2013 Chesapeake Business of the Year
Sumitomo Machinery Corporation of America and Enviva LP
Named the 2013 Chesapeake Businesses of the Year
Chesapeake – In recognition of the Virginia Business Appreciation Week celebrated in early June, the Chesapeake Economic Development is pleased to announce our 2013 Business of the Year recipients.
Sumitomo Machinery Corporation of America is the Chesapeake Economic Development Authority’s 2013 Business of the Year. Sumitomo Machinery Corporation of America (SMA), North American headquarters for Sumitomo Drive Technologies, unveiled its new Bevel Buddybox® in an Open House on Friday, April 19th, 2013—marking the completion of Phase I of the company’s 2015 Manufacturing Vision—an investment strategy that will ultimately total more than $12.5 million and create up to 50 new jobs. Mayor Alan P. Krasnoff presented Ronald J. Smith, Sumitomo President/CEO with a certificate of recognition for SMA’s launch of the Domestic Manufacturing Initiative and for the company’s outstanding presence in Chesapeake’s Cavalier Industrial Park for more than 25 years. SMA is currently expanding its manufacturing capabilities at its 250,000 sq. ft. facility and preparing 350 employees to support the production of its two new product lines in the bevel gear market.
Enviva LP is the Chesapeake Port Authority’s 2013 Waterfront Business of the Year. Enviva is being hailed as a pioneer after initiating cutting-edge innovation by repurposing old wood pellets into something new and in high demand. The company erected an inflatable state-of-the-art storage silo at the Port of Chesapeake off of Victory Boulevard that holds 50,000 metric tons of wooden pellets that are used as fuel by power companies to generate electricity. The 157-foot tall dome houses the wood pellets, which are a renewable resource and a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels like coal. By combusting wood pellets in lieu of coal, it dramatically reduces the CO2 emissions and greenhouse gas emissions of a power plant. Ultimately, Enviva is empowering its customers to reduce the environmental footprint of their energy generation. More than 60 workers oversee the process at Chesapeake’s deep-water port terminal, closely monitoring the product from forest, to plant, to port. The pellets are then shipped to European power customers where the small wooden pellets have been in high demand for nearly 10 years.
On May 17, 2013, the honorees received their congratulatory awards at the 13th Annual Chesapeake Business Appreciation Golf Classic held at Cahoon Golf Course. More than 150
members of the business community and city officials were in attendance. The golf tournament’s net proceeds will benefit the Chesapeake Care Clinic.
Representatives from both Sumitomo Corporation of America and Enviva LP will be formally recognized in the Chesapeake City Council Chambers on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.