Founded in 1863 and based in Germany’s Black Forest region, IMS Gear (
www.imsgear.com) is a leader in gear and transmission technology.
The company manufactures power seat gears for more than 70% of the automotive market in the USA, and it is to spend $1.05 million upgrading its US manufacturing facility in Virginia.
Guenter Weissenseel, president of IMS Gear Virginia, said: “IMS chose to stay and expand in Virginia Beach due to our location close to shipping routes and our established workforce here.
"The City of Virginia Beach, its schools and universities, and workforce development organisations like Opportunity Inc are all in close contact with us, and we have built a great network to fulfil our needs for the foreseeable future.
"With unemployment below 3% and strong competition for skilled staff in the USA, we are investing in the training of our workforce, and we appreciate the help we can get from our government to make this a success”.
The company’s 115 employees will be trained to operate the new machinery, with support from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.