International logistics company to expand in Norfolk

Katoen Natie Norfolk, a subsidiary of Belgian international logistics service provider and port operator Katoen Natie, will invest $59.9 million to expand its Norfolk facility and create an estimated 76 jobs.

Katoen Natie Norfolk will add a 450,000-square-foot warehouse and rail yard, and expand its existing rail spur, which will allow more room to load and unload train cars, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. Katoen Natie Norfolk established its Norfolk operation at the former Ford Motor assembly plant and refurbished body shop at 810 Ford Drive in 2011. The Norfolk company is a plastics and polymers warehousing and distribution company. The addition will help the company meet increased demand.

This is the second expansion for the Norfolk company. In April 2021, Katoen Natie Norfolk announced it would invest $61 million in a 243,000-square-foot warehouse and rail facility, and create 35 jobs.

“Katoen Natie Norfolk’s increased demand matches the surge Virginia is experiencing as a premier supply chain destination, and this expansion will foster the synergy of the industry ecosystem,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Katoen Natie Norfolk has thrived in Hampton Roads for more than a decade thanks to the region’s outstanding logistics advantages, access to the Port of Virginia and robust workforce, and I look forward to its continued growth.”

Katoen Natie, founded in 1854, focuses on 10 main industries: supply chain engineering, process engineering, petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, consumer goods and industry, port operations, general cargo and commodities, food and feed, silo cleaning and art. At its Norfolk facility, the company allows producers of plastic resin pellets to ship bulk railcars to the warehouse, where the product is packaged and loaded into intermodal containers for shipment through the Port of Virginia.

“Due to its central location on the East Coast, great workforce including former military, dual rail service via Norfolk Southern and CSX, and natural deep-water, great-functioning port, we chose Norfolk for our expansion,” Katoen Natie President Frank Vingerhoets said in a statement.

The Hampton Roads Alliance, Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the City of Norfolk recruited Katoen Natie to Hampton Roads in 2011. Virginia competed with Georgia and South Carolina for the expansion project.

Katoen Natie Norfolk is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, and the company is also eligible to receive benefits from the Rail Industrial Access program through the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, which is subject to approval by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

Katoen Natie Norfolk’s parent company is present in 35 countries on five continents and has more than 15,000 employees around the world.