Burlington Glass Fabrics (BGF) Industries, a Porcher Industries’ subsidiary, has announced its planned investment of $7 million to relocate its headquarters and research & development (R&D) activities from Greensboro, NC to the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County, VA. BGF Industries was one of the first US-based weavers of fiberglass textiles in 1941.

In early 2019, the company will construct a 2,320 square metres purpose-built facility at Cyber Park, owned by the Danville-Pittsylvania county regional industrial facility authority. The move will create 65 new positions, the company said in a press release.

Porcher Industries has transformed from a regionally-organised group to a truly global company that meets the needs of the global market place in which it operates. The investment in brand new US headquarters and an advanced technology centre is a key component of this global growth, which will allow improved support and service to the company’s customers in this part of the world. The move follows BGF Industries’ acquisition of a 13,375 square metres manufacturing plant in Virginia last year, and reinforces Porcher Industries’ commitment to the US market.

“Everything Porcher Industries does is aimed at continuing to offer our customers the most innovative products, and a high level of support and services. A large part of this is our ongoing research and development, into which we invest over $9 million a year as a group. The brand new, purpose-built facility in Virginia will work collaboratively with our France-based R&D centre to build on the 200 patents we already hold, and support our global customers and projects,” Porcher Industries CEO and chairman André Genton said. (GK)