RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Corning, Incorporated, a diversified technology company, plans to invest $12 million over the next three years to expand its Specialty Materials Division in Danville, creating 50 new jobs. The facility’s current Danville operations will expand with the addition of new product lines, the first of which is a polarized glass product used primarily in laser telecommunications.

RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Smorgon Steel Group Ltd. will invest about $25 million in Botetourt County to open its first North American facility for its new LiteSteel™ beam product. The company will create 55 new jobs. Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina for the project.

RICHMOND - The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) today announced the acceptance of five new companies into the Accessing International Markets (AIM) export development program. The program, launched by VEDP in December 2005, helps Virginia companies pursue international leads in a new market overseas and realize the benefits of exporting. Based on a competitive quarterly application process, 20 companies will be accepted into the AIM program each year.

RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Philip Morris USA will invest up to $100 million in its York County facility to support the company’s growth strategy. The company, which will initially create 75 new jobs, will occupy the former York Manufacturing Center, which closed in 2003. Operations are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2007, and additional new jobs are anticipated as the new facility ramps up production.

RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Merck & Co., Inc. will invest $57 million to expand the role its Elkton facility plays in producing GARDASIL®, Merck’s cervical cancer vaccine. The investment will include construction of a new building and the installation of equipment for the purification process—a key stage in manufacturing the product. Merck recently completed construction of a vaccine fermentation facility at Elkton, which will be used to support an earlier stage in the GARDASIL manufacturing process.

RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute, will establish its new Center for Advanced Drug Research in the Rockingham Center for Research and Technology in Rockingham County.

RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Federal-Mogul Corporation, a global automotive supplier, will place assets in value of $12.7 million and create up to 71 new jobs as it increases production at its facility in Montgomery County. Federal-Mogul’s Virginia facility produces high volume anti-friction engine and replacement bearings made from a unique bonding process of steel and aluminum. Governor Kaine met with Federal-Mogul officials at the company’s corporate headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, in February.

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that BT Conferencing Inc., a worldwide provider of audio, web and video conferencing, has invested $1 million to locate a new customer support facility in the City of Chesapeake. The project will create 150 new jobs. The Chesapeake facility is slated to open in early March.

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner tonight announced that Ten Oaks, LLC, a new hardwood products manufacturer, is investing more than $6 million to open in Patrick County. The project will create 150 new jobs in Southwest Virginia. Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina for the project. The Governor made the announcement during his annual State of the Commonwealth speech.

Mohawk Industries, Inc. to expand manufacturing operation, creating 15 new jobs 

RICHMOND - Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced that Mohawk Industries, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of residential and commercial flooring products, will invest $10 million to expand its Glasgow manufacturing operation in Rockbridge County with a new extrusion compounding line. Virginia successfully competed against Georgia and South Carolina for the project, which will create 15 new jobs.