Window firm to bring 650 jobs to Prince George

PGT Innovations plans to begin producing two new products, based on some newly developed glass chemistry, in the former Rolls-Royce facility at the Crosspointe Logistics by early next year, company president and chief executive officer Jeff Jackson said.

The firm is already hiring – seeking glass-handlers, CNC machine tool operators, mechanics, welders and truck drivers among other trades – and plans to invest $54.3 million to equip and expand the old Rolls-Royce plant, he said.

“We’ve been accelerating … now Virginia is in overdrive,” Youngkin said, at a ceremony in Prince George announcing the PGT investment.

Later, he told reporters that Virginia’s focus on education and workforce training is what the advanced manufacturing firms the state targets are looking for.

While the sector ranges over a wide variety of operations – in Virginia’s case from pharmaceuticals to robotics to aerospace to shipbuilding – the common features are a reliance on sophisticated engineering and design and high-performance products, he said.

In PGT’s case, its Prince George plant will be its first to make two new products, both based on new chemistry that allows for thinner glass, Jackson said.

One product is for triple-pane glass that offers insulation to meet the latest Energy Star standards. Because it is thin, it allows triple pane windows to be fit in standard window and door frames, Jackson said.

The other thinner-glass product is meant to resist impact – PGT already has glass that can withstand hurricane force winds, but this new product is 40% lighter, he said. That means it is easier – and safer – for people to handle when installing it.

Virginia beat out Arizona in competing for the plant, and Jackson said the state’s business friendly environment and the site’s proximity to Interstate 95 were factors.

But a key edge for the state, he said, was its workforce.

“Outstanding talent – that in this area is off the chart,” he said.

The company is eligible to receive state benefits from the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit of $1,000 for each new, full-time job created, as well as benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a training and employee recruiting program of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Virginia Community College System, will help PGT as it staffs the plant.

PGT employs 5,500 people. It has five plants in Florida, two in California, one in Arizona and one in Utah. The company earned a profit of $98.9 million on sales of $1.49 billion last year.