Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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Thursday, October 11, 2007
By BULLETIN STAFF REPORTS -
Although Stanley Furniture’s announcement Wednesday that it will cut 250 jobs here is a serious loss, the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. (EDC) is doing everything in its power to bring jobs to the area, officials said.
“Your heart goes out to these people that are losing their jobs,” said Mark Heath, president and CEO of the EDC. “It’s sort of hollow to say we’re doing everything we can to bring new jobs, but we are.”
“It’s hard to be patient,” he added, “but that’s what it takes. We didn’t get here overnight, and we’re not going to turn this around overnight.”
A $2.7 million shell building recently dedicated at the Patriot Centre industrial park and Henry County’s acquisition of two properties for new industry put the area in the right position for growth, Heath said.
Those things have “opened up the door to a lot of new people looking at us and considering us,” he said. “How many of those will turn into real prospects, only time will tell.”
Heath declined to say whether the EDC has any “real prospects” now. However, he said officials are not waiting for jobs to come to them.
“We’re not just sitting here waiting for somebody to call us,” he said. “We’re aggressively going out” to try to recruit businesses.
EDC officials market the shell building and other assets through multiple sources, including state groups, national brokers and consultants, he said. Heath and others travel to seminars and other events where they tout the area’s buildings, labor force and more, he said.
Next month, a state “diversified services team” will visit the area, Heath said. It recruits for back office operations and encourages businesses in the Washington, D.C., area to locate elsewhere in Virginia.
“They’ll be here touring the Commonwealth Centre, the Athena building, Resurgence Properties (the former VF/Bassett-Walker property) ... really prime assets for those type jobs,” he said.
In addition to its efforts to recruit new employers, Heath said the EDC works hard to support existing industry and help area businesses grow. It is partnering with the West Piedmont Workforce Investment Board to do targeted training and recruitment efforts, such as those held previously for Knauss Snack Food, Smart Machine Technologies Inc. and upholstery employers.
In addition, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership “has a whole wood products recruitment effort. We’re going out trying to find (employers) who would need those similar skills” that Stanley’s employees possess, Heath said. “We’re trying to promote those skill sets to people in wood products” and similar businesses.
Some local companies — Heath named Masterbrand Cabinets — have jobs available for which laid off Stanley workers might be well suited, he said.
“The good news is there are some other wood products people in our area trying to fill jobs,” he said. As a result, “hopefully the net result won’t be” 250 people without jobs from Stanley’s layoff.
H.G. Vaughn, chairman of the Henry County Board of Supervisors, noted that Stanley Furniture is Henry County’s largest private employer.
“We have told the company that we are ready to help in any way we can,” he said following the company’s announcement Wednesday that it was cutting jobs and consolidating its Henry County plants’ production into the Stanleytown plant.
Stanley’s decision is one that “will affect all of us,” Vaughn said. However, “the deepest impact will be felt by those 250 people. ... I want them to know that Henry County and the Economic Development Corp. are going all out to bring in new job opportunities and to help our existing industries expand.”
Like Heath, Vaughn cited the new properties for industrial development being acquired by the county and the completion and marketing of the shell building as steps that will help attract companies.
“I know Benny (Summerlin, county administrator) and Mark (Heath) are aggressively working any leads we have as vigorously as possible,” Vaughn added.
He said he wishes there were more that could be done to attract jobs.
“If somebody has suggestions of things we can do better, I would love it if they would let me know about it. I have an open door for any suggestions,” he added.
Vaughn said he believes the EDC’s holistic approach to development, including doing things to improve the quality of life in the area, will pay off. He pointed to the Harvest Foundation’s investment in an arena in Martinsville and soccer complex in Henry County as well as rails-to-trails programs as things that are good for people here now but also can help attract businesses and industries to the area.
Martinsville City Manager Clarence Monday also said Stanley’s announcement is “bad news” for the area, “and I hate it for the people who work there.”
He agreed with Vaughn that the EDC “is putting forth a lot of effort” to get new companies to Martinsville and Henry County. “I know we all want to see jobs, and I think our efforts there were on the right road.”
Stanley’s announcement “doesn’t help” those efforts, Monday said, adding that “it is very unfortunate” for employees. |
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