We’re giving an Austrian company $5M in tax dollars to locate its HQ in Roanoke

Virginia is gifting $5 million in corporate welfare dollars to an Austrian life sciences company that announced plans on Friday to locate its first U.S. headquarters in Roanoke.

Per a release from the office of Gov. Abigail Spanberger, RINGANA plans to invest $85 million over the next five years in the Virginia project, which will locate a production and distribution operation in the Star City.

Not sure if that’s on top of the $5 million we’re giving them, or the $5 million is included in that total.

Established in 1996, RINGANA develops, produces, and distributes fresh, natural, vegan skincare, nutritional supplements and energy drinks.

The privately-owned company primarily utilizes a multi-level marketing and direct sales model to markets in most of Europe as well as parts of Central and South America.

The Virginia project for RINGANA is projected to create 435 new jobs in the Roanoke area.

The governor’s office press release notes that Spanberger welcomed company leadership to the Commonwealth in February to discuss the idea of RINGANA locating in Virginia.

“RINGANA’s decision to establish its first U.S. facility in Virginia underscores the Commonwealth’s reputation as a welcoming, premier destination for international investment,” Spanberger said, in a statement highlighted in the press release.

“With our world-class workforce, strong apprenticeship and career training programs, and unwavering commitment to supporting global companies in a global marketplace, Virginia offers the ideal environment for businesses to grow and succeed in the United States. We are excited to welcome RINGANA to Roanoke and look forward to the hundreds of career opportunities this partnership will create for Virginians,” Spanberger said.

The new Roanoke facility, per the press release, will serve as RINGANA’s North American production and distribution hub, enabling full availability of the company’s skincare products, nutritional supplements and functional beverages throughout the United States.

“Following the highly successful establishment of our brand in the European market and our major successes in Mexico, Colombia and Peru, we are excited to bring RINGANA to the USA,” said Andreas Wilfinger, the founder and CEO of RINGANA.

“We are convinced that our freshness philosophy will inspire American customers just as much. The location in Roanoke is perfect for our plans; in addition to its excellent location, we also found an exceptionally suitable property. We were welcomed with open arms by the local community and the authorities working there, which gave us a very positive feeling about a long-term collaboration,” Wilfinger said.

The notation at the top of this story about the $5 million in corporate welfare dollars is my characterization of a line buried deep in the press release from the governor’s office about how “Spanberger approved a $5 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Roanoke with the project.”

It’s fine that we’re paying $11,494.25 per job to get those 435 jobs into the Roanoke economy, but that’s corporate welfare.