NovaTech builds on Lynchburg's position in nuclear power industry

by Deborah Nason
Virginia Business
November 2005

The nuclear power industry has been prominent in Lynchburg for decades. The city was the base for a division of industry giant Babcock and Wilcox, and it continues to be home for two of that company’s spin-offs, BWXT and Areva. There’s another player in town, too — the much smaller but highly successful NovaTech, founded by five former Babcock and Wilcox employees in 1994.

NovaTech provides commercial power and aerospace customers with services such as consulting, contracting, project management, and equipment and design fabrication, says Matt Ales, the company’s co-founder and vice president.

Last year’s revenue was $2.6 million, up 10 percent from the year before. The company has grown steadily and faster than expected. “We moved to this building in 2002, and we’ve outgrown it in two and a half years instead of the five years we had planned for,” says Ales, referring to the company’s 7,700-square-foot building on the Jefferson Ridge Parkway in Lynchburg. Company officials will decide within the next year whether to expand the building or move to a new location. NovaTech now employs 23 workers. Ales expects that number to double over the next 10 years.

Being a startup company in Lynchburg has its benefits. “The region and city have been very supportive in two major ways,” says Ales. “First, we started in the Business Development Center [incubator], which had reasonable rent along with educational and support services. Secondly, the type of equipment we design and build requires the specialized, high-tech machine shops that are here already.”

Recruitment of highly skilled professionals can be a challenge for companies outside of major metropolitan areas, but not for NovaTech. The company, notes Ales, benefits from attrition at the larger area companies.

During the past five years, he has noticed a change in the region’s economic development environment. He sees the area shifting its focus on bigger companies to put more emphasis on smaller ones. The proof, says Ales, is in the growth of entrepreneurial startups, along with the continued growth of suburbs and demand for housing.