Canatal Opens First U.S. Operation in Botetourt                                    
 Canatal Steel USA, Inc., a leader in developing steel structures for commercial buildings, has opened its first U.S. operation in Botetourt County to better meet the Canadian company's U.S. demand, which makes up 95 percent of its business.

"With so much of our business in the United States, we were looking to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and streamline our operations," said Charles Trent, controller of Canatal Steel USA. "Botetourt County puts us closer to our customers and offers affordable operating costs and an experienced, motivated work force."

Canatal Industries fabricates and installs steel beams primarily for commercial, residential, institutional, and industrial building construction.

Located in the former O'Neal Metals building, the company will initially invest more than $1 million in facility and equipment. Canatal plans to create up to 40 full-time jobs by April 2011 and could create as many as 100 by 2012. Jobs will range from welders and fitters to eventually office staff, estimators, and engineers. 

The company says it's seeing an uptick in orders as the economy improves.

"We have aggressive growth plans in Botetourt and look forward to being an integral part of the Roanoke Valley," Trent said. Canatal considered locations outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia before selecting Botetourt County."

"Canatal's decision to locate in Botetourt adds to the international roster of businesses in the county," said Billy Martin, chairman of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors. "Now, Canada joins Australia, Austria, Belgium, Japan, Mexico, and Greece doing business from Botetourt."

"The international flavor of businesses throughout the Roanoke region reflects the region's global competitiveness," said Beth Doughty, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership.

Canatal Steel USA, Inc. was assisted by the Roanoke Regional Partnership, Botetourt County and Virginia Department of Business Assistance.  For more information, please visit www.canatal.net.

The Roanoke Regional Partnership markets Alleghany, Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke counties, Roanoke, Salem, and Vinton to new and expanding industry.  Since 1983, the Partnership has assisted expansions and locations representing $1.3 billion in new investment and nearly 14,000 direct new jobs in the region.

Growth in FIRE, Life Science & Higher Education Sustained Regional Economy in the Great Recession                  
 In a time of overall decline (from first quarter 2006 to first quarter 2010), several sectors grew by a total of 3,338 jobs and helped to sustain the regional economy.  Employment statistics (Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages for a 60-mile radius surrounding Roanoke) show that, while the region experienced an overall employment decline of nearly 10 percent, positive job growth occurred in healthcare, higher  education, medical manufacturing, and in finance, insurance, and real estate.

These sectors were all not only growth industries for the region but grew at rates suggesting the region has a competitive advantage that supports accelerated growth.  Undoubtedly, the Roanoke region's historic role as a center for banking and financial services is a significant advantage that contributes to overall sector growth.  Similarly, the depth of higher educational assets throughout the labor shed region, Virginia Tech, Roanoke College and 19 other colleges and universities, contributes to continued strength in the education industry.  Finally, significant expansion at Carilion Clinic and growth in some of the region's specialized medical device manufacturers supported growth in medical manufacturing and R&D.

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Expect continued growth in healthcare, medical manufacturing and R&D as the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute initiates specialized life science research projects. The Institute hopes to accelerate spinoff activity and growth in life science industries.

The region also had a number of industries that lost employment but did so at a rate lower than the same industry at the national level.  For instance, electrical equipment manufacturing and other electrical devices, experienced a much lower level of decline regionally than at the national level, again suggesting a regional advantage.  Engineering, testing and design services, electronic product manufacturing, primary metal manufacturing, construction, transportation and logistics, printing and publishing, apparel and textiles, and business and business services also experienced general employment decline locally but performed better in our region than at the national level.

The region experienced strong decline in chemicals and chemical-based manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, fabricated metals manufacturing, packaging, forest and wood products, and transportation equipment manufacturing.  The regional transportation equipment manufacturing industry suffered the greatest decline both in terms of employment and comparative performance with its national counterpart.  This reflects both weakened demand in the economy and the cyclical nature of the sector.  The downward trending of heavy truck orders, in particular, significantly influences the region's transportation equipment manufacturing and motor vehicle manufacturing clusters.  Heavy truck orders are increasing rapidly according to Logistics Today, a national trade publication.  The trend, a signal of strong national recovery, should carry over to a regional revival as Volvo and its suppliers increase employment to meet demand.