A local IT firm has completed a $1.5 million expansion of its Midlothian headquarters, a move that is expected to bring 140 new jobs to the region, according to an announcement from Gov. Bob McDonnell’s office Tuesday.
Networking Technologies and Support Inc., headquartered on Justice Road, provides IT services to clients in 15 states and needs more space to accompany its growth.
The 140 jobs announced Tuesday are expected to be added over the next three years and would bring NTS’s told employee count to about 300. More than 100 of those new jobs will be local.
As part of the expansion, NTS purchased the building next door to its current headquarters, according founder and CEO Bernard Robinson. That new property, formerly occupied by a tile distributor, will give it an additional 10,000 square feet of space on top of the 13,000-square-foot building it has occupied since 2006.
Robinson started the company in 1997 and said it began to take off about seven years ago when it made the decision to go after government contracts in addition to private sector clients.
It also began to go after the health-care sector, a move that has paid off.
“Health care for us has grown exponentially,” said Robinson, 59. Some of its biggest clients include UVA Medical Systems, Bon Secours and VCU Health Systems.
The company generated about $16 million in revenue last year, Robinson said, with health care accounting for the largest percentage. He projects $20 million in revenue this year.
“But revenue is not the goal. Profitability is the goal,” Robinson said.
NTS is a very profitable company, Robinson said, and that gave him the confidence to take the $1.5 million leap to expand the company’s space and continue hiring.
Part of the problem was NTS increased its employee headcount by 90 percent last year.
“We had run out of space,” Robinson said.
The expansion took about 60 days and was finished last month, Robinson said.
NTS financed the expansion with an SBA loan after Robinson realized the cash involved with such a purchase.
“When you’re looking to acquire a building these days, banks are very stringent,” he said. “Most want 25 percent down. That’s a lot of money.”
The SBA loan allowed him to only have to put down 10 percent.
For its efforts to bring new jobs to the region, NTS also has the potential to receive more than $200,000 in state incentives, according to Suzanne West, a spokesperson with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.
NTS will receive up to $112,000 in funding for recruiting and training its hires from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, part of the Virginia Department of Business Assistance.
The company also qualifies for Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit from the Virginia Department of Taxation worth up to $90,000. NTS would have to meet a certain hiring threshold for that credit.
Robinson initiated contact with the state and local economic development officials to see whether there were any programs that NTS might qualify for.
“The company reached out to VEDP and just said ‘We’re potentially going to expand. Do you have any programs that can assist us?’” said West.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
A local IT firm has completed a $1.5 million expansion of its Midlothian headquarters, a move that is expected to bring 140 new jobs to the region, according to an announcement from Gov. Bob McDonnell’s office Tuesday.
Networking Technologies and Support Inc., headquartered on Justice Road, provides IT services to clients in 15 states and needs more space to accompany its growth.
The 140 jobs announced Tuesday are expected to be added over the next three years and would bring NTS’s told employee count to about 300. More than 100 of those new jobs will be local.
As part of the expansion, NTS purchased the building next door to its current headquarters, according founder and CEO Bernard Robinson. That new property, formerly occupied by a tile distributor, will give it an additional 10,000 square feet of space on top of the 13,000-square-foot building it has occupied since 2006.
Robinson started the company in 1997 and said it began to take off about seven years ago when it made the decision to go after government contracts in addition to private sector clients.
It also began to go after the health-care sector, a move that has paid off.
“Health care for us has grown exponentially,” said Robinson, 59. Some of its biggest clients include UVA Medical Systems, Bon Secours and VCU Health Systems.
The company generated about $16 million in revenue last year, Robinson said, with health care accounting for the largest percentage. He projects $20 million in revenue this year.
“But revenue is not the goal. Profitability is the goal,” Robinson said.
NTS is a very profitable company, Robinson said, and that gave him the confidence to take the $1.5 million leap to expand the company’s space and continue hiring.
Part of the problem was NTS increased its employee headcount by 90 percent last year.
“We had run out of space,” Robinson said.
The expansion took about 60 days and was finished last month, Robinson said.
NTS financed the expansion with an SBA loan after Robinson realized the cash involved with such a purchase.
“When you’re looking to acquire a building these days, banks are very stringent,” he said. “Most want 25 percent down. That’s a lot of money.”
The SBA loan allowed him to only have to put down 10 percent.
For its efforts to bring new jobs to the region, NTS also has the potential to receive more than $200,000 in state incentives, according to Suzanne West, a spokesperson with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.
NTS will receive up to $112,000 in funding for recruiting and training its hires from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, part of the Virginia Department of Business Assistance.
The company also qualifies for Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit from the Virginia Department of Taxation worth up to $90,000. NTS would have to meet a certain hiring threshold for that credit.
Robinson initiated contact with the state and local economic development officials to see whether there were any programs that NTS might qualify for.
“The company reached out to VEDP and just said ‘We’re potentially going to expand. Do you have any programs that can assist us?’” said West.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].