rom January through early October 2004, the Commonwealth of Virginia showed 122 projects in the Conway Data New Plant Database, headed in value by the US$450-million APM terminal in Portsmouth. The nature of that Maersk facility -- global distribution of goods -- literally speaks volumes for Virginia's place in the nation's economy, even as food processing, financial services headquarters and defense contractors maintain their healthy prominence in the state profile.
      "This is a positive step towards preparing our company for continued growth and success in the mid-Atlantic region," said Nick Taro, senior vice president for U.S. East Coast and Gulf Ports for APM Terminals, parent company for Maersk, at the spring 2004 project announcement. "This container facility adds to Maersk's significant presence in Virginia, which includes the headquarters for Maersk Line, Ltd. and a Hudd Distribution facility in Suffolk, Virginia. The Commonwealth is indeed a great place to do business."

Tony Scioscia, President of APM Terminals North America Inc.

      APM Terminals, based in The Hague, Netherlands, is a leading global container terminal operator with activities in more than 30 ports worldwide, generating an annual throughput of more than 22 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) from about 60 leading shipping lines. The Portsmouth project, due to be completed in 2007, is a big part of the doubling of cargo through the Hampton Roads region expected by 2020.
      "The purchase of this property is part of our strategic development of the Mid-Atlantic market," said Tony Scioscia, president of APM Terminals North America, based in Charlotte, N.C., at the announcement. "The terminal offers a natural deepwater harbor of 50 feet [15 m.], the ability to own and operate all activities -- compared to most ports where we lease port space -- a strategic location with a growing market and strong, solid waterfront labor."
      The facility already operated by APM is a 71-acre (29-hectare) container terminal in Portsmouth that had been at capacity for years. Virginia Gov. Mark Warner had included meetings about the long-simmering project in his trade mission to Europe a year before the decision, following on APM's 2001 purchase of 576 acres (233 hectares) for $8.2 million in 2001.
      The expected economic ripple effect is almost occurring of its own accord. Wal-Mart is a leading Maersk customer, and is itself investing $26 million in an expansion of a major distribution center in nearby James City County. Cost Plus is investing $27 million in its own DC in Isle of Wight County. And the Virginia Port Authority is hoping to use another 600 acres (243 hectares) on Craney Island to boost its own portfolio of facilities.
      APM is not the only shipping company to make a 2004 investment in the region: France-based CMA CGM is establishing its North American headquarters in Norfolk with an $11.5-million investment, creating 116 new jobs and retaining 260 from its existing operations in Virginia Beach. In 2003, the company handled close to half a million containers in and out of the U.S.
      The ripple extending to Suffolk in 2004 includes the usual ring of distribution centers, but also includes investments from a broad range of companies. Among them: Ciba Specialty Chemicals, motor coach manufacturer Coach, LLC, Ferguson Enterprises, and military contractors Science Applications International Corp. and Lockheed Martin, which is investing some $30 million in its 50,000-sq.-ft. (4,600-sq.-m.) Global Vision Integration Center (GVIC) currently under construction.
      Government operations themselves are contributing to the project base too: U.S. Joint Forces Command held a grand opening in September 2004 for its $16-million, 85,000-sq.-ft. (7,897-sq.-m.) expansion in Suffolk, which will house 300 personnel adjacent to the Joint Warfighting Center. And a Dept. of Energy lab in Newport News is undergoing a $7.3-million expansion.