Gov. Terry McAuliffe presents UniTao CEO Tao Ye with the Virginia flag in Petersburg on Thursday morning. Photos by Katie Demeria.
A Chinese pharmaceutical company has planted roots in Petersburg.
UniTao Pharmaceuticals recently purchased the Boehringer Ingelheim plant at 2820 Normandy Drive in Petersburg, where it will invest $22.5 million into the facility and add a projected 376 new jobs over three years.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced UniTao’s purchase at the Petersburg plant Thursday. Boehringer had previously slated the plant for closure, a move that would have eliminated 240 jobs.
“The area has been hit hard by economic losses, and bringing in new businesses is so important to growing and diversifying the Petersburg economy,” McAuliffe told the audience at the plant.
UniTao manufactures ingredients for drugs, dietary supplements and food additives. It is owned by Tenry, a Chinese firm with four other subsidiary operations. The Petersburg deal is Tenry’s first United States manufacturing project, McAuliffe said.
Virginia competed with California and China for the plant. McAuliffe recently traveled to Shanghai where he talked with UniTao about the deal.
“There was a lot of competition,” McAuliffe said. “But the city of Petersburg won that competition.”
From left: Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Tao Ye and Petersburg Mayor Brian Moore.
McAuliffe approved a $1 million grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, which Petersburg matched, to help move the project along. Suzanne Clark, a spokesperson with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), said those grants go to the city, then the city’s economic development authority, then finally to UniTao. VEDP helped work the deal.
Clark said the Opportunity Fund is a “deal-closing fund for competitive projects of this magnitude.”
The purchase, according to Clark, included only the plant’s assets. The 240 Boehringer Ingelheim employees who would have lost their jobs with the plant’s closure were not included in the deal and will have to apply for the new jobs if they want to stay with the facility.
“And of course those people who have experience here will be first in line,” said Christian Munson, director of PadillaCRT, which represents UniTao.
According to Munson, UniTao expects to hire about 30 employees at the facility in the first year, followed by 200 in the second year. Then, as production ramps up, the number will reach 376 employees by the end of the third year.
Manufacturing is expected to be up and running within two years, he said.
“It’s going to happen quickly,” Munson said.
UniTao CEO Tao Ye was present at the announcement Thursday, and in a speech that was later translated by Munson said, “Establishing operations in Petersburg opens an enormous business opportunity for us.”
Clark pointed out that a key aspect of the deal is UniTao’s ability to access international markets from Petersburg.
The Boehringer Ingelheim facility was built for pharmaceuticals and meets stringent United States, European Union and other industry regulations and standards.
Virginia will continue to assist UniTao as it sets up operations. The company will be eligible for a Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit, along with tax exemptions on manufacturing machinery. The Virginia Jobs Investment Program will also fund the new employees’ training.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe presents UniTao CEO Tao Ye with the Virginia flag in Petersburg on Thursday morning. Photos by Katie Demeria.
A Chinese pharmaceutical company has planted roots in Petersburg.
UniTao Pharmaceuticals recently purchased the Boehringer Ingelheim plant at 2820 Normandy Drive in Petersburg, where it will invest $22.5 million into the facility and add a projected 376 new jobs over three years.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced UniTao’s purchase at the Petersburg plant Thursday. Boehringer had previously slated the plant for closure, a move that would have eliminated 240 jobs.
“The area has been hit hard by economic losses, and bringing in new businesses is so important to growing and diversifying the Petersburg economy,” McAuliffe told the audience at the plant.
UniTao manufactures ingredients for drugs, dietary supplements and food additives. It is owned by Tenry, a Chinese firm with four other subsidiary operations. The Petersburg deal is Tenry’s first United States manufacturing project, McAuliffe said.
Virginia competed with California and China for the plant. McAuliffe recently traveled to Shanghai where he talked with UniTao about the deal.
“There was a lot of competition,” McAuliffe said. “But the city of Petersburg won that competition.”
From left: Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Tao Ye and Petersburg Mayor Brian Moore.
McAuliffe approved a $1 million grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, which Petersburg matched, to help move the project along. Suzanne Clark, a spokesperson with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), said those grants go to the city, then the city’s economic development authority, then finally to UniTao. VEDP helped work the deal.
Clark said the Opportunity Fund is a “deal-closing fund for competitive projects of this magnitude.”
The purchase, according to Clark, included only the plant’s assets. The 240 Boehringer Ingelheim employees who would have lost their jobs with the plant’s closure were not included in the deal and will have to apply for the new jobs if they want to stay with the facility.
“And of course those people who have experience here will be first in line,” said Christian Munson, director of PadillaCRT, which represents UniTao.
According to Munson, UniTao expects to hire about 30 employees at the facility in the first year, followed by 200 in the second year. Then, as production ramps up, the number will reach 376 employees by the end of the third year.
Manufacturing is expected to be up and running within two years, he said.
“It’s going to happen quickly,” Munson said.
UniTao CEO Tao Ye was present at the announcement Thursday, and in a speech that was later translated by Munson said, “Establishing operations in Petersburg opens an enormous business opportunity for us.”
Clark pointed out that a key aspect of the deal is UniTao’s ability to access international markets from Petersburg.
The Boehringer Ingelheim facility was built for pharmaceuticals and meets stringent United States, European Union and other industry regulations and standards.
Virginia will continue to assist UniTao as it sets up operations. The company will be eligible for a Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit, along with tax exemptions on manufacturing machinery. The Virginia Jobs Investment Program will also fund the new employees’ training.