RINGANA, an Austrian cosmetics brand, is building its first U.S. headquarters in Roanoke, sharing new details on the timeline and scope of its investment in the region.
The company will begin production this November after their pilot program moves into the Roanoke facility in September. A groundbreaking at the facility is planned for 2027.
Co-CEO Michael Wannemacher says the company’s acquisition of a move-in-ready building made the timeline possible.
“We just acquired about 160,000 square feet, so groundbreaking will not happen until next year simply for the reason that these 160,000 square feet are now sufficient for us for the first few months. We’re going to open the facility officially with manufacturing in November,” Wannemacher said.
RINGANA is expected to create more than 435 jobs over the next five years, with mostly local hires in roles ranging from shipping and logistics to research and skincare development.
Job listings will be posted on RINGANA’s website as hiring ramps up.
The goal of the Roanoke facility is also designed to serve as a manufacturing hub for the company’s Western Hemisphere markets, spanning from Canada to Argentina.
To find its U.S. site, RINGANA evaluated roughly 25 states, looking at locations from Connecticut to Alabama. Wannemacher says the final decision came down to finding a place that felt both unique and familiar.
RINGANA is headquartered in the Austrian countryside between Graz and Vienna, and Wannemacher says the Roanoke Valley felt strikingly similar to home.
“If I look outside my window now, it could be Roanoke,” he said. “The region we are from is very, very similar from landscape, from outdoor activities. That was definitely one of the major reasons that we simply felt comfortable.”
Roanoke-based Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group brokered the sale of the Blue Ridge Commerce Park facility at 2797 Frontage Road NW, the 146,852-square-foot industrial property that will serve as RINGANA’s first U.S. manufacturing site. The property, situated on approximately 30 acres, sold for $9,075,000. The transaction represented a nearly 10-month process involving close coordination among Poe & Cronk, the buyer, the seller, and local and state government officials.
“The Blue Ridge Technology Center represents a significant regional industrial asset, and we are proud to have been an integral part of the team effort to achieve a successful outcome in bringing international cosmetic manufacturer RINGANA to the Roanoke Valley,” said Jacob Quesinberry, SIOR, Senior Vice President and Partner with Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group. “This transaction demonstrates the continued demand for well-positioned industrial properties in Southwest Virginia.”
Wannemacher said the company has grown rapidly in recent years and that the warm reception from Roanoke’s community and local leaders played a meaningful role in making the city RINGANA’s stateside home.
“It’s going to be an amazing roller coaster drive over the next few years to set up this immense manufacturing plant in Roanoke,” Wannemacher said.