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Virginia hold ’em

The slot machines are already ringing out in Bristol and , where Virginia’s first commercial opened during the past year.

The state’s first permanent casino, , opened its doors on Jan. 23. Operated by Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, the has 1,148 slot machines, 57 table games and 24 poker tables, as well as a sportsbook, a Topgolf “swing suite” and multiple restaurants. The casino is expected to generate $16.3 million in annual tax revenue to the city.

However, the Hotel & Casino Bristol was first out of the gate in the race, opening a temporary facility in July 2022. Hard Rock International Inc. broke ground in December 2022 on its $400 million permanent casino, expected to open in July 2024.

During its first six weeks, Virginians and guests from 48 other states visited the temporary Hard Rock casino, a 30,000-square-foot space with 900 gaming slots and 20 tables at the former Bristol Mall. The project generated about 600 jobs, and when the permanent casino opens with a 3,200-seat theater and a 20,000-seat outdoor entertainment venue next year, the resort is expected to create 1,500 direct jobs and bring in $21 million in annual tax revenue for Bristol.

Meanwhile, the state’s two other casinos are in the works in and .

As of early February, construction had not started on the planned temporary or permanent HeadWaters Resort & Casino on the Elizabeth River. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe-led project hit some roadblocks last year after the city halted plans for a temporary casino inside Harbor Park, the Norfolk Tides’ home stadium. The tribe then announced it would build the temporary casino in the same space in the stadium’s parking lot as the $500 million permanent casino, after the city of Norfolk sold the land to the developer.

According to Jay Smith, spokesman for the casino, construction of the permanent casino and hotel will take 18 months to two years, and both facilities are expected to generate $30 million in annual gaming and sales taxes for Norfolk.

Smith said in February that the tribe hopes to reach agreement on the land sale “in the next few weeks. We look forward to breaking ground as soon as possible.”

In Danville, plans for a temporary resort at the former Dan River Inc. mill site are moving forward, with a possible midyear opening, although Caesars Entertainment Inc. officials are keeping their cards close to the vest when it comes to details. Table game dealers were set to start training in late February in preparation for the permanent resort’s opening in late 2024.

Caesars announced a partnership with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) in August 2022, with an accompanying increased investment from $400 million to $600 million. The cash influx will mean a larger hotel, growing from 300 to 500 rooms. The project will also have a 2,500-person entertainment venue and 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

“Following COVID-19 pandemic closures, we found that regional gaming markets across the country recovered more quickly than anticipated,” explains Cory Blankenship, EBCI’s treasury secretary. “We are confident that market conditions — regional population, consumer demographics, proximity to other gaming markets and other variables — are favorable to support an expanded scope to the Danville project.” 

The fate of a fifth potential casino — either in Richmond or — was still undecided as of this issue’s mid-February deadline. Richmond voters rejected a proposed Urban One Inc.-backed casino in late 2021, but city officials were pursuing a second referendum vote this fall, while Petersburg leaders were trying to bring a referendum to their ballots.

State lawmakers pulled from consideration two bills that would have opened the possibility for a casino in Northern Virginia, but the legislation could return for consideration during the 2024 General Assembly session. 

Building momentum

From olive oil to space rockets, 2022 saw a variety of companies seeking to invest — or reinvest — in the Hampton Roads region and Eastern Virginia.

That kind of diversity of industries augurs well for the region’s economy, says Vinod Agarwal, professor of economics at Old Dominion ‘s Strome College of Business. “In the past, when I looked at many of the announcements, they’re all related to defense, directly or indirectly,” says Agarwal. “This year, we find lots of variation. Defense is an asset, but we can’t just lean on it alone.”

If there was a theme to 2022, says Deputy City Manager Kevin Hughes, it was “industrial development with, like, 30 exclamation marks behind it.”

Norfolk saw steady economic growth in 2022, much of it built on state-level relationships, says the city’s interim director of economic development, Sean Washington. And Chesapeake worked to secure more sites for future business investment, according to Chesapeake Director of Economic Development Steven Wright.

Last year was a year for building momentum, says Hampton Roads Alliance President and CEO Doug Smith. Investments leaned into the region’s target industries, including food and beverage, and logistics. But at its core, Hampton Roads is a maritime economy, Smith says, which makes the potential exciting for adjacent and emerging industries like offshore wind.

Chesapeake

Celadon Development Corp., a joint venture from Kamine Development Corp. and Nicollet Industries LLC, aims to bring green technology and 210 jobs to a 100-acre site on the west side of the Elizabeth River, but it could be up to two years before ground is broken on the proposed $267 million, 335,000-square-foot facility, Wright says. Celadon will recycle mixed paper and old corrugated cardboard into a reusable and exportable fiber sheet to supply middle-market paper manufacturers in China.

Perdue Agribusiness’ $59 million renovation and expansion in South Norfolk represents a significant equipment investment, Wright says. Modernized facilities will increase production of high protein soybean meal, soybean oil and hulls, providing a greater market for local soybean farmers and strengthening Virginia agribusiness.

Meanwhile, construction is expected to be finished this year on Wisconsin-based defense contractor Fairbanks Morse Defense’s 45,000-square-foot Chesapeake facility. Specializing in naval power and propulsion systems, the company is relocating its Norfolk operations. The $13 million investment, adding 50 jobs, will build a campus that expands its service capabilities and training opportunities.

And Tokyo-based Nakano Warehouse & Transportation Corp. is expected to open its $14 million East Coast logistics center at Greenbrier North Commerce Park in the third quarter of this year, bringing 25 jobs.

Canadian seafood processing company High Liner Foods USA announced in June 2022 it will spend more than $30 million over the next four years modernizing facilities and adding 30 positions to its existing 230 jobs there.

Oakland Industrial Park will see new activity with announcements from Italian olive oil manufacturer Certified Origins USA Inc. investing $25 million and creating 30 jobs; Canadian home goods manufacturer and wholesaler Mercana Furniture and Décor investing $8.5 million and creating 26 jobs; and tech company Mühlbauer Inc. investing $9 million and creating 34 jobs.

Norfolk

During his 2022 State of the City address, Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander announced that Fairfax-based defense contractor WR Systems Ltd., which replaces and repairs naval navigation systems, plans an expansion that includes a light assembly lab and adding several hundred positions to its existing 320 jobs in Norfolk.

A $100 million project aiming to turn the Norfolk Southern Corp.-owned site at Lambert’s Point into Fairwinds Landing, a maritime operations and logistics center to support the local offshore wind, defense and transportation industries, got a boost in August 2022 when The Miller Group signed a lease for the 122-acre property.

And the clock on the Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s forthcoming $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino reset after regulatory issues resulted in developers shifting their plans for a 45,000-square-foot temporary casino. Instead of opening inside Norfolk’s Harbor Park baseball stadium as originally planned, the temporary casino will be located in the stadium parking lot, on a portion of the site where the permanent casino will be built. The temporary facility could be up and running this year, Washington says. The permanent resort casino is expected to open in 2024, with plans to generate 2,500 permanent jobs.

Also last year in Norfolk, Embody Inc., a medical device company developing novel collagen-based technology for soft tissue injury and repair, announced a $5 million, 10,000-square-foot expansion of its , along with 92 new hires.

Portsmouth

Speaking of , the $340 million, 250,000-square-foot opened Jan. 23, with thousands of patrons coming by to get a glimpse of the first permanent casino to open in Virginia.

The casino, which expects to generate $16.3 million in tax revenue annually, had hired more than 1,100 of its planned 1,300 permanent workers as of December 2022. Rivers Casino Portsmouth’s estimated annual payroll will be $62 million.

With casinos being exempt from Virginia’s indoor smoking laws, some patrons initially complained about cigarette smoke, prompting Rivers Casino Portsmouth to adjust its smoking policy and designate half of its 90,000-square-foot main gaming floor as nonsmoking.

The casino’s offerings include restaurants, 1,446 slot machines, 57 game tables and a sportsbook with a 12-foot-by-62-foot-wide viewing wall that can simultaneously display dozens of televised sports events. The casino also has a 25,000-square-foot multipurpose event space.

Suffolk

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. Inc. expects to open a $75 million coastal distribution center at the 932-acre Virginia Port Logistics Park by the end of this year, creating 100 jobs. The Mooresville, North Carolina-based company’s facility will receive imported goods through the Port of Virginia to supply regional distribution facilities and help supply the 69 Lowe’s locations across the state.

Last June, Italian coffee company Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA announced it would invest $29.1 million and create 79 jobs as it consolidates and expands operations at its Wilroy Industrial Park roasting facility. The company is relocating its current roasting operations from New Jersey to Suffolk in an expected two-year transition.

Birdsong Peanuts, a more than century- old peanut processing company, is modernizing its existing shelling facility to the tune of $25 million. Updates include refurbishing and automating production lines. The facility is expected to be fully operational by this spring.

And California-based flooring, counter-top, wall tile and hardscaping products supplier M S International Inc. (MSI) plans to invest $61.6 million establishing its East Coast distribution facility, creating 80 jobs. The 548,000-square-foot facility will be at Westport Commerce Park, a 247-acre master-planned industrial park located on Route 58.

Virginia Beach

In August 2022, Virginia Beach-based LLC held a news conference in Richmond with Gov. Glenn Youngkin, announcing that the aerial drone company is adding 655 jobs as part of a $27 million expansion. (See related story.)

And a few months later, German chainsaw and outdoor power equipment manufacturer Stihl Inc. announced a $49 million expansion, adding 26,000 square feet to its 60,000-square-foot facility. Stihl, which established its U.S. headquarters in Virginia Beach in 1974, plans to increase its capacity to manufacture chainsaw guide bars by a third, creating 15 jobs.

Virginia could be inching closer to having its own Florida-like space coast on the Eastern Shore, according to David Bowles, executive director of the Virginia Institute for Spaceflight & Autonomy at Old Dominion University.

In January, California-based Rocket Lab USA Inc. made its first launch from U.S. soil at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, successfully deploying three satellites into low Earth orbit for Herndon-based satellite analytics company HawkEye 360. The mission is the first of three planned with HawkEye 360 through 2024.

Rocket Lab broke ground in April 2022 on a launch pad and 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for Rocket Lab’s Neutron reusable rocket, which will be built adjacent to the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Accomack County. Rocket Lab is expected to ultimately create 250 jobs at the facility.

Compound growth

As U.S. stocks hit bear market territory last year, Virginia’s largest publicly traded companies weathered rising interest rates, inflation and continued and labor challenges.

Rising home mortgage rates drove a slowdown in new business at McLean-based Freddie Mac. Plunging prices for used cars caused Goochland County-based CarMax to focus on controlling costs.

As inflation hit American households hard in 2022, -based Dollar Tree Inc. and other discount retailers saw an increase in business, especially from shoppers moving their food purchases away from grocery stores to lower their bills.

Amid these changing fortunes, Virginia’s profile as a home state for corporate was buoyed by the relocation of two large Fortune 500 firms — Boeing and Technologies — to County.

As a result of these moves, four of the world’s top five defense contractors are now based in the Old Dominion, with the largest contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., headquartered in nearby Bethesda, Maryland.

Jerry McGinn, executive director of the Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University’s School of Business, says the concentration of government contractors not only in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., but specifically on the Virginia side of the Potomac, speaks well of the commonwealth’s reputation.

“It reflects well on the business environment here that they would come here as opposed to the District or Maryland,” he says. “Virginia has been a very attractive state for business, and I think this is another reason the companies ended up here.”

At a time when consumer-focused businesses are extremely volatile, defense contractors have a level of stability that doesn’t exist in many other parts of the economy, he says. One indicator is the federal defense budget. Passed at the end of 2022, it was $45 billion larger than the Biden administration’s original request.

“It’s a dangerous world. That was made very clear last February when Russia invaded Ukraine, and those events have put a brighter light on Asia and the rise of China,” McGinn said. “The margins are not as high in the aerospace and defense world, but the stability and cash flow is much more predictable.”

Here’s a look at how Virginia’s 10 most profitable publicly traded companies fared during the past year:

-based ceased of its iconic 747 jumbo jets this year, as the final 747 left its Everett, Washington, factory in January. Photo by Jennifer Buchanan/The Seattle Times via Associated Press

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (“Freddie Mac”) McLean

2021 revenue: $68.7 billion

Employees: 7,300

As mortgage rates climbed during much of 2022, Freddie Mac saw new business slow in both its single-family and multifamily divisions, according to company earnings reports.

The government-sponsored enterprise’s own research shows that in the fourth quarter of 2022, confidence in the nation’s housing market fell significantly, with only 34% of respondents reporting optimism that the housing market will remain strong in 2023. The report also found that 57% of consumers — renters and owners — were concerned about making housing payments, reflecting nationwide concerns about affordability and equity in housing.

Freddie Mac in June 2022 released its first-ever Equitable Housing Finance Plan. The plan was created in response to a 2021 request by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It calls for expanding access to capital for diverse multifamily housing developers, investigating the use of the Special Purpose Credit Program framework to deliver mortgage funding to underserved communities and fixing disparities in credit scoring, underwriting and appraisals, among other initiatives. Freddie Mac plans to implement the plan during the next two years.

Corp. Arlington County

2021 revenue: $64.4 billion

Employees: 182,000+

In July 2022, Raytheon Technologies moved its corporate headquarters from Massachusetts to Arlington County’s Rosslyn neighborhood, making it the last of the Big Five defense contractors to locate in a suburb of Washington, D.C. The aerospace and defense company formed in 2020, when Raytheon Co. merged with aerospace business United Technologies Corp. The company is made up of four subsidiaries — Collins Aerospace; Pratt & Whitney; Raytheon Intelligence & Space; and Raytheon Missiles & Defense.

In December 2022, Pratt & Whitney received $75 million in the federal appropriations bill toward its modernization of the engine that powers the F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. In January, Raytheon Intelligence & Space was named prime contractor on the development of a missile tracking system for the U.S. Space Force. In September 2022, Raytheon Missiles and Defense received the go-ahead from the Air Force to move beyond the prototype phase and continue development of a new hypersonic cruise missile weapon under a nearly $1 billion contract.

Boeing Co. Arlington County

2021 revenue: $62.3 billion

Employees: 140,000+

Boeing’s announcement in May 2022 that it would move its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington added the world’s third largest defense contractor to Virginia’s growing stable of aerospace and defense companies.

While the move did not come with significant job relocations, Boeing plans to develop a research and technology hub in the region that will focus on cybersecurity, autonomous operations, quantum sciences, and software and systems engineering.

Boeing also is partnering with the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech on developing hypersonic jet engines through U.Va.’s Aerospace Research Laboratory.

Along with Airbus, Boeing is one of the two largest commercial plane manufacturers in the world, and its 2022 commercial jet business continued to show a slow recovery from the pandemic’s impact on airlines and the grounding of its 737 MAX jets from March 2019 to November 2020 following two deadly crashes.

Boeing delivered 480 jets in 2022, notably including the last of its iconic 747 jumbo jets. In January, Boeing’s 747 No. 1,574 left the factory in Everett, Washington, drawing a close to the company’s 55-year history of manufacturing the wide-body airliners.

The last few months have seen Boeing ink some major deals, including a December 2022 order from United Airlines for 100 787 Dreamliner jets that’s expected to be worth $25 billion. Additionally, in February, Air India reached a $45.9 billion deal to purchase jets from Boeing — the company’s third biggest sale ever.

Boeing also made big changes to its Defense, Space and Security business last year when Ted Colbert was named president and CEO of the defense unit. Colbert had previously served as CEO of Boeing Global Services and was succeeded in that position by Stephanie Pope. Under Colbert’s leadership, the defense unit in November 2022 announced a major reorganization in response to recent delays in key programs, and significant quarterly losses — including a loss of $1.1 billion on a deal Boeing made with the Trump administration to modify two 747s to serve as Air Force One.

General Dynamics Corp. Reston

2021 revenue: $38.5 billion

Employees: 100,000+

The Pentagon awarded the Reston-based defense contractor a $5.1 billion contract modification for the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine program in December 2022. Work on this contract will be performed in Connecticut, Newport News and Rhode Island and is expected to be completed by June 2028.

As a visible sign of progress on the Columbia-class submarine program, in June 2022 General Dynamics’ Electric Boat subsidiary joined with the U.S. Navy to celebrate the ceremonial keel-laying for the USS District of Columbia — the lead boat in this class, intended to play a major role in the U.S. military’s nuclear deterrence efforts.

Meanwhile, subsidiary General Dynamics Information Technology Inc. (GDIT) landed a $65 million contract last year to support an integrated data repository for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Enterprise Architecture Data Group. GDIT also was awarded an $84 million contract from the Defense Health Agency to continue helping staff at the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence with congressionally mandated projects, including the Warfighter Brain Health Program and a 15-year study of brain injuries sustained in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. GDIT has been involved in the study since 2014.

Northrop Grumman Corp. Falls Church

2021 revenue: $35.7 billion

Employees: 90,000+

NASA’s November 2022 launch of its Artemis I unmanned moon orbit mission was powered in part by two five-segment solid rocket boosters manufactured by the Falls Church-based Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor. Northrop Grumman is supporting several stages of NASA’s Artemis program, which is focused on deep space exploration and establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon.

Also supporting the Artemis I launch were two of Northrop’s RQ-4 RangeHawk unmanned aircraft, which were positioned to help track the Artemis I rocket as it exited the Earth’s atmosphere during a window when it was not visible to NASA ground stations.

In December 2022, Northrup Grumman and the U.S. Air Force also unveiled the
B-21 Raider, a stealth bomber expected to take a premier spot in the U.S. fleet. “The B-21 Raider defines a new era in technology and strengthens America’s role of delivering peace through deterrence,” Northrop Grumman Chair, CEO and President Kathy Warden said at the unveiling ceremony.

Capital One Financial Corp.  McLean

2021 revenue: $32 billion

Employees: 51,000+

The sixth largest bank in the U.S. based on consumer deposits, Capital One officially reopened its corporate offices in September 2022, following many delays due to the pandemic. Its McLean headquarters is running on what the company calls an “initial hybrid” model that makes Mondays and Fridays virtual workdays and Tuesdays through Thursdays in-office days. CEO Richard Fairbank noted that Capital One will monitor how the approach works, adjusting as needed.

The bank continues to see strength in its credit card business, and Fairbanks noted in reporting third-quarter earnings that the bank’s long-term focus on luring heavy spenders to its cards — notably the Venture X premium card — is paying off.

“Our decadelong quest to build our heavy spender franchise has brought with it significantly increased levels of marketing, but the sustained revenue, credit, resilience and capital benefits of this enduring franchise are compelling, and they’re growing,” Fairbank said on the call.

In January, Capital One renamed the startup incubator it runs in downtown in honor of the late Michael Wassmer, a longtime Capital One executive and Richmond resident who served most recently as the bank’s Central Virginia market president. Wassmer died unexpectedly in June 2022 at age 52.

Performance Food Group Co. Goochland County

2021 revenue: $30.4 billion

Employees: 30,000+

A Goochland-based food services and distribution company, Performance Food Group delivers to more than 300,000 locations, including restaurants, businesses, schools, health care facilities, vending distributors, retailers, theaters and convenience stores. Building on its 2021 acquisition of convenience store supplier Core-Mark Holding Co. Inc., Performance Food announced in September that its entire convenience business would operate under the Core-Mark brand.

“We believe that combining our convenience companies under the powerful Core-Mark brand positions PFG for future success,” President and Chief Operating Officer Craig Hoskins said in announcing the change.

The Core-Mark acquisition proved fruitful for the company, as Holm acknowledged it was a major driver of the 42% increase in net sales reported in its quarterly earnings in November 2022. Inflation also drove its net sales numbers higher.

In August 2022, PFG tapped former Core-Mark President and CEO Scott McPherson to serve as executive vice president and CEO of its convenience division.

Jim Hope, PFG’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, retired at the end of 2022, succeeded by Patrick Hatcher, who had served as chief operating officer and president of Vistar, the company’s vending division.

Less than a month after Russia invaded Ukraine, Performance Food Group announced a $50,000 donation to Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit World Central Kitchen to provide meals to Ukrainian refugees.

Dollar Tree Inc. Chesapeake

2021 revenue: $26.3 billion

Employees: 200,000+

Based in Chesapeake, discount retailer Dollar Tree, which operates more than 16,200 stores under the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar brands, has gone through some big executive changes in the past year, culminating in the Jan. 29 replacement of its CEO.

Rick Dreiling, former chairman and CEO of Dollar Tree rival Dollar General, replaced Mike Witynski, who had been president and CEO since 2020, overseeing a controversial move to raise prices to $1.25 for most items in the Fortune 500 retailer’s dollar stores.

Dollar Tree’s third quarter 2022 sales grew 8.1% year over year to $6.93 billion, but Dollar General’s sales rose 11% to $9.5 billion during the same period.

Dreiling was named Dollar Tree’s executive chairman in March 2022, as part of a settlement with activist investor group Mantle Ridge LP that also saw six other new directors named to the retailer’s board.

Leadership shakeups at the company continued through 2022, with Dollar Tree replacing five C-suite executives and adding more. As part of this transformation, Michael Creedon Jr. was tapped as chief operating officer; Pedro Voyer as chief development officer; Jeffrey Davis as chief financial officer; and Bobby Aflatooni as chief information officer.

Altria Group Inc. Henrico County

2021 revenue: $26.01 billion

Employees: 6,000+

As the U.S. market for traditional cigarettes shrinks, Altria continues to try to build a foothold in smokeless tobacco.

A major step in these efforts came in September 2022, when Altria announced it had exercised its option to be released from a noncompete deal with Juul Labs Inc. The move came four years after Altria bought a 35% stake — then valued at $12.8 billion— in the e-cigarette maker. But Juul’s value plummeted as it became the target
of lawsuits claiming it marketed to teens. By July 2022, Altria valued its stake in Juul at $450 million. Juul agreed to a $1.7 billion legal settlement in late 2022 and, as of January, the company was reportedly seeking to sell the business or establish new partnerships.

In October 2022, Altria announced a $150 million joint venture that will see subsidiary Philip Morris USA and Japan Tobacco Group sell heated tobacco products in the U.S. and worldwide. This could move Altria beyond the roadblocks presented by both the Juul stumble and 2021 action by the International Trade Commission that pulled Marlboro Heat Sticks and IQOS heated tobacco products from U.S. markets due to infringement on patents held by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

CarMax Inc. Goochland County

2021 revenue: $31.9 billion

Employees: 30,000+

The used car market was battered over the past year by rising interest rates, inflation and supply constraints. This had a major impact on CarMax, the country’s largest used car retailer, leading it to report year-over-year declines in net revenues and sales in its third-quarter 2022 earnings report.

“In the near term, we are prioritizing initiatives that unlock operational efficiencies and create better experiences for our associates and our customers,” President and CEO Bill Nash said. “While we continue to selectively invest in initiatives that have the potential to activate new capabilities, we have slowed the pace of those investments.”

CarMax continues to focus on making it easier to buy a car digitally — including the financing process. In January, it enhanced its financing capabilities by launching a tool that allows customers to be instantly prequalified for financing and learn their financing terms from the beginning of their search for an automobile from CarMax’s nationwide inventory.

In April 2022, CarMax was recognized for the 18th consecutive year as one of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. 

 

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Here to stay

and railing manufacturer Company Inc. has called the community home for more than 25 years, so when it came time for the company to construct a new global , Winchester was top of mind.

“Trex was already based in the area, so they were familiar with the city and approached us when they began considering sites for their new headquarters,” says Winchester City Manager Dan Hoffman. “From there, it was important to start building a relationship and listening.”

Last spring, the company broke ground on its 64,000-square-foot, $7 million global headquarters on eight acres along Crossover Boulevard near Interstate 81. The company’s corporate offices, approximately 40,000 square feet, are currently located on Exeter Drive in Frederick County.

About 200 people will work in the new headquarters, which is set to open midyear. In 2020, Trex was one of the nation’s 100 fastest-growing companies, according to Fortune magazine, and it brought in more than $1.2 billion in fiscal 2022.

“Trex has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. As the company rose to meet the demands of our customers, it quickly became clear that our current headquarters location could no longer support the growth of our team,” says Bryan Fairbanks, its president and CEO. “We began to look for an opportunity that would afford us the space we needed but also the modern work environment and technologies that our team members desired.”

Early in the process, the company had considered other locations in Winchester and Frederick County but was drawn to the I-81 corridor.

There are limited sites along I-81 that are already prime for development and also have access “to the amenities that Winchester has to offer, such as an excellent school system, an extensive network of parks and trails, and a historic downtown,” Hoffman says.

The location along Crossover Boulevard also offered space for future as well as easy access to transportation routes and visibility along I-81. The new headquarters will feature eco-friendly elements such as electric vehicle charging stations and rooftop solar panels.

As with any modern workspace, the new “will provide opportunities for greater collaboration and recruitment of top talent,” Fairbanks says. “Additionally, the location is closer to our Winchester campus, which will support synergies across our work streams and sustain growth moving forward.”

Between the new corporate headquarters and a 200,000-square-foot expansion for production added to its Frederick County manufacturing campus on Shawnee Drive in 2021, Trex expects to create about 350 jobs in the Winchester and Frederick area, including 150 manufacturing jobs, many of which the company says already have been filled.

One of the components of the headquarters deal was the promise of incentives. “The incentive itself was fairly straightforward, so it just needed to go through the proper approval processes. Our authority and city council both had to approve it,” Hoffman says.

Under the agreement, Trex will pay all assessed property taxes on the new building, but for the first seven years, the Winchester Economic Development Authority will refund any portion of Trex’s tax payment that exceeds the amount currently being generated by the site. 

The deal went smoothly, Hoffman says. “We were very upfront about what was possible, and the executive team at Trex was great to work with. My hope is that this sends a message to other companies looking for a new home,” he continues. “We have other sites in the city that would be ideal landing spots for a large or midsized company.”

“We are honored the city of Winchester is the destination for Trex corporate headquarters,” says Rick Cobert, executive director of the Winchester EDA, adding that having “one of IndustryWeek’s 50 best U.S. manufacturers exemplifies our focus on target industry attraction.”

Trex has a long, rich “history in the Winchester and Frederick County area and is proud to be part of such a strong and supportive community,” Fairbanks said in a statement. “This is our home, and we are pleased to be able to contribute to the health and prosperity of the area through jobs creation, community involvement and national recognition from our industry-leading products and brand.” 

The big freeze

Given pandemic-caused interruptions, college students have been through a lot so far this decade, but one silver lining at many Virginia schools has been frozen tuition. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin made it a priority to keep costs flat this academic year, and he succeeded in getting all 15 of the state’s colleges and on board with that plan.

Speaking at William & Mary’s February 2022 convocation, Youngkin said, “I strongly urge our college and boards to show restraint in tuition increases, just as you have been doing during the pandemic. … And the reason this is important is, if we are not careful, we will price first-generation students and those that come from low-income homes out of the market.”

Most schools and the Virginia Community College System agreed to freeze tuition levels for in-state students soon after the governor’s message, and the University of Virginia’s board of visitors voted in September 2022 to give its students a one-time credit to refund its recent tuition hike, amounting to $690 per student. George Mason University followed suit later that month, awarding a $285 credit to its full-time undergraduates.

Meanwhile, many Americans with heavy student loan debts felt a mixture of excitement and relief after President Joe Biden announced loan forgiveness of up to $20,000 for eligible applicants. The plan was blocked, however, when a group of states and two student-loan borrowers filed suit against the government; the cases were set to be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in late February, with a ruling expected later in the year.

Whether or not federal loan forgiveness happens, Virginia’s schools and government officials are working to increase the ways students can afford college. One such effort is the state’s G3 program, which offers community college students below a certain income threshold the opportunity to earn a free degree in certain high-demand employment fields. Additionally, many universities — public and private — have come up with ways for students to fund their educations without incurring crippling debt, while some are promoting faster paths to earning degrees or career certifications.

However, the other side of the tuition freeze issue is the cost burden for colleges and universities. Virginia Commonwealth University, for instance, reported it would have an $11 million budget shortfall and would have to eliminate 62 jobs through attrition due to flat tuition in the 2022-23 school year. Virginia Tech and other schools raised tuition on paper but gave a one-year scholarship to in-state undergraduates to cover the increase. This means that schools will likely raise costs for tuition, room and board this fall.

In other higher ed news over the past year, there were some significant departures, including a president with one of the nation’s longest tenures, Hampton University’s William R. Harvey, who retired in June 2022 after heading the university for nearly 44 years. He was succeeded by a 1983 alumnus, retired Army Lt. Gen. Darrell Williams, who served nearly 40 years in the military and led the Department of ‘s Defense Logistics Agency.

The 21-year chancellor of the state’s community college system, Glenn DuBois, also retired in June 2022. One candidate withdrew after being hired last year, and now David Doré of Tucson, Arizona’s Pima Community College is set to succeed DuBois in April. The search for DuBois’ replacement was complicated and politically fraught, as Youngkin pushed to be more involved with the hiring of VCCS’ chancellor. Seeing as the 23-college system is the linchpin of the state’s plans to prepare students of all ages to fill approximately 300,000 , tech and other high-demand skilled jobs, expectations for the system’s leader have risen in recent years.

“The race for talent is on,” Youngkin said in a statement announcing Doré’s hiring in January. 

 

Playing defense

What’s in a name? Perhaps a lot if you’re riding on the coattails of and Corp.

The May and June 2022 announcements that contractors and would move their corporate to County generated plenty of buzz, but they didn’t dazzle like the 2018 announcement of Amazon.com Inc.’s multibillion-dollar HQ2 East Coast headquarters coming to Arlington. That may be, at least in part, because the Boeing and Raytheon announcements didn’t come with similar headline-grabbing capital investment or job-creation figures.

What the headquarters moves did do, however, is instantly make Virginia the center of the universe. With Boeing and Raytheon joining Northrop Grumman Corp. and General Dynamics Corp., Virginia is now home to four of the world’s five largest contractors and aerospace companies. (The largest, Lockheed Martin Corp., is based in nearby Bethesda, Maryland.)

The news also brought validation that the Washington, D.C., region is a marquee location for tech, aerospace, defense and adjacent industries.

“Anytime you get a major corporation locating your headquarters in town, that’s a bragging point. It seems to matter,” says Terry Clower, director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis. “I don’t have a formula that tells you what the economic value of that is, but it’s one that … it makes sense, because it’s deepening and broadening your corporate network infrastructure for the region.”

And Arlington officials hope to build on these big headquarters wins.

“They’re kind of like the equivalent of the home run,” says Arlington Economic Development Director Ryan Touhill, who started in the role in November 2022, about the headquarters moves.

Neither Boeing, which was previously headquartered in Chicago, nor Raytheon, which called Waltham, Massachusetts, home, have discussed much about their moves publicly other than a desire to be located closer to government clients and industry partners.

Raytheon has about 130 corporate staffers in Rosslyn, a number that hasn’t increased, though the company has “slightly expanded its footprint,” says spokesperson Chris Johnson, who also cites the region’s multiple international airports as a factor for its move. And, while Raytheon CEO Gregory Hayes won’t be relocating to Virginia, Johnson has previously said Hayes is expected to spend a lot of time here.

Similarly, Boeing already had about 400 employees in Arlington’s Crystal City area, and its move didn’t involve any major job relocations. According to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Boeing’s relocation brought 150 new jobs and $5 million in investment. Connor Greenwood, a company spokesperson, could not confirm the accuracy of those figures, nor did the company respond to questions about plans for a research and technology hub it pledged to establish with its move.

Nevertheless, home runs like these headquarters moves can help Arlington hit economic development singles, doubles and triples by helping the county draw smaller, emerging companies that “benefit from the things that the larger companies attract,” Touhill says, adding that the county is “seeing a good amount of aerospace interest.”

In the wake of Boeing and Raytheon’s announcements, Arlington economic development officials increased outreach to target companies and industries, says Michael Stiefvater, acting director of Arlington Economic Development’s Business Investment Group. “We’ve done a bit of a campaign to reach out to companies in the aerospace and defense industry following those announcements,” he says.

Along with positive publicity from the announcements, the county has heard “good things” in its communications with site selectors, brokers and companies, Stiefvater adds. While that hasn’t translated into immediate deals, he chalks that up to uncertainty in the post-pandemic office market environment.

The county has, however, received “quite a few” requests for proposals from consultants, “which is a nice change,” Stiefvater adds. “It was really quiet, basically since the beginning of the pandemic through this fall, in terms of corporate headquarters deals.”

Those RFPs haven’t yielded results the county can announce yet, but Stiefvater says they’re a signal that “we’re in competition.

“I’m imagining, you know, Boeing, Raytheon certainly probably played a role in catching people’s attention and hopefully got us on the short list or a final list.”

Filling in

Industrial real estate is a hot commodity in .

“It’s hard to find available space of anything that’s above 15,000 to 20,000 square feet,” says Jonathan Belcher, executive director of the (VCEDA), which represents Lee, Wise, Scott, Buchanan, Russell, Tazewell and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton.

Leaders in the area had discussed putting up industrial spec buildings — structures erected with a goal of attracting tenants after construction. But then inflation hit. “It’s just become so cost-prohibitive,” Belcher says. Until prices go down, he and other Southwest Virginia leaders have had to look “more closely at what existing inventory there is in an area.”

New Jersey-based custom resin and vinyl fabric manufacturer Ronald Mark Associates Inc. (RMA) looked to existing inventory for its new Virginia manufacturing operation. In November 2022, RMA announced plans to invest $13.5 million to establish a manufacturing operation at the former Komatsu plant in .

Executives at Komatsu, a manufacturer of construction, mining, forestry and industrial heavy equipment, announced in January 2021 their plans to close the Bluefield facility, which produced underground mining products. According to news reports, 120 workers lost their jobs.

In late January, RMA President Michael Satz said he had just hired a production manager who would help him hire 28 more employees. “If Komatsu had over 120 people on staff, hopefully we can find some of those people and bring them back.”

Manufacturing and shipping

In another example of repurposing existing buildings, Signco, a Chicago-based custom sign manufacturer, announced plans in March 2022 to invest $650,000 to establish operations at the former MC Signs facility in Bluefield. Timothy Danielson, director of economic development for , said the company had 21 employees working at the Bluefield operation by early December 2022. “It’s another great addition to the manufacturing base in the area,” Belcher says.

Chilhowie also had big manufacturing news last year.

In June 2022, Illinois-based Scholle IPN, a flexible packaging supplier, announced plans to invest $31.1 million to expand its operation in the town by 73,000 square feet to accommodate new manufacturing lines. The company also plans to add 800 feet of new rail track to support the inflow of resin.

Kendra Hayden, economic development project manager for Smyth County, said in early December 2022 that the company had laid a concrete pad for the . 

Construction should be completed by late summer or early fall, according to Jake Tabor, business retention and expansion manager for the Mount Rogers Regional Partnership, a nonprofit regional economic development organization.

In Washington County, construction is underway on a 251,000-square-foot distribution center for FedEx Ground. The facility is expected to create 250 jobs, according to Jason Boswell, director of community development for the county.

The warehouse is expected to be operational in 2023, a spokesperson for FedEx said in a statement to Virginia Business.

Tech talent

Southwest Virginia also attracted technology employers in 2022.

In August 2022, Paymerang LLC, a Chesterfield County-based payment and invoice automation company, announced plans to create 50 jobs in software development, payment operations and cloud engineering in . The new positions will be housed in Big Stone Gap’s downtown coworking space.

As of early December 2022, the company had hired about a dozen of the new employees, according to Will Payne, managing partner of consulting firm Coalfield Strategies LLC, which leads business development for , a -private business attraction and marketing campaign for Southwest Virginia that assisted with Paymerang’s move to Wise County.

In October 2022, two Tazewell County residents announced plans to locate a data center hosting and cryptocurrency mining business called Blackstone Data Services LLC at the county’s Bluestone Business and Technology Park.

“We think it will be successful,” Tazewell County Administrator Eric Young says of the project. “Hopefully other data centers will come out into rural areas.”

Co-founders Seth White and Craig Earls have installed two mobile data centers at the park. These centers house technology used for bitcoin mining, a process where high-performance computers solve math equations to validate bitcoin transactions.

White and Earls are working with Appalachian Power and county officials in the hopes of increasing the amount of power available at the technology park. As of December 2022, Blackstone Data Services had 1.5 megawatts of power available to use, according to Earls. Ideally, they’d like access to 10 to 12 megawatts. That will likely require a substation to be built, he says.

“We’re a small company right now,” adds White. “We’ve got aspirations to grow beyond that — assuming we can get more power.” 

 

Surgical precision

Like many other businesses, systems are constantly consolidating and forging partnerships to create synergy.

In 2022, one of Virginia’s longest awaited agreements finally crystallized: a merger between and . The creation of Health Sciences Center at — folding the medical school into the — was included in a bill sponsored by Sen. Louise Lucas during the 2023 Virginia General Assembly, and the measure was passing through the legislature as of deadline for this issue, allocating at least $10 million in state funding toward startup costs.

After Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs off on it, the merger would be required to take place by July 2024, and strategic financial plans, governing expectations and suggested metrics for improving community health care would be due to Youngkin and legislative leaders by Aug. 1.

Before the bill was filed, though, the news of an impending deal came trickling out. In July 2022, ODU hired Dr. Alicia Monroe as chief integration officer and senior adviser to ODU President Brian O. Hemphill, with the stated task of developing a plan to “integrate ODU and in 2023.” Last August, Aubrey Layne, Healthcare’s executive vice president of governance and external affairs, said he, along with ODU and EVMS officials, had met with Gov. Glenn Youngkin to discuss the merger, which would also involve Sentara.

This move wasn’t totally unexpected, as the two schools had entered into agreements with Sentara and Norfolk State University in late 2021, including the collaborative ONE School of Health.

But it’s a sea change compared with 2020 and early 2021, when EVMS and Sentara officials were in a standoff over a proposed merger that the medical school’s leadership opposed. Founded in 1973, EVMS is a rarity as a public medical school unaffiliated with an undergraduate university, which would change when it becomes part of ODU. With a change in leaders at EVMS, ODU and Sentara in 2021 and 2022, though, the possibility of a merger grew.

Leaders from all three institutions say that collaboration will help improve local health care, share staff and other resources, and raise more money from donors.

In addition to the EVMS-ODU merger, health care systems around the state marked a few changes of the guard. Former Sentara Health Plans President Dennis Matheis became Sentara’s new president and CEO, replacing the retiring Howard Kern in September 2022. Dr. Michael Dacey, Riverside Health System’s former chief operating officer, was promoted to become CEO with Bill Downey’s retirement at the end of 2022.

Bon Secours named a new Richmond market president, Mike Lutes, in August 2022, just before the health system was the subject of a New York Times exposé. The September 2022 story revealed how the nonprofit hospital system had benefited financially from a federal prescription drug program that allowed clinics in low-income neighborhoods to buy medications at steep discounts, charge insurers full price and keep the proceeds. Although the extra money was intended by federal lawmakers to be reinvested in impoverished hospitals — in this case, Bon Secours’ Richmond Community Hospital — the system instead used the money to invest in hospitals in wealthier areas around Richmond, as well as return money to its Cincinnati corporate .

Richmond Community made $110 million in 2021 revenue, a typical amount for the small hospital, which treats 1,500 patients a year. From 2013 to 2022, Bon Secours invested about $10 million in capital improvements at Richmond Community, in addition to investing $8 million in the hospital’s East End neighborhood. Executives have defended the system’s spending practices, which are legal. In January, Bon Secours opened a $16.5 million medical office in Richmond Community’s neighborhood, and system officials have said it will track health progress in the city’s East End over the next three years.

Meanwhile, a General Assembly bill that would have created greater transparency over how much health care systems profit from the federal drug discount law died quietly in the House of Delegates in January. Bon Secours opposed the measure. 

A titanic win

After enduring the exodus of companies like Burlington Mills and Daystrom Furniture over the past two decades, County is celebrating its biggest announcement in decades — the arrival of Virginia’s first demonstration facility.

Last fall, Charlotte, North Carolina-based , a minerals company, announced an $82.1 million investment to establish the nation’s first 100% recycled titanium metal powder manufacturing facility in a 50,000-square-foot building in the Southern Virginia Technology Park in South Boston. The three-year project will be developed over two phases. Phase one includes $12.5 million for building construction- and production-related machinery and tools, as well as hiring
41 full-time employees. That will be followed by a $69.6 million investment to expand the facility to 100,000 square feet and increase the workforce to 108 full-time workers in phase two.

anticipates having the facility outfitted by the second quarter, with operations beginning in the fourth quarter. The company plans to source 100% renewable energy to make 100% recycled titanium for use as an alloying component in advanced industries such as automotive, , aerospace, electric vehicles and 3D printing.

“This is a highly valued and high-growth industry,” says IperionX founder and CEO Anastasios “Taso” Arima.

was chosen for the titanium demonstration facility after an extensive nationwide search, he says. IperionX needed a 50,000-square-foot existing building with a ceiling tall enough to accommodate overhead cranes. The company was looking for an area with strong infrastructure, a skilled workforce and renewable power. Cooperation from county and state officials also helped seal the deal. 

“What we saw in South Boston ticks all the boxes,” Arima says. “This area has a lot of potential with defense applications, and Community College is less than an hour away to train people to operate the type of equipment we have.”

IperionX’s goal is to develop a U.S. of sustainable, low-cost titanium metal for advanced manufacturing. Currently, 100% of titanium metal is imported from overseas, with China as the biggest source.

“The United States is vulnerable to overseas titanium metal supply chains,” Arima notes. “With this commercial facility, we will be solving a critical supply chain for the U.S.”

IperionX is poised for future growth in the region.

“This is just a start. As we see success in building our business in Southern Virginia, we will see a lot more potential for significant growth. We hope this grows into a large titanium metal producer globally with what we plan to do in Southern Virginia over the next five years,” Arima says. “From titanium metal powder, we can make traditional products like bars and plates. It’s also used in the rapidly growing 3D printing industry.”

That’s the type of news Halifax County has been waiting decades to hear. “There has not been a manufacturing announcement of this size in almost 25 years,” says Kristy Johnson, executive director of the Halifax Industrial Development Authority. “We consider it a great project that is building on our manufacturing legacy.”

The region is prepared to provide equipment operators, accountants, engineers, process technicians, electricians, welders and other skilled workers for IperionX. “We’re working with all the regional workforce training programs to recruit workers,” Johnson adds. “We have a lot of good synergy across the region.”

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville offers training in skills ranging from advanced technology to cybersecurity and partners with Danville Community College to provide training in advanced manufacturing through the newly opened Center for Manufacturing Advancement. The U.S. Navy opened its Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the center in October 2022 as a platform to expand the military’s industrial base.

“Danville Community College has a very strong training program for additive manufacturing, and the Department of Defense investing more money to train people for the future in additive manufacturing is a big bonus,” Arima says.

Calvin “Ricky” Short, chairman of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors, is eager to see those jobs come to fruition and boost the area’s economy. “We’ve been waiting a long time for a company like IperionX to come to Halifax,” he says.

“We are tickled to death to have IperionX come to Halifax County and bring in more jobs. Hopefully, it will bring in more industries and encourage more people to remain in the county.”  

 

DroneUp takes off

‘s LLC is riding the leading edge of the unmanned aerial vehicle industry wave.

Founded in 2016, the company, which specializes in commercial delivery, flight services and software, has grown its ranks from three to 530 employees. Retail giant Inc. is a new partner, and DroneUp is close to completing a $7 million at its .

In an August 2022 news conference with Gov. Glenn Youngkin, DroneUp announced it was taking off in a big way, adding 655 jobs as part of an expansion that will include establishing a $20 million drone testing, training and research and development center at in Dinwiddie County. DroneUp plans to add 510 jobs in Virginia Beach and 145 positions at the Richard Bland center.

“Virginia is extremely fortunate that we have DroneUp here because they have really put the industry on the map as far as the drone technology goes and package delivery,” says Tracy Tynan, director of the Unmanned Systems Center at Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp., a state- affiliated nonprofit that supports emerging companies and technologies in the commonwealth through grant programs and strategic initiatives.

DroneUp’s “growth has been amazing,” says David Bowles, executive director of the Virginia Institute for Spaceflight & Autonomy at Old Dominion . “They’re a model, I think, of what you can do.”

DroneUp CEO Tom Walker says the pandemic was one factor in DroneUp’s recent growth. During lockdown, when people couldn’t congregate or travel, offered a remote solution for ongoing needs.

“When COVID-19 first hit, it was a very, very unfortunate thing for society and for the nation, but it was a very positive thing for our industry,” he says. “We still needed to do roof inspections and cell tower inspections and infrastructure inspections. … We were able to deploy drones to do those inspections that traditionally they’d not used them for.”

DroneUp’s recently inked deal with Walmart is another contributing factor to the company’s growth, Walker says. A contract to build out Walmart’s drone delivery network was announced in December 2021 and package delivery was offered at three Walmart locations in the retailer’s home state of Arkansas. In May 2022, DroneUp and Walmart announced plans to expand drone delivery services to reach 4 million homes across six states with drone hubs operating from 34 U.S. Walmart sites. Three hubs are located at Virginia Beach Walmart locations, with a 1-mile delivery range for up to 10-pound packages. Walmart has a minority stake in DroneUp, as well as two seats on DroneUp’s board.

The DroneUp Flight Academy at Richard Bland College is already preparing the next generations of the company’s flight engineers. As of December 2022, Richard Bland had trained 170 full-time DroneUp employees.

Richard Bland President Debbie Sydow says she’s excited the college is part of DroneUp’s workforce development pipeline. Trainees are not only prepped to make deliveries for DroneUp but they also earn 12 college credits in courses such as  Small Uncrewed Aerial Systems I and II, Components & Maintenance, and Remote Pilot Ground School.

“These students are getting prepared to do a specific job, but they’re also accruing college credit and hopefully continuing to build their list of credentials that allow them to continue to grow in this field,” Sydow says.

The college’s rural location offers plenty of open sky for drone training, Walker says, as well as available classroom space and student housing. “It had all of the facilities we needed.”

A delivery hub has been set up at the school and 1,000 workers are expected to graduate by the end of this year.

Sydow says having DroneUp on campus aligns with similar partnerships the school already has with advanced manufacturers. Walker says it has also created an opportunity to expose currently enrolled students to a new industry. Discussions are underway on how to expand DroneUp’s training program to existing college students.

“We’re looking at all those ways that we can really turn this into a major resource [for Virginia] that will go well beyond the kinds of uses that are part of what DroneUp is doing now,” Sydow says. “And DroneUp is fully supportive of that.”