I-81 Drives New Growth

The Roanoke Valley, with the city of Roanoke at its hub, is the economic center of western Virginia. The emergence of a biotechnology cluster is helping drive new investment and expansion activity in the area. Novozymes Biologicals, a developer of industrial enzymes, is expanding its 20,000-sq.-ft. (1,850-sq.-m.) building in Roanoke County's Center for Research & Technology with a 7,000-sq.-ft. (650-sq.-m.) addition. The Center for Research & Technology is a 457-acre (185-hectare) business park designed for technology, biotechnology and high-tech manufacturing companies.
        Integrity Windows and Doors announced in February a new, $32-million manufacturing facility in Roanoke that could generate as many as 350 jobs by the end of 2008. And Metalsa, a manufacturer of heavy truck rail frames, is expanding its Botetourt County facility with a 150,000-sq.-ft. (14,000-sq.-m.) addition to its facility in the Vista Corporate Park. The $25-million project will double production capacity and add 70 new jobs to the approximately 130 already in place.
        In October, those newcomers were joined by Cardinal Glass, which is investing $23.9 million in an insulating glass plant in Roanoke County.
        Investment in rural counties extends north along the Appalachian Mountain range, with Interstate 81 providing the transportation backbone needed to move products in and out of the region. Mount Crawford, in southern Rockingham County, for instance, is the site of a 1.2-million-sq.-ft. (111,500-sq.-m.) Wal-Mart distribution center that will create 1,000 new jobs for the Shenandoah Valley. The $55-million project will get under way in the spring of 2004 with completion slated for a year later. The center will supply Wal-Mart stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
        And in Frederick County, where I-81 enters the commonwealth from the north, Trex Co. is expanding its headquarters with a $10.9-million investment in a plastics recycling production line that will create 36 new jobs. Virginia helped secure the project with a $300,000 grant to extend rail track 2,000 feet (610 m.) to Trex's manufacturing facility. A much bigger project was announced in Frederick County earlier in the year. The Home Depot announced a $25-million, 750,000-sq.-ft. (69,700-sq.-m.) distribution center in the East Gate Industrial Park.
        Two south-central counties – Pittsylvania and Halifax on the North Carolina border – also lured investment to rural Virginia in 2003. Essel Propack, a specialty packaging company based in India, has opened a laminated tube manufacturing plant in Danville, the seat of Pittsylvania County. This project helped earn the Danville Office of Economic Development an Honorable Mention in Site Selection's 2002 Top Groups recognition, reported in the May 2003 issue.
        Nearby Ringgold is the location of a $5-million project for Intertape Polymer Group (IPG), a manufacturer of specialized packaging products. This is IPG's second project in Ringgold. The first, opened in 1987, employs approximately 240 people. The new, 200,000-sq.-ft. (18,580-sq.m.) facility, will add 50 new jobs to IPG's Pittsylvania County payroll.
        Next-door Halifax County is where pet food maker Sunshine Mills is investing $2.5 million to expand a manufacturing facility that employs more than 100 people. Virginia competed with Alabama, Iowa, Oklahoma and Kansas for the project.