Governor Northam Announces Microsoft Corporation’s Sixth Expansion in Mecklenburg County
Microsoft investment and expansion will create more than 100 new jobs
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Microsoft Corporation, one of the largest and most influential companies in the world, will inject significant capital investment to expand its enterprise data center in Mecklenburg County. The project is Microsoft’s sixth expansion at the facility since 2010 and will allow the company to further enhance its ability to serve customers in the U.S. and across the globe. Virginia successfully competed against multiple states for this significant investment, which will create more than 100 new jobs.
“When Microsoft established its new enterprise data center in 2010, it represented the largest economic investment in southern Virginia history, and we have been thrilled to see the company continue expanding in the Commonwealth ever since,” said Governor Northam. “Microsoft’s sustained investment in Virginia has created hundreds of new jobs for our citizens and advanced our position as a leader in information technology. We thank Microsoft for its tremendous contribution to the economies of Mecklenburg County and to the Commonwealth as a whole.”
Microsoft is a publicly held corporation, established in 1975, and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, with revenues surpassing $100 billion and more than 134,000 employees worldwide. Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft has created nearly 1,800 jobs in Virginia, with approximately 300 jobs at Microsoft locations in Mecklenburg County.
Harlow Group to invest $8 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing plant
Governor Ralph Northam announced that Harlow Group Ltd., a leading provider of precision engineered, fabricated, machined and 3D printed additive components, will invest $8 million to locate its first U.S. precision sheet metal fabrication plant, to be called Harlow Fastech, in the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County. The United Kingdom-based company will also establish a U.S. Training Center of Excellence, a new facility with a focus on additive manufacturing, which will be located in the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Industrial Facility Authority-owned Cyber Park.
Free wireless internet up and running in Boydton
Community-wide Wi-Fi service is now available in Boydton. On Wednesday, Microsoft and Lake Country Satellite set the launch of a free community Wi-Fi service in town. The project was developed in response to a community need, according to Robert Sloan, Microsoft's director of data center community development. Speaking at Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative's Empower Broadband launch party in September, Sloan said Microsoft is committed to improving the communities where it has operations, and hence the tech giant pursued the Wi-Fi project in response to demands identified by local residents. Sloan noted that access to Wi-Fi was a significant need in the region.
