Virginia's Economic Development Leaders to Lay Groundwork for Future Job Creation

Richmond - Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore today announced that he will travel to Europe on April 26, 1998 to meet with top corporate executives from Germany and the United Kingdom. Secretary of Commerce and Trade Barry E. DuVal and Wayne L. Sterling, Executive Director of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, will accompany Governor Gilmore to Europe.

Gilmore will participate in meetings with senior management of companies that have been identified as having an interest in investing in the United States over the next one to three years. Gilmore, who speaks fluent German, was stationed in Germany in the early 1970s for intelligence work in the U.S. Army.

"I look forward to building on Virginia's excellent record of attracting new business and high-paying jobs to Virginia," Governor Gilmore said. "This trip to the United Kingdom and Germany is part of my long-term strategy for future investment by European companies in Virginia. The purpose of this mission is to plant seeds of economic development which will bear fruit in the future."

After visiting prospects in Germany, Governor Gilmore will attend a reception in East Midlands, UK, sponsored by East Midlands Electricity and Virginia Power - both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Richmond-based Dominion Resources, and by Capital One.

The Governor announced Virginia's first British project of 1998 in January when Cresstale Limited, a manufacturer of cosmetic packaging containers, decided to locate a $6 million facility in Franklin City employing 175 Virginians. The Governor will return to Virginia on May 1.

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