By Chas Chappell
Modine Manufacturing Co. is adding 211 jobs as part of an $18 million investment in its operations in Rockbridge County.
Plant Manager Thomas Johnson said the factory on Collierstown Road is adding on to the facility to accommodate an increase in cooling units that the Wisconsin-based company manufactures for data centers in Virginia that store and process internet traffic and cloud-storage.
“Every piece of data – every song you stream, TV show you watch, phone call you make – it all needs to be cooled,” he said. “And that comes from us.”
Virginia, especially the northern part of the state, has the largest concentration of data centers in the world, according to the Loudon County Department of Economic Development.
Johnson said the company will add 40 to 100 jobs by the end of August. The rest of the permanent positions will be filled over the next three to five years.
The company will hire assembly line workers, engineers, human resources professionals, technicians and sales representatives, he said.
“We offer great wages and benefit packages,” Johnson said. “There’s a great working culture here, and a lot of stability.”
The average salary for the new jobs is $47,960, said Brandy Flint, Rockbridge County’s director of economic development.
Flint said the county will benefit from Modine’s newest investment.
“We’re going to see plenty of tax revenue but also lots of trickle down as people earn and spend on business throughout the county,” she said.
Other additions
Johnson said the plant also will be updated. He said construction is underway on two new storage facilities that will be used for completed cooling units and a concrete pad where trucks can pick them up.
Flint said she had to convince Modine to choose its Rockbridge County plant for expansion.
“We found ourselves vying against another state,” she said, which she refused to identify.
Flint said the county brought in the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, which provides training for unemployed workers and help with recruitment for companies. The program is steering potential employees to Modine, she said.
Johnson said the company also would like to create internships in departments throughout the company. He said several Washington and Lee University students work as engineering interns. He said he’s also reached out to the Virginia Military Institute about potential internships.
“We’d love to show students who come to learn in the Rockbridge County that there are good jobs for those who choose to stay,” he said.