In fact some companies entering the market are adding to the region's appeal for high-tech operations. Cavalier Telephone, which located its headquarters in Richmond last year, expanded its operations, adding 100 workers to the 250 it employed last year.

Among some of the companies taking advantage of the telecom infrastructure in Richmond are IG2 and Outsourcing Solutions. IG2 is a technology company that is investing $30 million and creating 500 jobs in Richmond. Financial services firm Outsourcing Solutions, on the other hand, is locating a service center in Henrico County, which beat out sites in New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Another growing segment of the Greater Richmond market is foreign investment. Although most business editors who responded to a survey by Development Counsellors International of New York rated the business climate of the region as "local" as opposed to "global," there are still some 140 international companies with operations in Greater Richmond.

Switzerland-based Lawson Mardon joined Richmond's international ranks in July. The company plans to invest $45 million in Chesterfield County, where it will employ 150. Lawson Mardon supplies packaging design and printing of cartons for Philip Morris.

Inge-Glas, a German-based Christmas ornament manufacturer, also chose the Greater Richmond area for its new distribution center. The company located operations in Hanover County, and it plans to use the distribution center to move its products throughout the United States.