Central Virginia


New president named at 70-year-old Southern Air by Joan Tupponce


L ing its 70th


ynchburg-based Southern Air this year is mark- anniversary


with the appointment of a new president, Paul Denham.


Denham, who


previously served as executive vice president, has more than 25 years of experience in the industry. He succeeds Ronnie Kidd, who is the company’s CEO. “It’s been a very


smooth transition,” says Ben Wilkinson, vice president of busi- ness development. “Paul is a professional engineer. He worked his way up through the company. He started as a project manager.” Engineer George


Cost an founded Southern Air in 1946. Over the years it has grown from a residen- tial heating company to a full-service design/ build mechanical and


FOR THE RECORD


Richmond-based Dominion Virginia Power said in July that 800 local jobs in the construc- tion trades will be created as it prepares to build three separate large-scale solar energy facilities in Virginia. However, once con- struction is done, there would be no permanent jobs. The State Corporation Commission approved the projects in Isle of Wight, Louisa and Powhatan counties on June 30. They are part of a commitment by Domin- ion Virginia Power to develop 400 megawatts of solar energy in Virginia by 2020. (VirginiaBusi- ness.com)


The Hilb Group, an insurance broker based in Richmond, has acquired NPB Insurance Services Inc. in Bristol. Financial terms of the deal, finalized July 1, were not disclosed. NPB sells personal, business, disability and


Photo courtesy Southern Air


electrical contractor. The company


employs 750 to 800 people, depending on the time of year, and averages $115 million in sales volume annu- ally. “We focus on slow, controlled growth,” Wilkinson says. He credits that


growth to Southern Air’s attention to detail and focus on customer service. “We take care of our customers. We service what we sell, and we make sure it’s right. We have a lot of repeat customers. Our service retention rate is over 90 percent.” Southern Air has a 60,000-square-foot fabrication facility in Lynchburg and construction offices in Roanoke, Mechanics- ville, Charlottesville and Bluefield, W.Va. The company also


has service locations in Winchester, Newport


life insurance to individual and commercial clients throughout Southwest Virginia, Northeast Tennessee and surrounding states. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


International City Management Association - Retirement Corp. (ICMA-RC), a Washington D.C.- based financial services firm, is expanding to Richmond. The company plans to hire about 100 employees initially and bring more than 100 employees from its D.C headquarters when it moves to Riverfront Plaza in downtown Richmond. (Virginia- Business.com)


Shares of Henrico County-based Kinsale Capital Group, the par- ent company of specialty insurer Kinsale Insurance, rose nearly 15 percent from the company’s initial public offering price on its first day of trading in late July. Kinsale raised $106 million in its initial public offering, selling


Regional View


Paul Denham, the new president of Southern Air, had been executive vice president.


News, Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg and Greensboro, N.C. Most of the com-


pany’s business comes from commercial and industrial customers, but it also handles residential replacement work in Lynchburg and Charlottesville. Wilkinson says


Southern Air was the first Lynchburg-area contractor to start a four-year, state- approved apprentice- ship program.


6.6 million shares at $16. Shares are trading under the ticker symbol KNSL on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)


Florida-based high-end super- market chain Publix will take over 10 Martin’s Food Markets stores in the Richmond region. The remaining nine stores would operate for six months to a year until those locations can be sold. But Martin’s does not expect to operate them a year from now, the company announced in July. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)


PEOPLE


John G. Dane, reappointed to the board of the Virginia College Building Authority. He is vice president, regional manager, Community Bankers’ Bank, Midlothian. (News release)


Michael J. Early has joined www.VirginiaBusiness.com “One of the


problems facing the industry today is finding qualified individuals that want to get into the con- struction industry,” he says. “Our apprentice- ship program is trade specific. All of the instructors are certified by the state. People in the program work dur- ing the day and go to class at night. Up to 80 employees go through the program every year.”


the Capital Markets Group at Richmond-based Cushman & Wakefield|Thalhimer as first vice president. He is an industry veteran specializing in the representation of investment properties. (VirginiaBusiness. com)


Richard G. Johnstone Jr. has been named president and CEO of the Glen Allen- based Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives. He had been executive vice president since 1999. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


John E. Mason has been promoted to managing director of Richmond- based StreamCo LLC. He was senior vice


president and asset manager. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


ON THE WEB


Complete list of For the Record and People at


VirginiaBusiness.com


William Murray has been named chair of the Virginia Center for Health Innovation board of directors. Murray, managing director of public policy and senior adviser for regulatory and state and local affairs for Dominion Resources Services Inc. in Richmond, was the board’s vice chair. (News release)


Carrie Roth, reappointed to the Virginia Board of Workforce Development. She is executive director of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority and president and CEO of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park Corp., Richmond. (News release)


The board of directors of the Greater Richmond Partnership reappointed Bobby Ukrop, of Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods, and Angela Kelly-Wiecek, a member of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors, as chair and vice chair. (News release)


VIRGINIA BUSINESS 21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64