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Bland County welcomes new industries |
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Jeffrey Simmons
Tue Jul 15, 2008 - 03:39 PM
http://www.swvatoday.com/comments/bland_county_welcomes_new_industries/news/3107/
By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff
One industry is gearing for
full production in its new location Bland
County while another
business is moving its headquarters here. Virginia Steel & Fabrication Inc.
officially opened last week and Appalachian Leasing Inc. is expected within a
few months.
The Bland County Board of Supervisors and the Economic Development Authority
announced this week that Appalachian Leasing Inc. is moving its headquarters
and business operations from Princeton,
W.Va., to Rocky Gap. The EDA will
lease the former BB&T branch office property located beside the Rocky Gap
Post Office to the company, which specializes in trucking and hauling services
primarily to the coal industry.
According to County Administrator Jonathan D. Sweet, the agreement allows the
company to lease the property and building for a year with an option to buy the
property or renew the lease.
Appalachian Leasing Inc. will make a significant investment into renovating the
former bank building into suitable office space for an unspecified number of
employees, according to Sweet. It will begin operation once construction is
completed on the building, he added.
“The EDA attempts to be responsive to the needs of our businesses by remaining
flexible, and in this case, providing a custom lease-purchase arrangement,” EDA
Chairman David Dillow said in a prepared statement.
Supervisor Chairman Jason Ramsey also commented in a prepared statement, “This
company is a perfect fit for the existing facility and a wonderful addition to
our county. We are pleased that we could make this project work for the good of
our community.”
Virginia Steel & Fabrication Inc. officially opened last week in a 33,000
square-foot building in the Bland County Industrial Park
at Hicksville. The company had been moving its
steel-fabricated operation from its Bluefield
location for several months.
“We probably began production around June 9,” noted Chris Stinson, company
spokesman. “We’re still not 100 percent yet but we can operate now.”
The Board of Supervisors and the EDA hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony July 9 to
welcome the new industry. Also attending were representatives from the Virginia
Tobacco Commission and the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority.
“With the quality of Virginia Steel’s employees, management and ownership,”
stated Sweet, “they will most certainly become a strong employer and permanent
fixture in our business community.”
According to Stinson, most of the company’s 20 employees are from the former Bluefield operation.
However, there are at least four workers from Bland County.
“We hope to add about 10 more employees in the next three years,” Stinson
stated. “We’ve had very good response with the number of applications. It helps
to have fabrication knowledge and experience with welding and reading
blueprints. We can hire at the entry level and the sky’s the limit for
employees who learn as much as they can.”
The company’s future, Stinson said, looks promising. A backlog of orders and
current requests are expected to keep production running, he stated.
Virginia Steel & Fabrication Inc. is a primary provider of steel-fabricated
projects in the coal mining industry. It also provides products to the brick
manufacturing industry.
“The location is great,” Stinson added. “The Board of Supervisors and the
Economic Development Authority have helped us tremendously. Jonathan Sweet is
really to be commended for the hard work he has done to bring us here.”
The company was provided with a low-interest loan in the amount of $1.45
million from the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority and was able to
secure $50,000 in a Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund grant from the Virginia
Tobacco Commission.
The EDA also made necessary improvements to the industrial park and secured a
conditional use permit for a manufacturing operation. It obtained a variance to
the subdivision ordinance for set-back requirements, reduced construction
related startup costs and oversaw the construction process, too.
“We are seeing an increase in economic development opportunities as a result of
the reinvigorated coal industry,” Sweet said. “Virginia Steel and Appalachian
Leasing have both strategically positioned themselves in Bland County
to better serve and support this industry sector.”
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