RICHMOND - Governor Jim Gilmore today announced that the Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories will invest in its production facility in the Town of Altavista. A leading producer of nutritional products, the company will create 61 new jobs through a $29 million investment. Virginia successfully competed with other locations for the project.
“This company has achieved great success in rural Virginia over the years,” said Governor Gilmore. “It is gratifying to see Abbott make such a large investment in Altavista.”
Governor Gilmore approved a $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Emergency Opportunity Fund to assist the Town of Altavista with site preparation. The Governor also approved a $300,000 Virginia Investment Partnership grant, an award geared specifically to existing Virginia firms, to help close the deal. State Senator Charles Hawkins, Chair of the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, was helpful in securing this project for the Commonwealth by helping to obtain $200,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity funds to assist with the expansion in Altavista. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Region 2000, Campbell County and the Town of Altavista assisted the company with its decision. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide workforce training services.
“Altavista has been home to a Ross Products manufacturing facility since 1972,” said Dennis Janiak, Ross Altavista Plant Manager. “Our plant was selected for this investment because of the quality of our workforce, Virginia’s pro-business programs, and the progressive initiatives by the Commonwealth, Campbell County, and the Town of Altavista.”
Abbott Laboratories is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals, nutritionals, and medical products, including devices and diagnostics. The company employs approximately 70,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.
-more-
“The entire region will benefit from this investment while 61 more people will have the opportunity to work at Abbott,” said Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Joshua N. Lief. “We are pleased that the company has decided to reinvest in the Commonwealth.”