A Lynchburg-based manufacturer of electrical transformers and substations will invest $30.2 million to expand its headquarters, creating 149 new jobs, the governor’s office announced Wednesday.
Delta Star will add 80,000 square feet of manufacturing space and a 14,000-square-foot corporate building in Lynchburg, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a news release.
The expansion and new construction will occur over 12 to 18 months, with lead time to support weather delays and supply chain disruptions, Asa Keimig, Delta Star’s media and public relations manager, said in an email. The 149 new jobs will be a mix of manufacturing and office positions.
Virginia competed with California and Pennsylvania for the project, and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the city of Lynchburg and the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance to seal the deal. Youngkin approved an $850,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to help the city. Delta Star also is eligible for state enterprise zone benefits and job creation support.
Delta Star was founded in 1908 and established its Lynchburg presence in 1962, eventually moving its headquarters there. It employs 915 people, more than 460 of whom work at its Mayflower Drive site in Lynchburg.
“Delta Star has been a valuable and reliable employer in the City of Lynchburg for more than 60 years, and the company has grown to become the largest U.S.-owned medium transformer producer in the country,” Youngkin said in his news release. “Manufacturing is a major economic driver across the Commonwealth, and we are proud that this industry leader’s products are not only ‘Made in America’, they are also ‘Made in Virginia’. We congratulate Delta Star on decades of success in the Commonwealth.”
In October, Youngkin appeared at Delta Star to announce his “all-of-the-above” energy plan incorporating renewables, natural gas, new energy sources and nuclear power, including deploying a small modular nuclear reactor somewhere in Southwest Virginia within 10 years.
Delta Star CEO Jason Greene said in the governor’s news release Wednesday that Virginia “offers a unique set of advantages such as transportation access, business-friendly attitude at both state and local levels, along with exceptionally well-executed and supported workforce development and recruitment programs.”
“Lastly, the significant economic development and growth of the Lynchburg region through numerous programs, projects, and investments have made a lasting impact, one that Delta Star is committed to continually supporting in the cultivation of a thriving region and state,” Greene said.
Paul Denham, chairman of the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance’s board of directors and president of Lynchburg-based heating, electrical and plumbing company Southern Air Inc., said the alliance worked “tirelessly” with Delta Star, the state and the city to ensure the expansion happened in Lynchburg rather than elsewhere.
“Communities that succeed in growing and sustaining their economic base understand that economic growth takes collaboration and an investment of time and capital investment,” Denham said.