Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of Governor Bob McDonnell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2011

Office of the Governor
Contact: Jeff Caldwell
Phone: (804) 225-4260
E-mail: Jeff.Caldwell@Governor.Virginia.Gov

Virginia Economic Development Partnership
Contact: Suzanne West
Phone: (804) 545-5806
E-mail: swest@yesvirginia.org

Phoenix Packaging Operations, LLC
Contact: Violeta Longino/ Sandra Nino
Phone: (954) 241-0023
E-mail: violeta.longino@grupophoenix.com/ Sandra.nino@grupophoenix.com

EPA mandated Limitations on Pesticide Use

Do not apply within 100 yards of species habitat for aerial applications or within 20 yards of species habitat for ground applications.

The Virginia fringed mountain snail has a tiny shell that measures only 4.5 millimeters (.18 in) in diameter. It has four to five whorls that increase in thickness toward the rim and have eight to ten spiral, comb-like fringes that occur inside the lower spiral grooves. The living animal inside the shell is white, without pigmented eyestalks, and is probably blind.

The Virginia fringed mountain snail is the only species in its genus and is considered to be amongst the rarest snails in North America. Very little is known about this snail other than it is a burrower and does not come to the surface except during extremely wet weather. Its habitat is along a steep river bank that is dominated by pine and oak scrub and honeysuckle, is relatively free of leaf litter, and has permanently damp soil.

This snail has been found only at a single site in Pulaski County, Virginia on the north bank of the New River. The exact size of the population is unknown but only 30 snails have ever been found alive. Habitat disturbance could harm this extremely rare species such as construction, chemicals, and reactivation of an old quarry adjacent to the habitat. Measures are being taken to protect its habitat but the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recommends that additional research is need to aid recovery efforts.

see EPA website

Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of Governor Bob McDonnell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2010

Office of the Governor
Contact: Stacey Johnson
Phone: (804) 225-4260
E-mail: Stacey.Johnson@Governor.Virginia.Gov

Virginia Economic Development Partnership
Contact: Christie Miller
Phone: (804) 545-5805
E-mail: CMiller@yesvirginia.org

Phoenix Packaging Operations, LLC
Contact: David Camhi
Phone: (954) 272-3217

Governor McDonnell Announces 240 New Jobs in Pulaski County

~Phoenix Packaging Operations, LLC will invest more than $20 million to establish its North American headquarters and first U.S. manufacturing operation~

RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell today announced that Phoenix Packaging Operations, LLC, a subsidiary of Phoenix Packaging Group, will invest more than $20 million to establish its first U.S. operation in Pulaski County. The company will manufacture thermoformed rigid plastic packaging for customers in the U.S., and also establish its North American headquarters in Pulaski. The project will create 240 new jobs. Virginia successfully competed against Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Speaking about today’s announcement, Governor McDonnell commented, “This manufacturing and U.S. headquarters operation is tremendous news for the New River Valley and Virginia. Phoenix Packaging is an international company that produces the packaging for many major companies and household names. With this Pulaski County operation, the company will be in closer proximity to serve its U.S. customers. I applaud everyone involved in winning a highly competitive project that involves a significant investment and 240 new jobs for the Commonwealth.”

Phoenix Packaging Group, a family owned Latin American company dedicated to the creation, design, and manufacturing of plastic packaging and foodservice disposable products, is one of the most important packaging manufacturing conglomerates in Latin America with sales in more than 30 countries. The company was established in 1999 with the integration of several industry leading companies in Colombia and Venezuela, and in 2003 a Mexican company joined the group. The company has eight locations in Latin America, employing 4,000 people in four countries. Customers include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Keurig, Van Houtte, Agro-Farma, General Mills, Sturm Foods and Colgate, for products such as ice cream and other dairy products, margarine, desserts, and soaps, as well as single-serve products such as yogurt and coffee.

“Phoenix Packaging chose the Commonwealth of Virginia to be the home of its U.S. operations after analyzing more than 40 possible locations in six states from the standpoint of geographical location, availability of qualified workforce, energy costs and state and local incentives, among others,” said Alberto Peisach, President and CEO, Phoenix Packaging Operations. “We found that state and local authorities in Virginia were seriously committed to helping new companies set up their manufacturing facilities and bring in high-paying jobs. The state government’s proactive attitude in finding ways to meet our needs, and their flexibility in creating a program to help us find and train the right workforce, was far more forward-thinking than any competing states. With three major higher education institutions in the area, and the government officials’ unwavering interest in creating jobs, Pulaski County was hard to beat.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Pulaski County and the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance to secure the project for Virginia. Governor McDonnell approved an $850,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Pulaski County with the project. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide training assistance through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. The company is eligible to receive rail access funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. The company also is eligible to participate in the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

Pulaski County Board of Supervisors Chairman, Joe Sheffey voiced his appreciation: “Phoenix Packaging’s decision to set up its U.S. operations in Pulaski County and to employ 240 persons provides a much welcomed boost to our local economy. The location of a major food packing company builds on the County’s agricultural roots, Virginia Tech’s food science expertise and local plastics-related companies Xaloy and Mar Bal. We sincerely appreciate Phoenix Packaging’s commitment; the investment by Governor McDonnell; the assistance of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership; the initiative of the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance; and the dedication of the County economic development staff.”

Welcome to Pulaski.Biz - the "Web 2.0" website serving the Pulaski County, Virginia, and the Towns of Pulaski and Dublin, Virginia communities. Watch this site as we roll out new features. Register as a user and take advantage of the opportunity we offer to promote your business, share news and announcements of your group or organization, interact with fellow residents of Pulaski County, Virginia via the internet, and keep abreast of whats going on in Pulaski County, Virginia.

This site will be primarily devoted to promoting local content contributed by local businesses, organizations and residents. If you are interested in being a contributor, contact us. We welcome the opportunity to provide you the ability to promote your local business, share the success of your local sports teams, promote your local club or charity. Register as a user and take advantage of the free opportunities we offer to promote your business, share news and announcements of your group or organization, interact with fellow residents of Pulaski County via the internet, and keep abreast of whats going on in Pulaski County, Virginia.

The first step to use our features is to register as a user on our site. Then, as you explore Pulaski.Biz let us know what feature or news you want to share. Upon verification, we can give you privileges to input and post your news instantly.

Local businesses may become "Link Partners" and receive free promotion via banners ads, links and the ability to post news and announcements. Local Businesses may also list themselves for free in our local Business Directory and grow their business via the world wide web.

Local organizations, charities, and contributing writers may even profit by contributing content as qualifying contributors can earn financial rewards via Google Adsense from clicks by visitors to the news, announcement and content you supply.

Pulaski.Biz is what is known as a "Web 2.0" website - i.e. a feature that is composed of contributions by those who view and participate in the site. Anyone can participate. In order to post, you must be a registered user of the website. Posting is subject to our Terms of Use as linked from the bottom of our Home Page. By posting, you adopt and agree to our Terms of Use and News and policies applicable to various features as a binding legal agreement. These include (i) a representation by you that the post is accurate, does not contain any copyright content of any third party unless you have the right to post it, (ii) a prohibition against any posting that is slanderous, illegal, containing "hate" material," (material expressing racial, religous, sexual orientation or other bigotry) or known to you to be untrue, and (iii) a representation by you that if posting on behalf of an organization or other person, that you have the right to make such posting. Violaters are subject to loss of posting and/or website access privileges. If you observe any posting which violates our Terms of Use, please notify us via our contact link (on the Home Page) and report the abuse and we will endeavor to promtly investigate and remove if appropriate.

"Articles, News & Announcements from www.Pulaski.Biz" versus "News & Announcements from the Community"

Understanding the difference between our "Articles, News & Announcements from www.Pulaski.Biz" feature and "News & Announcements from the Community." "News & Announcements from the Community" is intended to be an organized community "blog" which enables all registered users to submit and self approve for posting news and announcements on a variety of topics relevant to daily life in Pulaski County and the towns of Dublin and Pulaski. That feature is unmoderated, thus registered users have the flexible ability to post news and announcements relative to the topic. Submissions to that category will be "pruned" after a reasonable period of time. We will, upon request, create a new topic category or subcategory for use by any Pulaski neighborhood or community based organization so that members of that group may readily find and post news of their organization or neighborhood.

The "Articles, News & Announcements from www.Pulaski.Biz" feature is a more moderated news area, where all articles are approved by the website moderator or a vetted contributing writer. We welcome providing serious writers the opportunity to publish articles and stories of the history and heritage of Pulaski County and the towns of Dublin and Pulaski. WE also are open to local writers who wish to write regular columns on a variety of topics (we are open to suggestions) relevant to local readers.