August 31
Aerial Machine and Tool
Corp. will
invest $600,000 to expand production capacity at its
Patrick County facility, which produces precision-sewn
and machined goods for clients in the defense and homeland
security sectors. The move will create 75 jobs. Virginia
competed with North Carolina for the investment. (News
release)
AES Corp., an energy company headquartered in
Arlington, launched the first-ever U.S. investment in
wind generation in China. A joint venture with Guohua
Energy Investment Co. will result in a 49.5 megawatt
wind farm about 200 kilometers southeast of Beijing.
The facility is expected to begin operation in 2009. (Business
Wire)
The AES Corp., an Arlington energy company, was
chosen by the Republic of South Africa to build, own
and operate two gas turbine power plants in the provinces
of KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape. The two plants, expected
to be operational in 2009, will have a combined output
of 1,100 megawatts. Power will be sold through the state-owned
power utility Eskom under a 15-year agreement. (News
Release)
Clark Nexsen, a Norfolk-based architecture and
engineering company, opened an office in Richmond, its
sixth. Robert T. Gibson, past president of the
firm and a member of the board, will head the new operation,. (News
release)
Dominion Resources Inc., a Richmond energy company,
and Shell WindEnergy Inc. will add a second phase to
their wind energy generation project now under construction
in Grant County, W.Va. The first phase of 82 turbines
will be operational this fall. The second phase, a 50-turnbine
project with a potential 100metgawatt output, is expected
to go into operation in 2008. (PR Newswire)
Posted August 6
Progress Printing, a Lynchburg-based
commercial printing operation, will invest $15.8 million
to double its printing capacity and create 10 jobs over
the next 30 months. The company specializes in business-to-business
catalogs and specialty publications. (News release)
Posted July 29
KBS Inc., a Richmond-based
construction management firm, opened an office in Virginia
Beach to service a growing volume of work in the Hampton
Roads area. Matthew Gass will head the new office. (News
release)
LeClair Ryan, a Richmond law firm, opened an
office in Boston with 10 partner attorneys to expand
its service area from the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.
Kevin Kenneally will head the new office. (News release)
Posted July 11 Alion Science and TechnologyInc., a McLean
technology company, opened a regional headquarters in
Charlotte, N.C., to provide consulting services to commercial
and government clients in the Southeastern U.S. (Business
Wire)
Bostwick Laboratories, a Richmond-based provider
of medical laboratory services, will invest $4.6 million
to expand its Henrico County facility, creating 600 jobs
over the next three years. Bostwick specializes in urological
pathology and management of prostate cancer. (News
release)
Posted July 10 HCA Richmond,
a Richmond-based health-care provider, will add 120 jobs
at its patient-account service center in Chesterfield
County, which employs 600 workers. The added jobs come
as part of HCA’s
consolidation of back-office financial functions into
regional service centers. ( Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Philip Morris USA, a Richmond-based cigarette
manufacturer, will close its Cabarrus County, N.C. factory
by 2010 and move those operations to its Richmond facility.
The company will cease production of cigarettes for export,
concentrating solely on the
U.S.
market. Philip Morris International, based in
Switzerland
, will increase production at its Europeans facilities
to meet overseas demand. Hundreds of jobs from North
Carolina will move to the company’s Richmond plant. (
Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Merck & Co., a pharmaceutical company headquartered
in Whitehouse Station, N.J., will invest $193 million
in its Elkton plant and create 70 jobs. Last winter Merck
announced a $57 million expansion of the facility, one
of seven Merck plants around the country, and its production
of medicine and vaccines. (News release)
Performance Fibers Inc., a Richmond-based producer
of industrial polyester materials, will invest in new
equipment at its Kaiping,
China
facility to increase its production of tire cord fabrics
by 30 percent. The materials are used in radial automotive
tires for which demand is growing in the Asian market. (Business
Wire)
American Wood Fibers, a Columbia, Md.-based producer
of specialty forestry products, will invest $9 million
in its Smyth County operations, creating 30 jobs. The
company uses wood waste to develop environmentally friendly
products for industrial, pet, agricultural and energy
markets. Virginia competed with Kentucky, North Carolina
and Ohio for the investment. (News release)
