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REGIONAL
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When
the propulsion system of the International Space
Station launches early next year, a small piece
of the New River Valley will be on board. VPT Inc. designed the power converter for the propulsion system. The Blacksburg company designs electronic power systems that are small, light and efficient. Among its products are increasingly powerful AC adapters for laptop computers and power supplies for space satellites. |
| The 5-year-old company's designs are
distributed worldwide, but don't expect President
Dan Sable and his partners to move their business
from the New River Valley anytime soon. VPT was
born here and it plans to stay here. |
| Sable says Virginia
Tech is a big part of the reason why. In addition
to the school's research and technological
resources, its students and graduates provide a
ready labor pool. Quality of life draws many Tech
and Radford University graduates to this
mountainous region that is well-stocked with
Appalachian culture, outdoor fun and business
minds that don't care much for the big city.
"I did my doctorate here and I wanted to
stay," the 40-year-old Sable says. "I
love it here." |
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| Since VPT was
founded in August 1993, it has shed its
one-office infancy at Virginia Tech's Corporate
Research Center and grown into an
8,000-square-foot building in the Blacksburg
Industrial Park. It employs 18 people and may end
up manufacturing the space equipment it already
designs. The New River Valley, which consists of the city of Radford and the counties of Montgomery, Floyd, Giles and Pulaski, is like many other regions that are tailoring economic-development efforts to high-tech companies. Although the valley has not landed a fish as big as Motorola, it is attracting a growing pool of technological entrepreneurs. Blacksburg is not the only beneficiary. Pulaski County recently added a chemical manufacturer to its business directory after the company outgrew Tech's research center. In August, Synthons Inc. moved to a temporary home in Fairlawn while awaiting construction of a new building in the New River Valley Industrial Park, says President Thomas Piccariello. Technology companies even bigger than Synthons and VPT are the New River Valley's latest targets. It would be foolish not to market the technological resources of this rural area dominated by a major land-grant university, but economic boosters haven't lost sight of the need to diversify. They see opportunities to train high-school graduates and others to offer support services for the coming technological wave. * * * A study commissioned by the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance in late 1996 revealed that perceptions about the group's efforts were lackluster. Many people could not point to specific success stories. The 10-year-old alliance is working to change that perception. The number of companies visiting the area has gone from a low of seven in fiscal 1993 to 28 in fiscal 1998. Not long ago companies would come to call, but there was nothing to show them. Now there are more shell buildings and larger industrial parks in the works. Stuart Gilbert, the alliance's director for two years, says supporters are willing to put their money behind the group's efforts. In October the alliance closed the books on a fund-raising campaign that began in January 1997. The campaign goal was $2 million. Although it fell about $350,000 shy, the first-ever campaign shows that localities can mobilize to work together on projects. A regional jail is set to open in March 1999, and localities are working on a regional landfill with a 100-year capacity. Local governments also want to create Virginia's first regional industrial facility authority to serve, not only the New River Valley, but 15 other jurisdictions in Southwest Virginia. The authority created a cost-revenue sharing agreement to develop a 1,000-acre industrial park, New River Valley Commerce Park, in Pulaski County. The region has uncomparable re-sources. John Phillips, economic development officer for Virginia Tech, says the school spends $150 million on research annually. It offers continuing education and professional development courses tailored to specific businesses, technical assistance through the Business Technology Center, and even access to venture capital. Joe Meredith, president of Tech's Corporate Research Center, says it houses more than 1,200 employees working for about 85 different companies. Less than 5 percent of those companies fail, he says. And more are on the way to fill two new buildings. One will house the 50,000-square-foot Center for Transportation Research, the focus of research for the Smart Road, a multimillion-dollar test bed for transportation technology. This research includes cars that can literally drive themselves. |
|
| Manufacturing | 26 percent |
| Government | 24 percent |
| Retail | 19 percent |
| Services | 16 percent |
| Construction | 4 percent |
| Finance, insurance, real estate | 3 percent |
| Transportation, public utilities, communications | 3 percent |
| Wholesale | 3 percent |
Largest Private Employers3
| Alliant Techsystems Carilion Radford Community Hospital Corning Glass Works Eagle Pincher Industries Federal Mogul Findlay Industries Giles Memorial Hospital HNA Holdings Hubbell Lighting Jefferson Mills Kollmorgen Litton Poly-Scientific Lynchburg Foundry Montgomery Regional Hospital New River Castings New River Industries Pulaski Community Hospital Pulaski Furniture Renfro Volvo Trucks Wal-Mart |
Average Manufacturing Wage
$566 per week
| 1 -
October 1998 2 - 1Q 1998, nonagricultural employment 3 - 1Q 1998, 250 or more employees |
With a shell building and two industrial parks, Floyd County is hoping to attract companies that do the bulk of their business over the Internet and telephone. George Nester, the county's economic developer since July, says most of the county has fiber-optic cable available and a ready labor pool.
People are drawn to Floyd County's rolling hills and rural living only minutes from popular scenic attractions such as Mabry's Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway and nearby Chateau Morrisette winery, which is in the midst of a $3 million expansion. The town of Floyd has also just been included in Virginia's Civil War Trails Program. While tourism statewide increased 6.3 percent in the last year, according to the Virginia Tourism Corp., Floyd County saw a dramatic 18.7 percent increase.
Mark Petty, president of Motions Technologies Group of Kollmorgen Corp., said if he wants a job prospect to accept an offer, all he has to do is take him on a tour of Radford and the surrounding area. "It's an excellent community to have people to move to -- a great place for families." Things are going so well for the manufacturer of high-performance electronic motors, drives and controls that it recently expanded by adding a customer support network. Anyone on the continent calling Kollmorgen's toll-free number will get answers from experts in Radford.
The city's centerpiece is Radford University. In 1996, it created the Business Assistance Center, which has since worked with more than 500 businesses throughout the region. The university has also created an economic development team that cuts across all of the school's departments with the goal of helping create jobs.
* * *
Manufacturing in the New River Valley and across the country may be on the decline, but it's still the region's bread and butter. The garment industry has been particularly hard-hit. Giles County lost 85 jobs when Oxford Industries closed in March. Floyd County saw Cross Creek Apparel close in November. At its peak, it employed 150 people; the net loss in payroll was $1.1 million, according to Nester.
In Montgomery County, DonKenny Inc. shut down for a loss of 60 jobs, according to Montgomery County Economic Development Director Bob Isner. "Now we are down to virtually no other cut-and-sew industries in the county," he says. And Hubbell Lighting Inc. of Christiansburg announced in early November that it will move 50 to 90 jobs to a new assembly plant in Mexico, where labor costs are cheaper. "While we are constantly looking for high-dollar, high-tech industries, we don't lose sight of industries ... for more semi-skilled people," Isner says.
Not all manufacturing is headed south, however. Walter Benda, vice president for sales of Lenzkes Universal Clamping Tools in Christiansburg, says his company plans to locate a manufacturing facility there within the next five years. When fully operational, it will create about 70 jobs. The German company opened its Christiansburg operation in April after the owner, Karl-Heinz Lenzkes, Benda and one other employee toured several sites in Virginia.
With Volvo just down the road and Pulaski Furniture in town, Pulaski has a high proportion of blue-collar workers. Ron Bierman, assistant to the vice president of manufacturing at Volvo Trucks North America Inc., says the Pulaski plant employs about 2,300 people who manufacture 128 heavy-duty trucks daily. The availability of quality workers is one reason the plant chose to invest in a $200 million expansion completed in 1996.
Robert Dye, director of economic development for Pulaski, said he is working on creating a 163-acre industrial park to welcome new industry. The community plans to capitalize on its work force by furthering an already family-friendly atmosphere that boasts its own minor league baseball team, the Pulaski Rangers, affiliates of the Texas Rangers.
Giles County is also heavily dependent on manufacturers. County Administrator Roger Mullins can list several recent expansions. He expects an $8 million countywide water-treatment upgrade project -- scheduled to be complete within the year -- will help draw the next one, too. Giles faces unique challenges: Its tax base is not nearly as high as other areas because a full 40 percent of the county is in Jefferson National Forest. It also lacks immediate access to a major interstate highway.
* * *
The world has changed, says Ed Barnes, president of New River Community College. His college is changing, too.
Businesses and elected officials bemoan Virginia's shortage of skilled technology workers. Radford University and Virginia Tech churn out skilled graduates, but not every job -- even in high-tech -- requires a four-year degree. Barnes' students can earn certificates or degrees in areas such as computer networking, fiber-optics, information systems and soon in semiconductor technology. In addition to those offerings, the school is working with Virginia Tech to create a pre-engineering degree.
The Magnet School for Technology was just a concept in June. Now it has 68 students training in computer networking based on a model provided by Cisco Systems Inc., a fast-growing $6 billion computer company.
Barnes sees the magnet school as part of a single facility that could serve the community college, the Southwest Virginia Governor's School and area school systems. Through regional cooperation, students would benefit by having access to state-of-the-art labs. Barnes says it's a simple idea that may solve Virginia's high-tech labor deficit if every community college followed suit. "What if Southwest Virginia were to be the area that produces this model? Wouldn't that be great?"
© JANUARY 1999, VIRGINIA BUSINESS MAGAZINE