Three Virginia company projects win awards

Three companies with projects in Virginia have been named recipients of Trade & Industry Development’s 13th annual CiCi (corporate investment and community impact) awards.

The magazine dedicated to corporate site selectors recognized American Merchant (Bristol) and Navy Federal Credit Union (Frederick County) in the Community Impact category. Facebook, which plans to build a massive new data center in Henrico County, was recognized in the Corporate Investment category.

According to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), which announced the winners Thursday, 30 companies were selected out of several hundred projects submitted, based on their announced plans for economic development in 2017.

Navy Federal Credit Union, the world’s largest credit union, is investing $100 million to expand its Winchester operations.

Last October, Facebook announced more than $1 billion of new investment in Virginia. The social media giant plans to directly invest $750 million to establish a 970,000-square-foot data center in Henrico County. In addition, due to a new renewable energy tariff designed by Dominion Energy Virginia and Facebook, hundreds of millions of additional dollars will be invested in the construction of multiple solar facilities in the Commonwealth to service Facebook’s Henrico center with 100 percent renewable energy. The project is expected to bring thousands of construction jobs to the region and more than 100 full-time operational jobs.

 American Merchant, Inc., a subsidiary of Merchant House International Ltd., a Hong Kong-based designer and manufacturer of home textiles, seasonal décor products and leather shoes, said in December that it would invest $19.9 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing operation in Bristol, creating 405 jobs.