Reline America, Inc. will invest $4.9 million to build its manufacturing headquarters facility in Saltville, Va. The company, whose technology repairs utility pipes without excavation of the infrastructure, will create 25 new jobs for Smyth County.

Positions will include engineers and skilled manufacturing jobs, with an average annual salary of $38,000. Virginia successfully competed against Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee for the project.

Reline America, Inc. has a North American license to market and manufacture pipe liners, which have proven successful in Europe. The resin-impregnated material is inserted into deteriorated utility pipes and ultraviolet light equipment is used to cure the material inside the pipe.

The company plans to move into the Svedala Building on Battleground Avenue in Saltville with a start-up date of June 2006. Hiring will begin in the first quarter of 2006.

“We are very excited about locating our facility in Saltville, Virginia, and are grateful to the Governor for his support,” said Michael Burkhard, president of Reline America, Inc. “Our evaluation process was helped tremendously by the state of Virginia, Smyth County and the town of Saltville. Their efforts were above and beyond what we experienced in other locations, and we were made to feel very welcome.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the town of Saltville, Smyth County and Virginia’s aCorridor to prepare the state’s proposal and negotiate an incentive package to secure the project for Virginia.

The company will receive a $50,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Saltville with the project. The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission approved $50,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds for the project. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide training assistance through its Workforce Services Jobs Investment Program.

The company is also eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, because it is locating in a Virginia Enterprise Zone.