DANVILLE, Va.—Virginia has lured two plastics businesses to Danville-area industrial parks this month: One company is crossing the pond to open its first U.S. plant; the other is relocating from Michigan.
Aylesford, England-based MEP Ltd. makes plastic and metal components for the defense and aerospace industries. The company, which will be known in the U.S. as Making Everything Possible L.L.C., plans to launch its North American presence by investing $6.4 million—twice the amount of its annual sales.
The new firm will create 45 jobs, officials said in a June 7 news release. The company does injection, compression and transfer molding as well as hand layup of composites and computer numerically controlled and manual machining. It also offers grinding, turning and milling services.
The plant will be located in the Danville-Pittsylvania County Cyber Park. Officials provided no information on how big the facility will be or when it will be ready, but until then, the company will work out of about 5,500 square feet of space in the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.
Phil Hart, CEO of MEP Ltd. and president of Making Everything Possible L.L.C., said in the release that the institute "is a very particular draw for us" because it encourages development of science, technology, engineering and math skills.
The MEP project is receiving funding from numerous sources. The commonwealth's Opportunity Fund will provide a $135,000 grant to assist Danville and Pittsylvania County. The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission approved $270,000, the Virginia Jobs Investment Program will provide funding and services to support job creation, and the company is eligible to receive benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program.
