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PAX acquires Manassas restoration company

Maryland-based and exterior services company announced Tuesday that it acquired — a -based limited liability company that provides commercial , roofing and masonry services in the mid-Atlantic region.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. PAX described Culbertson, which was founded in 1938, as a “perfect fit” for its company. Culbertson specializes in masonry repair, waterproofing and roofing and its clientele includes schools, hospitals, historic landmarks and commercial buildings.

“Culbertson’s legacy of quality craftsmanship, client-first approach and technical expertise aligns with our core values,” said PAX CEO Mike Wade in a statement. “Together, we will continue to provide exceptional restoration and roofing solutions with an ever-increasing level of service and innovation for our clients.”

PAX says the acquisition will increase operational capacity and strengthen expertise in handling complex restoration and roofing projects. The acquisition will not disrupt any ongoing projects, according to PAX.

“Joining forces with PAX marks an exciting new chapter for Culbertson,” said John Bourque, president of Culbertson, in a statement. “For more than 85 years, we’ve built our reputation on quality workmanship, trusted relationships and a deep commitment to our clients. Partnering with PAX allows us to continue that legacy while expanding our capabilities and resources. We’re confident this move will bring tremendous value to both our employees and our clients across the region.”

Formerly known as Patuxent Roofing & Contracting, PAX Services Group provides roofing, waterproofing and restoration services. The company is headquartered in Millersville, Maryland and serves commercial, institutional and industrial clients. PAX is a portfolio company of New Rochelle, New York-based private equity firm New State Capital Partners.

Henry County eyes $1.2M sale of 1,200-acre industrial site

Henry County’s Authority has signed a purchase-option deal with an unnamed company for the potential sale of a 1,200-acre, undeveloped industrial site adjacent to the county’s Industrial Park, according to a news release.

The potential buyer negotiated a six-month purchase option agreement with the IDA for $50,000.

The deal gives the business the exclusive right, but not the obligation, to buy the site, which is officially called Patriot Centre II but is commonly known as the , for $1.2 million, according to the announcement. The agreement allows the company to conduct environmental studies, feasibility studies and planning at the site. The option can be extended by another six months for an additional $50,000.

“This agreement represents an exciting opportunity for our community,” Dale Wagoner, county administrator and executive director of the IDA, said in a statement. “If it moves forward, it could lead to significant capital investment and bring high-paying jobs to Henry County —exactly the kind of growth we want to support our residents and future generations.”

If the company decides to purchase the site, the sale will include a with the IDA to incentivize targeted capital investment and job creation, according to the news release.

Businesses located in the Patriot Centre Industrial Park include Howmet Aerospace and Eastman.

ODU breaks ground on $184M biosciences building

Old Dominion University on Monday broke ground on the biggest capital project in the 95-year-old university’s history — a new biological sciences building.

The planned five-story, 162,586 square-foot building will be located on ‘s campus in , near the university’s Oceanography and Mills Godwin Life Sciences buildings.

ODU spokesperson Jonah Ross Grinkewitz said the $184 million project is funded by a state bond issue and will house classrooms, teaching laboratories, a 120-seat lecture hall and other student support spaces. State and campus leaders, and community members gathered Monday to commemorate the .

“Today would not be possible without significant support from the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said President Brian O. Hemphill in a Monday statement. “With the leadership and action of Gov. Youngkin and the General Assembly, a $184 million investment has been made in Old Dominion University, specifically our students, representing the largest in the history of our institution in terms of both scope and size.”

The building is meant to support faculty and student research in biomedical and ecological areas. As part of the project, the Arthur and Phyllis Kaplan Orchid Conservatory will be relocated within the biological sciences building with an added water feature and a two-story tropical display house. The exterior design incorporates an existing pond and features a terraced seating area.

A team that includes VMDO Architects, Ballinger and O’Shea Wilson Site Works designed the building. Newport News-based will serve as the project’s general contractor.

The building is expected to be ready for use in spring 2028.

Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said the building embodies the ODU’s mission of being a “forward-focused, innovative and entrepreneurial research university.

“The pioneering biological research conducted at this state-of-the-art research and development hub will prepare students to succeed in their lives and careers beyond graduation,” Guidera added in a statement.

Major companies face a difficult task in estimating the impact of tariffs on their business

Summary

  • Trump’s create uncertainty across major U.S. sectors
  • Kraft Heinz, GM, cut or reassess financial forecasts
  • Tariffs add pressure to , , and travel
  • Companies cite aluminum and auto tariffs as key risk factors

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Executives at some of the world’s biggest companies are faced with the tricky task of explaining how President Donald Trump’s tariffs are impacting their business as they discuss the latest financial results. Some are making their best estimate based on what they know at the moment; others are pulling their outlooks altogether.

The only certainty is that they’ll use a variation of the phrase “uncertain times” at least once as they speak with analysts.

Trump has imposed tariffs against key U.S. trading partners, while also postponing other tariffs to give companies a chance to negotiate. The process has left business and consumers uncertain amid a constantly shifting landscape. Over the last few months, tariffs have been announced and in some cases withdrawn within days.

Here’s what some of those companies are saying:

Kraft Heinz

Kraft Heinz is cutting its earnings forecast for the year, citing a volatile environment.

The maker of food staples, including its namesake ketchup and boxed macaroni & cheese, is under pressure along with other food companies as inflation continues squeezing consumers. Tariffs could force companies to raise prices on consumer staples and food products, further fueling inflation.

“We’re closely monitoring the potential impacts from macroeconomic pressures such as tariffs and inflation,” said Kraft Heinz CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera, in a statement.

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways pulled its financial forecast for the year over worries about slowing travel demand as weakens.

The travel sector, including airlines, faces an indirect impact from tariffs. Tariffs threaten to raise prices on a wide range of consumer goods, worsening inflation and squeezing consumers. Discretionary spending on travel is often among the first budget items that households consider trimming or cutting completely in order to deal with higher costs elsewhere.

“In the first quarter we saw booking strength from January deteriorate into February and worsen into March,” said Marty St. George, JetBlue’s president, in a statement.

JetBlue said it is considering capacity reductions, fleet retirement and other costs savings to help boost profits and preserve cash.

A report from the Tuesday showed that Americans’ confidence in the economy slumped for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of the COIVD-19 pandemic.

Coca-Cola said the impact of tariffs on its business is likely to be “manageable.”

Still, the beverage giant moderated expectations for its full-year profit. It now expects full-year adjusted earnings to grow 7% to 9%, down from 8% to 10% previously. Coke earned $2.88 per share in 2024.

Coke and other beverage makers are facing a 25% tariff on the aluminum they use for cans, among other items. The company has said that it could shift aluminum suppliers, rely more heavily on plastic or glass bottles and take other measures to counteract the tariffs. Last week, rival PepsiCo lowered its full-year earnings expectations due to the impact of tariffs.

General Motors is reassessing its expectations for 2025 due to auto tariffs.

The automaker is pushing back its conference call to discuss its guidance and quarterly results until Thursday, so that it can assess potential changes to the . On Tuesday, the White House said Trump will sign an executive order to relax some of his 25% tariffs on autos and auto parts.

GM’s current forecast for earnings of $11 to $12 per share doesn’t consider the potential impact of tariffs.

The auto tariffs could be particularly painful because major carmakers have production spread throughout North America. Parts and the assembly process often cross multiple borders several times before a car is complete. Carmakers face higher costs and that could mean higher prices for consumers, prompting them to delay or forgo purchases.

UPS said that it modeled several different scenarios for how the year might play out because of the uncertainty over tariffs.

China remains a key concern for the package delivery company. Many of the small businesses that UPS deals with rely on China for their goods. There is a universal tariff of 10% for imports to the U.S., but tariffs on imports from China are as high as 145%.

“It’s China that’s the real uncertainty, I think, facing the economy,” said CEO Carol Tome, in a conference call with analysts.

The rest of the world at 10% tariffs is manageable, she said.

Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams said it expects demand to remain choppy at least through the first half of the year.

The paint maker reaffirmed its earnings forecast for the year. It said about 80% of is revenue is in the U.S. and the “vast majority” of its raw materials are sourced in the region where it makes its products. That leaves it less exposed to tariff impacts.

UPS to cut 20,000 jobs as it pulls back from Amazon

SUMMARY:

  • plans to cut around 20,000 jobs in 2024
  • 73 leased and owned facilities may close by June
  • shipment volume to drop over 50% by 2026
  • Q1 earnings beat estimates despite

United Parcel Service is looking to slash about 20,000 jobs and close more than 70 facilities as it drastically reduces the amount of Amazon shipments it handles.

The package delivery company said Tuesday that it anticipates making the this year. It anticipates closing 73 leased and owned buildings by the end of June. UPS said that it is still reviewing its network and may identify more buildings to be shuttered.

“The actions we are taking to reconfigure our network and reduce cost across our business could not be timelier,” CEO said in a statement on Tuesday. “The macro environment may be uncertain, but with our actions, we will emerge as an even stronger, more nimble UPS.”

In January, UPS announced that it had reached a deal with Amazon, its biggest customer, to lower its volume by more than 50% by the second half of 2026.

During UPS’ fourth-quarter earnings conference call in January, Tomé said that the company had partnered with Amazon for almost 30 years and that when its contract came up this year, UPS decided to reassess the relationship.

“Amazon is our largest customer, but it’s not our most profitable customer,” Tomé said at the time. “Its margin is very dilutive to the U.S. domestic business.”

Tomé said that UPS considered various options and determined that the volume reduction was the best alternative.

The company employs about 490,000 workers, according to FactSet.

Asked how many Virginia employees are expected to lose their jobs, a UPS spokesperson responded by email to say the company doesn’t “plan to share additional details until we are confident that all impacted individuals have been informed.”

More than 300,000 UPS employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of , according to the company. The union could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

An employee who has worked at the UPS facility on Thirlane Road in Roanoke for more than two decades said Tuesday he thinks it’s unlikely it will close because plans are in the works to modernize the facility. The worker, a member Teamsters Local 171 in Salem, said “If that were to get canceled or delayed, I’d be more concerned.”

UPS also reported its first-quarter financial results on Tuesday. The Atlanta-based company earned $1.19 billion, or $$1.40 per share, in the quarter ended March 31.

Stripping out certain items, earnings were $1.49 per share. That’s better than the $1.44 per share that analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research were calling for.

Revenue totaled $21.55 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimate of $21.06 billion.

UPS said that it wasn’t providing any updates to its previously announced full-year outlook, given current macroeconomic uncertainty. The company previously said that it expected 2025 revenue of approximately $89 billion.

Shares of UPS rose slightly in morning trading.

Virginia Business Associate Editor Beth JoJack contributed to this report. 

US consumer confidence plunges to lowest in 5 years on tariff worries

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy slumped for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as anxiety over the impact of takes a heavy toll.

The said Tuesday that its index fell 7.9 points in April to 86, its lowest reading since May 2020. Nearly one-third of consumers expect hiring to slow in the coming months, nearly matching the level reached in April 2009, when the economy was mired in the Great Recession.

The figures reflect a rapidly souring mood among Americans, most of whom expect prices to rise because of the widespread tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. About half of Americans are also worried about the potential for a recession, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center.

“Rattled consumers spend less than confident consumers,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, in an email. “If confidence sags and consumers retrench, growth will go down.”

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the plunged 12.5 points to 54.4, the lowest level in more than 13 years. The reading is well below 80, which typically signals a recession ahead.

How this gloomy mood translates into spending, hiring, and growth will become clearer in the coming days and weeks. On Wednesday, the government will report on U.S. economic growth during the first three months of the year, and economists are expecting a sharp slowdown as Americans pulled back on spending after a strong winter holiday shopping season.

And on Friday the Labor Department will release its latest report on hiring and the unemployment rate. Overall, economists expect it should still show steady job gains, though some forecast it could report sharply reduced hiring.

The stark decline in consumer confidence also likely reflected the sharp swings in stock and bond prices that roiled financial markets earlier this month. While all age groups and most income brackets reported lower confidence, the decline was steepest among households earning more than $125,000 and among consumers 35 to 55 years old.

Though major U.S. markets rebounded over the past week, the S&P 500 is still down 6% for the year and the Dow Jones has lost 5%. The growth-heavy Nasdaq is down 10% in 2025.

The Conference Board said that mentions of tariffs in write-in responses reached an all-time high this month, with the duties on the top of consumers’ minds. Trump has imposed a tariff of 10% on nearly all imports, as well as a huge 145% tariff on most goods from China. He has imposed separate import taxes on steel, aluminum, and cars.

More Americans are also now worried that the economy could tip into a recession, with the proportion of consumers expecting a downturn in the next 12 months reaching a two-year high.

Fewer consumers said they were planning to buy a home or car in the next six months. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed last month in a lackluster start to the spring homebuying season as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged those looking.

And Americans also said they would spend less on services. The proportion of Americans planning an overseas vacation in the next six months fell to 16.4%, down from 24.1% in December. And the proportion of consumers planning to spend more on dining out plummeted by nearly the most on record in April, the Conference Board said.

Big Lots reopening 10 stores in Virginia

SUMMARY:

  • comeback continues with May store reopenings
  • 132 Big Lots stores to reopen in two phases starting May 1
  • Reopened stores include several locations in Virginia
  • Locations span 14 states, with markets ranging from metro areas to smaller towns

If you’re looking for deals on a smorgasbord of items from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cereal to Minion Christmas inflatables, you’re in luck. , a Henderson, North Carolina-based owner of stores, is teeing up to reopen 132 store Big Lots locations in May as its works toward its goal of reviving 219 units by mid-summer.

Big Lots stores will reopen across 14 states in May in two phases, on May 1 and May 15.

Virginia locations reopening are in , Chester, Fredericksburg, Front Royal, Martinsville, North Chesterfield, North Prince George, Waynesboro, Winchester and Yorktown.

Reopening locations in other states include:

Alabama: Athens, Decatur, Dothan, Guntersville, Jasper, Mobile and Northport

Florida: Crystal River, Jacksonville, Marianna, Ormond Beach and Panama City

Georgia: Augusta, Brunswick, Buford, Cornelia, Dallas, Fort Oglethorpe, Marietta, Smyrna, Valdosta, Vidalia and Waycross

Indiana: Jasper

Kentucky: Campbellsville, Danville, Elizabethtown, Glasgow, Hazard, London, Middlesboro, Richmond and Somerset

Michigan: Burton, Flint, Port Huron, Shelby Township and Southgate

Mississippi: Southhaven

North Carolina: Belmont, Burlington, Clemmons, Dunn, Elizabeth City, Elkin, Fayetteville, Gastonia, Greensboro, Greenville, Hickory, Kinston, Lexington, Lincolnton, Mocksville, Mooresville, Mount Airy, Newton, Roanoke Rapids, Rocky Mount, Selma, Shelby, Southport, Statesville, Wake Forest, Wilkesboro and Wilson

Ohio: Alliance, Boardman, Bridgeport, Columbus, Elyria, Fremont, Grove City, Kettering, Lancaster, New Philadelphia, Reynoldsburg, Toledo, Warren and Wintersville

Pennsylvania: Bloomsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Du Bois, Dunmore, East Stroudsburg, Erie, Eynon, Franklin, Lehighton, Lewisburg, Meadville and New Castle

South Carolina: Easley, Greenwood, Lexington, Rock Hill, Seneca, Simpsonville, Spartanburg and West Columbia

Tennessee: Alcoa, Cleveland, Greeneville, Jefferson City, Johnson City, Knoxville, Morristown, Murfreesboro, Rogersville and Sevierville

West Virginia: Beckley, Bridgeport, Charleston, Elkins, Fairmont, Martinsburg, Oak Hill and Princeton

In early April, Variety Wholesales kicked off the Big Lots comeback with the opening of six stores including a location on Hershberger Road in Roanoke.

The stores are being merchandised with treasure hunt items, closeouts and “unbeatable bargains,” according to   The resurrected Big Lots assortment includes a new apparel department along with home décor, health and beauty items, seasonal products and more.

“The customer response to the newly expanded assortment of fresh inventory and great deals has been overwhelmingly positive,” Lisa Seigies, president and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, said in a statement.

Variety Wholesalers also owns and operates 400 stores across 18 states under brands that include Roses Discount Stores, Roses Express and Maxway. The company acquired the Big Lots brand from Gordon Brothers, which bought Big Lots’ assets out of Chapter 11 earlier this year.

Chase City approves conversion of long-shuttered school


Summary

  • approves sale of former school for apartment conversion.
  • Richmond-based will create 25 new units.
  • Developer agreed to $10,000 sale price, with future profit share.
  • Council reversed earlier decision after negotiation and public debate.

After a long debate, Chase City’s aging, disused is set to be turned into apartments. The fate of the former school has long been a topic of discussion in the town, with one local group hoping to turn it into a music venue, a local YMCA eyeing it, and a Richmond-based developer seeking to convert the structure into residences.

On Feb. 10, the town council narrowly voted down a plan to sell the building to developer , the owner of Richmond-based Echelon Resources, for $1 — a vote that prompted the town manager, C.F. “Dusty” Forbes, to shout, “My resignation is on your desk,” according to The Mecklenburg Sun.

Forbes later withdrew his resignation while town officials and the developer tweaked details of the proposal. On March 24, council members voted unanimously to transfer the building to Echelon Resources, which plans to transform it into 25 mid- to high-end apartments, mostly one-bedroom units.

The building’s price was set at $10,000. If Echelon sells the building within five years, the town will get another $100,000.
Gaskin declined to discuss details of the plan for the building until a contract with the town is finalized. “It’s taken a patient path to get to this point,” he says. The developer has redeveloped numerous historic buildings, including transforming a tobacco company warehouse into the Imperial Lofts in South Boston.

Asked about the former school’s Confederate name, Chase City Mayor Alden Fahringer says it will be up to a new owner to decide if it remains named for Lee.

Gaskin, who has a long record of turning older structures into apartments in Virginia and North Carolina, first approached the town in late 2022. Council members gave the first chances at redevelopment to local groups, but none were unable to take on multimillion-dollar renovations.

Forbes says he attended the Lee school for fourth and fifth grade, not long before the building’s regular academic use ended around 1980.
By the time Forbes became town manager more than five years ago, the building had been empty for a long time, and he says he was frustrated by the council’s February vote because the school could be part of wider redevelopment.

“I guess good things come to those who wait and persevere,” Forbes said after the council’s March decision.

LS GreenLink breaks ground on $700M tallest structure in Virginia

SUMMARY:

  • breaks ground on a $700 million subsea cable manufacturing facility in , expected to create over 330 jobs
  • Project involves of 660-foot-tall tower, the tallest in Virginia, and 750,000-square-foot production facility.
  • Site to be ready for use in early 2028
  • Company officials don’t anticipate the ‘s hostility to offshore wind to prevent the site from being a success, citing European customers

LS GreenLink USA on Monday broke ground on the tallest structure in Virginia.

, and several Chesapeake officials gathered at 1213 Victory Blvd. in Chesapeake to kickstart the construction of the company’s roughly $700 million offshore wind subsea cable manufacturing facility, the first of its kind in the United States.

The site will include a 750,000-square-foot production facility with a 660-foot tower needed to support the production of massive cables. LS GreenLink USA, a subsidiary of South Korea’s LS Cable & System, first announced the project in July 2024.

At Monday’s event, Youngkin described the project as “a huge milestone” and “a world class manufacturing facility that would be the envy of the world.” He touted Virginia as “the best place to be” and said companies were investing their future in the state due to a business-friendly environment.

Last year, LS GreenLink USA announced it was awarded $99 million in advanced energy project tax credits by the U.S. Department of Energy, and Youngkin approved a $13.2 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the City of Chesapeake with the project.

Kaine pointed to the project as evidence of Virginia’s progress in the offshore-wind industry.

“If you look across the landscape in Virginia, we are becoming clean energy leaders,” he said.

LS Cable & System CEO Bon-Kyu Koo said it was “an honor” to be able to break ground on the project in Chesapeake, and said it reflected a vision rooted in “innovation, infrastructure and opportunity.”

LS GreenLink USA’s managing director Patrick Shim said the project will create more than 330 full-time jobs in its first phase. It will be built on about 50 acres of a 96.6-acre brownfield property in Chesapeake the company purchased for an undisclosed amount.

Shim said construction should wrap up in the third quarter of 2027, with the site operational in the first quarter of 2028. But Koo noted the company intends to build more in future phases, telling the audience of several hundred people, “We have plenty of room to expand as a demand for resilient energy infrastructure continues to grow.”

After the ceremony, both Koo and Shim acknowledged to the media some challenges facing offshore wind projects under the Trump administration. In January, Trump issued an executive order to temporarily cease all federal wind leases under consideration and called for an “immediate review” of the policies before resuming. And earlier this month, Trump issued an order to stop construction on a major offshore wind project in New York to power more than 500,000 homes.

However, Koo said that its Chesapeake site will still have plenty of business from international customers, particularly in Europe. And should the U.S. need more offshore-wind manufacturing later down the line, he noted they will be able to accommodate that.

While Koo said the being issued by Trump are “a concern” for their business, he and Shim noted the company is mitigating those concerns by looking to obtain materials and products from places not currently being targeted by tariffs.

“We’re trying to source everything locally as much as possible,” Shim said. “So we are not purely depending on foreign countries to get this operation going.”

Founded in 1962, LS Cable & System describes itself as a global leader in power and communication cables and systems, developing and providing cable solutions for power grids and communication networks. The company has over 6,500 employees and 35 subsidiaries in 17 countries.

Goldschmitt & Associates to lay off 217 employees

A -based business management firm, , expects to lay off 217 employees beginning May 1, it said in a letter to the state’s Department of Development & Advancement last week.

The reason for the is an “overall reduction of our federal contract SBA Cares that [was] not reasonably foreseeable,” according to the April 24 letter written by Anne Dodson, Goldschmitt’s director of human capital and workforce management. “Nor did we foresee that these events would gravely impact our business not merely for a short period, but now for the foreseeable future.”

Founded in 1998, Goldschmitt was listed No. 13 on Inc. magazine’s 2025 Inc. Regionals: Mid-Atlantic rankings, with 390% two-year growth. In 2024, the firm landed at No. 2 in the regional list, and in the national Inc. 5000 list of the country’s fastest growing companies, Goldschmitt was listed at No. 34 in 2023. According to its website, the company employs more than 300 people.

According to the USAspending.gov site, the federal Small Business Administration in August 2023 awarded Goldschmitt a $28.9 million contract to run through at least December. The contract could have reached $48.9 million and a potential end date of December 2027. Under the contract, Goldschmitt provided platform operation and maintenance support for a COVID-19 relief program funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Goldschmitt’s letter to Virginia Works fulfills the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

The business did not respond immediately to calls for comment Monday.