The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) looks back on 2013 as a year of positive change with exciting new projects. The IDA looks forward to 2014 as a year of opportunity. "Our Brighter, Bolder, Business tagline is not just some clever little bit of alliteration," says Matt Leonard,the IDA's Executive Director. "It is how we operate now." Leonard explains that the IDA has restructured its operations, reworked its staff, deployed new and targeted marketing initiatives and reinvigorated its relationships with its critical mission partners. These are natural extensions of Halifax's long history of working to set itself apart from and above other communities when it comes to business and industry. What we have done in 2013 bodes well for 2014.

As the County looks back over 2013 it can be proud of its resilience through these difficult economic times. Halifax continues to retain many of our strongest and longest lasting employers, while new ones emerge. These include ABB, Presto, Aquatic, Annin, CCI, TMI and Dollar General. New industries opened in 2013, including the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative's South Boston Energy biomass plant, a $150M capital investment with 26 new full time jobs, and positive economic ripples through our legacy wood products industry. Also, Halifax Regional Health System merged with Sentara, making its 1,300 employees part of a 24,000 member organization, and promising $115M in capital investments over the next ten years. "Their continued commitment to Halifax is a testament to our long-term viability," adds Leonard.

The Halifax IDA administers a state Enterprise Zone program that incentivizes current and prospect industries to create new jobs and add capital investments. "The IDA managed County awards of over $130,000 in EZ incentives in 2013," says Marissa Jackson, the IDA's Operations Manager. Marissa will take lead on the EZ program beginning in 2014. "We anticipate awards of nearly $140,000 in 2014," she says. "That means growth."

Critical economic development partners also saw growth in 2013. The Southern Virginia Higher Education Center used its workforce training capabilities to help many of Halifax's current industries improve their workforce and critical processes. SVHEC forged new or stronger partnerships with East Coast Polytechnic Institute, and the Virginia Manufacturers Association to expand their training and education offerings. Also, they received a donation of goods from Siemens valued at $98M that makes SVHEC's Innovation the premier location in the Commonwealth for training incumbent and new workers in the critical aspects of Advanced Machinery operations and maintenance. "Labor is one of the three critical location factors that industries consider when expanding in or to a new location," says Kristy Johnson, the IDA's Manager of Marketing and Business Development. "We can boast that we have robust and diverse workforce and training programs and assets equal to our robust and diverse manufacturing base. Both are very impressive to the prospects we bring to Halifax County."

Another critical location factor is Land. "Land," says Leonard "includes everything from where we are geographically to the sites and buildings we can offer, to the infrastructure that support these." The IDA has improved Halifax's position in this regard with the continued improvements to Riverstone Technology Park and Green View Advanced Manufacturing Center. "Along with the work done in 2013, the citizens of Halifax, our prospect industries and our mission partners will see more improvements and some exciting rebranding of these in early 2014," says Leonard. "We are also very excited about some of our key infrastructure," he adds.

Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation (MBC) positions us better than most other communities when it comes to high-speed connectivity. "Data drives our world,' says Leonard, "and it drives all good businesses operations and expansion decisions." Out of MBC's operational headquarters in the IDA's Riverstone Technology Park, MBC connects us at up to 400GBPS to the rest of the world. Data, and data infrastructure is just one valuable system in Halifax County. Water and Waste water are invaluable when it comes to supporting our current and prospect industries.

The Halifax County Service Authority is also an IDA mission critical partner. Leonard points out the continued consolidation of wastewater collection ending in the recently expanded Maple Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). "Our WWTP is the tail that wags the dog," says Leonard. "It is literally the tail of infrastructure, and without a properly sized and efficiently functioning WWTP we simply could not grow our existing industries or attract new ones. The HCSA's targeted and steady improvements keep pace with, and even anticipate our economic development needs." In fact one of the new technologies added to the WWTP project is the County's first reclaimed water system for reuse as process water for the new South Boston Energy Plant. "Not only is this a more efficient and ecologically sound use of our precious resources," says Leonard. "It also signifies to our current and incoming clients that Halifax has a forward lean in everything it does. When our prospect industries add this to their knowledge of our continually improving higher education and work force training center, and our sites and buildings improvements they see a holistic approach to community and economic expansion and growth."

The Riverstone Energy Center also adds to this view. Through it the Halifax IDA actualizes its Brighter Bolder Business initiative. "Industry leaders want to know that a community can support its growth or relocation no matter where they are in their business cycle," says Dr. Doug Corrigan, Riverstone Energy Center's Executive Director." At Riverstone, The IDA has leveraged millions of dollars in grant funds to build out, staff and expand programs and physical assets that can help businesses start-up, research and develop their new products, and improve and coat their new products. A new or existing company can virtually prototype their new product in a 3-D modeling and simulation environment, connect with potential research or equity partners through a Cisco 3000 telepresence system, and improve its products coatings application, products and workforce in the National Center for Coatings Application, Research and Education." Look for some rebranding of these assets as well in 2014, along with some new partnerships. "The agility and client focus these allow us are second to none."

That agility and focus are what sets Halifax County above other similarly situated communities. We offer our citizens and our corporate citizens a community of opportunity unlike any other. As we continue to pull forward together, we look also forward to continued strength and growth for everyone.