ABB announces $28.5-million expansion in Henrico to meet local power demand

Electrical engineering company ABB will be investing $28.5 million to expand its facility in Eastern Henrico this coming December, bringing more than 100 new jobs to the area during the next three years.

Company leaders gathered with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas, and other local officials on Tuesday to announce ABB’s expansion, which will include a new test center, warehouse, and new assembly lines. ABB’s current facility at 5900 Eastport Boulevard in Eastern Henrico employs 184 people and produces about 2,500 power distribution units each year, but new additions will help the facility double its footprint.

ABB’s choice to expand in Henrico – where it's have had a presence since 1968 – comes after a big boost in demand for power in the region, specifically from data centers. Virginia leads the nation in data centers with more than 300 existing facilities, and Henrico County has seen a growing number of data centers in the last few years.

“Data centers alone are forecast to double the electricity growth over the next decade,” said ABB Electrification SVP of Industry Partnerships Frank Sullivan. “The demand is so high from AI data centers particularly, that we had to be closer to our customers. And we thought this was a great place to do it. We have an educated workforce available with more labor.”

Henrico has seen a “powerful wave of recent investment” in advanced manufacturing, said Vithoulkas, with Red River Foods planning a $15.5-million expansion and Mondelez International creating a new fulfillment center in the county. And everyday Henrico residents will see the benefits, he said.

“The 100 jobs that they’re bringing is significant, because in any given year, we hope to get somewhere between 1,000 to 1,500 new jobs,” Vithoulkas said. “And these companies pay a significant amount of taxes that offset the taxes that our residents are paying. . . that’s one of the reasons that we’re able to keep our taxes low.”

But Henrico County also has recently taken steps to limit data center growth in the area. In June, the Henrico Board of Supervisors passed stricter regulations on proposed data centers, requiring all new projects to go through the provisional use permitting process.

Decisions about data centers should be made at the local level, said Youngkin, but the economic benefits of data centers to localities are “clear,” with tax revenue leading to more funding for local schools and government services.

“I want to really shout out the Henrico County leadership who made some very, very good framework decisions around data center development in Henrico County,” he said. “There are some areas that don’t want data centers, that’s okay, because there are lots of other ones in Virginia that will take them. And that’s why I do believe localities should be competing in order to get these great participants.”

ABB’s expansion is a “huge win” for both Henrico and the state, Youngkin said, with the expanded facility not only serving data centers but also nearby hospitals and manufacturing plants.

“Henrico County has demonstrated that they are very forward thinking when it comes to economic development,” Youngkin said. “They have invested in sites, they’ve invested in workforce development, and they work hand in glove with the state when it comes to supporting companies that are here, like ABB, or attracting new ones.”

ABB currently has more than 1,200 employees throughout Virginia. The company recently invested $6 million in a new manufacturing, distribution, and repair center in Mechanicsville.

ABB’s planned expansion in Henrico will see financial assistance from both the state and the county. A $300,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund already has been approved for the project, and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership plans to assist ABB in job creation.

As part of the expansion, ABB will add a new production line to the Henrico facility by the end of the year. Production will include a new product, medium voltage UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems, which will offer data centers a higher capacity system necessary for their higher power consumption.

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.