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Tax Tips for Small Business Owners

The Crater Small Business Development Center of Longwood University is sponsoring a free seminar, “Tax Tips for Small Business Owners” on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon.

This is a series of educational workshops developed for small business owners. Some of the topics of this session include: how the Schedule C fits into your overall 1040 tax return; how to incorporate internally generated financial reports into your return; how to estimate quarterly tax payments; basic depreciation information; and, basic record keeping skills.

The seminar will be held at the Crater Planning District Commission Offices, 1964 Wakefield Street, Petersburg, VA. For directions please go to www.craterpdc.state.va.us. Because of limited seating, reservations are requested, please call 804.518.2003 or fax 804.518.2004.

Enterprise Zone Workshop

Chesterfield County Economic Development, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the Jefferson Davis Enterprise Center will host a free Enterprise Zone Workshop on Wednesday, January 22nd, 2003 from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM. The workshop will be held at the Jefferson Davis Enterprise Center at 8310 Shell Road, Richmond, Virginia.

Sabrina Blackett, Program Administrator of the Commonwealth’s Enterprise Zone Program and Karen Aylward, Project Manager with Chesterfield County Economic Development will present an overview of State and Local enterprise zone benefits offered through the Jefferson Davis Enterpise Zone. Sabrina and Karen will be available immediately following the presentation for individual consultations.

If you are a business located in the Jeff Davis Enterprise Zone, a business considering locating in the Enterprise Zone or if you own property in the Enterprise Zone, you are encourage to attend and learn how you may be able to take advantage of the incentives available.

To RSVP, contact Sandy Carter at 275-5190 or Karen Aylward at 748-3963 or email Karen at karen@chesterfieldbusinesss.com.

Call for Nominations: 2003 Business of the Year Award

Each year the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors honors local companies that contribute to the county’s economy and its citizens. The intent is to give recognition to small, medium and large organizations that consistently uphold the principles and standards of ethical business practices and that advertise and sell with integrity, participate consistently in community, trade associations and local programs that better our county/region. How does the company respond to complaints, problems, or concerns brought to its attention? Does the company treat its employees with concern, respect, and equity? How does the company contribute to the local economy in terms of investment, tax revenue and jobs?

On behalf of Chesterfield County, the Department of Economic Development is inviting nominations for the 2003 Business of the Year. Anyone from within the community may nominate a company or a business may self-nominate. The nominated company may assist in filling out the entry form. Entry is free. The categories are:

  • Small Business – Company with 50 employees or less
  • Medium Business – Company with 51-300 employees
  • Large Business – Company with over 300 employees

Winning one of these awards brings significant benefits – prestige, media coverage, a boost for sales and marketing and increased staff morale.

How winners are chosen: After the nominations are received, the nominated companies will be contacted and asked to fill out an information form based on the following criteria. The selection committee, which will consist of business people and county staff selected for their business knowledge, will review the submitted entries by the nominated companies. The decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The winners will be recognized during Virginia Business Appreciation Week in May 2003.

You may nominate a company by filling out the nomination form at www.chesterfieldbusiness.com/award/. The deadline for nominations is February 1, 2003.

Criteria I

Enhance the community where the employees work and live; include work
environment and community enhancements

Criteria II

Demonstrate financial success, economic contributions to Chesterfield
(in terms of investment, tax revenue and jobs), innovation and peer recognition
over the past three years

Criteria III

Demonstrate customer satisfaction and quality control
initiatives

Eligibility:

Must have been in business in Chesterfield County
for the past three years

Spanish Language and Cultural Training Seminar

The Spanish Academy and Cultural Institute and the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are offering a Spanish Language and Cultural Training Seminar on January 21st, 2003. You will learn about the Hispanic Community in our area, how to market to Hispanics and “Survival Spanish” that will help you communicate more effectively.

The seminar is being held at the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce located at 10700 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23235. The seminar runs from 8:00 AM – 12:00 noon with a continental breakfast available at 7:30A AM. Cost is $125.00 (which includes your workbook).

To reserve your space today call 877-273-0248 or E-mail SpanishACI@aol.com.

Portable On Demand Storage

Chesterfield County is pleased to announce PODS – The portable storage container systems has located in The Oaklake Business Center. This ministorage is on wheels and brought right to you!

Bretmor Headwear

Chesterfield County is pleased to announced the newest company to locate in River’s Bend Warehouse II. This company is an importer/distributor of quality headwear on the East Coast.

Impact Award Given to Premier Pet Products

Sharon Bennett, CEO and founder of Premier Pet Products LLC, along with Evan Wooton, President, received the 2002 Impact Award at the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner.

The award was formerly the Small Business Person of the Year Award and is given to companies that demonstrate innovation, triumph over adversity, contribute to the community, experience significant growth or promote a high-quality work environment.

The company’s product line has expanded to include the Gentle Leader Headcollar, pet shampoos, pet treats and harnesses for birds and pigs.

Other finalists for the award included East West Partners of Virginia, Peoples Income Tax, Plan 9 Music and RightMinds. The award is sponsored by the chamber and First Market Bank.

DuPont James River Logistics Center

DuPont ‘s new warehouse and logistics complex is an 800,000 square foot facility for finished and semi-finished products manufactured at DuPont’s Spruance plant. Products such as Tyvek, Nomex and Kevlar are organized and warehoused at the center before shipment all over the world. The new location represents the consolidation of seven other warehouse sites on Commerce Road, Transport Street and Jefferson Davis Highway and is located on Bellwood Road in the Jefferson-Davis Enterprise Zone. This site will initially house 100 employees.

Devon USA, a commercial developer, owns the 75-acre site and leases it to DuPont. CCW Group Inc., a Greensboro, N.C.-based logistics provider, manages the center through its Richmond-based unit, Cenric Inc.

DuPont, based in Wilmington, Del., is one of the largest employers in the Richmond area with about 3,200 local employees as of Jan. 1, 2002.

Fiorucci Foods Receives Medium Business Award

Fiorucci Foods has received the Chesterfield County 2002 Medium Business of the Year Award. Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors established a Business Appreciation and Recognition Award to acknowledge existing businesses within the county that contribute to Chesterfield’s economy and its citizens.

Fiorucci Foods is located at 1800 Ruffin Mill Road in Chesterfield County. The company produces authentic Italian specialty meats. Fiorucci was founded by the Fiorucci family as a neighborhood store in 1850 and opened the Chesterfield plant in 1986.

Fiorucci’s customer base includes mainstream and specialty grocery stores, as well as restaurants across the country. One local customer is Ukrop’s Supermarkets. Fiorucci Foods currently employs 145 people.

The company participates in the United Way campaign and the American Heart Walk. Additionally, the company hires employees through the Chesterfield County Employment Services and Riverside Regional Jail.

Haverty’s Furniture

Haverty’s Furniture Company has located in the Ruffin Mill Industrial Park. The new building is approximately 130,000 square feet and Haverty’s will employ 75 at this location.

2002 Pretreatment Winners Announced

The Chesterfield County Department of Utilities Pretreatment Program recently presented awards to fourteen local industries for their contributions to the environment.

Receiving the Gold Award for achieving exemplary compliance with all pretreatment requirements and receiving no notices of violations or warnings during the reporting year were: Hill PHOENIX, Bellwood Printing Plant, U.S. Filter, Inc., Kaiser Aluminum, Wako Chemicals, USA, Inc., Virginia Water Systems, Inc., Carl Zeiss Optical, Inc., Shoosmith Brothers Truck Wash, Defense Supply Center Richmond and ALSTOM Power, Inc.

The Silver Award for achieving outstanding compliance with the pretreatment requirements and receiving only one warning during the reporting year was given to United Parcel Service and Quantum Silicones.

Defense Supply Center Richmond received the Most Improved Industry Award for significantly reducing their water usage, reducing the levels of pollutants in their waste stream and their multiple recycling efforts.

The Exemplary Pollution Prevention Award for their extensive recycling program and for maintaining their ISO 14001 industry certification for three periodical audits went to ALSTOM Power, Inc.

New Jobs and Retraining Initiatives

The Small Business New Jobs Initiative and the Retraining Initiative are two new programs under the Virginia Department of Businesses Assistance’s (DBA) Workforce Services Program that will better allow DBA to serve the needs of Virginia’s small businesses and the retraining needs for Virginia’s workforce.

Funding for these two new initiatives will come from the existing budget of
DBA’s Workforce Services Program. Companies must meet minimum job creation
and investment criteria in order to be eligible. The return on investment
for most projects under these initiatives will be one year.

The Small Business New Jobs Initiative, a pilot program for Fiscal Year
2003, will provide staff to work with for-profit, existing companies that
have been in operation for a minimum of one year to provide customized
recruitment and training to qualified workers at all skill levels for newly
created jobs.

In order to be eligible for the initiative, companies must:

  • Create a net of 5 to 24 new jobs within a 12-month period
  • Have a total of no more than 200 employees company-wide
  • Make a minimum capital investment of $100,000.

The results of this fiscal year’s pilot initiative will dictate future allocations and criteria.

The Retraining Initiative will provide consulting services and grants to companies to assist in retraining their existing work force. For the purposes of this initiative, retraining means an upgrade in skills for existing employees identified as essential to the production or distribution of a product or service. To be eligible for retraining funds, a company must demonstrate that it is:

  • Undergoing integration of new technology into its production process
  • Changing product or service line in keeping with marketplace demands
  • Substantially changing its service delivery process, which would require assimilation of new skills and technological capabilities by the firm’s existing labor force.

“…there is a critical need for Virginia’s existing businesses to retrain their workforce to remain competitive in the global economy,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade
Michael J. Schewel. “Life-long learning is necessary to keep up with the
technology-charged, highly automated production processes in businesses
today.”

For more information regarding DBA’s Workforce Services program, please contact the Virginia Department of Business Assistance at www.dba.state.va.us or (804) 371-8120.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company announced that it will construct a Nylon-MXD6 production facility in Chesterfield County. The new production plant, based on Mitsubishi’s proprietary polymer technology, will be an investment of $14,000,000 and is expected to employ 30 new workers.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company is the world’s leading supplier of Nylon-MXD6. With headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Mitsubishi develops, produces and markets top-quality polymers combining copolymer and additive technologies.

“Mitsubishi made this decision for several reasons,” said Sam Suzuki, marketing manager of the New York office. “First and most importantly, we wanted to provide better service and a more reliable supply to our customers in North America. In addition, all the environments in the area are well-suited to producing high quality nylon. It’s a state-of-the-art facility placed in an ideal location.”

“We’re pleased that Mitsubishi Gas Chemical has selected the Ruffin Mill Industrial Park in Southern Chesterfield for this production facility,” said Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors Chairman Kelly Miller. “Having met with the company early in the decision making process, I know they will be a welcome addition to the growing number of Japanese businesses already located in Chesterfield County,” Miller said. The Ruffin Mill Industrial Park is part of the Walthall Enterprise Zone.

Chesterfield County Administrator Lane B. Ramsey added, “Mitsubishi’s decision to locate in Chesterfield County underscores the county’s attractiveness as a viable location for high-tech manufacturing.”

The company is planning on breaking ground at the end of 2002, with production to begin April 2004. “Demand for Nylon-MXD6 has been growing globally,” Suzuki said. “Mitsubishi Gas Chemical is committed to the Nylon-MXD6 business as a key contributor to our global growth mission, so we are taking every action we can to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

The company has successfully completed the expansion projects that began in early 2001 and owns approximately 30 million lbs. of production capabilities in Niigata, Japan. This new plant is based on innovative technology developed and patented by Mitsubishi.

The Chestefield County Department of Economic Development was assisted by the Greater Richmond Partnership and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership in securing this project for Chesterfield County.

Chester Company is Too Cool

Ukrops’ put handles on their grocery bags, now a local company has put handles on their ice bags. City Ice, located in Chester, is now selling some of its ice in heat-sealed bags with handles that makes handling the bags much easier. And the company makes the bags on site. The bags are not only easier to handle but tamper resistant.

City Ice, with assistance from Chesterfield County Economic Development, moved from its original location in Petersburg to a 7-acre track in Chester in 1998. Since then the company has invested over $2 million in the site and currently has 30 employees. The small, independent company produces “tube” ice, which is round versus square cubes with holes in the middle. The company can produce up to 65 tons of ice per day. The product is available in a 100-mile radius around Chester.

Chesterfield Utilities Earns Highest Bond Rating

Chesterfield County has earned an AAA bond rating on its Utility Department bonds from the three top rating services, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service.

The Utility Department is one of only two water and sewer utilities in the nation to have the highest ratings from all three rating services.

Moody’s report cited that well-managed financial operations have produced a strong financial position, with low, rapidly retired debt levels and ample system capacity for future growth.

Workforce Wizard is more than just a job posting board

Facing a wave of retirements, they predict 1,000 job openings in the next year, according to Brett Vassey, business services manager for the Virginia Department of Business Assistance.

And the region acutely needs health-care industry workers.

So Vassey and other business leaders welcomed a project on June 19, 2002 that was started by Workforce One, a function of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Richmond Partnership.

Officials expect the “Workforce Wizard” to serve as an Internet hub for regional job-seekers, employers, educators and job-training programs.

Features of the Web site, www.workforcewizard.com, are comparable to job sites such as Monster.com and RichmondCareers.com. But developers announcing the new project at the Richmond Omni on June 19th said they believe their wizard has a few extra tricks.

All the sites allow companies and job-seekers to post and search resumes, search for openings and exchange anonymous job and employee information.

Workforce Wizard claims about a dozen other features. Among them:

  • Employers can search resumes for applicants with strengths in specific skills.
  • Employers can post job fairs and intern program information.
  • Applicants and firms can see information about testing and job-training services.

Chamber President Jim Dunn traced the new site’s origin back several years to talks between the chamber and the Greater Richmond Partnership, a regional economic development group.

Both agreed they should strive to develop a highly skilled employee base as a way to make Richmond more attractive to companies. Dunn said local businesses also told the two groups that they want a single place to satisfy employment needs.

Community colleges and companies including Kraft Foods Inc., Philip Morris USA, Infineon Technologies Richmond and Verizon Communications Inc. helped create the site.

The wizard cost about $200,000 to develop. Workforce One expects subscription fees from companies that use the site to pay for operations and additional development.

Virginia Tech Leads a New Center to Help Manufacturers

Manufacturers today are faced with relentless pressure to cut costs, improve operations, and offer new products and services in response to ever-changing customer demands and preferences. To remain competitive, firms must keep abreast of and continually develop and implement new processes, methods, and technologies. The Center for High Performance Manufacturing was developed to help manufacturing firms in this pursuit, i.e., to become high-performance manufacturers in their respective industries.

The Center is led by Virginia Tech, with participation from James Madison University, the College of William and Mary, and Virginia State University. It was launched in July 2001 with $4.35M in funding from the State of Virginia (Commonwealth Technology Research Fund) and a $4.6M matching funds from the Universities and several equipment manufacturers.

The mission of the Center for High Performance Manufacturing is: To help manufacturing firms (especially those in Virginia) become high-performance manufacturers, in their respective industries, via research and development of enabling tools and technologies and the successful transfer and implementation of these items.

To provide various avenues for fulfilling its mission, the Center focuses on projects in five areas of specialization. These include: Manufacturing Logistics/Supply Chain Management and Production & Information Systems, Flexible Automation and Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Low Cost Composite Manufacturing and Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Tooling. While these are currently defined areas of research, the center is open to working with the manufacturers to solve their problems in whatever area it happens to be. The center can bring together the relevant expertise from the vast knowledge resources of Virginia Tech to meet the need of the manufacturer.

The Center for High Performance Manufacturing works by maintaining an affiliation of member companies. Each company pays an annual membership fee. Funds are then used to (i) perform projects of mutual interest to multiple companies, (ii) transfer results back to member companies, (iii) provide limited seminars, training courses, etc. to member companies, and (iv) run the Center. Companies wishing to collaborate on projects for tackling their specific problems may do so at additional cost.

All member companies enjoy many benefits including:

  • Synergy – interaction between Center members can lead to new ideas for solving manufacturing problems.
  • Leveraging – of time, resources, and funding, allowing efficient tackling of large-scale research projects.

For more information on the center, please visit the webpage at www.eng.vt.edu/chpm/ or contact Dr. Sanjay Jain, CPIM, (703) 535-3447, sanjay.jain@vt.edu, the center’s research faculty in the Northern Virginia area.

Greater Richmond Area Ranked No. 5

Greater Richmond was ranked No. 5 among the “Best Places to Live and Work in America” by Employment Review magazine and BestJobsUSA.com for 2002.

The city came in at No. 12 in 2001 and No. 16 in 2000. In all, 300 communities were assessed by the magazine for the eighth annual ranking.

Greater Richmond’s “close ties to the past and keen eye on the future have helped the city gain recognition as a great place to live and work,” reads the commentary on the Web site.

“Individuals would be hard-pressed to find a place as inviting as this friendly, progressive metropolis,” the commentary says.

The city has depended upon a manufacturing base, the commentary says. It has embraced new ventures, such as semiconductors, biotechnology, high-tech fibers, energy and pharmaceuticals. Insurance, finance and research and development also make a strong showing.

DuPont Evolving for 21st Century

DuPont, will celebrate its 200th anniversary on July 19, 2002 and is looking to reinvent itself for the 21st century. DuPont has evolved from an early 19th-century gunpowder maker into an international conglomerate with hundreds of products.

In February of this year the company reorganized its business units into five market- and technology- focused growth platforms. The growth platforms are: Electronic & Communication Technologies; Performance Materials; Coatings & Color Technologies; Safety & Protection, and Agriculture & Nutrition.

Reinventing the company also means that Dupont will cut loose some product lines that helped define the company during the 20th century, most notably nylon, which DuPont invented and commercialized in women’s stockings in 1939. The company also said it will spin off or sell its textiles and interiors division next year to focus on higher-growth businesses.

Located on 550 acres in Chesterfield County, the Spruance site has evolved with the company. It started operations in 1929 manufacturing artificial silk, or Rayon, with 550 employees. Rayon production was eventually shut down, but today the plant is DuPont’s largest with about 2,550 employees.

The plant’s top three products are Kevlar, Tyvek and Nomex. Tyvek is a chemical-resistant fabric used in protective apparel, home wrap, medical packaging and envelopes. Nomex is a flame-resistant material and is used, among other things, in aircraft manufacturing. And Kevlar is a lightweight, high-strength fiber invented by the company in 1965 and best known for its use in bullet-resistant vests.

Last year, DuPont announced a $50 million investment at Spruance to boost production of Kevlar. Construction is under way on a new production line that will use technology specifically designed to make a type of Kevlar used in military applications. These products are part of the company’s new safety and protection platform, a $3.9 billion business.

Spruance is also the world headquarters for DuPont’s Advanced Fibers Systems. Analysts who follow the company see the safety and protection business as one of the strongest growth platforms for DuPont.

Over the years as the company’s product mix has changed the Spruance plant has benefited from new investments. In 1992 DuPont closed its industrial nylon production at the plant after a fire destroyed some equipment, resulting in the loss of about 700 jobs. Two years later the company built a $30 million plant at the site of the old nylon operations to make Zytel, plastic pellets used in car engines, electric wires and bicycle tires.

The future of the Spruance site depends on its ability to keep bringing in new products…that, in turn, depends on its efficiency and ability to compete with other plants for new investments.

Another DuPont operation in Chesterfield County is just off Enon Road in the eastern part of the county. DuPont Tejin Films is a 50-50 joint venture with a Japanese company established to secure an Asian market for polyester film. The plant has been producing Mylar and Melinex after DuPont acquired the plant, and the brands, in a $600 million purchase of the polyester films business of ICI, a British chemical conglomerate, in 1998.

The plant has 530 DuPont employees and 130 contract workers. It makes about 115 million pounds of film a year for use in a wide range of products including food packaging, LCD screens, overhead transparencies and photographic film.

The site has also become the base for the unit’s North American operations, which has meant transferring customer service, research and development, information technology and finance jobs here.

DuPont’s James River plant on Bellwood Road was built in 1947 and produces the sulfuric acid used to make other DuPont products at the Spruance site. It employs about 50 people.

Chesterfield Forms Committee to Study Business Environment

The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors has established a Blue Ribbon Committee to evaluate the business environment of Chesterfield County, with a goal of reviewing business issues that may affect companies considering expanding or locating here. The goal, according to Board of Supervisors chairman Kelly Miller, is to continue to find ways to attract qualified business and industry to the county now, while enhancing our competitive posture for the future.

In addition to identifying beneficial elements, the committee will identify
possible impediments that hinder business growth, and make recommendations for improvements. The committee also will examine ordinances, laws, regulatory policies, local processes and other relevant issues in order to recommend changes and enhancements that will foster more investment and the creation of employment opportunities in the county.

The committee is comprised of 15 Chesterfield business owners and managers from a wide range of businesses of all sizes. It includes representation from small, medium and large manufacturers and other types of businesses from all areas of the county. The committee will solicit additional input from other business people and organizations throughout the county over the next several months.

“I know of no better way to assess the business climate here in Chesterfield County than to ask those who are business owners and operators to make a study of this sort. I am confident their work will yield new and helpful insights,” Miller said.

A report to the Board of Supervisors will follow the committee’s analysis.

Devon USA

Devon USA has announced that it will start construction on an additional 506,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and distribution space to be located in three new buildings at the Enterchange at Walthall project in Chesterfield County, VA. The buildings will be started on a speculative basis (no pre-leasing).

The pads for two of the planned buildings (219,000 sq. ft.) have been completed and steel erection is scheduled for August 15, 2002. These buildings will be ready for occupancy by March 2003. Site work for the third building (287,000 sq. ft.) will commence in July, with steel erection scheduled for October 15, 2002. The third building will be ready for occupancy by July 2003.

The new buildings represent the next phase of construction at Enterchange, which already contains 650,000 sq. ft. of multi-tenant, Class A, warehouse and distribution space in a well-landscaped industrial park. The state-of-the-art project features 32 ft. clear ceiling heights, cross-docking, ESFR wet sprinkler systems, and extensive trailer parking on site.

“We are very excited about the substantial new investment that Devon will be making in the Enterchange park,” said Jim Dunn, Director of Chesterfield County’s Economic Development Department. “The previously developed buildings have been a valuable recruiting tool for Chesterfield, attracting six new companies to the area and creating more than 200 new jobs. We believe that the new buildings will greatly assist us in our discussions with other regional and national companies who are considering Central Virginia for their warehouse, distribution and light manufacturing needs.”

Devon USA is a leading developer of warehouse & distribution facilities in Virginia. The company specializes in build-to-suit situations and currently has 813,000 sq. ft of space under construction. Devon owns and manages a diverse portfolio of commercial properties in Virginia and North Carolina, including office, retail, and warehouse/distribution facilities.

Chesterfield Company Participating in New Export Program

A new program designed to assist Virginia companies with international exporting was announced by the Virginia Economic Development (VEDP)Partnership. VALET – Virginia Leaders in Export Trade – will provide capital, expert guidance and concrete solutions for businesses committed to expanding into international markets.

Super Radiator Coils, located in Chesterfield, is one of nine companies selected in the inaugural VALET group. Each year, VEDP will accept 15 Virginia businesses into the VALET program.

Each participating VALET company must commit a minimum of $20,000 annually toward its international export strategy. In exchange, the company will obtain $10,000 in services from VALET Program partners. Program partners include attorneys, web designers, bankers, translators, and freight-forwarders. This team of experienced international service providers will contribute essential skills for expansion into international markets.

Each participating company will also receive $10,000 toward the export transaction costs incured in the course of a successful international sales effort. Private investment in the VALET program totals more than $600,000. More information on the program and participating service providers can be found at www.exportvirginia.org Or you may contact Kim Weir, VALET Program Manager at kweir@yesvirginia.org or call (804) 371-0630.

An Ounce of Prevention

To help employers better understand and voluntarily comply with the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) Standards, the Department of Labor and Industry provides On-Site Consultation services. This program helps employers identify and correct potential safety and health hazard. Priority is given to high hazard workplaces with 250 or fewer employees. The on-site survey is conducted without citations or penalties. The on-site consultation is state/federally funded and services are offered at no cost to you.

The On-site Consultation services provide:

  • Safety and Health Walk-Through Surveys:

    At your request, a safety and/or health specialist will visit your business
    to explain the program. If you agree to participate, hazards and violations
    will be identified during a walk-through at your place of business. This walk-through
    is similar to a VOSH compliance inspection, except that no citations or penalties
    will be issued.
  • Abatement Advice:

    Any hazards or violations identified by the consultant will be discussed
    during the walk-through. A written report of the findings will be presented
    including advice for eliminating existing and potential safety of health hazards.
  • Training:

    In addition, training will be conducted on-site and recommendations for ongoing
    training will be provided.
  • Program Assistance:

    Assistance will be provided to develop safety and health programs that
    will prevent injuries and illnesses by eliminating and controlling hazards.
  • Taking Advantage of On-Site Consultation Could Mean:

    Fewer injuries and illnesses Lower workers’ compensation and other accident
    costs Increased productivity and improved morale Lower risk exposure
  • Employers requesting consultation services must:

    Appoint designated representative to opening and closing conferences Correct
    serious hazards identified by consultant Post the list of hazards the consultant
    identifies Submit written report verifying hazard correction.

For more information contact the VA Dept. of Labor & Industry Consultation
Services at (804) 786-8707.

Alternative Employment Source

As the bus pulls up at 6:00 a.m., Tyrine gets in for his 20 minute journey. He is not going to school though. He is going to work. Thanks to a program offered by Chesterfield County, Tyrine has been given the opportunity to work within the county despite his developmental disability.

For over 25 years Chesterfield Employment Services (CES) has been assisting workers with developmental disabilities find jobs throughout Central Virginia. Fiorucci Foods is an excellent example of the quality partnerships CES has gained with area industry and business. CES has approximately 150 participants with good jobs in factories doing production work, housekeeping in motels, working in laundries, grocery stores, pet stores, food service, stocking shelves, and more. Chesterfield Employment Services has a large, highly motivated pool of people with a variety of skills whose mission is bridging business needs with employment solutions.

Fiorucci Foods Inc., an Italian meat manufacturer located in the Walthall area of Chesterfield County, has successfully hired 3 CES workers in the past 4 years. Fiorucci has found these workers to be dependable and hard working. Finding dependable employees is always a challenge. When Chesterfield County presented this opportunity to the company four years ago, they were eager to try the program. Within days, they knew they had made the right decision.

Not only does the CES job coach assist in training the employees on the job, but they also regularly check on the employee’s progress to ensure that the employee is also benefiting from the job. Their developmental disabilities have not been an obstacle in getting the job accomplished. The CES employees occupy standard positions and produce quality work. Fiorucci encourages other businesses in the county to take advantage of this opportunity.

If you would like to speak to Fiorucci about their experience with the program, please contact Carey Tillett, Human Resource Manager – Fiorucci Foods, (804) 524-3461.