“Area Development,” a national economic development magazine focused on large site selection projects, has awarded Botetourt County a 2018 Silver Shovel award in recognition of recent economic development announcements.
Virginia, along with several other states, received the Silver Shovel award for the number of high value-added jobs per capita, the amounts of investment, the number of new facilities, and industry diversity. The 10 economic development announcements in Virginia during 2017 that earned the Commonwealth this recognition includes Altec Industries’ announcement in the fall that it is making a $30 million expansion and adding 180 new jobs at Botetourt Center at Greenfield.
“Receiving the national recognition of a Silver Shovel award from Area Development magazine is a demonstration that our focus on supporting Botetourt’s manufacturers is working,” said Director of Economic Development Ken McFadyen.
States and their localities were considered not only according to the number of job announcements during 2017 but also according to whether an announcement began to materialize during 2017. Altec initiated its 180-job expansion last year when it was announced.
“Of the more than 250 manufacturing and related projects in 2017, Altec’s announcement in Botetourt ranked in the top 10 of those projects,” said County Administrator Gary Larrowe. “The county’s partnerships with manufacturers like Altec is what has allowed us to achieve this Silver Shovel award.”
The Altec announcement followed several 2016 and 2017 location and expansion announcements, including Arkay Packaging, ELDOR, Ballast Point, the Virginia Community College System, Canatal Steel USA, and Harkness Screens, totaling 1,036 new jobs and capital investments of over $170 million.
“Economic development is alive and well in Botetourt,” said Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Jack Leffel. “For the past few years, the Board of Supervisors and senior county staff have remained dedicated to getting companies to locate and expand in Botetourt. We are excited that these efforts have not gone unnoticed.”
The largest economic development announcement in Virginia in 2017 was $1 billion investment that Facebook is making in Henrico County, which will create 100 jobs.
Next on the Virginia list is the $100 million Navy Federal Credit Union announcement in Frederick County that will create 1,400 jobs.
Nationally, according to “Area Development,” the largest project nationally in 2017 is the 13,000 promised jobs and $10 billion investment by the electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group that last summer announced plans to make LCD screens at a greenfield site in southeastern Wisconsin.
