FerraTex to buy Henry County facility for $1.95M

Cured-in-place pipe company to expand building, add 15 jobs

Published June 11, 2020 by Sydney Lake

FerraTex Solutions LLC will purchase the former Compton Woods Products facility in Bowles Industrial Park in Henry County for $1.95 millon, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday.

FerraTex, which specializes in services and liners for cured-in-place pipes (a method of repairing existing pipelines), will renovate and expand the facility, adding 15 jobs.

“As we work to rebound from the economic impacts of this pandemic, our existing companies will play an important role in new hiring and investment,” Northam said in a statement. “We look forward to the new FerraTex operation in Henry County and remain committed to providing the infrastructure and skilled workforce to help businesses of all sizes grow and succeed in our commonwealth.”

FerraTex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Applied Felts Inc., which the company acquired in 2019. Applied Felts has been in Martinsville since 1997 and employs 150 people. The pipe felt liner manufacturer has relined more than 850 million feet of pipe and currently manufactures materials in Martinsville, the United Kingdom and India. FerraTex operates five facilities in New Jersey, Tennessee, Florida, Nevada and Texas.

“Applied Felts has been a valued employer in Virginia for more than two decades, and we are proud to welcome its subsidiary FerraTex Solutions’ new manufacturing facility to Henry County,” Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball said in a statement. “Applied Felts’ decision to locate its next subsidiary operation in Martinsville-Henry County is a testament to the region’s business climate, infrastructure and high-quality workforce.”

The Virginia Development Partnership worked with the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. to bring the project to Virginia. Northam approved a $65,000 Commonwealth’s Development Opportunity Fund grant for the project, and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership will support employee training through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

Henry County has invested more than $118,000 in the project, which includes Enterprise Zone grants and funding from the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp.

“The establishment of our state-of-the-art, flagship location in the commonwealth would not have been possible without the close cooperation and detailed efforts of officials from Henry County and the commonwealth of Virginia,” said Jerry Gaines, FerraTex vice president of operations, in a statement. “We have been warmly welcomed here in Martinsville and are excited about what the future holds for FerraTex as a new member of the Henry County business community.”