A Botetourt County packaging company is expanding, bringing 50 new jobs to the Roanoke Valley.

Arkay Packaging Corp. will invest $11 million in new equipment at its plant in the EastPark Commerce Center, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Friday in announcing the plans.

About 200 people currently work at the Botetourt facility. Arkay produces glossy and colorful folding cartons for cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies. Its customers include Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson.

“Advanced manufacturing is an industry of the future, and growing this sector is vital to building a new Virginia economy,” McAuliffe said.

Over the next three years, Arkay will install a new printer, a gluer and other equipment in its 140,000-square-foot plant, moving supplies and other items to a nearby warehouse to make room for the expansion, CEO Mitchell Kaneff said.

Although some of the 50 jobs have been filled, company officials say they are still hiring. The Virginia Jobs Investment Program will provide funding and services to help train the new employees.

The family owned company is headquartered in Hauppauge, New York, on Long Island and was founded in 1922. Twenty years ago, it moved all of its manufacturing operations to Botetourt County.

The location allows Arkay to distribute its products throughout the East Coast and beyond. About 25 percent of the company’s business is international, Kaneff said.

“Botetourt has really become established as a global player, and for that we are grateful to companies like Arkay,” said Jack Leffel, chairman of the county’s board of supervisors.

Friday’s announcement marked the fourth expansion for Arkay since it established a printing and folding operation in 1996 at the EastPark industrial complex, in the southern part of the county near the Roanoke County line.

As part of an incentive package, the company will receive $800 per new job through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. There were no local incentives for the most recent expansion.

In the past, Arkay has met all of the obligations for investment and hiring that were tied to government incentives, county officials have said.

Arkay is just across the street from Capco Machinery Systems, which according to several employees closed its doors abruptly Dec. 31. About 40 employees were told they no longer had jobs at the plant, which manufactured industrial grinders.

At the time, Capco CEO Edward West did not return calls or respond to questions about the closing.

Several cars were in the plant’s parking lot Friday, and a man who answered the phone said West was in a meeting. He took a message for West, who did not call back.

Arkay’s expansion comes as other Botetourt companies also have announced plans for growth.

Dynax America Corp., also located in EastPark, is currently spending $32 million on an expansion that will create 75 jobs.

Altec Inc. recently acquired land for a future expansion at its location in the Botetourt Center at Greenfield industrial park.

 

roanoke.com

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