Liebherr to Invest $45 Million to Expand Footprint in Virginia
By Tara Bozick
March 23, 2018 - Liebherr-International AG plans to invest $45 million to grow its facilities in Newport News, Virginia at Copeland Industrial Park to more than 800,000 square feet with the addition of another headquarters and additional manufacturing, the company said Thursday.
Liebherr's facility at 4100 Chestnut Ave. in Copeland Industrial Park in Newport News is slated for another expansion. The rendering shows the new headquarters planned for Liebherr USA Co.
Photo courtesy by Liebherr
“Liebherr’s $45 million expansion is especially important as we work to diversify the local economy and grow the advanced manufacturing industry in our city," Newport News Development Director Florence Kingston said.
The family-owned company said it’s planning to start construction in July on an additional 251,000 square feet on 28 acres. The expansion comes after Liebherr in 2016 integrated the U.S. sales and service activities of its eight divisions with the formation of a mixed sales company called Liebherr USA Co. based in Newport News.
The expansion includes a new 61,600-square-foot headquarters and administration building for Liebherr USA Co., a 75,472-square-foot production and workshop facility and a 114,400-square-foot warehouse and distribution building, Liebherr spokesperson Ana Cabiedes-Uranga said. Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2020.
Liebherr's facility at 4100 Chestnut Ave. in Copeland Industrial Park in Newport News is slated for another expansion.
Photo courtesy of Liebherr
Liebherr, which employs more than 400 local workers and has maintained a North American headquarters in the city for 48 years, plans to add another 25 jobs, according to city staff. Kingston said the expansion would contribute roughly more than a half million dollars annually in estimated tax revenue.
“This expansion underlines our commitment and further strengthens our position in North America to deliver sustainable long-term growth and to offer exceptional and consistent experience to customers across the United States,” Liebherr USA Co. managing director Torben Reher said.
In addition to design and engineering, Liebherr has been assembling 400-ton dump trucks for the mining industry worldwide at its existing 560,000-square-foot Liebherr Mining Equipment facilities at Chestnut Avenue between 48th Street and Interstate 664. The expansion will build out Liebherr’s campus on the company’s land to and past 48th Street and through to Aluminum Avenue.
Liebherr plans to add the manufacturing of concrete pumps and the ability to service and repair cranes and earthmoving equipment in the new facilities, Cabiedes-Uranga said.
On Tuesday, Newport News City Council is slated to take up vacating the portion of 48th Street that runs between Liebherr’s properties and conveying it to the company for the expansion. The assessed value of that part of 48th Street is $209,700, according to city staff.
Additionally on the agenda for City Council is the appropriation of $750,000 to the Economic Development Authority for roadway and sewer infrastructure improvements to aid in the expansion, which also would benefit the industrial park, Kingston said. The total value of proposed incentives, including the portion of 48th Street, is estimated at more than $950,000.
The EDA still would need to approve the incentives, in which Liebherr would be reimbursed by the EDA after completing the infrastructure work, said Sam Workman, assistant director of development.
Liebherr had announced in 2013 that it would invest $45 million and add 174 jobs to its workforce of more than 500 people. The company has invested $31 million since then, but didn’t add jobs as planned, Kingston said. A downturn globally in the coal industry led to a cyclical slowdown and the company ended up laying off workers more than four years ago.
The recent $45 million is in addition to the previous $31 million investment, Kingston said. In the previous expansion project, Liebherr was helped ultimately by $2.65 million in incentives for roadway infrastructure improvements that were needed because of the heavy loads of Liebherr’s truck traffic, Workman said.
The city contributed $1 million and obtained a $1 million grant through the state’s Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund for roadway improvements in addition to a $650,000 grant through the state’s Economic Development Access Program, Workman said. Liebherr did not end up using an awarded $500,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, but contributed $500,000 to surrounding infrastructure needs, he said.
"This $45 million investment indicates confidence in our city as a place to grow and be successful," Mayor McKinley Price said.
Holding company Liebherr-International AG is based in Switzerland. The company employs more than 42,000 people worldwide and operates 13 locations in the United States.
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