aCorridor Headlines

1. Evatran to build new plant in Wythe County
   Manufacturer of plugless power supply; 84 jobs.
2. New company opens in Chilhowie
   Power Distribution Products Inc.to employ 35-60.
3. Ground broken for new hospital
   New Smyth County Community Hospital to open in 2012.
4. Heartwood taking shape along I-81
   Artisan center to be gateway to the region.
5. From My Perspective...
   An update from Executive Director Tom Elliott.
6. around the aCorridor...
   Vaughan-Bassett Furniture expansion construction on target. State grants help Grayson County "go green." Virginia Highlands Community College welcomes new president.

Evatran LLC to manufacture plugless power for electric cars

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling arrives in an electric car for the Evatran announcement. L to R are Tom Hough, CEO of Evatran LLC, Rebecca Hough, co-founder and director of sales and marketing for Evatran, and Lt. Gov. Bolling.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling came to Wythe County June 29 to announce
that Evatran LLC, a subsidiary of MTC Transformers and the manufacturer of the world's first "hands-free" electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), will invest $3.5 million in a new facility in Wytheville that will manufacture Plugless Power™ charging technology for electric vehicles. The project will create 84 new jobs. Lieutenant Gov.Bolling joined company officials, business and government leaders on the Governor's behalf to announce the project. Virginia successfully competed against North Carolina and Ohio for the project.

MTC Transformers, a manufacturer of specialized electrical transformers focusing on niche market segments, was founded in Wytheville in 1985. The company started Evatran in April 2009. Evatran was to officially separate from MTC Transformers in July 2010.

"Governor McDonnell and I have made clear that our top priority is getting Virginia's economy moving again and creating new jobs for Virginia's families," said Lt. Governor Bill Bolling. "Evatran is developing a revolutionary new technology for the emerging electric vehicle market, and their growing presence in Southwest Virginia will assist us in achieving our goal of making Virginia a leader in developing new and emerging energy technologies. This project is the first step that will eventually lead to the hiring of hundreds of production staff and management personnel over the next five years."

New company to refurbish, build electrical equipment for mines

Power Distribution Products Inc. in Chilhowie will refurbish and manufacture equipment handling high-voltage electrical service for mines. The new company is expected to employ 35 soon and 50-60 within two years. Photo by Dan Kegley, Smyth County News and Messenger.

A new company has set up shop in Chilhowie in Smyth County to provide refurbished and new electrical equipment for the region's coal mines.

Power Distribution Products Inc. is operating in a privately owned building and plans to employ 35 in the near future and up to 60 within two years, according to the Smyth County News and Messenger. The company can also manufacture electrical equipment for mining companies, said Greg Sanders, director of sales and marketing with Germany-based Becker Mining Systems, PDP's parent company. Becker employs 1,200 people around the world and has 24 subsidiaries, Sanders said. Sanders said Chilhowie was chosen as PDP's site because of its "good, stable workforce, good hardworking people, and it's strategically located in the heart of mining country."

Smyth hospital breaks ground for new facility set to open in 2012

Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling addresses the audience at the June 29 groundbreaking for the new Smyth County Community Hospital. Photo by Jessie Morgan, Smyth County News and Messenger.

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling came to Smyth County in late June and helped break ground for the new Smyth County Community Hospital

The new $66-million Smyth County hospital will be built off U.S. Interstate 81 at Exit 47 along Highway 11. With more than 150,000 square feet, the new hospital will be 13,000 square feet larger than the current facility, though it will have a fraction of the number of inpatient beds. Health care has changed in the last decade and the new building will be a reflection of that. The 44 private rooms include 30 acute care beds and 14 rehab beds. But the emergency department will be 75 percent larger and the diagnostics area will be increased 50 percent over the current facility. All of the services offered at SCCH will remain and be improved. There will be three modern surgery rooms, a laboratory, a cardiac rehabilitation unit, a pharmacy, obstetrics and a women's imaging center.

The new hospital will be the fourth new facility built by Mountain States Health Alliance in as many years. With construction underway, it is expected to be open in the spring of 2012, and also like the other new MSHA hospitals, built to U.S. Green Building Council's LEED standards to create a "green" facility.

Heartwood taking shape along I-81 in Abingdon near VHCC   

The unique design of the 29,000 sq. ft Heartwood: Southwest Virginia's Artisan Gateway is becoming more apparent each day as construction is under way along I-81 in Abingdon near the campus of Virginia Highlands Community College.

The unique design of Heartwood in Abingdon is becoming more apparent every day as consttruction continues. Designed by award winning architects, Spectrum Design of Roanoke, the 29,000 square foot building sits on eight acres next to the Virginia Highlands Community College. The LEED Certified building will feature artisan galleries, a superior food court with locally supplied organic products, storyboards and maps of the region to highlight the opportunities for exploring, exhibits of featured artisans and a place for music performances as a stop on The Crooked Road. The building will also house the offices of the 'Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia Artisan's Network and The Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail staffs. Opening is planned for summer 2011.

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From my     perspective...

Tom Elliott     

Executive Director

2010 Year to Date Report Card

• 8 Expansions, 178 Jobs, $27.90 Million capital investment

• 2 New Industries, 83 Jobs, $1.25 Million capital investment

• A Total of 10 Announcements, 261 Jobs, $29.15 Million capital investment

First of all, congratulations to Smyth and Wythe for adding PDP and Evatran to this Report Card! Once again, existing industry expansions represent the bulk of our results so far. This is not uncommon even in a good economy, but certainly proves true for us in this economy.

The good news is that we have seen a slight up tick in new prospect activity recently. For the most part, these have been in the form of “RFI’s” – Requests for Information on sites and buildings, but we also have a few actual prospect visits on the horizon. Any economic developer will tell you that “THE VISIT” is the first major goal in the process. Our chances of turning the prospect into a real project increase dramatically when we can actually meet with them and start selling our sites, ourselves, and our communitie.s

It’s great to have strong support from the state level in our efforts. Lieutenant Governor Bolling was here in late June to emphasize that support. After the hospital groundbreaking ceremony in Smyth County, he attended a luncheon meeting in Marion, sponsored by the aCorridor. Participants in the luncheon included the economic developer and chief elected official from seven of the eight aCorridor localities. During the two hour session, he heard presentations from myself and each of the localities at the table. He also shared the administration’s economic development plans and priorities with the group.

This was a great opportunity for the aCorridor to make sure we’re on the “radar screen” of the state’s Chief Jobs Creation Officer and educate him on our economic development efforts. From Marion, it was on to Wytheville for a great Evatran announcement.

The Lieutenant Governor left our region knowing that we’re determined and eager to have him back for more of those events!

around the aCorridor...

Vaughan-Bassett Furniture broke ground for its $1 million, four-phase, 16,000-square-foot expansion in May and plans to be finished with construction by the end of the year, as announced at a press conference in June and reported in The Galax Gazette. The new 16,000-square-foot expansion will allow the company to enhance its efficiency and add new jobs, said Wyatt Bassett, president and CEO, during the press conference. Doug Bassett told The Gazette that the company has added 60 to 70 jobs in the past 18 months.
Vaughan-Bassett employs 650 at its Galax plant and 50 at its Elkin, N.C., plant. By the end of this year, Vaughan-Bassett will be the largest wooden bedroom furniture manufacturer in the United States, officials said. . It was also announced that the company hit a record of $9 million in furniture sales for the month of May — up by 12 percent.

Grayson County will go green with the help of $858,000 in grants from the state. According to an article in The Galax Gazette, the funding will assist with a $1.2 million courthouse enhancement project that will make the government building a learning lab for advanced "green" technologies. According to a press release issued in July, the courthouse will be upgraded with energy-efficient equipment and technologies, thanks to two grants $808,000 from the Department of Mines Minerals and Energy and $50,000 from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. Grayson also will use the funds to conduct energy audits for public schools and for several industries.

Virginia Highlands Community College welcomes a new president in early July. Dr. Ron Proffitt, a Tazewell County native, most recently served as vice president of instruction and student development at Wytheville Community College. Prior to that, from 2000 to 2007, he served as dean of the math, science and health technology division at Southwest Virginia Community College. Proffitt also had served as program director and instructor of radiologic technology at Virginia Highlands. From 1992 to 1993, he worked at Bristol Regional Medical Center. Proffitt sees the community college's role expanding beyond higher education. One of his goals, he said, is to get the message out to local leaders how the college can be and is willing to be an economic engine. Dr. Proffitt will serve as an Ex Officio member of the aCorridor Board of Directors.

The Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority (BRCEDA) has recently been awarded a $1 million grant by the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission. The grant is intended for the purpose of developing the Wildwood Commerce Park. The Wildwood Commerce Park is part of a 1,400 acre tract located off Exit 19 of Interstate 77. BRCEDA has optioned 167 acres of this tract, of which 50 acres have already been graded and provided with retention pond access. The land is privately owned, and the owners have invested significant resources in the site in partnership with the localities involved. The initiative is a collaborative effort involving Carroll County, Grayson County, and the City of Galax, with BRCEDA serving in a management role. The Mount Rogers Planning District Commission has provided planning and technical assistance.
The grant will be used to reduce the loan principal on the property. The equity generated will greatly aid in BRCEDA’s efforts to bring companies to the park. “The Virginia Tobacco Commission’s investment in the Wildwood Commerce Park is one of the first substantial public steps toward recruiting businesses to the Wildwood Commerce Park, which will deliver jobs and investment to the region,” says Ken McFadyen, BRCEDA Regional Director. “We greatly value the commission’s support and partnership with our initiatives.”

A relatively new trail is being developed in Bland and Wythe counties. A major initiative of Round the Mountain, the Artisan Trail of Wythe & Bland Counties will link visitors to artisan studios, farms and agri-business sites, galleries, shops, country stores, unique lodging and restaurants. According to a local newspaper article, "Bland and Wythe are working together to have trail maps done before the opening of Heartwood, a new artisan center in Abingdon, opening in late spring 2011," noted Steve Hermansen, who represents Bland County on the Round the Mountain board of directors.

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