aCorridor Headlines

1. Company headquarters moving to Carroll County
   AmeriPumps investing $4.6 million, 125 jobs in Hillsville.
2. Bland County welcomes new industries
   Appalachian Leasing, Virginia Steel & Fabrication relocate.
3. New industrial park receives funding
   EDA commits $600,000 for 22-acre industrial park.
4. Governor's Technology Award
   BVU recognized for broadband development.
5. From My Perspective...
   An update from Executive Director Tom Elliott.
6. around the aCorridor...
   Forbes.com names Virginia "Best State for Business" for third time. New energy research center to be established in Abingdon.

AmeriPumps to move headquarters, manufacturing to Carroll County

Attending the AmeriPumps announcement are, from left, Tom Elliott, aCorridor Executive Director; Ralph Stephenson, Project Manger, VEDP; Don Branscome, Co-Owner, AmeriPumps; Doug Zukowski, President, AmeriPumps; Bob Lima, Operations Manager, AmeriPumps; Sam Dickson, Chairman, Carroll County Board of Supervisors; Manus McMillian, Carroll County Board of Supervisors; Tom Littrell, Carroll County Board of Supervisors; and Gary Larrowe, Carroll County Administrator. Photo below, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Patrick Gottschalk presents Don Branscome, Co-Owner of AmeriPumps, with a Virginia flag during ribbon cutting in September.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced July 29 that AmeriPumps LLC, a manufacturer of portable water pumps used in the construction and mining industries, hurricane recovery and aboard ships and boats, will invest $4.6 million to move its headquarters and manufacturing facility from Chattanooga, Tennessee to the Town of Hillsville in Carroll County, creating 125 jobs. The company is moving into an existing building in the Carroll County Industrial Park.

Doug Zukowski, president of AmeriPumps, said the decision to relocate the company's operations to Virginia "was based on the strong work ethic and available workforce in this geographic region along with the quality of life only found in this part of Virginia."

AmeriPumps will assemble, ship and service water pumps throughout North America and the Western Hemisphere from the Hillsville facility. Governor Kaine said, "AmeriPumps' decision to open this facility demonstrates that the region, previously affected by economic downturn, is on the rebound. The company will find no shortage of capable employees with a strong work ethic, and I look forward to AmeriPumps' success in Virginia."

The Town of Hillsville, Carroll County, Virginia's aCorridor and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked together to secure the AmeriPumps project. Governor Kaine approved $150,000 from the Governor's Opportunity Fund to assist Carroll County with the project, and the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission approved $100,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds. The company also is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone program and training assistance through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

Bland County welcomes two new industries to the aCorridor                              

Participating in the Virginia Steel grand opening are, from left, Arnold Maynard and David Stinson, Co-owners; Henry Blessing, partially hidden, member of the Bland County Board of Supervisors; and David Dillow, Chairman of the Bland County Economic Development Authority.

Bland County officials announced in July that two companies would be relocating their operations, one into a former bank building and the other into a facility in the Bland County Industrial Park.

The Bland County Board of Supervisors and the Bland County Economic Development Authority announced that Appalachian Leasing Inc. is moving its headquarters and business operations from West Virginia to Rocky Gap. And, on July 9, officials participated in a grand opening for Virginia Steel & Fabrication Inc. that opened its operations in a 33,000-square-foot building in the Bland County Industrial Park.

Appalachian Leasing, which specializes in trucking and hauling services primarily to the coal industry, will lease the former BB&T branch office property located beside the Rocky Gap Post Office. The company will invest in renovating the former bank building into suitable office space for its business in a lease-purchase arrangement, according to David Dillow, Bland County EDA chairman.

Virginia Steel & Fabrication Inc., a primary provider of steel-fabricated products for the coal industry, plans to add 10 employees within the next three years to its current workforce of 20 employees.

"We're seeing an increase in economic development opportunities as a result of the reinvigorated coal industry. Virginia Steel and Appalachian Leasing have both strategically positioned themselves in Bland County to better serve and support this industry sector," said Jonathan Sweet, county administrator and economic development director.

Congressman Boucher announces funding for new industrial park

Congressman Rick Boucher, left, and Kelly A. O'Brien, Director of Public Affairs of the Economic Development Administration, right, present a replica check to Jason Ramsey, Chairman of the Bland County Board of Supervisors, for funding for Commerce Park.

Congressman Rick Boucher announced on Oct. 9 a grant of $600,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce through the Economic Development Administration for the new 22-acre Commerce Park in Bland County.

The new park is located in Bastian along Route 52 near the Wolf Creek Indian Village. Boucher said it is anticipated that the federal investment in the Bland County Commerce Park will result in the creation of 135 jobs and a future private investment of $15 million. Construction of the park is expected to begin in 2009.

"The federal grant which I am announcing today will be used to develop the site for the park and to provide water and wastewater resources to the site. Water and wastewater facilities currently run adjacent to the park, and as a result of the federal funding, 10-inch water and 12-inch wastewater main lines will be installed throughout the park, and the grant funds also will be used to grade the site for future development," said Boucher.

The total project cost for the development of the Bland County Commerce Park is $1,972,000. Matching funds are being provided by several sources.   The Virginia Tobacco Commission is providing $200,000; the Virginia Department of Transportation is providing $375,000 through its Industrial Access Road funds; Bland County is providing $747,000, and Mount Rogers Planning District Commission is providing $50,000. These matching funds will be used to complement the federal funding, and the Industrial Access Road funds from VDOT will be used to construct turn lanes on Route 52 for easy access into the park.

Bristol Virginia Utilities receives Governor's Technology Award

Representatives from Bristol Virginia Utilities and Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission pose with their Governor's Technology Award in Williamsburg during the 2008 Commonwealth of Virginia's Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS). From left, are, Larry Carr, Cumberland Plateau Company Executive Director; Wes Rosenbalm, BVU President and CEO; Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine; Paul Hurley, BVU Board Chairman; Stacey Bright, BVU Executive Vice President and CFO; and Jim Rector, Mayor of Bristol, Virginia.

Bristol Virginia Utilities has received the 2008 Governor’s Technology Award for the collaborative build-out of its future-proof digital network called OptiNet into four rural counties in Southwest Virginia.

Today, OptiNet extends more than 800 miles and has 15 points of presence throughout the region, with a voice/data backbone built on multiple 2.5 Gbps self-healing (50ms) resilient packet rings, capable of handling the most advanced Ethernet demands.

Bristol Virginia Utilities was the first municipal electric company in the nation to provide the triple play of services (voice, video and broadband) over a fiber-to-the-user (FTTU) network.

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From my perspective...

Tom Elliott                        Executive Director

2008 Year-to-Date Report Card

• 4 Expansions, 79 jobs, $25.60 Million capital investment.

• 2 New Industries, 165 jobs, $7.94 Million capital investment.

Total: 6 Announcements, 244 Jobs, $33.54 Million capital investment.

The good news: the prospect activity level in the aCorridor has been relatively high since our last newsletter, and we're aggressively pursuing these projects.

The AmeriPumps announcement in Carroll County and the Town of Hillsville was great news, and the company is moving full steam ahead. Congratulations to all the local officials who worked so hard to make this project a success!

The bad news: THE ECONOMY. Some of our prospects have already begun to delay their projects due to the economic crisis, and one has actually cancelled a potential project completely. Obviously, economic developers everywhere are concerned about how all of this will impact our efforts in the months ahead.

We are cautiously optimistic that some of our projects will continue to move forward despite the shaky economy, even though they may take a little longer than originally thought. Keep your fingers crossed, and at least for now, try not to look at your stock portfolio too often!

around the aCorridor...

Virginia continues to lead the nation as Forbes.com’s “Best State for Business.” Governor Tim Kaine announced the "three-peat" - or the third consecutive year Virginia has been top ranked. The Commonwealth finished in the top 10 in four of the six categories examined in the review, which was published July 31. “Virginia has long enjoyed a business-friendly climate.The Commonwealth’s regulatory and legal environments are tough to beat, as well as our strong, educated labor force,” said Governor Kaine. “This best-in-nation validation speaks volumes to our competitiveness in today’s global market."

The Southwest Virginia Clean Energy and Research Center will be located in Abingdon. At its July 31 meeting in Bristol, the Virginia Tobacco Commission approved $8 million in funding for the research center that will be housed in a 16,000-square-foot building to be constructed near the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center on the campus of Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon.

Two economic development officials in the aCorridor have been elected to posts in the Virginia Economic Developers Association. Alan Hawthorne, executive director of the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County, was elected treasurer of VEDA, and Tom Elliott, executive director of Virginia's aCorridor, was elected to a two-year term on the association's board.

Two new aCorridor businesses started this summer in Wythe County. Debra Bowyer, who has operated a family-run dairy farm in Wythe County for 40 years, opened Bowyer Milk Co. in July in Rural Retreat, selling farm fresh milk, locally produced and packaged the same day. Bowyer said her company's goal is to produce 5,000 gallons a week. The second entrepreneurial venture is Omega Lane Farm near Rural Retreat. Its operators Bill Parry and Suzanne Capone left California looking for a place to literally "plant roots." They lived out of their camper and participated in an organic farming apprenticeship program through Appalachian Sustainable Development and one day found the Wythe County farm where they sell hundreds of naturally grown plants, many of them started in a passive solar greenhouse the couple built on the property.

Smyth County's Teacher of the Year selected for state honor. Marion Intermediate School teacher Teresa Hash got good news in September in the middle of a math lesson she was teaching. State and local education officials and the mayor of Marion went to her room to announce she was one of eight teachers in the running for Virginia’s top teacher honor. The visitors told Hash, currently Smyth County’s Teacher of the Year, that she was chosen Virginia’s Region 7 Teacher of the Year as similar announcements were made to selected teachers across the Virginia Department of Education’s eight regions.

Crossroads Small Business Development Center in Galax helped create 85 new businesses that represent the potential of 391 jobs, the region learned recently during a dinner and ribbon-cutting to recognize small business owners. The center, along with the Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority and the Southwest Regional Enterprise Center which assists with small business development, hosted the recent event that brought together risk-taking business entrepreneurs and local and state officials who have continued to offer assistance in the economic development process.

Grayson County mill town is banking on the lure of the New River. The century-old mill town of Fries is looking to attract visitors and new life to the town through outdoor recreational opportunities. According to a recent article in The Richmond Times Dispatch, town leaders have hired a consultant to help lure outdoor-related businesses to Fries, have begun clearing away the old mill site to accommodate such operations, and have enlisted Emory & Henry College to help transform the town into a tourist destination. The school will establish a base of operations in Fries for its outdoor programs, and another group of students in a communications class is now working to develop a marketing pitch for the town.

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