Machinery & Equipment Manufacturing
Metals & Related Manufacturing
Wood Products & Furniture Manufacturing
Major Industries
The Region is home to thriving and diverse industries. Finance, distribution and health care companies are some of the most prominent employers in the Region.
The Virginia Economic Devlopment Partnership and Virginia Community College System recently identified the following leaders in an analysis of industry and occupational clusters:
The Region has focused on six targeted industries for current and future growth: advanced materials; distribution and warehousing; finance and insurance; machinery and equipment manufacturing; metals and related manufacturing; wood products and furniture manufacturing. An overview of these industries and their top companies is listed below. For additional information, visit the Gateway Region’s targeted industry page. 
Advanced Materials
Virginia's Gateway Region is home to a strong chemical industry - supported by extensive infrastructure - that forms the basis of an impressive advanced materials cluster. The advanced materials and specialty chemical companies located in the Gateway Region are truly industry leaders in development, application and manufacturing. Industry giants DuPont Co., Goldschmidt Corp. and Honeywell International have long chosen to call the Gateway Region home. They are but three of the 60 plus advanced material firms with growing operations in the region.
Top Ten Companies:
E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Inc.
Allied Signal, Inc.
Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
Aqualon Company
Tindall Concrete Production, Inc.
Goldschmidt Chemical Corp.
Mechanicsville Concrete Inc.
Spec-Trim Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Sun Chemical Corp.
Eternal Technology Corp.
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Distribution & Warehousing
Expansion Management ranked the Richmond-Petersburg MSA as the best place for distribution in the state and the 8th best in the country. Served by impressive transportation access through such resources as our superhighway system and rail to port shipping lines, the Gateway Region is a natural location for successful warehouse and distribution operations. Internationally known corporations such as Ace Hardware, Food Lion and Wal-Mart stores all have established mid-Atlantic distribution centers here.
Top Ten Companies:
United Parcel Service, Inc.
Wal-Mart Associates, Inc.
Food Lion, LLC
Standard Motor Products, Inc.
Grayson Mitchell, Inc.
DSC Logistics, Inc.
Abilene Motor Express, Inc.
R & L Carriers Shared Services, LLC
American Freightways, Inc.
Genuine Parts Company
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Finance & Insurance
With 500 firms, the finance and insurance industry is one of the largest in Virginia's Gateway Region. Regional projections show high growth across the industry and especially in credit intermediation; securities and commodity contracts/exchanges; other financial investment activities; insurance and employee benefit funds; other investment pools and funds; and lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets. The region's labor force draw, proximity to the Richmond Federal Reserve, strong infrastructure and excellent quality of life are just part of why established firms, young guns and industry mavericks choose to locate in Virginia's Gateway Region.
Top Ten Companies:
Capital One Service, Inc.
Land America Financial Group
Travelers Indemnity Co.
Advance America Cash Advance Centers, Inc.
Branch Banking & Trust Co.
Wachovia Bank
Trailblazer Health Enterprises, LLC
Sentry Insurance a Mutual Company
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Connecticut General Life Insurance Company
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Machinery & Equipment Manufacturing
Virginia's Gateway Region has a strong manufacturing heritage. The region's expansive infrastructure, ethical workforce and low tax-rates are just a few of the many reasons why more than 50 machinery and equipment manufacturing companies chose to operate in the Gateway Region. Companies operating in the region, such as Hill Phoenix and BRENCO, are some of the machinery and equipment manufacturing industry's most innovative leaders, raising the bar with their high quality control standards and efficient operations.
Top Companies:
Hill PHOENIX, Inc.
BRENCO, Inc.
Beach Mold & Tool of Virginia, Inc.
GD Package Machinery, Inc.
Blueprint Automation, Inc.
Tubular Fabricators Industry, Inc.
Geith, Inc.
KC Automation, Inc.
Anderson Machine Manufacturing Company, Inc.
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Metals & Related Manufacturing
Numerous metal-related companies have expanded recently in the region and are supported by an extensive metal-working infrastructure. Long-standing resident companies, such as Alstom Power, Inc., and Capital City Iron Works, Inc., as well as newer corporate citizens such as Chaparral Steel and Service Center Metals, provide testimony to the viability of metal-related companies in the area.Top Ten Companies:
Chaparral Virginia, Inc.
Stamp Tech, Inc.
Emporia Foundry Incorporated
Manchester Tank & Equipment, Inc.
Hoover & Strong, Inc
Metl-Span I, LTD
Watson Metal Products, Inc.
Short Run Stamping of Virginia, Inc.
Adamson Global Technology Corporation
SteelFab of Virginia, Inc.
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Wood Products & Furniture Manufacturing
For wood products and furniture manufacturing companies, operations in Virginia's Gateway Region just make sense. The region provides unbeatable access to people, places and resources with an expansive transportation infrastructure, a manufacturing friendly environment and much more. The industry cluster is currently led by sawmills and wood preservation industries; veneer, plywood, and engineered wood product manufacturing; other wood product manufacturing industries; and household / institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing industries. Industry giants, such as Georgia Pacific, and home grown forces, such as the Builder's Supply Company of Petersburg, all serve as testaments to the position and promise of the wood products and furniture manufacturing industry in Virginia's Gateway Region.
Top Ten Companies:
Georgia Pacific Corp.
Builder's Supply Company of Petersburg, Inc.
Grind-All LLCC?Seward Lumber Company, Inc.
Charles A. Shaylor
Bernhardt & Taylor, Inc.
Conner Industries, Inc.
EH Lail Millwork, Inc.
JE Moore Lumber Company, Inc.
Hopewell Hardwood Sales, Inc.
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