VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) - One of the largest private employers in Virginia Beach is expanding.
STIHL Incorporated is adding a new building to its campus off Lynnhaven Parkway, which will quadruple the size of the current facility. The building will be 80,000 square feet and cost $25 million.
"There will be over 200 people, but we can have growth in the future. We created the building large enough so that with future growth that we have we don't have to build a new building immediately, but we will have space to accommodate them," explained STIHL President Bjoern Fisher.
The new space will house employees in departments like marketing, customer and technical service teams, and finance and controlling.
Fisher said, "That just allows for so much quicker communication, just easier meeting spaces."
STIHL INC. first opened its doors in Hampton Roads in 1974 with around 50 employees. Now, the company has over two thousand employees.
"We see a great future for our market here in the US, and our activity right here in Virginia Beach," said Fisher.
Fisher said this expansion isn't only beneficial for the company, but also for the city.
"The citizens of Virginia Beach benefit from good jobs being offered, and a lot of taxes being paid out of it," Mayor Will Sessoms explained.
The company's goal is for the building to be complete by late 2019.