Expansions grow Roanoke region’s economic landscape

Economic development wins aren’t always about big new companies moving into the area. Expansions of existing businesses can have just as large an impact on the region.

That’s much of the economic development story in the past year for the section of Virginia stretching from Lynchburg west to the Roanoke and New River valleys.

Tucked within the year’s tale is manufacturing as the standout industry, with the largest job totals and investments in 2025 falling in that sector, according to John Hull, president and CEO of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, an economic development organization supporting the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke; the cities of Roanoke, Covington, and Salem; and the town of Vinton.

Nationwide, 30% of metro areas experienced growth in manufacturing jobs. The Roanoke region ranked 54th among 277 metro areas, says Hull, who cites Headlight Data, a Texas-based firm information services firm.

One of the region’s biggest job announcements came later in 2025. In November, then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that Texas-based defense contractor Elbit Systems of America planned to invest $30 million to expand its Roanoke County night-vision goggles manufacturing facility, creating an expected 288 jobs, bringing the site’s workforce to more than 1,000 employees.

Demand for its products, as well as Elbit’s ability to find workers in the area, are reasons for its expansion, according to Megan Baker, director of economic development for Roanoke County.

“We are very excited that they continue to grow here,” Baker says, adding that manufacturing is a strong industry for the county.

Meanwhile, a $29.95 million expansion at Munters in Botetourt County is one of the Roanoke Valley’s other large projects announced in 2025. It includes construction of a new 200,000-square-foot addition across the street from Munters’ current HVAC manufacturing facility and is projected to create 270 new jobs. Based in Sweden, Munters first landed in Daleville in 2022. The expansion will help the company meet demand for data center cooling solutions.

Gary Larrowe, administrator for Botetourt County, says that the facility could be completed in 2026 and will fit nicely with Google’s $14.1 million acquisition of county land to build a data center.

Roanoke, Salem and Franklin

It’s been a busy year in Salem, which has had an abundance of manufacturing expansion announcements.

“There was a lot of built-up demand and momentum with these industries and the sectors where they work in,” Tommy Miller, the city’s economic development director, says. “There’s a lot more investment and global demand and also the need for innovation. Some of these companies have been here for a long time, and they are looking at where they need to become more efficient and competitive.”

Take Integer, a Texas-based manufacturer and medical contract developer that has operated a Salem facility for around 30 years. It has leased a new 13,000-square-foot building in the city to increase production of catheter components for its cardio and vascular business segment. The company, which employs about 600 locally, expects to add 83 jobs. Integer has finished the first phase of its work and expects to be up and running in the first half of 2026, Miller says.

Another example is QualiChem, a manufacturer of metal working fluids for production of materials for several different industries, which opened its Salem facility in 1989. It will invest $9 million to expand into a new building to house its administrative offices and laboratory, creating an expected 12 jobs. The move frees up space at its existing location on Salem Industrial Drive to increase production. The new space is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026, according to Miller.

Also, Novonesis, a biotechnology company, announced in April 2025 that it will invest $5 million to improve three of its five locations in Salem. Headquartered in Denmark, Novonesis has ties to Salem dating back to the 1940s. Novonesis’ renovation work already has begun, Miller adds.

Next door in the city of Roanoke, the new year saw the debut of a highly anticipated commercial project: The Exchange Music Hall, a 1,200-capacity venue in the old First National Exchange Bank building downtown. The $12 million redevelopment also includes the 27-room hotel Promissory Hotel and ¡Suerte!, a Spanish restaurant being developed by Roanoke restaurateur J.P. Powell, set to open in March.

Elsewhere downtown, an unnamed biotech incubator is slated to open its doors on South Jefferson Street by early March, says Marc Nelson, Roanoke’s director of economic development. Developed through a partnership with the city, Carilion Clinic, the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance and Virginia Western Community College, the facility will offer wet and dry labs, offices and other space for businesses.

In Franklin County, officials celebrated in July 2025 when Traditional Medicinals, a California-based wellness tea company, broke ground on a $47 million, 125,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at Summit View Business Park in Rocky Mount, set to be in full production by this winter, creating 57 jobs.

First announced in 2020, the company’s plans to build an East Coast operation in Virginia were put on hold due to the pandemic. Last June, county supervisors finalized a performance agreement with the company, allowing it to move forward.

Franklin officials also got an early Christmas present in December 2025, when Cornerstone Building Brands, a North Carolina manufacturer of exterior building products, announced plans to invest $4.9 million to expand capacity at its Franklin County campus. The expansion is expected to create 50 jobs.

Pulaski and Lynchburg

In April 2025, Patton Logistics Group, a family-owned company with headquarters in Pennsylvania, announced plans to expand its facility in Pulaski County for the second time in four years. The supply chain company will invest $10 million to build a 100,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center, creating an expected 25 jobs.

“This was a great win,” Katie Boswell, executive director of Onward NRV, says of the newest expansion. “It shows the company’s commitment to our region.”

Looking east to Lynchburg, growing energy demand is driving Delta Star, a manufacturer of power transformers and mobile transformer substations, to continue investing in the Hill City.

In April 2025 — less than 24 months after Delta Star announced a $30 million investment to build a metal fabrication facility and corporate headquarters in Lynchburg — the company confirmed plans for another expansion, a $35 million investment to add 80,000 square feet, a development that could bring 300 jobs to the operation over four years.

“It was a year of momentum,” Lynchburg economic development and tourism director Marjette Upshur says, before launching into other expansions, including the July 2025 opening of Framatome’s upgraded nuclear energy facility on Mill Ridge Road, a $50 million expansion expected to support 500 more jobs.

Looking ahead, Lynchburg’s Ivy Creek Innovation Park is ripe for future development. The city secured a $4 million grant from the Virginia Business Ready Sites program in 2025 to develop two pad-ready sites at the park. Current tenants include Frito-Lay and L3Harris.

“This is really going to shape our next decade of industrial growth,” Upshur says.