Leaders with Microporous — the company bringing 2,000 jobs to Pittsylvania County — visited the region a lot over the last year or so.
They were eating at the local restaurants. They were staying at local hotels.
They weren’t just interacting with the top-level leaders courting them to bring a $1.35 billion investment to the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill.
They were talking to regular folks.
The average residents — whether they knew it or not — became ambassadors of sorts.
“Everybody in the community really sold the community and represented the community well,” Matt Rowe, the director of economic development for Pittsylvania County, said at a Regional Industrial Facility Authority meeting about two hours after the landmark announcement was made on a project poised to transform Southern Virginia.
In addition to that, there was another aspect that lured the company that produces components for lithium-ion batteries.
“The real reason why this company is coming to our community is due to the fact that we were by far the most responsive,” Rowe said.
That meant people like Corrie Teague Bobe, the economic development and tourism director in Danville, and Linda Green, the executive director for the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, would answer emails and questions at all hours of the night.
“As we all know, economic development is truly a team sport,” Rowe said, thanking the citizenry for showcasing the community.
RIFA — the short name for the joint board between Danville and Pittsylvania County that owns the megasite — approved the performance agreement on Wednesday afternoon for Microporous.
“This is an extremely complex document,” Rowe said of the 30 pages of legal terms that outline the agreement.
The project will come in phases with the first bringing a 500,000-square-foot building to one lot expected to be in operation by 2026. A second phase would add a similar building.
In the end, it aims to create up 2,105 new jobs. The average pay would be $58,000 a year.
There’s a $1,000 per-job enterprise zone tax payment that will be made after the performance.
“So again, there’s no money up front,” Rowe said.
The details flowed after a morning of celebration for the largest economic development announcement in the history of Southern Virginia.
It all happened under a giant white tent on the expansive 3,500-acre megasite at Berry Hill, which is touted as being the largest on the East Coast.
The tone was set when Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin stepped up to the stage and joked that he wasn’t yet ready to speak.
“But I have to say, what a day,” he said, and then repeated it. “What a day.”
That’s when the first wave of cheers erupted.
“What a day to be in Pittsylvania County,” Darrell Dalton, the chair of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, said to kick off the ceremony. “Despite the naysayers, I’m positive the citizens and the entire region are eager to learn more about the new corporate neighbor.”
Those naysayers have complained of the more than $200 million pumped into the land that at one time was nothing more than a blanket of trees. Near-misses over the years — basically the site coming in second place for major development — deepened the sentiment for some that it was nothing more than a pipe dream to think the rural area of Southside could land a corporate entity with enough jobs to make a transformational impact.
Now it has.
This time, the region edged out North Carolina for this project.
“And this is just the first domino to fall and what will be a renaissance for our region, positioning us to become the commonwealth’s hub for advanced manufacturing,” Del. Eric Phillips, R-Henry, said Wednesday. “Together we are building a bright future for Southern Virginia.”
Phillips met with the leaders of Microporous and said he’s “confident in their commitment to becoming responsible, engaged members of our community.”
For Dalton, it all comes down to giving an option for young people to stay in the area and raise a family instead of jumping ship and looking for high-paying jobs elsewhere.
“It’s a testament to how two localities work together and pulled themselves out of an economic hardship to where they are generating optimism for the future,” he said.
This comes after the demise of tobacco, a cash crop for Pittsylvania County, and the loss of textiles, namely Dan River Inc. that employed up to 12,000 people at one time.
“We were once known as the world’s largest tobacco market and home of Dan River Fabrics,” Vic Ingram, the chair of RIFA and county supervisor for the Tunstall District, said. “Many of us vividly remember those tobacco fields and that old cotton mill, but moving forward we will be known nationwide — if not worldwide — for advanced manufacturing in technology.
Oftentimes projects are given code names to hide the identity of the company. Microporous was called the Big Dipper.
“It makes one think about the stars in the heavens in which they can be found,” Ingram said. “I think it would be very appropriate to say that many of us have dreamed upon a star while others have reached one.”
“It’s a testament to how two localities work together and pulled themselves out of an economic hardship to where they are generating optimism for the future,” he said.
The Berry Hill area has a few local legends — Gravity Hill and Satan’s Bridge — Ingram explained, noting that it would likely cause a rush to Google to search.
Ingram also thanked two people honored Tuesday — Coy Harville and Sherman Saunders — known as the pioneers and visionaries of the megasite the days before anyone else would ever thought of a thing.
“These are the two men who had that dream and who worked tirelessly to pave the way for this mega park,” he said.
Back when that vision was brewing in 2008, the Virginia Tobacco Commission first invested what would become $60 million in the site.
“I love it when a plan comes together, even though it took a decade for that plan,” Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, said speaking on behalf of the tobacco commission.
He likened the long-haul project to that of planning an apple orchard. First the seeds go in the ground. Then it needs to be watered and federalized.
The apples don’t appear until years after the trees grow.
“We are now going to get apples off the apple tree,” he said.
When Youngkin announced the investment and jobs, he had to repeat it to be sure no one thought it was a misstep.
Again, a loud roar and standing ovation commenced.
“I see so many friends who have worked so hard for so long,” he said, pointing to a group of economic development officials standing along the sidelines.
“I want each and every one of you to be wailing up with an appropriate sense of pride and accomplishment because all of you have worked incredibly hard,” he said. “Thank you all for understanding that our best days are in front of us, not behind us.”
He said the Dan River Region never lost faith and pulled together to make the Berry Hill dream come true.
“This is an American company using American technology that will hire American workers and supply American companies,” Youngkin said, with his voice growing louder.
“This is big,” he said of Wednesday’s announcement, however he eluded to others on the horizon.
In fact, the site Microporous will establish will only take up a little more than 200 acres, leaving other large pads available.
Microporous manufactures what’s known as battery separator technology, something that’s basically a high-tech piece of plastic, as Rowe described it.
That product separates the positive and negative charges of a battery, in this case the kinds that are used on electric vehicles.
“They have the most unique battery separator technology in the world,” Youngkin explained. “And that is in high demand.”
After calling the project a win for Berry Hill, Pittsylvania County, Danville and Southern Virginia, he presented Microporous CEO John Reeves with a flag.
“These separators play a critical role in lithium-ion batteries, enabling safety and efficiency in energy storage for everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy storage systems,” Reeves explained. “We’re not only investing in technology, we’re investing in people, and in this community.”
He called the more than 2,000 positions high-quality jobs that will have a direct impact on families and the local economy, noting it’s only the beginning of a powerful partnership.
“Our goal is to create a positive and lasting impact on the community,” Reeves said. “ As we break ground today, we’re not only laying a foundation for this facility, but we’re setting this stage for a new era of growth and opportunity. “
Read the original article here (Charles Wilborn, Register and Bee)