Ikea Helps a Town Put It Together; Manufacturing Jobs Come Back to Southern Va.
Manufacturers gave up on this small town in Southside Virginia years ago. Textiles disappeared. Tobacco wilted. But scrappy little Danville refused to give up on itself.</br></br>Last week, its determination paid off when Ikea celebrated the opening here of its first furniture factory in the United States. Ikea, a Swedish company that has about a dozen factories in Europe, said it chose Danville in part because of the large, skilled labor force eager to work after years of layoffs and downsizing. The city paved its entry with new facilities, secured permits and state tobacco commission grants.</br></br>"You have two choices here: You can fold up and die, or you can get it together," said Anne Moore-Sparks, a project manager with the city's Office of Economic Development. "They come in here, and they see we have all the players in place and we are hungry."</br></br>The powerful global economic forces that swept away thousands of jobs over the past two decades are now working in Danville's favor. The weakening dollar has made the United States more attractive to foreign investors. Companies from England, Canada and India have recently opened operations or expanded in Danville.</br></br>At the same time, skyrocketing oil prices have increased transportation costs. Shipping Ikea's popular Expedit bookshelves to the United States, for example, costs more than it does to make them, said Joseph Roth, the company's U.S. public affairs manager.