Blacksburg company to consolidate facilities in $1.6 million investment, add 27 jobs; more …

Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org .

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Blacksburg company to consolidate facilities in $1.6 million investment, adding 27 jobs

A Blacksburg-based maker of packaging equipment will invest $1.6 million to consolidate two facilities into a single, larger space, creating 27 new jobs, the governor’s office announced Wednesday.

ESS Technologies, a subsidiary of the Pacteon Group, will consolidate operations from its Giles County facility to its Montgomery County location and will expand its presence there to increase production capacity, according to a news release from Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

ESS Technologies, founded in 1993, provides “complete packaging line design, equipment manufacturing, and integration for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic, and consumer packaging goods industries,” the release said, adding that the company “has extensive experience in designing, building, and integrating automatic cartoners, case packers, robotic palletizers, and robotic systems.”

“Companies like ESS Technologies, Inc. are a crucial component of the thriving supply chain and logistics ecosystem in Virginia,” Youngkin said in the release.

The company will add the 27 jobs over five years, bringing the total number of employees to 82, Pacteon Group spokesperson Janet Darnley said in an email. All current employees will work at the expanded facility.

A company spokesperson did not return a message requesting more information on the timeline for the expansion, the total Blacksburg facility size or the company’s total number of employees.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Montgomery County Economic Development and Onward New River Valley to secure the project for Virginia. The VEDP will support ESS Technologies’ job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, according to the release.

— Matt Busse

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The Harvester announces shows by Robert Earl Keen, American Aquarium

Singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen and indie rock/alt-country band American Aquarium will take the stage at the Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount in the coming months.

Keen, a trailblazer in the world of Americana, has more than 20 records to his name, including his latest release, “Western Chill.” He plays at 8 p.m. June 9; tickets start at $85.

North Carolina-based American Aquarium will perform at The Harvester at 8 p.m. Sept. 14. The band’s upcoming album is “The Fear of Standing Still.” Tickets start at $27.

Tickets for both shows go on sale 10 a.m. Friday at harvester-music.com .

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9th District Congressional App Challenge opens for entries

Middle and high school students in Virginia’s 9th District are invited to compete in this year’s Congressional App Challenge.

“The Congressional App Challenge allows students to demonstrate their talents, engage their creativity, and explore the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. I look forward to seeing the apps developed by the ingenuity of Ninth District students,” Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said in a statement announcing this year’s contest.

Students can work individually or in groups of up to four. The apps can be for mobile, tablet or computer devices on a platform of the student’s choice.

Completed apps must be submitted by noon Oct. 24. Students must also provide a video demo explaining their app and what they learned through the competition process. All apps will be evaluated by a panel of experts from the academic and STEM fields in the Ninth District. Submissions will be evaluated based on creativity, innovativeness, technical difficulty and conformity to House regulations.

Full contest details are online . Faculty, parents or students may contact Josh Hess at 540-381-5671 or Josh.Hess@mail.house.gov with any questions related to the competition.

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Community colleges announce commencement speakers

Central Virginia, and Danville and Southside Virginia community colleges have announced the speakers for their spring commencement ceremonies.

William “Eddie” Amos will speak at Central Virginia’s ceremony on May 15 at the Liberty University Vines Center. Amos, a former executive at Microsoft, Meridium and GE, is the chairman of GO Virginia Region 2.

Laura Worley Novey, senior vice president at McGuireWoods Consulting and leader of the firm’s national education industry team, will serve as the commencement speaker at Danville’s graduation exercises on May 11 at Averett University’s North Campus. Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Novey served as the state’s secretary of education and in leadership roles at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.

Southside Virginia Community College will hold a commencement ceremony for its graduates on Saturday, May 11 at the Joan Perry Brock Center, located on the campus of Longwood University in Farmville.

The commencement ceremony will be held indoors beginning at 9:30 a.m. Graduates and their families are invited to attend and tickets are required.

“We are excited to host our commencement ceremony inside the beautiful state-of-the-art Joan Perry Brock Center on Longwood University’s campus,” said Dr. Quentin R. Johnson, SVCC President. “Commencement is always a special event as we celebrate the accomplishments of our students. I am very honored and excited to shake the hands of our deserving graduates as they walk across the stage.”

Southside Virginia’s commencement ceremony on May 11 will feature Chadwick Dotson, retired judge and director of the Virginia Department of Corrections.

Dotson was elected in 2003 as commonwealth’s attorney for Wise County and the city of Norton. In 2007, he was named a general district court judge, and in 2011 was elevated to the circuit court bench. He later served as dean of students and at the Appalachian School of Law, as chairman of the Virginia Parole Board and as director of the Virginia Department of Corrections.

The ceremony will be held at Joan Perry Brock Center on the campus of Longwood University.

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