A new project aimed at increasing exports by local businesses in Richmond launched Thursday. The goal of the Metro Richmond Exports Initiative is to increase international trade activity by small and medium businesses in the area by 40 percent by 2020. The program will track its progress by monitoring the number of companies exporting for the first time and the number of existing exporters entering new foreign markets .
After nearly two years of work by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis, the Greater Richmond Partnership, Virginia’s Gateway Region, JPMorgan Chase and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and input from hundreds of businesses and local, state and regional officials, the long-awaited Metro Richmond Exports Initiative has been released.
Amazon recently announced significant milestones for its Career Choice program. The innovative program covers 95 percent of the cost of tuition for associates to remove the financial barrier associated with returning to school. In addition to partnering with local colleges and universities, Amazon also offers dedicated, on-site classrooms in their fulfillment centers to provide associates with convenient access to college-level coursework related to in-demand fields.
For the sixth time in seven years, Chesterfield ranked among the counties with the best technology practices nationwide, according to the annual Digital Counties survey by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties.
The vivid glitz and glamor of Hollywood had embraced Hopewell's historical Beacon Theatre. It was here that local citizens, city officials and several of the cast and crew viewed an exclusive screening of the crime drama “Imperium”, starring “Harry Potter” film series actor Daniel Radcliffe.
Niagara Bottling LLC, a family-owned and -operated bottled beverage supplier, will invest $95 million to establish a manufacturing and bottling operation at Meadowville Technology Park in Chesterfield County, adjacent to Amazon.com’s distribution center.
No-frills German grocery retailer Aldi is planning to establish a divisional headquarters and build a 500,000-square-foot distribution center in Dinwiddie County near one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers.
As Rolls-Royce North America continues to equip the latest expansion of its Prince George County plant with high-tech machinery, the company also is recruiting people into an apprenticeship program for manufacturing precision aircraft components.
The completion of the $5.4 billion, nine-year project to expand the Panama Canal opens up the trade route to the East Coast for ships from Asia, shortening the trip to the U.S. by five days. Updates included a third traffic lane through the canal, which doubled its capacity. Since its opening on June 26, 136 ships have made plans to travel through the renovated canal.
This year’s event, themed “Celebrating Southside Virginia’s Agricultural Diversity,” raised awareness of new agricultural tools and services with more than 150 exhibits at Double “B” Farms in Dinwiddie County, and brought a crowd of several hundred out to the event, among them Governor Terry Mcauliffe.