An announcement was made Monday that Paul’s Fan Company will be expanding its operations to the Constitutional Oaks Industrial Park in Lee County, bringing with it 15 new jobs. A $1.02 million loan for the project was approved last week by the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) board. On hand for the announcement, from left, were Greg Edwards, Lee County Economic Development Authority (EDA) chairman; Aaron Fee, Lee County director of community development; Todd Elswick, president of Paul’s Fan Company; Jonathan Belcher, VCEDA executive director/general counsel; Marketta Horton, VCEDA economic development specialist; and Joe Gillespie, Virginia Economic Development Authority project manager.
ROSE HILL, VA – NOVEMBER 25, 2019 — The industrial shell building at the Constitutional Oaks Industrial Park in Lee County, Va., will soon be home to an expansion being planned by Paul’s Fan Company, an existing Virginia business operating in Buchanan County, Va. Up to 15 full-time jobs will be created through the expansion to Lee County as the project matures. Paul’s Fan Company manufactures fans for both mining and non-mining industries.
The announcement was made Monday by the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) during a ribbon cutting event with Paul’s Fan Company and the Lee County Economic Development Authority (EDA) at the industrial park. It comes on the heels of an announcement Friday that Paul’s Fan Company will expand its operations in Buchanan County and relocate its existing business to the new Southern Gap Industrial Park shell building.
The company plans a new division in Lee County — Paul’s Automation and Controls — which will focus on programmable logic controllers, soft starts and other electrical and electronic gear to support the operation of fans. The Lee County site will also be utilized as a service and repair facility. Its proximity to existing Paul’s Fan Company customers located in Tennessee and Kentucky was one of the factors in the Lee County site being chosen.
An up to $1.025 million loan to Paul’s Fan Company was approved by the VCEDA board last Thursday when the board met in Lebanon. The company plans to invest at least $2.41 million in its private investment for site development, building improvements, utilities/roads and equipment.
“We are delighted to be here in Lee County today to announce a new business for Lee County and the new jobs it will bring to the Constitutional Oaks Industrial Park,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. “We are also happy to announce that as Paul’s Fan Company was looking at expanding, they were also considering a location in Tennessee but ultimately decided they would expand here in Virginia.”
The loan will be used to finance the purchase of the shell building and land from the Lee County EDA and to assist with the build-out and completion of the shell building, the purchase of equipment, machinery and tools and other related improvements.
The company plans three full-time jobs within the first year; 12 full-time jobs within five years; and 15 full-time jobs within 10 years.
VCEDA and the Lee County EDA have been working with Paul’s Fan Company on this expansion project for several months.
“We are all very pleased and excited to welcome Paul’s Fan Company into the Constitutional Oaks Industrial Park here in Lee County,” said Greg Edwards, chairman of the Lee County Economic Development Authority. “Paul’s Fan Company has a proven record of success in Southwest Virginia and we look forward to the job creation and continued success of the company.”
The Constitutional Oaks industrial shell building which the company will utilize is an approximately 60,000 square foot metal industrial building. The Lee County EDA will sell the building and approximately 16 acres of land to Paul’s Fan Company and the company will finish out and complete the building to meet its needs and specifications.
“We believe our expansion project to Lee County will help us to become more competitive in this geographical area and it will also serve as the hub for our new automation and controls division,” said Todd Elswick, president of Paul’s Fan Company. “We appreciate the assistance from VCEDA and the Lee County Economic Development Authority on this expansion project and we look forward to becoming a new business here in Lee County.”
He added that the Lee County operation will help support the expansion and jobs announced in Buchanan County by securing additional product sales for the manufacturing taking place there.
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.