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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Sweden-Based Drake Extrusion Expands Henry County, Virginia, Manufacturing Campus

04/07/2016
Specialty yarn producer Drake Extrusion, Inc., a subsidiary of Sweden-based International Fibres Group, will invest $6 million to expand its manufacturing operation in Henry County, Virginia. The company plans to hire 30 additional associates. The company is a leading manufacturer of colored staple and filament polypropylene fiber.

Since 1996, Drake Extrusion has become the leading U.S. manufacturer of polypropylene fiber and yarns. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden parent company IFG is a worldwide producer of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyamide fiber and filament yarn with additional offices in the UK, Austria, Belgium as well as Virginia. Drake’s products serve a variety of sectors, including residential upholstery, home furnishings, automotive, floor covering and geotextiles.

“Drake Extrusion chose to locate in Martinsville-Henry County 21 years ago,” said John Parkinson, Drake Extrusion CEO. “At that time we believed that both the state and the locality had a proactive approach to business, which proved to be absolutely correct. As a result, Drake Extrusion has continued to make several additional investments in M-HC, which is now the only locality in which our parent company does business in the U.S.”

As an incentive, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation to secure the project for Virginia. The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission approved $100,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds.

The company is also eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Drake will also be eligible to receive sales and use tax exemptions on manufacturing equipment. Funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

Governor Terry McAuliffe said, “The trend of expanding manufacturing operations across the Commonwealth is the strongest testament to Virginia’s outstanding infrastructure and business resources. Drake Extrusion has been a paramount corporate citizen in Henry County for the past 20 years, and I am thrilled that the company continues to invest in the Commonwealth. Advanced manufacturing growth is a key component of our ongoing success in building a new Virginia economy.”

Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones commented, “The company has benefited from the outstanding talent, infrastructure and quality of life in the region for over two decades, and this growth is a testament to the great work of the company and the great assets we have in Virginia.”

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