Unison Ltd, a United Kingdom-based tube bending specialist, announced today it has chosen the Cane Creek Centre Industrial Park in Pittsylvania County as the site for its first U.S. manufacturing operation. The company will create 35 new jobs in the first three years and 55 new jobs in five years.
The project involves the renovation of a 40,000 square-foot facility at 500 Cane Creek Parkway in the industrial park, which is owned by the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Facility Authority (RIFA). Unison will make a $5.2 million capital investment in equipment and in the facility.
Danville and Pittsylvania County jointly recruited this company and attribute much of their success to the investments that have been made by the Danville Regional Foundation, Danville Community College and many others in creating an extraordinary workforce solution centered on precision manufacturing.
“We are ecstatic to learn that after a broad and extensive search for ideal locations for its first U.S. engineering and production facility, Unison has chosen the City of Danville-Pittsylvania County region,” RIFA Chairman Sherman Saunders said Thursday. “We know that the strengths of our region, including an 18 percent lower cost of manufacturing than the U.S. national average, coupled with an extraordinary workforce solution producing a robust pipeline of talented workers skilled in precision manufacturing, make this region an ideal place for manufacturing. We are so very proud that this Unison announcement represents the third advanced manufacturing company in 14 months to announce plans to locate in the Danville area, joining Kyocera and Overfinch.”
Mayor John Gilstrap said the region’s investment in advanced manufacturing and the extraordinary workforce training capability that is in place will support Unison’s growth in the U.S. market.
“We believe that Unison will add tremendous value to this rapidly growing regional economy and will help diversity the region’s industry base,” Gilstrap said. “It’s very encouraging to know that international companies, like Unison, have confidence that they can be globally competitive operating in Danville Pittsylvania County.”
Bob Warren, chairman of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, agreed, saying, “The joint partnership between Danville and Pittsylvania County is key to bringing quality companies such as Unison to our region. In addition to our partnership, both localities have precision machining programs in the high schools that feed into our advanced manufacturing pipeline. These investments in workforce development give companies such as Unison confidence that they will have access to qualified workers in the future.”
Unison Ltd is a manufacturer of electronically actuated pipe bending and automation machinery used in automotive, military, aerospace, marine, oil and gas and general engineering applications. The company’s machines are of the highest accuracy and quality deploying patented electronic actuation technology, which is more precise than the industry standard hydraulic actuation.
