Charlottesville-based Virginia Diodes to expand, invest $2.5M

Virginia Diodes Inc. (VDI) will invest $2.5 million to expand its operations in Charlottesville, adding an estimated 24 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday.

VDI was founded in Charlottesville in 1996 as a spinoff from the University of Virginia and in 2004 established its headquarters at the city’s Ix Art Park complex.  The company manufactures test and measurement equipment for millimeter-wave and terahertz (THz) applications like 6G wireless communications, automotive radar and weather sensing, as well as science applications including radio astronomy and fusion research and is part of the semiconductor industry supply chain.

VDI has customers in more 40 countries and employs more than 120 engineers, technicians and administrative staff at two locations. As part of its expansion, the company added its second location, on 5th Street SW, about 18 months ago, giving it a total of about 30,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

“Virginia Diodes’ long-term success in the city of Charlottesville demonstrates the extensive and expansive opportunities for growth in advanced manufacturing in the commonwealth,” Youngkin said in a statement. “VDI is a great example of the private sector partnering with our world-class universities like the University of Virginia to produce a winning formula that enables a startup to grow into a global enterprise.”

VDI Chief Operating Officer Gerhard Schoenthal told Virginia Business that the company plans to add the jobs announced Thursday during the next year. Roles include electrical engineers and electronics technicians.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Charlottesville to secure the project for Virginia and will support Virginia Diodes’ job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides consulting services and funding to companies creating jobs to support employee recruitment and training.

“VDI continues to work hard to expand millimeter-wave and terahertz technology for applications like 6G communications, automotive radar, weather sensing and radio astronomy,” VDI CEO and founder Thomas W. Crowe said in a statement. “We have been manufacturing and packaging electronic components and creating systems from those components in Charlottesville for nearly 27 years. We are proud to invest in Central Virginia’s workforce and very excited about the assistance we receive from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. VDI relies on highly skilled engineers and technicians to produce its leading-edge terahertz products, and Charlottesville has proven to be an ideal location to recruit and maintain excellent technical staff.”