"We are staying busy," with activity in the food and beverage and automotive sectors, says Pittsylvania County Economic Development Director Matt Rowe. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Despite dealing with the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Southern Virginia is celebrating the development of a resort casino, new investments in the area and several company expansions.

The pandemic has presented localities in the region like Danville with a number of challenges they haven’t seen before, but the city continues to look for opportunities to bring in new companies. Prospect “activity is still strong,” says Corrie Bobe, Danville’s economic development director. “We are seeing projects that have strong financial and aggressive timelines for announcements.”

The new Caesars-branded resort casino that will be built in Danville is expected to bring in a minimum of $400 million in capital investment and the creation of 1,300 jobs. The project includes multiple restaurants and bars, a hotel with 300 four-star guest rooms, a 35,000-square-foot conference center, a 2,500-seat live-entertainment venue, a pool and a spa. It is expected to open in 2023. 

Working together, the city, the town of Hurt and Pittsylvania County landed the manufacturing facility Staunton River Plastics LLC, which will be located in the Southern Virginia Multimodal Park in Hurt. It will be the first tenant at the industrial park, once the site of a Burlington Industries textile mill. The company is investing $34 million to build and equip the approximately 250,000-square-foot plant. The project is expected to create more than 200 jobs over four years and adds to the company’s existing presence in Altavista.

Upholding the commitment it made last October to have its new Virginia plant — formerly occupied by Ikea — in operation by this summer, Morgan Olson LLC started production at its 925,000-square-foot automotive manufacturing facility, where it produces step vans.

Morgan Olson currently employs more than 400 people, and it expects to have 703 employees by the end of 2021.

Corrie Bobe, director, Danville Office of Economic Development, Danville

In July 2020, Danville native Bobe was picked to lead the city’s economic development office after serving as its interim leader since January 2020. With one of the state’s first casinos headed to the city, there is a lot of development in the cards for Danville. An updated master plan incorporating the Caesars Virginia casino is in the works, and the city’s Industrial Development Authority allocated funding in January for the continuation of an environmental study of the casino’s Schoolfield site, as well as the White Mill and Long Mill properties — all in preparation for future development, Bobe says.

From Virginia Business

Gov. Ralph Northam today announced that Intertape Polymer Group Inc. (IPG), a packaging products and systems company that supplies to retailers and manufacturers, will expand its manufacturing operation in Pittsylvania County to increase production for its e-retail packaging, coatings and films.

The company will add 30,000 square feet to its facility at 1101 Eagle Springs Road and act on a series of investments in production, operations, and capacity, totaling approximately $45 million over the next four years.

Virginia successfully competed with Colorado, North Carolina, and Utah for the project, which will create 50 new jobs. 

“Intertape Polymer Group has a long and successful history in Pittsylvania County, and we are thrilled to see the company continue to thrive in our Commonwealth,” Northam said. “This significant investment and the creation of high-quality jobs is a win for our diverse advanced manufacturing industry and represents an important step forward in our efforts to ensure Virginia has a sustainable economic recovery.”

The Southern Virginia Regional Alliance (SVRA) and Virginia’s Growth Alliance (VGA) joined forces with the chambers of commerce and economic development organizations and launched the Bridge to Recovery program to support the GO Virginia Region 3 service area. The program provides support to businesses and local suppliers as they maneuver through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To assist with local and regional economic recovery tracking, the Bridge to Recovery team has launched three economic recovery dashboards to track the region’s recovery from COVID-19. Recovery dashboards are available for the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, Virginia’s Growth Alliance, and the GO Virginia Region 3. These regions encompass the cities of Emporia, Danville and Martinsville; and the counties of Amelia, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward.

Economic and business activity help gauge the pace of Southern Virginia’s economic recovery from the pandemic.  The dashboards serve as an economic tool for the business community and are focused on three main areas: economy, labor market, and health and wellness.

51,250-square-foot Center to enhance Southern Virginia’s advanced manufacturing sector

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) has broken ground to build a 51,250-square-foot Center for Manufacturing Advancement (CMA) on the IALR campus. The innovative CMA will offer a platform for leading-edge business success specifically targeted at manufacturing companies establishing or expanding their presence in Southern Virginia. The $25.5 million project, funded by the Commonwealth and the Danville Regional Foundation, is being built in cooperation with Virginia’s Division of Engineering and Buildings.

“Southern Virginia is a top location for advanced manufacturers from across the globe, and the Center for Manufacturing Advancement will undoubtedly help attract more of them to the region,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “This state-of-the-art facility will play an important role in driving economic development and innovation in Virginia, while also helping the existing Danville-Pittsylvania business community grow and thrive.”

“Southern Virginia has a rich legacy workforce development program in place to support the hiring needs of top advanced manufacturers across the region and state,” said Mark Gignac, Executive Director of IALR. “The new Center for Manufacturing Advancement is a natural next step in positioning our area as a leader in this sector, and as an expert resource for those companies wishing to establish a location here locally.”

“As technology exponentially advances, it is critical we stay at the forefront of integrating these innovations into training and manufacturing processes,” said Troy Simpson, Director of Advanced Manufacturing at IALR. “Our new Center for Manufacturing Advancement will do just that – allow companies to interface with one another, technology providers and students to leverage space, collaboration and equipment opportunities for their own growth and advancement.”

AXTON — Gov. Ralph Northam Monday announced that Ison Furniture Manufacturing, Inc., a North Carolina-based furniture manufacturer, will invest $3.5 million to acquire and renovate the recently closed A.C. Furniture Company, Inc. facility in Pittsylvania County, creating 150 new jobs.

The company is also purchasing new equipment for the assembly and full production of its upholstered furniture products.

Virginia successfully won the project after a competition with North Carolina.

The company’s supplier, Dogwood Global, LLC, will locate to a vacant 30,000-square-foot building onsite, investing $500,000 in new equipment and adding 45 new jobs to manufacture high-end wood tables and custom furniture frames that will be upholstered by Ison Furniture, according to a press statement.

Pittsylvania County Director of Economic Development Matthew Rowe said Monday evening that it is "always a great sign, a strong gesture when a company goes in and purchases a facility upfront," which Ison has done, recently closing on the 30,000-square-foot building.

"This facility is no more than 2 miles form the Pittsylvania County/Henry County line," Rowe continued. "Historically, A.C. furniture, which was there previously, employed numerous residents from Marttinsville all the way to Danville and Chatham. The same base of employment will still be in play."

The availability of the work force is the biggest driving factor for this industry to enter Pittsylvania County, Rowe said.

A large-scale hemp processing and cannabinoid (CBD) oil extraction facility, Golden Piedmont Labs, has begun production in Halifax County, playing a key role in Virginia’s No. 1 industry: agriculture. The processing plant is the first of its kind in Virginia.

“This is an exciting day for Halifax County and an exciting day for Virginia,” said Gov. Ralph Northam as he looked out on the crowd of investors, stakeholders, state, county and local leaders gathered at Golden Piedmont Labs’ grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning. The facility is housed in the former Blue Ridge Beverage Company building, at 2525 Houghton Ave. in South Boston.

Halifax Industrial Development Authority (IDA) executive director Brian Brown remarked the opening of the hemp processing facility marks “the beginning of a new day in Halifax County. “We are pleased to celebrate the opening of Golden Piedmont Labs and a new era of hemp production for Halifax County and the Southside region,” Brown said.

Golden Piedmont Labs president Steve Mize told the crowd he envisions the hemp industry as being “very profitable” in Southside Virginia and noted that hemp products have the power to change people’s everyday lives because of their medicinal qualities.

The Results Cos. to add 400+ jobs in Va. by end of year

Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based call center company The Results Cos. announced Friday it would add approximately 288 jobs to its Martinsville location and 118 to its Stuart location by the end of the year.

All positions will be full-time job opportunities in the call centers with wages of $11.50 to $13.50 per hour, dependent upon location and client, according to company spokesperson John Sternal.

The Virginia expansion comes as part of the company’s initiative to fill more than 4,500 jobs across its U.S. locations and increase hourly wages for call center employees by the end of the year. The company currently employs approximately 20,000 people in 30 locations.

“A dependable job and competitive wage rate with a fun, supportive culture is absolutely necessary in today’s economic climate,” Results Cos. CEO Chad Carlson said in a statement. “It is important that we offer these employment benefits to get Americans back to work and incentivize them to build their families through reliable jobs.”

Hiring for call center positions will start immediately, and the company hopes to have it completed by the end of the year, Sternal said. The Results Cos. provides services including analytics, contact center as a service (CCaaS), process automation and SupportPredict, a digital engagement software as a service (SaaS) product.

From Virginia Business

Virginia Business recognized Pittsylvania County Economic Development Director Matt Rowe in its “2020 Power List,” a recognition of Rowe’s innovative work in recruiting and retaining businesses in Pittsylvania County.

In nearly five years, Rowe has helped fill 13 vacant buildings with top-tier employers and worked on projects totaling more than 1,600 jobs announced jobs and combined investments of around $485 million.

"It's a collective win that our hard work for the county is being recognized on the state level, and it's recognized as having a real impact,” Rowe said.

Virginia Business is a magazine that covers economic issues and progress across the state and across all sectors. The “2020 Power List,” which was released in late August, recognizes 500 Virginia leaders from 20 different sectors, including government, education and economic development.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Rock Island (ACC-RI) has awarded a $1.78 million contract to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) and Danville Community College (DCC) for a pilot project to develop the prototype training program, Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM). The base year of the contract includes instructional staff and curriculum development to address workforce gaps for Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies. 

“Thanks to this transformative opportunity from the DoD, the ATDM program will allow us to fill critical workforce gaps while building the capacity of our nation’s Defense Industrial Base,” said Mark Gignac, Executive Director for IALR, the fiscal agent and ATDM program lead. “We are fortunate to be joined by exemplary partners—DCC, a leader in workforce development programs; Phillips Corporation, a champion of next-generation manufacturing solutions; and The SPECTRUM Group, a consulting firm experienced in the defense industry. I look forward to seeing the program grow under the leadership of IALR’s Troy Simpson, and I thank Sen. Mark Warner and other legislators for supporting these efforts.”