Factory expansion creates new jobs in Rockbridge County

By Pat McGlone

Lees Commercial Carpets will invest nearly $27 million dollars in its Rockbridge County production facility. The investment will create 25 new jobs at the Glasgow plant, which already employs 1,200 people.

David Kleppinger, executive director of The Rockbridge Partnership, believes the new jobs are insignificant next to the impact of the facility's renovations and what that means for the area.

FACT BOX

  • The Glasgow plant produces 20 million square yards of carpet and 30 million pounds of yarn annually.
  • The plant employs more than 1200 employees.
  • Known for their durability, the carpets produced at Glasgow can last from 20 to 25 years.
  • Lees Carpet has a reputation for being environmentally responsible; it regularly receives awards for exceeding standards, including one from Virginia Manufacturers Association in 2003.
  • After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 destroyed a section of the Pentagon, Lees Carpet was contracted to produce carpeting used in the damaged area.

Lees represents nearly half of the 2,700 manufacturing jobs in the area. The company has been based in Rockbridge County since 1935 but was purchased by Burlington Industries in 1960. It was sold to Mohawk Industries Inc. in Georgia in 2003, after Burlington filed for bankruptcy.

There had been some apprehension about what Mohawk would do in the region after a two-year grace period. The multi-million dollar investment, 25 new jobs, and a commitment to retrain current employees comes as a relief to the community, which has seen three other textile companies leave.

A fourth, Bontex in Buena Vista, exports an increasing amount of its work to Asia.

The Rockbridge Partnership, which provides economic services and advice for Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County, helped finalize the deal with Lees in Rockbridge County. Kleppinger was able to acquire a grant from the Governor's Opportunity Fund that tapped about $40,000 in incentives for the Lees project. An additional $100,000 grant was also acquired from the Virginia Investment Partnership program, a performance-based incentive.

Lees Carpet Web site

The Rockbridge Partnership Web site

Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.

Lead supervisor:      Prof. Claudette Artwick

Reporting supervisor: Prof. Doug Cumming

Editing supervisor:  Prof. Pamela Luecke

Technical supervisor:  Michael Todd