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REGIONAL VIEW eastern virginia


Suffolk seen as a ‘good fi t’ for Spanish manufacturer by Joan Tupponce


S


panish manufacturer Atarfil began looking for a site in the United States two years ago. In March, the company announced it will spend $5.1 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing and distribution facility in Suffolk. The city is a good fit logistically,


says Mario G. Girones, the company’s sales and marketing director. “It was the perfect balance of all our needs.” The project will create 15 jobs. Founded in 1955 and based in


Granada, Spain, Atarfil makes high-per- formance products such as thermoplastic geomembranes for safe-containment use in the waste, water and mining industries. The company has operations in Mexico, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. “Historically, the U.S. is a market


where our products have been welcomed since the beginning,” Girones says. Before picking Suffolk, the company


looked at several locations, including sites in Maryland. “All of the options were extremely good with a different balance of advan- tages and disadvantages,” Girones says.


FOR THE RECORD


Allfirst LLC plans to expand its Suffolk headquarters, cre- ating 27 jobs during the next three years. The industrial general contractor and metal fabricator plans to spend $130,000 on the expansion, purchasing new machinery and tools. It will retrain its 62 existing employees in addition to creating new jobs. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


Atlantic Core Building Products plans to establish a manufacturing operation in Chesapeake, which is expected to create 50 jobs. The company will spend $3 million on the facility. Atlantic Core makes cold-formed steel framing, finishing and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) accessories for commercial and residential buildings. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


Hampton Roads Transit has laid off 16 administrative


“Key factors are related to logistic needs, energy supply, procurement chain and availability of space. The authori- ties in Suffolk strove from the very begin- ning to bring the project to this area.” One of the big- gest challenges for Suffolk officials was finding an existing


Atarfi l will spend $5.1 million to establish its fi rst U.S. manufacturing and distribution facility.


new manufactur- ing site “and start production at the end of May,” Girones says. The com-


pany received a $60,000 state grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund as well as a $60,000 grant from the Suffolk


building large enough to accommodate Atarfil’s equipment. “Their equipment is about 90 feet in length,” says Greg Byrd, assistant director for Suffolk’s economic development department. “Once they decided on Suffolk, the logistics of moving the


Byrd


equipment had to be taken care of. The equipment came in during February, and now they are installing it.” Atarfil plans to finalize tests at its


employees and eliminated 17 other administrative jobs in the wake of its budget shortfalls. Much of the money saved from salaries will go toward 2018’s budget, which starts in July, said HRT spokesman Tom Holden. In late March, HRT reported it was already $1 million over its current $99.5 million operat- ing budget. It is unclear if the layoffs will help the transit group avoid going over bud- get this year and next fiscal year. (The Virginian-Pilot)


Escalante Golf has acquired Kingsmill Resort for $30.7 million. Texas-based Escalante Golf owns and operates 15 golf-course properties throughout the country. The Kingsmill com- munity encompasses 2,900 acres with private roads and a 24-hour police force. The resort includes 422 rooms, a 17,000-square-foot conference center and three


14 MAY 2017


golf courses. (The Virginia Gazette)


Optima Health will become the second tenant for a city- owned property on Military Highway in Norfolk. The Virginia Beach-based health insurance company plans to hire 200 employees at the facility at 880 North Military Highway. The new positions will support a statewide con- tract with the Commonwealth of Virginia. The first tenant announced for the property was Movement Mortgage. (The Virginian-Pilot)


The biggest ship ever to call on the Port of Virginia — or the entire U.S. East Coast, for that matter — is scheduled to arrive May 8 at Virginia Inter- national Gateway in Ports- mouth. The COSCO Devel- opment, about 250 feet shy of the length of the Empire State Building laid on its side, can carry 13,092 TEUs or stan-


Economic Development Investment Program. It also is eligible to receive sales and use tax exemptions on manufacturing equipment and funding from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program to support its training efforts. “There is a lot of upside to these small manufacturers establishing a beachhead consistent with our advanced manufacturing strategy,” says Rick Weddle, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Economic Develop- ment Alliance, one of the organizations that helped secure the project.


dard 20-foot containers. (The Virginian-Pilot)


PEOPLE


Kevin Murphy will succeed the retiring Frank Roach as CEO of Newport News-based Ferguson Enterprises on Aug. 1. Murphy is the company’s chief operating officer. (Vir- giniaBusiness.com)


Philip Shucet has been named CEO of Portsmouth- based Elizabeth River Cross- ings (ERC). Shucet succeeds Greg Woodsmall, who will remain at ERC as vice presi- dent of operations. Shucet, a former Virginia Department of Transportation commis- sioner and CEO of Hampton Roads Transit, most recently ran a consulting firm. (The Virginian-Pilot)


Huntington Ingalls Indus- tries has announced several appointments in its Techni-


cal Solutions division, includ- ing: Tom Davison, president, Oil & Gas Group; Billy Jahn, CFO and vice president, busi- ness management; Michael Lempke, president, Nuclear & Environmental Group; Brad Mason, president, Fleet Sup- port Group; and Joe Reale, president, Integrated Mis- sion Solutions Group. (News release)


Amy Jordan, formerly redevelopment manager in Hampton’s economic devel- opment department, is now James County’s economic development director. Former director Russell Seymour moved to the county’s general services department. (Daily Press)


John Powell, managing bro- ker at a Long & Foster Real Estate office in Virginia Beach, has been appointed to serve on the Real Estate Informa- tion Network’s 2017 board of directors. (Daily Press)


Photos courtesy Suffolk Economic Development


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