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New $230M chocolate factory coming to Frederick County
Frederick County may not have won the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, but it may have snagged something even better — a chocolate facility of its own. Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday that Wisconsin chocolate manufacturer Clasen Quality Chocolate will invest $230 million to build a new production fa[...]
Shenandoah Valley Big Deal: Dairy producer again expands in Frederick County
Dairy company HP Hood has nearly completed the $83.5 million expansion and upgrade of its Frederick County plant, which will allow it to increase production and meet future customer demand. A new machine to fill and seal milk containers was installed and went into production in December 2024, and a new warehouse and processing r[...]
Shenandoah Valley Year-in-Review: Manufacturing, tourism drive region’s growth
The year 2024 turned out to be a surprising but positive one for the Shenandoah Valley region. “We had more activity than anticipated in terms of lead generation and opportunities,” says Jay Langston, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership. The food and beverage sector remains the region’s main industr[...]
Italian plastic packaging maker coming to Shenandoah
Serioplast, an Italian plastic packaging manufacturer, will open an industrial plant in Shenandoah County, investing $25.7 million and creating an expected 45 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday. The company, which was founded in 1974 and has 33 production facilities in 16 countries with more than 2,000 employees, provide[...]
Mary Baldwin plans $2.5M building renovation
Faculty, staff and students at Mary Baldwin University should see a major transformation in their oldest academic building thanks to a $1 million commitment from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation as part of the $2.5 million renovation of Carpenter Academic Hall. “What we need to do is align the actual architectur[...]
Winchester cabinet manufacturer closing Orange plant
Winchester-based cabinet manufacturer American Woodmark is closing its manufacturing facility in Orange, laying off 131 employees. The company notified the state of the closure Jan. 7 in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The layoffs at the plant, located at 281 Kentucky Road, will take effect[...]
Buc-ee’s estimates first Va. location to open in June
Leave it to beaver — the behatted mascot of mega-travel center chain Buc-ee’s, that is. Texas-based Buc-ee’s projects it will open its first travel center in Virginia — its 74,000-square-foot Rockingham County location — on June 30, although the opening date is not set in stone, Buc-ee’s Media Coordinator[...]
Lexington tech firm aims to bridge last-mile broadband gap
Broadband access may become easier to attain for businesses as a Lexington-based company looks to wirelessly transmit data more reliably. Over the past 22 years, Attochron has been working towards improving what’s referred to in the industry as free-space optical communications (FSOC) — using lasers to send data through [...]
JMU receives $2.5M gift for new library wing
James Madison University has received a $2.5 million gift for the new wing of its Carrier Library. Alexandria residents Stan and Rosemary Jones provided the donation, which the Harrisonburg public university announced in late November. A 1954 physics and math alumnus of what was then Madison College, Stan worked for McLean-based[...]
George Mason, school districts to launch data science lab school
George Mason University and several Shenandoah Valley school districts are partnering to launch a regional lab school in August 2025 that will focus on data literacy to provide students with training in this high-demand field. The Shenandoah Valley Rural Regional College Partnership Laboratory School for Data Science, Computing [...]
For the Record: December 2024
CENTRAL Richmond-based international foam producer Carpenter acquired omnichannel bedding brand Casper Sleep for an undisclosed amount, it announced Oct. 29. Under the agreement, Casper will operate as a subsidiary of Carpenter. The deal marks the third acquisition Carpenter has made in the past 16 months. In November 2023, Ca[...]
Coldwell Banker Premier acquires Hampton Roads Coldwell affiliate
Winchester-based Coldwell Banker Premier has acquired Virginia Beach-based Coldwell Banker Now, merging into a brokerage with a combined $600 million sales volume in 2023. Coldwell Banker Premier did not disclose financial details of the merger, which it announced Monday. The combined real estate company is the second-fastest gr[...]
