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V
irginia
C
apitol
C
onnections
, F
all
2014
10
Alma Bryan has manufactured strength equipment in Grayson
County, Va. for seven years. Her voice is soft and kind, filled with love
for the small county in which she has always lived.
“It’s just a small town,” she says. “It’s quiet. Oh yes, yes, that’s
about it.”
She has places to fish, enjoys camping on the New River, and is
near her brother and sister, both of whom are on disability. The county
is her home, and until May, she had worked for Med-Fit Systems, the
strength equipment manufacturer, who at the time provided a significant
percentage of the county’s private sector employment.
“In May we were laid off,” said Bryan. “We were supposed to be
called back, but thenwe got a letter that they had laid us off permanently.”
In a rural area like Grayson County, with a population under 16,000,
finding employment can be challenging.
“I was just depressed and down because this is a small area—you
don’t have that many jobs options,” explained Bryan. “I was drawing
unemployment, but with unemployment you don’t make as much as you
do working. I was really depressed, and I was thinking every day, you
know, ‘What am I going to do?’”
Her anxiety did not last long. In July, she got a call explaining that
she could return to work. The facility at Med-Fit had been bought by
Core Health & Fitness, LLC, headquartered inVancouver, WA.
While Bryan had been struggling with depression and worrying
about her future, the Grayson County Administrator’s office was
working tirelessly to restore these jobs. Although Core was initially
interested in purchasing Med-Fit’s assets and Nautilus’ intellectual
property, the company also has a robust and unsettling manufacturing
presence in China.
Jonathan Sweet, County Administrator, explained that motivating
Core to retain and grow manufacturing jobs in their county was a
strategic endeavor.
“Our focus was to insure they keep manufacturing operations here
and not relocate any of it to China,” said Sweet.
The county teammarketed the community as a partner ready to join
with Core. They showcased their experienced workforce and worked to
find new ways to assist and support Core, as well as pooling incentives
to make Grayson County even more appealing.
“We showed Core that this was not going to just be a business
transaction, but the beginning of a fruitful business relationship,” Sweet
explained.
The skilled workforce, the low cost of doing business and a can-do
community attitude were the drivers in bringing these jobs to Grayson
County.
“We’ve been manufacturing strength equipment here for over thirty
years, so the workforce has some of the best world-class manufactures
and skilled tradesmen in this arena,” explained Sweet. “The existing
workforce here was one of the main considerations. You can essentially
transfer the tooling and manufacture the product anywhere, but here in
Grayson County is where you will yield the highest quality product and
manufacturing efficiency.”
This workforce includes people like Alma Bryan, who has been
manufacturing strength equipment for seven years.
Sweet called the relationship between Grayson County and Core
a “solid partnership” and “mutually beneficial” as Core needed a US
manufacturing presence.
“Fortunately for us, the location made good sense to Core,” Sweet
said. “This deal meant more than just retaining the jobs that we had, but
it also meant that we were able to bring new jobs back from China to the
US where they belong.”
When Med-Fit began to position the company for closure, the
Grayson County administrator’s office plugged itself into Med-Fit’s
marketing and divestment team. They helped vet potential suitors,
provided assistance in sharing the local perspective of the business
climate, and worked extensively to develop incentive proposals.
This proactive work with Med-Fit provided a seamless lead-in for a
relationship with Core.
“They not only took over and acquired manufacturing of the
Nautilus brand of strength equipment, but they’re also adding 150
additional new jobs above what Med-Fit was doing here,” said Sweet.
“They’re actually bringing product lines from China to manufacture
here in our county.”
Delegate Israel O’Quinn spoke highly of the county, applauding
them for a “refusal to quit.”
“When Nautilus began to fold, County officials could’ve easily just
given up, but they refused to do so,” said O’Quinn. “ Not only did they
aggressively pursue other companies, they were instrumental in helping
to land Core Health and Fitness in Grayson County. Likewise, their
positive outlook certainly helped Independence Lumber to expand and
Hansen Turbine to bring the bulk of their business to Grayson County
as well.”
Core Health and Fitness was not the only industry to announce new
jobs this year. Independence Lumber, a local lumber company, had its
facility burn down in 2012. But even after that misfortune, the county
was able to maintain a productive relationship with them.
“We responded to their specific needs with respect to the cost of
doing business,” said Sweet. “We were able to listen to what they needed
and develop a local performance grant that met their unique needs and
allowed us to effectively compete for and win these investments from
By Lydia Freeman
in Grayson County
Economic
Growth