Innovation

By Erin Burcham

Site readiness, market accessibility, workforce and talent needs, strategic incentives – all in the mix.

Erin Burcham is Executive Director for the Roanoke – Blacksburg Technology Council erin.burcham@rbtc.tech

The Roanoke-Blacksburg region has an impressive portfolio of companies. Many of which are revolutionizing their industries and leading the way for innovation globally from right in our back yard. A strong foundation made of multi-organizational collaborations to include higher education, economic development and public sector support is critical to attracting and keeping the region’s business economy here and competitive.

When Eldor Corporation, an Italian manufacturing company, began looking for a US location to produce and distribute components that are used in 300 million cars globally, the region did what it does well and came together.

Gary Larrowe, Botetourt County Administrator, recalls the search process from his office, which today overlooks Eldor’s US site in Botetourt Center at Greenfield. Larrowe spearheaded the effort of bringing multiple partners together to create an ‘impossible to turn down’ opportunity for the prospective company – a leader in automated manufacturing looking to bring jobs and heavily invest in the county long-term.

“Shortly after the 2016 announcement, Eldor evaluated the quality of the region's workforce development programs and the proximity of these programs to its new location at Greenfield,” stated Larrowe.

Botetourt County worked hand-in-hand with the Roanoke Regional Partnership, which played a significant role in initially attracting Eldor to Virginia. “The region's STEM assets including research and academic programs at Virginia Tech and the mechatronics program at Virginia Western Community College were key to attracting Eldor Corporation,” stated John Hull, Executive Director for the Partnership.

Eldor employs a specialized pool of technical talent to operate and run the highly advanced robotics line that automates much of its production. The company is developing cutting-edge technical solutions for producing and storing new energy and as a result, many of their employees must have highly technical experience. Virginia Western Community College saw this as an opportunity and created a mechatronics program in order to strengthen the qualified technical workforce for Eldor as well as the many manufacturing companies here and to come.

“We were excited at the prospect of Eldor coming to our region,” stated Dr. Amy White, Dean of STEM for Virginia Western. White added, “our Mechatronics program was

vital in their decision to come to Botetourt County, and we continue to look for ways to support them and their industry,” “In particular, Eldor's needs have been addressed by our community college’s programs in instrumentation, automation, IT, and mechatronics. There has also been interaction and a stronger relationship formed with the Botetourt Technical Education Center, which has a high school-level program in engineering and mechatronics," stated Larrowe.

Many companies like Eldor have a checklist of needs including site readiness, market accessibility, workforce and talent needs, strategic incentive programs and a location offering a great quality of life. These highly competitive opportunities take years and a skilled collaborative village to land. And do we have a great foundation of leaders collaborating and moving the region in an exciting direction!