Virginia Economic Review

Liebherr manufactures large trucks for the mining industry, including the world’s largest diesel-electric mining truck. These gigantic machines are partly assembled, tested, and certified at the plant in Newport News with complete assembly carried out at the mine.

Nestlé USA is a subsidiary of Nestlé S.A., a leading global nutrition, health and wellness company. Nestlé USA operates 79 manufacturing facilities and employs 48,000 people in the U.S.

WestRock is one of the world’s largest paper and packaging companies, with multiple locations in Virginia, including corporate offices in Richmond and manufacturing facilities in West Point and Covington.

With headquarters in Manassas, Aurora Flight Sciences is a leader in the development and manufacturing of advanced unmanned systems and aerospace vehicles.

Micron produces memory and storage solutions used in automotive, industrial, and networking markets. Recently, the company announced a $3-billion investment in Manassas that will add 1,100 new jobs by 2030. Manish Bhatia is executive vice president of global operations at Micron Technology.

DuPont has operated its Spruance plant in Chesterfield County since 1929. For over six decades, Spruance has been a key site in the development of new fibers and resins, continuing to adapt to DuPont’s changing needs.

Lynchburg is Framatome’s North American headquarters and home to Framatome’s Operational Center of Excellence for Nuclear Products & Services in North America.

For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder.

Jay Timmons is president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and chairman of the board of the NAM's Manufacturing Institute. The NAM is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector.

Technological advancements, supply chain disruptions, and safety, environmental, and other sociopolitical factors are changing the way people and products move around the country. Manufacturers are leveraging technology, new business models, and infrastructure improvements to chart a future path.

Unmanned vehicles still seem like advanced technology, but in one form or another, they’ve been making inroads into civilian life for the last 15 years.

Could space-related businesses represent a $1 trillion industry by 2040? That’s the question posed by Morgan Stanley analysts in a recent report.