REGIONAL VIEW: THE YEAR IN REVIEW southwest virginia
Regional reboot Southwest looks to high-tech biz for new direction
by Joan Tupponce
Pure Salmon International Co. is constructing a $228 million, 1-million-square-foot indoor fishing farm facility in Tazewell.
board due to the pandemic. The resil- iency of the residents will always be our mantra.”
That atmosphere of cooperation helped
Russell, Tazewell and Buchanan counties land Pure Salmon International Co., which will construct a large indoor fish-farming operation. The company purchased a 203-acre site for its 1-million-square-foot building over a three-year period, a $228 million investment expected to employ about 230 people by 2023. “This was Tazewell’s project, but they ended up with property that borders Russell and Tazewell counties,” explains Ernie McFaddin, chairman of the Russell County Industrial Development Authority. According to officials, it will be the
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ublic and private investments are boosting the economy in Southwest Virginia, bringing in a diversified
group of new companies, from indoor salmon farming to medical information technology firms — as well as a long- awaited casino. Addressing the region’s steady decline in the coal industry, officials in the Southwestern region continue to lay out the roadmap for economic sustainability by building on its strengths, a focus it began with the launch of InvestSWVA in September 2019, a marketing plan that aims to bring new businesses to aban- doned coalfields. The vision includes high-tech com-
panies, data centers and investments in information technology and energy innovation as well as an emphasis on advance manufacturing and the craft beverage industry. Like other regions dealing with the
pandemic, Southwest residents have been able to rally together to attract new invest- ments and help existing companies survive and grow. It’s particularly significant in
Photo courtesy state Del. Will Morefield
the region, where less than half of all households earned the basic cost of living in 2018, according to a November 2020 report by the United Ways of Virginia. With the combination of the pandemic and resulting economic crisis, numbers are likely worse today, the report says. When it comes to private investments, The United Co.’s plan for a casino in Bristol came to fruition in November 2020, when local voters supported a referendum allowing Hard Rock International to build a resort that is expected to create 2,000 jobs and up to $21 million in annual tax revenue. [See story, Page 29.]
Cooperation equals success The one constant in 2020 was “the
cooperation and communication across the region among the economic develop- ers and others involved in improving the region,” says Mike Quillen, chair of the Southwest Virginia Energy Research & Development Authority and an adviser in the mining and energy industries. “Everyone is working together to advance the region in a difficult time across the
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world’s largest vertically integrated indoor aquaculture facility. “This would not be possible without
the support of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority [and] Buchanan, Russell and Tazewell counties,” says Del. Will Morefield, R-Tazewell. “We are confident this project will set a precedent for attracting other investments on an international level. We hope this will be the beginning of an economic revival in the coalfield region of Southwest Virginia.”
In January, Rambler Wood Products announced a new manufacturing plant in St. Paul, a $7.6 million investment that is set to create 73 jobs. It will be in the former Bush Furniture Industries build- ing, and the company has committed to sourcing at least 55% of its timber from Virginia in the next three years.
Focusing on crucial industries The region’s focus on advanced
manufacturing and IT have brought in several projects. Grayson County won a bid for
Metalworx Inc., a manufacturer of precision-manufactured components,
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