Archived News and Events

Virginia’s A. L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership Seminars

Virginia’s A.L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership (VPMEP) is a state organization that fosters economic growth by enhancing the competitiveness of Virginia’s manufacturers. Three seminars will be held in the Richmond area during the October/November time period.

  • October 11, 2000

    Principles of Lean Manufacturing 101

    Holiday Inn Select Koger South Conference Center

  • October 25, 2000

    Lean 202: Value-Stream Mapping

    Holiday Inn Select Koger South Conference Center

  • November 1, 2000

    Lean 203: Visual Workplace Organization

    Holiday Inn Select Koger South Conference Center

Visit the VPMEP web site at www.vpmep.org to find out more about VPMEP’s upcoming workshops.

Pari Innovative Manufacturers

Pari Innovative Manufacturers Inc., a Chesterfield County company, plans to double the size of its 21,000-square-foot facility within the next year. This is part of a spin-off and restructuring of the company’s U.S. operations, based in Midlothian. The expansion of the company’s Hull Street Road facility is expected to cost $2 million and take about a year to complete.

The company manufactures inhalation equipment, such as nebulizers, for treatment of patients with respiratory diseases. The expansion will also produce 15 new employees in the fields of engineering and injection molding process technology.

Eternal Technology

Eternal Technology Corporation, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of dry film photoresist materials, has celebrated the Grand Opening of its new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County.

The new 65,000(+) square foot building is located at 1800 Touchstone Road in the Appomattox Industrial Center, which is located in one of the county’s Enterprise Zones. The company qualified for numerous state and local incentives that are administered through the Enterprise Zone Program, including rebates of the machinery and tools taxes, waiver of building inspection and site development fees, and state job grants and tax credit programs.

Secretary of Commerce and Trade Barry DuVal made keynote remarks at the ceremony, along with Deputy Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Dr. Lyushun Shen.

Eternal Technology Corporation has been hailed as the first major Taiwanese manufacturer to locate in the Commonwealth and represents a welcome addition to the state’s growing high-tech electronics manufacturing sector.

The company is a subsidiary of Eternal Chemical Company Ltd. and is based in Kaohsuing, Taiwan. This plant in Chesterfield County is their first U.S. manufacturing facility. Eternal Technology produces photoresist films that enable printed circuit board manufacturers to produce extremely fine circuit patterns on copper-clad laminated plates through a photo-imaging process.

At the ceremony, Eternal Technology’s President Dr. Ying Kao announced that the facility is planning to add another production line and support facilities. Kao said, “The new Chesterfield facility is operating better and more efficiently than was expected, and we are pleased with the development of the new operation here in Chesterfield.”

The second coating line will add a minimum of ten new jobs. This expansion will bring their Chesterfield investment up to $30 million.

Contact Lens Technology Inc. Named Small Business of the Year 2000

Contact Lens Technology Incorporated, a FDA-approved medical device manufacturer of gas permeable contact lenses, was named the 2000 Small Business of the Year by Chesterfield Economic Development and honored by the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors with its Business Appreciation and Recognition Award at the May 24th board meeting.

The company was established in December of 1982 and moved from Moorefield Office Park to its present location at 211 Ruthers Road on August 1, 1998. Mr. Fred Speaks presides as President. Contact Lens Technology wholesales its products to doctors and optical retail practices both nationally and internationally. Orders are placed via an international toll free number, fax or email (CONTACTCLT@aol.com).

Congratulations to Contact Lens Technology!

Regional Labor Market Info Now Online

Powerful New Tool Now Available to Help Region’s Workforce

Are you …

• …interested in changing careers but want to know what education and experience you will need?

• …a business owner hiring for a new position and need to know what salary and benefits are competitive in our region?

• …an educator who wants to know if your curriculum will fit our community’s needs?

• …looking for a job and need daycare arrangements ?

• …the director of a growing international business interested in building a facility in
Richmond and need to know if qualified workers are available?

Now you can find answers to these questions and literally thousands of others on a new
Web site called the Workforce Wizard. You can enter the site at http://www.usworks.com/greaterrichmond/
or http://www.usworks.com/craterregion/.
You’ll then have access to information for the entire
Central Virginia area, for Greater Richmond or for the Crater region.

This new Web site is brimming with up-to-date, local data based on a survey of more than
2,400 businesses with 10 or more employees throughout the Richmond-Petersburg-Emporia
region. The venture is made available through a collaboration of WORKFORCE ONE and the Appomattox Basin Industrial Development Corp. (ABIDCO). Both groups promote workforce development and know the value of a ready and available workforce to the economic health of the region.

The distinctive features of the Workforce Wizard are that it provides timely, local data and that the Web site is interactive. This means users can search for information based on criteria they select. For example, job seekers can search for jobs by location, by salary or by skill level, and businesses can access local labor market data by occupation or by industry to help make strategic planning decisions.

The Workforce Wizard also offers an excellent employment handbook, and provides links to employers, education and training sources, other search engines, and community resources such as social service agencies. It provides career and industry outlook and
projections, making it useful to business planners, students, trainers and educators, and workforce development professionals.

WORKFORCE ONE is an initiative of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc. It is funded in part by a grant/cooperative agreement with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission.

ABIDCO, the Appomattox Basin Industrial Development Corporation, is a private, nonprofit corporation that serves as the economic development marketing organization for the jurisdictions in the southern half of the Richmond/Petersburg metropolitan area.

Workforce Wizard

WORKFORCE ONE has launched the Workforce Wizard, an inter-active website that provides current and comprehensive local job market information for the Greater Richmond region. This site can provide job seekers with information on the best paying, fastest growing and most in-demand occupations in the region. For businesses, Workforce Wizard is another tool to help make informed decisions by providing labor market data such as benefits and compensation information, employment growth by industry, and short-term hiring trends.

For the Workforce Wizard to be the effective tool that it is designed to be, the data on the regions’ businesses needs to be correct and current. WORKFORCE ONE is encouraging all businesses in the Greater Richmond region to make a concerted effort to review their company information currently reported on the site for accuracy.

Companies can do this directly from the Workforce Wizard site (www.usworks.com/greaterrichmond or (www.usworks.com/craterregion) by choosing “Employer” when prompted for “User Type” and clicking on the “My Listing” under the “My Company” section. Type in the company name and a listing for each location will come into view. Click on the company name to reveal the details listed in the database. If modifications need to be made, you can click on the “Change Request” tab and complete the contact information to have the Workforce Wizard system administrator contact you. If you would prefer to discuss your company’s changes directly, you can contact the system administrator, Jim Smith, by phone at 804-550-7156 or by direct email at jrsitc@aol.com.

If your company is not currently listed on the site, you can add your information by clicking on the “My Listing” under the “My Company” section. Type in your company name and phone number. Click on the button “Add Employer” and complete the form. Your information will be verified and added to the employer database.

Companies can make modifications to their data at any time and are encouraged to periodically review the information. With everyone’s combined efforts, Workforce Wizard can continue to supply useful, accurate labor and industry information to afford businesses and job seekers alike, a competitive advantage.

VCU Students Offer Chemical Engineering Services

The Chemical Engeering students at VCU have launched a “company” called ChemEngine. The ChE students work cooperatively, with advice from faculty advisors, to provide multiple services of broad interest to the chemical industry and related technologies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

ChemEngine teams can be formed to handle problems in a wide variety of areas, including process engineering, web-based services, R&D services, materials testing and characterization, and computer simulation. Principle guidance for the student teams comes from Gary Huvard, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering. Check out their web site at http://chemengine.net/

For more information contact Dr. Gary S. Huvard at (804) 827-7000 x 413 or gshuvard@vcu.edu

Annual Small Business Workshop June 2, 2000

Have you been thinking of setting up your own business but don’t know where to begin? If so, join other entrepreneurs in attending a one-day conference designed to improve your chances of succeeding as a small business owner.

Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Chesterfield County Economic Development Office will, once again, sponsor a day-long seminar for aspiring entrepreneurs. This comprehensive and informative workshop will feature experts and successful business owners who will share information on current business trends, developing a business plan, record keeping and taxes, legal considerations, and searching for capital.

The conference will be held on Friday, June 2, 2000 with the location to be determined. For more information, contact Virginia Cooperative Extension at (804) 751-4401.

Virginia’s A. L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership Seminars

Virginia’s A.L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership (VPMEP) is a state organization that fosters economic growth by enhancing the competitiveness of Virginia’s manufacturers.


VPMEP provides affordable, high quality assistance that can help your company increase productivity, lower costs, identify growth opportunities, improve technology, and strengthen your production team. With an average of more than 23 years of manufacturing management and industry experience, our project managers are available to assist you in virtually every aspect of your business.


The following seminars will be held during the May/June time period:


Lean 202: Value-Stream Mapping – May 18, 2000 from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select Koger South Conference Center, Richmond


Lean 205: Cellular/Flow Manufacturing – May 31, 2000 from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select Koger South Conference Center, Richmond

Lean 203: Visual Workplace Organization – June 8, 2000 from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Airport, Richmond

Principles of Lean Manufacturing 101 – June 20, 2000 from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select Koger South Conference Center, Richmond

Visit their web site at www.vpmep.org or call VDMEP at 800-637-4634 to register for these seminars or to learn more about other upcoming events and ways in which VPMEP can enhance your firm’s bottom line.

New Midlothian Campus Coming Soon

JTCC - Midlothian Campus
John Tyler Community College will open a permanent Midlothian campus located
at 601 Charter Colony Parkway. The 126-acre campus will house three buildings
with grand opening events slated for Sept. 28 through Oct. 3. The official grand
opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will occur on Founders Day, Oct. 3, 2000.

Time

Spring 2000 completion; first classes in Summer 2000.

Campus Site

The land was donated by the J. Louis Reynolds Marital Trust and is located southwest
of Midlothian High School and is bordered by Charter Colony Parkway, Woolridge
Road extended and Route 288.

Size

Campus designed to accommodate 3,500 students.

Academic Building

  • 12 classrooms, 2 tiered lecture halls, 4 science laboratories
  • 2 faculty offices, 4 conference rooms
  • Compressed video classroom
  • 3 computer laboratories
  • Academic Support Center
  • Art studio including ceramics and graphics laboratories
  • Learning Resources and Technical Center (LRTC) with Information Commons
    and faculty training center
  • Student lounge
  • Bookstore

Administration Building

  • Student Services – enrollment services, student records, student activities,
    financial aid, counseling, placement testing, community education and career
    center
  • Business Office
  • Human Resources
  • Information Technology Services
  • General Administration

Campus Highlights

  • Walk-up windows for enrollment and business services
  • Extensive parking
  • Enclosed student commons
  • Outside courtyard
  • Academic Support Center with designated tutor offices
  • All classrooms and offices completely wired for video, audio, and data
    transmission and reception

Your Schools Want to Know

Chesterfield County Public Schools want to know how the skills of our
graduates are meeting employers’ needs. For the second time in as many
years, the Superintendent will be inviting Chesterfield employers to give
their perceptions of the preparedness of Chesterfield’s recent grads in a
short telephone survey.


Employers will receive by mail simple directions
for phoning and responding to survey questions at their convenience from
May 8th through May 19th. Calls can be received anytime, day or night.
Please watch for the postcard inviting your participation and call! Thank
you for your help.

Tidewater Fibre Corporation

Tidewater Fibre Corporation will be expanding its curbside recycling operations in Chesterfield County along Old Stage Road. Tidewater Fibre, awarded the largest recycling contract in Virginia by the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority (CVWMA) in 1999, has been temporarily conducting business at 14500 Jefferson Davis Highway in order to provide recycling services to Chesterfield County residents and other nearby localities in the region.

The new 70,000 square foot facility will provide Tidewater Fibre with a larger, more efficiently designed building in which to process the recycled items of more than 200,000 households in the Richmond metro area. The company expects to employ over 70 people and will invest more than $6 million upon completion of the new facility later this year.

Pohlig Brothers Named Medium Business of the Year

Pohlig Brothers, Incorporated, a manufacturer of packaging and cardboard products, was named the 2000 Medium Business of the Year by Chesterfield Economic Development and honored by the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors with its Business Appreciation and Recognition Award at the March 15 board meeting.


The Board of Supervisors recognized the company for its ongoing commitment to its employees and its continuous efforts to improve the quality of products and services to customers.


Pohlig Brothers also was noted for its involvement in many civic activities, including the United Way Campaign, the Greater Richmond Partnership, Chesterfield Business Council, Goodwill Industry Board, the Rotary Club, the Richmond Symphony and Leadership Metro Richmond.


In business for nearly 134 years, Pohlig Brothers currently employs 70 people. Previously operating in Richmond, the company relocated to the Chesterfield County Industrial Park in April 1996.


Pohlig Brothers makes custom-designed rigid and folding paperboard boxes and other paper products. The company also manufactures acid-free boxes sold to the photography, art and museum industries across the United States and exported to Japan and other foreign markets.

Con-Way Southern Express

Con-way Southern Express (CSE), a freight carrier for commercial and industrial businesses headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently broke ground for a new freight assembly center in Chester. The company’s purchase of 37 acres on Old Stage Road will provide for construction of a 100-door transfer station, along with a 22,100 square foot maintenance shop and fueling area, 8,000 square feet of office space, and expansion capacity for 50 additional loading docks.

In addition, the new location will allow CSE to reduce transit times between several major markets along the east coast. The company will relocate current employees from its 34-door facility in the City of Richmond and hire an additional 15-20 employees, bringing the initial employment to 75. Total investment is estimated at $11.2 million and construction should be completed in November 2000.

Business Appreciation Week

Chesterfield County joins Governor Jim Gilmore and the Virginia Department of Business Assistance in acknowledging the contributions of Virginia business during Business Appreciation Week, May 14-20. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Honoring a New Century of Business in Virginia.”

Happenings in Economic Development

  • After five years with Chesterfield County, Susan K. Deusebio, Project Manager, left the department to take a position with McKinney and Company. We all wish her the very best!
  • In December 1999, Faith V. McClintic was named Assistant Director of the
    department. Congratulations!
  • Elizabeth (Liz) Kashurba was promoted from Automation Specialist to Project Manager. Liz has been with our department for almost ten years. Congratulations!

Precision Manufacturing Program

John Tyler Community College has been selected as a Center of Excellence in Precision Manufacturing.

The College has an on-going regional industry partnership with over 30 manufacturing companies for precision manufacturing. The initiative has included a complete renovation of the College precision lab; retrofit and replacement of machines; curriculum revision with industry participation and endorsement; new sate of the art equipment, industry financial support and donations of consumable supplies and tools and funding from the Virginia General Assembly to expand the program and assist other community colleges to replicate this successful program. Eighty students are enrolled in machine technology courses at the college this fall.

For more information contact Lynn Wilson, Coordinator, High Performance Manufacturing Technology, John Tyler Community College, (804) 796-4505, email lwilson@jt.cc.va.us

Prillaman Chemical Corporation

Prillaman Chemical Corporation announced an expansion at their location on 1001 Old Bermuda Hundred Road. The chemical distbutor expanded operations by 500 square feet and invested close to $900,000 for new warehousing equipment.

Creative Memories

The Antioch Company has announced the location of a new manufacturing and distribution center in Chesterfield County. The facility will be home to the company’s subsidiary, the international direct-selling scrapbook company Creative Memories, and will create 140 new jobs by the end of 2002.


“We are pleased that Creative Memories will be locating in the Walthall Enterprise Zone,” said County Administrator Lane B. Ramsey. “Chesterfield County, with its central East Coast location, continues to increase the number of businesses that export internationally.”


Based in St. Cloud, Minn., Creative Memories offers photo-safe scrapbook albums, supplies and hands-on workshops. Creative Memories has more than 49,000 consultants in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia who teach people how to organize their photographs and memorabilia, how to chronicle their family history, and how to create safe and meaningful family scrapbook albums.


The Antioch Publishing Company manufactures a variety of photo albums as well as journals, diaries, bookmarks, bookplates and more.


The 121,000 square-foot manufacturing and distribution center, located in the Enterchange at Walthall on Interstate 95, will support approximately 20,000 consultants in states on the eastern seaboard. Through three shifts, Creative Memories will produce more than 40,000 line items in 10,000 packages on a daily basis. The plant is expected to be operational by Oct. 1 following capital equipment investments of more than $7.5 million. Additionally, the facility will support the firm’s growing business in the United Kingdom and future thrusts into Europe as it enters Germany in 2001 and the Benelux and Scandinavian countries in 2002 and beyond.


“Chesterfield County was chosen because it offered a number of amenities, including its proximity to international shipping hubs,” said Ole Dam, vice president of operations for The Antioch Company, based in Yellow Springs, Ohio. “The presence of an international airport facility and deepwater port access were critical to our decision.”


The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Greater Richmond Partnership and the Chesterfield County Department of Economic Development assisted the company with its decision. The company also qualifies for workforce training services through the Virginia Department of Business Assistance.

Rogar International

Rogar International has completed a 18,000 sq.ft. expansion of the firm’s facility in the Oak Lake Business Center. The company invested an estimated $350,000 in the expansion and hired 12 new employees.

1999 Investment Announcements

Date Company New or Expansion Investment (millions) # New Employees Square Footage
01/99 Eternal Technologies New $20.000 120 86,000
01/99 Capital One Expansion $8.000 350 45,000
03/99 Conner Industries New $1.000 10 18,000
03/99 Dickinson/Legg Inc. New $0.400 6 12,700
04/99 Tarmac Expansion $7.625 25 50,000
05/99 Carl Zeiss New $2.000 74 36,000
05/99 Tidewater Fibers Corp. New $5.000 60 37,500
06/99 DuPont – Mylar Expansion $1.400 9,000
06/99 Filtrona Richmond Expansion $20.000 230 180,000
07/99 ABB Expansion $8.000 50 80,000
07/99 White Tire New $2.500 35 47,200
08/99 ERNI Components Expansion $10.000 60 50,000
09/99 EPE New $1.000 100 79,800
10/99 DuPont – Nomex Hdqtrs. Expansion $10.000 100 78,000
11/99 Super Radiator Coils Expansion $3.000 100 57,000
11/99 Ennoventions Expansion $4.470 50,000
12/99 Rogar International Expansion $0.350 12 18,000
12/99 Logistics Link New $3.500 21 225,000
1999 TOTALS $108.245 1,353 1,159,200

Defense Supply Center Richmond Receives 1999 Large Business Award

Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors established a Business Appreciation and Recognition Award to recognize existing businesses within the county that contribute to the county’s economy and its citizens. The Board has awarded Defense Supply Center Richmond as the recipient of Chesterfield County’s 1999 Large Business Appreciation Award (awarded in late December 1999).

The Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR) is a Department of Defense installation that sits on just over 600 acres in southern Chesterfield County, Virginia. The center and its tenant organizations employ about 3,000 workers whose mission is to provide logistics support to the military services worldwide. That support includes the acquisition of material for more than 700,000 items of supply, as well as the maintenance of a wide array of logistics information, technical specifications and data. On an average day it processes over 7,000 supply requests from around the globe. The value of the material it provides to its customers is anticipated to reach the $1.4 billion mark this year.

DSCR has been committed to Chesterfield County and its schools in the following programs:

  • DSCR has three formal partnerships with Chesterfield County Schools where,
    on a weekly basis, 75-95 employees spend one hour in these schools tutoring
    in reading and math, and providing special programs for 3,000 hours per year;
  • “Transportation Day” when military vehicles were taken to the
    schools for display and employees make presentations;
  • “Career Day” where employees shared their experiences, career
    information and provided motivation;
  • Partnered 15 deaf Salem Middle School students with hard of hearing employees
    at DSCR for a day of job shadowing and luncheon;
  • Hosted Bensley Elementary’s 5th grade Graduation Luncheon at the Bellwood
    Officers’ Club for the past three years;
  • And provided support in the Ukrop’s Golden Gift Campaign, Campbell
    Soup and General Mills label programs, and the Angel Tree program.

    • Congratulations to all the employees at DSCR! Chesterfield County appreciates your hard work and dedication in our community.

    Logistics Link

    Logistics Link has completed a new 225,000 sq.ft. facility on 12 acres on Bermuda Hundred Road. Capital investment in the facility is estimated to be $3.5 million. A total of 21 employees will work at the new facility.

    Gold Medal for Chesterfield Schools Again

    Chesterfield County and the Richmond area have again been recognized for their high standards of quality. Expansion Management magazine designated Chesterfield County Schools as a Gold Medal school system, which is the highest ranking the magazine awards. The indices by which Chesterfield was evaluated for this prestigious designation include:

    • Graduate Outcome Index – the end product of the education

      process including graduation rates and college bound scores;
    • Resource Index – the community’s financial commitment to the

      student’s education, consisting of student-to-teacher ratios, per

      pupil expenditures and teacher salaries;
    • Community Index – the level of affluence and adult education in

      the district; and
    • Education Quotient – a combination of the above indices

      weighted to reflect the greater importance of the graduate

      outcome and resource index.

    More than ever before, business location decisions are driven by the quality and availability of workers. Communities that successfully attract new businesses and provide the environment that existing industry needs to expand will be the communities that produce the best and brightest workers. One way of evaluating the future workforce is by looking at the quality and accomplishments of local schools.

    For the past nine years, Expansion Management has evaluated secondary school districts throughout the nation as a service to its readers and site location professionals. As in each of the past nine years, the top school districts receive the Gold Medal designation and are among the nation’s top performing schools.

    In addition to the prestigious Gold Medal for Chesterfield, Expansion Management recognized the Richmond Metro Area as a Five-Star Community and ranked the Commonwealth of Virginia 8th in Worker Training.