Governor McDonnell Announces Major Manufacturing Investment in Culpeper County

RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE: TEL) will invest more than $15 million in the expansion of the company’s operations in the Town of Culpeper in Culpeper County. The plant designs and manufactures undersea fiber optic telecommunication cables, electro-optical-mechanical cables, and steel wire. The project is expected to create approximately 30 new jobs.

Speaking about today’s announcement, Governor McDonnell said, “TE Connectivity has been a strong employer in Culpeper since the 1930s, and this major investment and expansion exemplifies the success companies experience in the Commonwealth. This operation is significant, as it will be the only TE Connectivity manufacturing site to produce wire and cables for the marine industry, servicing domestic and international markets. Access to key clients, a trained and available workforce and the cost of doing business are key factors that gave Virginia the advantage. We look forward to TE’s success for the next 80 years.”

“TE Connectivity is a global company that does important work for a major industry to keep us connected,” said Jim Cheng, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade. “This tremendous investment to expand in Culpeper County and create new high-tech jobs enables the company to add capacity and build on its long-term success and growth in Virginia.”

TE Connectivity is a $13 billion world leader in connectivity. The company designs and manufactures products at the heart of electronic connections for the world's leading industries including automotive, energy and industrial, broadband communications, consumer devices, healthcare, and aerospace and defense. TE Connectivity's long-standing commitment to innovation and engineering excellence helps its customers solve the need for more energy efficiency, always-on communications and ever-increasing productivity. With nearly 90,000 employees in over 50 countries, TE Connectivity makes connections the world relies on to work flawlessly every day.

“TE is pleased to make this investment within our Culpeper manufacturing site, as the facility expansion and the newly created positions will play an important part in the growth of our business,” stated Kevin Rock, President - Aerospace, Defense and Marine, a Global Business Unit of TE Connectivity. “Virginia has always had a talented and skilled workforce, which has allowed us to hire highly capable people to support our technical business.” 

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Town of Culpeper, Culpeper County, and the Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development to secure the project for Virginia. Governor McDonnell approved a $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Culpeper County with the project. 

Town of Culpeper Mayor Chip Coleman stated, “The expansion and prospect of additional jobs is great news on so many fronts. It shows that our economy is slowly recovering and that a major corporation sees that we have a high quality workforce in a community with a quality of life that is attractive. We are indeed fortunate to have this major expansion and the new jobs it brings to our community. Economic development is the cornerstone of a prosperous community.”

Sue Hansohn, Chairperson of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors, said, “We are very excited about this news. TE has been a corporate partner with Culpeper for many years. We are also pleased because light manufacturing is one of our target industries and helping our existing businesses grow and expand is one of our major economic development strategies. Culpeper, Virginia was not the only location that the company was considering for this expansion. I would like to thank the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the County’s Department of Economic Development for the outstanding effort they put forth in helping TE Connectivity choose Culpeper, Virginia as the location for this important project.”