H&V To Make Historic Investment in Floyd:
Floyd County won the project over Georgia
January 3, 2023
Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that Hollingsworth & Vose (H&V), a global manufacturer of advanced materials used in filtration, battery, and industrial applications, will invest $40.2 million to expand its operation in Floyd County. The company will add over 28,000 square feet to its facility at 365 Christiansburg Pike Northeast to accommodate new production equipment to meet increased demand. Floyd County, Virginia successfully competed with Georgia for the project, which will create 25 new jobs. These jobs will average about $50,000/year in wages.
“We’ve been a part of the Floyd, Virginia community since 1976. This facility is essential to serving both our global and domestic customers,” said Josh Ayer, CEO of H&V.
“We are delighted to continue to support Hollingsworth & Vose’s growth in Floyd County. Their new investment is over three times bigger than the largest private investment in our county’s 191-year history,” said Joe Turman, Chairman of the Floyd County Board of Supervisors.
With incorporation dating back to 1892 and headquartered in East Walpole, Massachusetts, H&V’s advanced materials contribute to a cleaner world through products that provide clean air, clean liquids, and energy storage. The company has been family-owned for seven generations. In 1976, H&V established its first Virginia facility in Floyd County and employs over 200 workers.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Floyd County to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Youngkin approved a $558,700 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Floyd County with the project.
Floyd County is offering performance-based incentives to help win this project to Floyd (over Georgia), meaning the incentives will be given after the company has made the investments and created the new jobs. The incentives will rebate an amount equal to a portion of the new taxes paid on the new building and equipment for 5 years. The Economic Development Authority of Floyd County (EDA) is also offering some stormwater capacity to help support the H&V Plant 2 expansion. These local incentives also provide the required 1-to-1 match for the State incentives.
“We are thrilled about this historic investment by H&V in Floyd County. It showcases the many benefits of Floyd County including the access to local and regional talent such as graduates from the Floyd County Collaboration and Career Development Center, New River Community College, Virginia Tech and many others,” said Jon Beegle, chairman of the local EDA. “We look forward to continuing to work with H&V to grow in Floyd County.”
The EDA sold H&V the last graded site available in the Floyd Regional Commerce Center in December 2021. It was 3.8 acres and adjacent to Plant 2. The EDA and County are completing the grading of three smaller sites right now and will be bidding work to begin Phase 2 of the Floyd Regional Commerce Center this month.
“It’s so gratifying to see H&V recognizing the value of being in Floyd and continuing to expand,” shared Lydeana Martin, Floyd County Community and Economic Development Director. This project will provide important new tax revenue to our community, plus each new job means someone will have the opportunity to earn a living wage in Floyd County. Those may be young people getting started, or older people looking for new careers, or both.
Full Governor’s Press Release linked: https://yesfloydva.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Global-Advanced-Materials-Manufacturer-to-Expand-in-Virginia.pdf