COLLINSVILLE, VA – Eastman, a global specialty materials company, will invest more than $7.7 million to expand its manufacturing presence in Henry County, company and local officials announced today.
Eastman will add capacity at its Patriot Centre facilities and expand into a former furniture facility in the adjacent Bowles Industrial Park. This effort will allow the company to keep up with growing demand within its performance films, paint protection and window film products produced in Henry County and sold under Eastman’s portfolio of brands.
This expansion will create additional production space at the company’s current warehouse in the Patriot Centre, which supports an additional facility in the business park as well as the company’s production facility in Fieldale. The warehouse functions will move into the former Stanley Furniture facility in the Bowles park, which is adjacent to the Patriot Centre. Eastman will lease space in that building.
Eastman employs 776 people at its Henry County facilities. While this expansion will not immediately result in additional positions, company and local officials are confident that future job growth is possible.
“This expansion is just another example of Eastman’s commitment to growing with our customers around the world,” said Travis Smith, vice president and general manager of Eastman’s Performance Films business. “Our continued investments further solidify Eastman’s commitment to the window and paint protection films markets and to making our manufacturing site in Henry County a state-of-the-art facility that produces the world’s highest quality films products.”
Jim Adams, Chairman of the Henry County Board of Supervisors, announced the expansion at a news conference today and thanked the company on behalf of the citizens of Henry County and Martinsville.
“Eastman entered our community in 2013, and it has been an employer of choice ever since,” Adams said. “We are blessed to have Eastman here and we look forward to even more growth in the future.”
The Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation worked with Eastman and Henry County on this latest expansion.
“We are grateful for Eastman’s confidence in Martinsville-Henry County,” said Larry Ryder, Chairman of the EDC Board of Directors. “Eastman’s Performance Film division has been a great addition to our community and we are thankful for the company’s continued growth and investment here.”
Eastman is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, as well as local EZ benefits from Henry County.
Henry County also will contribute a $200,000 grant to Eastman to assist with site development. The grant money is being provided to Henry County by the Harvest Foundation as part of the Foundation’s recently announced incentive pool funding program.
“Opportunities like these are why the Foundation’s incentive pool program was created,” said Allyson Rothrock, president of The Harvest Foundation. “Martinsville-Henry County is fortunate to have a corporate partner that values our community’s assets and works hard to support them. We are excited to see what the future holds for Eastman and Martinsville-Henry County.”
With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction and consumables. Eastman focuses on creating consistent, superior value for all stakeholders.