Virginia MetalFab is investing $9 million to expand to a larger facility in the Town of Appomattox, an investment that will create 130 new jobs for the Lynchburg-Appomattox-Farmville region.
“On behalf of the citizens of the Town of Appomattox, I am thankful to the owners of Virginia MetalFab for moving their operations into the Town,” Appomattox Mayor Richard Connor said. “Even at this early stage of operation of their business, we see a dull building on the side of the road becoming the site of a thriving business.
“We look forward to their future providing employment to members of the community and kicking off a revitalization of manufacturing in Appomattox in hopes that it will draw additional companies into our community, showing that we are a location for business,” Connor said.
Virginia MetalFab, founded in 2002, manufactures metal parts and assemblies for a wide range of industry leaders in energy, utilities, transportation, and technology.
The company, in the expansion announced this week, will lease the former Thomasville plant, occupying 250,000 square feet of production space to meet increased demand for its products and services.
“Residing here in Central Virginia has helped propel our growth in part due to the central location of the North Carolina Triad, Washington, D.C., and Virginia’s own Eastern Shore,” Virginia MetalFab General Manager Brian Morris said. “As we looked to expand significantly, we determined this area provided the best opportunity for growth to continue to serve these high-growth areas. Additionally, for our future growth we wanted to strategically be between the I-81 and I-95 corridors for simplified logistics both to the northeast and southeast.
“Moving to Appomattox was the cherry on top for our company’s expansion and we couldn’t be happier to partner with this community as we seek our continued growth,” Morris said.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance and the Town of Appomattox to secure the project for Virginia and will support Virginia MetalFab’s job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs in order to support employee recruitment and training activities.
As a business incentive supporting economic development, VJIP reduces the human resource costs of new and expanding companies. VJIP is state-funded, demonstrating Virginia’s commitment to enhancing job opportunities for citizens.
“Virginia MetalFab values their customers, employees, and community. They have grown very quickly due to those commitments, and we are thrilled they have chosen to expand their operations in the Town of Appomattox,” said Megan Lucas, CEO & Chief Economic Development Officer at the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance.
“The company’s excitement to bring well-paying jobs to the community is contagious. It has been an honor to work alongside them during this expansion and to support their growth within the Lynchburg region. I’d also like to thank former team member, Jamie Gillespie, who ran point on this project, for all her hard work in working alongside the Town, Virginia MetalFab, and our economic development partners,” Lucas said.
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Chris Graham
