"This is a very important occasion for Westvaco's operations in Virginia, a state vitally important to our company," said John A. Luke, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Westvaco Corp.

Westvaco, a manufacturer of paper, packaging and specialty chemicals, will invest $117 million for the expansion of its Covington paper mill in western Virginia. Two separate projects will increase operating efficiency at the mill and will provide essential support for future production increases.

Westvaco already has invested more than $1 billion in Virginia over the last 10 years, and employs approximately 3,400 workers throughout the state. The company relocated a corporate administrative center from New York to Chesterfield County, just south of Richmond, in 1994 and operates facilities in the Alleghany Highlands and Richmond.

"I'm especially proud of the Covington Mill's past successes and I'm tremendously excited about the mill's future," said Luke. "This is a solid operation with a superior work force, one that will continue to add to Virginia's prosperity."

This expansion consists of two major projects.

The first involves a $47 million investment, expanding Westvaco's woodyard operations in Covington to enhance safety, increase production capacity and improve the quality of the mill's wood fiber.

The second investment totals $70 million and will pay for a second lime kiln to be installed, increasing the mill's ability to efficiently recover and reuse chemicals used during the papermaking process.

Both projects are scheduled to be completed by the fall of 1998.

Westvaco, which sells its products to customers in more than 70 countries throughout the world, currently employs nearly 2,000 people in the Alleghany Highlands.

Governor's Opportunity Grants

State and local officials, along with most utility companies, offer some sort of incentive in order to help offset some of the heavy costs associated with expanding or relocating a facility.

A commonly used incentive for companies expanding or relocating in Virginia is the Governor's Opportunity Fund, which provides money to local communities to help defray the cost of business expansion-related infrastructure improvements.

Examples abound.

The city of Hampton received a $200,000 Governor's Opportunity Fund grant as part of the incentive package that brought Bell Atlantic Plus to Virginia.

Bell Atlantic Plus Inc., a subsidiary of Bell Atlantic Corp., will open a new $26 million call center in Hampton to provide innovative telemarketing services to its mid-Atlantic customers. The company will hire 700 new employees by April 1998, and will potentially hire an additional 200 by the end of next year.

"During our search for a site, we kept coming back to Virginia, and specifically to Hampton," said Frank Bennett, Bell Atlantic vice president for call center development. "Virginia offers a diverse and highly educated work force and a favorable economic environment."

The 125,000 square foot "megacenter" is the first of its kind for Bell Atlantic, and will allow the company to market its multiple telecommunications services under one roof, providing customers with convenient access to today's innovative telecommunications services.

When the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies decided this summer to build a $10 million service center in Chesapeake, the city received a $300,000 Governor's Opportunity Fund grant to assist with site development.

Chubb will construct a 65,000 square foot, state-of-the-art building in Chesapeake's Battlefield Corporate Center to house the Rapid Response Unit, which will handle claims east of the Mississippi River and will serve as a training center for future employees. The new facility will open in 1998 and will employ more than 250 people.

The company selected Virginia because of its capable work force, quality of life and central location on the Eastern seaboard.

"Chubb is confident that the high quality of Virginia's employees will allow us to maintain the standard of excellence our customers expect from our claim service," said Doris Johnson, managing director and senior vice president of Chubb & Son Inc.

Jones Apparel Group Inc. has decided to locate a new $20 million distribution center in South Hill in Mecklenburg County.

The 500,000 square foot facility, which represents the company's first investment in Virginia, will create 175 new jobs over the next two years.

South Hill received a $75,000 grant from the Governor's Opportunity Fund to assist with the project.

Based in Bristol, Penn., Jones Apparel manufactures women's clothing and distributes its products to major department stores across the United States. Prospective employees include those with warehousing and material handling experience. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide work force training services.

"We felt very comfortable with the people of South Hill and Mecklenburg County," said Doug Means, director of distribution for Jones Apparel. "Virginia's quality work force and its proximity to our vast customer base will greatly contribute to our distribution success."

Jones Apparel plans to begin operations by next April.

This July, Toray Plastics' recently opened its $50 million new foam extrusion plant in Warren County. The facility, which will employ approximately 115 people, will manufacture polyolefin foam used for interior automobile parts such as dashboards.

Two years ago, Warren County received a $500,000 check from the Governor's Opportunity Fund for site development of the Toray facility.

Toray Plastics, headquartered in Rhode Island, is an American subsidiary of Tokyo's Toray Industries Inc., Japan's largest manufacturer of synthetic fibers, high-performance films, engineering plastics and carbon fibers.

"We at Toray have been impressed with the business-friendly atmosphere that is promoted by this state, county and town," said Takuya Takayama, executive vice president of Toray Industries, Inc.

Toray Plastics joins 73 other Japanese companies in Virginia, which have invested a total of $3 billion and created approximately 10,600 jobs.

Foreign investment streams in

Japan isn't the only foreign country to expand its operations into Virginia. In fact, the state has an aggressive program for recruiting foreign businesses.

BluePrint Automation Group, a Dutch case packaging company, will invest $3 million to establish a manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County, near Richmond. The facility, which will create 20 new jobs, will be located in the Appomattox Industrial Park in a Chesterfield County Enterprise Zone.

BluePrint Automation Group was established in 1980 as a one-man operation in Holland to manufacture automatic case packaging machines for consumer goods such as snack foods. In 1987, the company leased space to establish a manufacturing subsidiary in Henrico County. This facility, which employs 59 workers, will be relocated to the new Chesterfield location to accommodate BluePrint's expansion.

"The new facility in Chesterfield County not only reinforces our plans to remain the world leader in our industry, but also signifies BluePrint Automation's strong commitment to our existing customers in the United States," said Martin Prakken, president of BluePrint Automation.

BluePrint Automation joins 24 other Dutch affiliated firms located in Virginia, which have created a total of 1,530 jobs and invested over $206 million in the Commonwealth.

Another Dutch company, Maersk Line Limited, will relocate its corporate headquarters to Norfolk.

Maersk, an international containerized transport company, will inaugurate a new service with the Port of Virginia, accepting vessels from the company as they travel from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mediterranean Sea. The agreement will increase tonnage through the Port approximately 135,000 tons annually, creating 73 new jobs.

German investment in Virginia totaled $2 billion, representing 121 enterprises and 10,025 jobs. Germany claimed 22 percent of Virginia's $8.7 billion total foreign investments.

Bernstein US, a subsidiary of Hans Bernstein GmbH and Co., will construct an $2 million electronics manufacturing facility in the Appomattox Industrial Park in the Greater Richmond Area.

The project will occur in two phases. During Phase I, Bernstein US plans to purchase 10 acres in the Greater Richmond Area and construct a 7,000 square foot facility, creating 25 initial jobs. Phase II, scheduled to occur in five years, will include an expansion to 20,000 square feet, tripling the number of employees to 75, and achieving expected annual sales of $35 million.

Hans Bernstein GmbH and Co. was established in 1947 to manufacture electronic components, including enclosures, switches and sensors. The company currently employs 500 people with sales of approximately $60 million worldwide.

Key factors in making the decision for the company were Virginia's Right-to-Work law, the excellent port facilities and transportation infrastructure, reasonable tax structure, a strong work ethic, and outstanding site selection support from local development officials.

Long-Airdox Co., a multinational manufacturer of coal mining equipment, will relocate its international corporate headquarters to the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg.

"We are excited about our move to Virginia," said Ian Menzies, president of Long-Airdox. "All of our engineering and manufacturing resources will now be in one location. At the Corporate Research Center at Virginia Tech we will have access to other research companies located in the park and access to qualified engineers graduating from the school. This move allows us to improve our operating efficiencies and consolidate and grow our engineering talent."

Ontario Store Fixtures (OSF, Inc.), the largest integrated store fixture manufacturer in North America, is locating a new million dollar facility in Blackstone in Nottoway County. The company will create 250 to 300 new jobs over the next three years with an initial investment of more than $5 million, while positioning itself for expansion in the future.

Based in Weston, Ontario, Canada, OSF will occupy an existing 104,000 square foot building in Blackstone and will begin operations this fall. OSF counts among its customers such companies as The Limited, Levis, Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica. The company plans to hire production workers, supervisors and managers.

"With the growth in demand for our products in the U.S. and the world, it was inevitable that we had to expand our facility in the United States," said Harry Shier, president and chief executive officer of Ontario Store Fixtures. "We feel that Virginia combined with Nottoway County and the Town of Blackstone offer a great deal to OSF and we look forward to continued expansion."

Ringing up the numbers

Virginia has experienced major growth in telecommunications. Since 1994, 24 call centers have located in the state, employing over 9,300 with investments totaling $171.4 million.

Among the most recent is Boise Cascade Office Products' new call center in Bristol, in the southwestern part of the state. The facility will be located in an existing 80,000 square foot shell building and will create 550 new jobs.

Boise's new call center will enable the company to meet growing nationwide demand by receiving and processing customer orders and relaying them to distribution centers across the country. The company also operates a regional distribution center in Chesapeake, in the southeastern part of the state, and maintains sales offices in Alexandria, Salem and Henrico County.

Nexus Communications will locate a new $4.3 million call center in Dickenson County's Happy Valley Industrial Park. Approximately 130 employees will be hired initially, followed by as many as 550 over the next three years.

"We felt very welcomed by the people of Southwest Virginia," said Tony Martin, president and chief executive officer of Nexus Communications. "The work force is not only abundant; the people are also very skilled and loyal. We anticipate great success as Virginia's newest communications company."

Both communities received a $350,000 Opportunity Fund grant to assist with site preparation. In addition, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide work force training services.

Andersen Consulting brings 1,700 Jobs, to Fairfax County

Andersen Consulting L.L.P. is relocating its Southeast regional headquarters to Reston, Va. The move will result in a multimillion dollar investment, creating approximately 300 new jobs by 1999, while transferring 1,700 jobs from the firm's Washington, D.C. office.

Headquartered in Chicago, Andersen Consulting is the world's largest management and technology consulting company.

"The Andersen Consulting office will be one of the consulting firm's 'Offices of the Future'," said Gary Close, managing partner of Andersen's East Coast regional headquarters. "Our office of the future will contribute to the Fairfax County economy not only in a traditional way, but as a model for all companies looking for innovative ways to encourage productivity and improved client service. Reston offered us the type of business environment we were seeking."

In 1994, Virginia enacted the Major Business Facilities Tax Credit program, which will potentially benefit Andersen Consulting by approximately $1.8 million. Additionally, the state will provide approximately $1 million in work force training services.

-- Bill King