast’s deepest port has begun nearly two-and-a-half years earlier than expected, The Port of Virginia announced Monday. Dredging work started Dec. 2 to deepen the western side of Thimble Shoal Channel to 56 feet for commercial channels. After the dredging, the Norfolk Harbor will be able to […]
