ROANOKE, VA – From Austria to the Star City.
Over 400 jobs are heading to Roanoke as part of an $85 million investment from Austrian life sciences company Ringana.
The company will go in the Blue Ridge Commerce Park near the Daytec Career Technical Education Center.
“Through a lot of conversations and relationship building, they chose us,” Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb said.
Cobb is calling it the largest investment in decades.
The city announced Friday that Ringana will build its first U.S. Headquarters in Roanoke.
“Not only the largest investment in decades in terms of jobs, but it’s in advanced manufacturing,” Cobb said.
The company manufactures skincare products, nutritional supplements and beverages, and plans to make Roanoke its North American production and distribution hub.
“They have a limited number of products because they focus on keeping those products fresh,” Cobb said.
Cobb says the company’s commitment to sustainability helped set it apart.
“We will see in this building that they’ve purchased some additions for renewable energy usage,” he said.
But city leaders say the biggest impact will be the 435 new jobs coming to the region.
“They create an environment for their employees to really retain them. They’ll be looking to hire local employees, training them, educating them in the work that Ringana does,” Cobb said.
“The last few months have been tumultuous in terms of budget discussions and things like that, how does an investment like this play a role in helping instill trust in the people of Roanoke?” 10 News Anchor Abbie Coleman asked.
“Well, I think it says a couple of things. One, I think it says we believe in Roanoke. This is an international company, coming from Austria to bring a new company here. We see not only what’s already here, but the potential, and that’s what we want to continue to build on,” Cobb said.
Ringana founder and CEO Andreas Wilfinger released a statement saying Roanoke was perfect for the company’s expansion plans.
“Following the highly successful establishment of our brand in the European market and our major successes in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru, we are excited to bring RINGANA to the USA. We are convinced that our freshness philosophy will inspire American customers just as much. The location in Roanoke is perfect for our plans; in addition to its excellent location, we also found an exceptionally suitable property. We were welcomed with open arms by the local community and the authorities working there, which gave us a very positive feeling about a long-term collaboration,” Wilfinger said.
Cobb tells us there’s no set timeline yet, but they are hopeful for some type of movement this fall.