Danville will be home to the first U.S. location for WB Alloys, a U.K.-based wire alloy manufacturing company, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office announced Friday. The project represents a $6.6 million investment and is expected to create 30 jobs.
The facility in Danville will specialize in wire alloy production for the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense, which already have a presence in the city through the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program.
Danville and Pittsylvania County jointly own the Cyber Park, where the WB Alloys facility will be located. The two localities have been working together in recent years to bring economic growth and industry to the area.
WB Alloys manufactures alloy wire for welding, and it designs and produces weld monitoring systems and additive manufacturing equipment. It supplies Danville’s FasTech location, which is a 3D printing and CNC machining service also in the Cyber Park.
The partnership with FasTech was a major contributor to the decision to locate in Danville, WB Alloys spokesperson Richie Barker said in an email.
“Danville was an easy choice for us,” he said. “We’ve been conducting international business here for several years, and strategically, it aligns perfectly with our long-term goals.”
The company also plans to work closely with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and Phillips Corporation, an additive manufacturing and metal cutting solutions company, both of which are also located in the Cyber Park, Barker said.
“The local ecosystem just made sense,” he said. “With the U.S. Navy’s recent investment in the region and a rapidly growing customer base, the timing couldn’t be better.”
The company, founded in 1974, has seven locations in the U.K. and one in the Middle East. The Danville facility “marks a key milestone” in the company’s growth and strengthens its ability to support U.S. manufacturing, according to a news release.
Almost all of the new jobs will be filled by local residents, with the possibility of a few remote sales employees, Barker said. The company does not plan to relocate any European employees to Danville.
The average salary for these jobs is between $50,000 and $70,000.
The presence of WB Alloys, FasTech and the U.S. Navy in the Danville-Pittsylvania area is “positioning this region as a leader in precision manufacturing,” Linda Green, executive director of the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, said in the release.
“The area is rapidly building a robust supply chain and a skilled workforce, creating a strong economic future for your company to flourish in this emerging sector,” she said.
WB Alloys’ operations in Danville will begin in a 10,000-square-foot facility, and the company has plans to scale up to a 50,000-square-foot facility once it reaches full production capacity.
There’s no concrete timeline for the project yet, Barker said. The company would prefer to use an existing shell building, if one is available when the project starts, he said.
“The equipment can take up to two years to manufacture, but there’s a lot to do between now and then,” Barker said.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Industrial Facility Authority, the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance and both local governments to bring this project to Virginia, the release said.
“We are proud that WB Alloys has chosen Virginia for its first U.S. production facility,” said Youngkin in the release. “Their decision to establish operations here not only speaks to the strength of our workforce and business climate but also reflects Virginia’s growing leadership in advanced manufacturing.”
Youngkin approved an $80,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Danville and Pittsylvania in attracting this project.
“This project really shows what can happen when we all pull in the same direction,” said Lee Vogler, city councilman and RIFA chairman. “It’s another example of how our area is gaining a reputation for getting things done. Our comeback is just getting started. We’re building something special here, and this project is a big part of that momentum.”