NORFOLK — Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday said Auxiliary Systems Inc., an auxiliary system manufacturer for commercial and government clients in the marine industry, will invest $220,000 to upgrade its water jet cutting machine here.
Sixty-five of the company’s existing employees will be retrained to operate the new machinery with support from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.
Auxiliary Systems was recently one of nine ship repair firms in the Hampton Roads region to be awarded a share in a Navy maintenance contract worth $119 million over one year and potentially up to $644 million over five years, according to a news release from the city.
“Auxiliary Systems is a longtime contributor to the City of Norfolk and the Hampton Roads’ economy, providing critical ship repair services to the U.S. Military,” Northam said in the news release. “The company continues to thrive in the region, aided by close proximity to The Port of Virginia and the U.S. Navy, as well as its ability to recruit top talent. We are proud to support this important retraining project and look forward to Auxiliary Systems’ continued smooth sailing in the Commonwealth.”
Auxiliary Systems Inc. is a 100 percent woman-owned small business founded in 1990 by Sharon Williams under the name Pure Water Technologies. The company’s initial business plan was to generate and supply feed water for Navy ships and local shipyards.
Much of the company’s work is behind the scenes, providing certified technical representatives and depot level repairs for auxiliary machinery, according to the news release.
“Virginia houses the largest shipbuilding market in the United States and is the ideal location for our current expansion,” said John Moore, human resources director, Auxiliary Systems. “Further, we believe that we have positioned ourselves strategically to support the future growth of off-shore wind, oil, and gas off the coast of Virginia.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership will support Auxiliary Systems’ job retraining through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program. VJIP provides consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs or experiencing technological change to support employee training activities.
As a business incentive supporting economic development, VJIP reduces the human resource costs of new and expanding companies.
“We are extremely grateful that Auxiliary Systems chose Norfolk for this critical capital investment,” Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander said. “Support from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program helps emerging local businesses to train high-skilled workers for jobs that pay great wages and expand our economy.”
