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Eastern'Uirginia k./
6' ~.-For the RecordJASE Group LLC, a Norfok-based
interactive advertising and marketing agency, isthe agency of record for Dragas Management
Corp., aVirginia Beach mortgage company.JASE will develop advertising campaigns in avariety of media across the Hampton Roads
region. (News release)
Kingsmill Resort, a business conference andrecreation destination in James City County,announced plans to hire 200 workersThe
positions will include full-time, part-time andseasonal employees. (Daily Press)
Muller Martini Manufacturing Corp., aNewport News-based manufacturer of bookbinding machinery closed its two production
plants, resulting in the loss of 160 jobs. Thecompany said it was unable to recover from
the recent recession. (Daily Press)
Norfolk gave the green light to the MidtownOffice Tower project after the developer.
Tivest Development, agreed to proceedwithout $490,000 in city tax incentivesThecity took the action after public criticism ofplans for placing the 165,OOO-square-foot,
$32.7 million office building in one of the city'spoorest neighborhoods. (The Virginian-Pilot)
Norfolk Southern Corp. has been namedto Corporate Responsibility magazine's 100
Best Corporate Citizens list for 20 I I. NorfolkSouthern ranked 79th on the magazine's 12thannual list This is the third time the Norfolk-
based railroad company has been on the list.(News release)
Northrop Grumman Corp. plans to spinoff its shipbuilding subsidiary Newport News-
based Huntington Ingalls IndustriesInc. The company will include a massive
shipbuilding facility in Newport News, theonly builder of Us. nuclear-powered aircraftcarriers and one of two builders ofVirginia-
class, nuclear-powered submarines. It alsoincludes Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.,
and a shipyard in Alabama scheduled to closein 20 I3.The spinoff must be approved by theUs. Securities and Exchange Commission.
(VirginiaBusiness.com)
Smithfield Foods closed a facility inSmithfield used in producing barbecued ribs,
stews and soups, eliminating 53 jobs.Theworkers will be eligible to apply for other
positions in the company. (The Associated Press)
Wilbanks, Smith & Thomas AssetManagement LLC, a Norfolk-based
investment advisory firm, acquired a minoritystake in Jolley Asset Management LLC ofRocky Mount, N.C., an advisory firm with
$140 million under management The moveallows Wilbanks, which has $2 billion in assets
under management, to increase its presence inNorth Carolina. (News release)
Recycled plastic used in Fort Eustis bridgesby Heather B. Hayes
Recycled plastic canbe used for an amaz-ingly wide variety of
purposes - but the supportstructure of a railroad bridge?Sounds incredible, but that'sexactly what Fort Eustis reliedon in replacing two GO-year-old wooden bridges. Thetrusses, piles, pile caps andrailroad ties are all made froma recycled structural com-posite of milk jugs, detergentbottles, old tires and plastic carbumpers.
The patented product,known as Recycled StructuralComposite, was created byAxion International in NewProvidence, N,J., and is dis-tributed by Innovative GreenSolutions, based in Great Falls.
Mike Halvorson isregional operations managerfor Reston-based CentennialContractors Enterprises Ine.,which built the new bridges.He was surprised when ArmyTransportation Corps offi-cials at Fort Eustis suggestedrecycled materials for thebridge projects. "We werelooking at a structure thatneeded to be able to support a130-ton locomotive going 35to 40 miles per hour, so, yes,I was absolutely skeptical," herecalls.
Thatappeared,Centennial
skepticism dis-however, whenengineers closely
examined the materials. Theyrealized that a bridge builtusing the hardened plasticcould not only be as strongas a conventional structure,but also offered a number ofother price and sustainabilitybenefits.
"When we cost-comparedit to treated wood, the recycledstructural composite materialactually came in at 10 percentless cost than our conven-tional methods," Halvorsonnotes. "It made the decision ano-brainer."
What's more, unliketreated lumber, the recycledmaterial requires little to nomaintenance to avoid dete-rioration caused by weatheror wood-boring beetles.
Photo courtesy Centennial Contractors Enterprises
Maintenance is a major factorin bridges over saltwater andcoastal marshes.
"We don't have to usecreosote or anything else totreat the structural elements,and wood bores don't likethe taste of plastic," Halvor-son explains. "So it's cheaperupfront and on an ongoingbasis."
Centennial officials notethat using recycled materialfor the Fort Eustis bridges kept334,000 pounds of materialout of landfills and 496 metrictons of greenhouse gases out ofthe atmosphere.
The company now isbuilding a plastic pedestrianbridge at Fort Lee outsidePetersburg. \B
PeopleGerald Baliles, awarded theEconomic Impact Award by theEconomics Club of Hampton Roads.Baliles is director of the Miller Center atthe University of Virginia and a fonmerVirginia governor. (News release)
William B. Downey, namedpresident of Riverside HealthSystem, Newport News.Downey. who has been COOsince 2003, will become CEO
at year's end. (News release)
Jeanne Evans-Cox, named executivedirector of the Central Business DistrictAssociation,Virginia Beach. She wasregional representative in HamptonRoads for Sen. Jim Webb. (TheVirginian-Pilot)
Margaret Edds, former politicalreporter and columnist forThe Virginian-Pilot: Gary T.
McCollum, senior vice presidentfor Cox Communications; and BillO'Donovan, publisher ofThe VirginiaGazette in Williamsburg, named to theVirginia Communications Hall of Fame.(Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Scott Tilley, named to the board ofdirectors for the Virginia ManufacturersAssociation.Tilley is general counsel anda member of the executive council ofStihllnc.,Virginia Beach. (News release)
16 APRIL 2011ON THEWEB: Complete list of For the Recordand People at www.VirginiaBusiness.com ~
