RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that Clifton Forge will be the site of a new statewide customer service and data center for the Smart Tag/E-ZPass electronic toll system. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) signed a $45 million contract with TransCore to design and operate the center. TransCore, a provider of technology-based services and products that enable customers to efficiently manage ground transportation systems, assets, and transactions, will invest $1.4 million to open the facility.

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that Virginia Credit & Finance, a servicing partner of Roanoke-based Atlantic Credit & Finance, will locate in Henrico County. The company will invest $1 million and create 150 new jobs over the next two years. Virginia Credit & Finance will operate its debt collection and call center operation at 2810 N. Parham Road, Suite 310. Virginia successfully competed with Maryland for the project.

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that MZM, Inc. has selected the City of Martinsville’s Clearview Shell Building for a database and information technology operation. Through a $4.4 million investment, the project will create 150 new jobs over three years, with an average annual salary more than double Martinsville’s prevailing wages. Virginia successfully competed with Washington, D.C. for the project. U.S. Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. was instrumental in securing this project for Virginia.

MARTINSVILLE - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced the launch of the Virginia Motorsports Initiative. The statewide initiative, comprised of public and private sector partners, will promote and support motorsports activities in Virginia as a means for economic development. Governor Warner announced the initiative this morning at Martinsville Speedway. 

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that the DRS Group, one of the nations leading document management services companies, will locate 115 new jobs in Mecklenburg County’s Town of Clarksville. Through a $1 million investment, the company will open a 32,000 square foot document conversion supercenter in the Lake Country Industrial Park Building. Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina for the investment. 

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that AT&T Wireless will locate an inbound calling center in Russell County. Through a $5.4 million investment, AT&T Wireless will hire more than 300 employees to handle billing, coverage, technical and general support questions for its customers. The project was originally announced in July 2001 by TeleCorp PCS, Inc. AT&T Wireless, which subsequently acquired TeleCorp PCS, Inc., will move forward with the project, increasing the original investment by $850,000.

RICHMOND - Governor Jim Gilmore today announced the award of a $3.2 million research grant that will allow the Institute for Computational Genomics, Inc. (INCOGEN), the College of William and Mary and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech (VBI) to create a cooperative bioinformatics program. INCOGEN will invest $2.4 million to relocate from South Carolina to the Busch Corporate Center in James City County. 

NORFOLK - Governor Jim Gilmore today announced that Zim-American Israeli Shipping Co., Inc. has officially opened its United States headquarters in Norfolk’s Lake Wright Executive Park. Zim-American Israeli Shipping Co. announced in April that it would invest $6.2 million to locate in the new building and would hire 235 people to work in this facility. The firm completed its move to Norfolk from New York City’s World Trade Center two weeks before the September 11th terrorist attacks.

RICHMOND - Governor Jim Gilmore today announced that Alfa Laval will expand its operations in Henrico County with the addition of a new valve and pump manufacturing facility. The $10 million expansion will be adjacent to the company’s current facility in the International Business Park. Alfa Laval presently employs approximately 250 people in the Richmond area and will create 100 new jobs with this expansion. 

RICHMOND - Governor Jim Gilmore today announced that Centrivity, a start-up technology company, will locate its operations in Herndon, Virginia. Through an initial commitment of approximately $3 million from its founders, Centrivity will initially employ 45 people. Within three years of operation, it is expected that employment will grow to more than 300 employees. Centrivity is associated with a portfolio of companies, including Digicon Corporation, which is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.