Virginia's Hampton Roads region welcomes Carraro

The company will invest $8 million in new machinery and tools, as well as create an additional 35 jobs with average annual salaries (excluding benefits) of $35,000.

Initially, the company has acquired mG miniGears, now Gear World S.p.A., part of a strategy aimed at granting independent growth to Carraro’s activities in the international gear industry and moved into its building in the Oceana West Corporate Park. Plans include constructing a new facility in the same area to produce components for wind turbines (there are more than 8,000 parts in any one wind turbine).

Virginia Beach Mayor William D. Sesames, Jr. says, “They are coming here to make wind turbines which will employ Hampton Roads residents.” Investment in clean energy such as offshore wind would create four times the number of jobs—triple the number of jobs paying at least $16 per hour—as the same investment in the oil industry.

According to Virginia Beach director of economic development Warren Harris, the city and Carraro are on a parallel track in support of wind energy with a mayor’s task force currently examining alternative energy for the area.

Tiziana Votta, senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales for Carraro, says, “Since Virginia Beach is one of the best places on the East Coast to manufacture wind energy, it made perfect sense to expand our operations to include manufacturing components of wind turbines here.”