Richmond, VA - Today, former governor and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine visited Sabra Dipping Company’s Colonial Heights facility to tour the operation, meet with employees, and share his economic approach. As governor, Kaine recruited Sabra to locate in Virginia and today more than 400 people are employed at the manufacturing facility. Throughout today’s tour, Kaine spoke about the importance of investments in infrastructure and talent to ensure our economic competitiveness, and the need to level the playing field for small businesses and responsibly balance the federal budget.
“My strong belief is if you win the talent race you win the economic race,” said Kaine. “When I asked Sabra and others why they chose Virginia they talked about the talent of the workforce. You have to ensure a fair regulatory and tax environment, but ultimately the stronger you are in education and workforce development, the stronger you will be economically. That is the philosophy I pursued as governor and it’s what I want to work on in the Senate.
Following a facility tour, Kaine joined dozens of employees and company leaders to discuss the business and sample some of their hummus and salsas. Kaine spoke extensively about the need to develop the world’s most talented workforce to maintain our long term global competitiveness. Virginia’s highly-skilled and educated workforce has been key to securing economic development projects like Sabra. As senator, Kaine will work with members of both parties to invest in and reform education and workforce development from pre-K to higher education and beyond. He also spoke about the ability of Virginia and the United States to benefit from the globalization of the economy.
“I was proud as governor to work with local partners and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to recruit Sabra to Virginia,” said Kaine. “International trade isn’t just about what we lose, it can also be about what we gain. If we are smart and aggressive we can help small businesses find export and international opportunities and sell our workforce.”
As governor, Kaine worked to secure hundreds of millions in international investment including EBI and Swedwood, European furniture manufacturers in Danville, an expansion of Canon’s facility in Newport News, the new Rolls-Royce manufacturing facility in Prince George, and the Israeli co-owned Sabra. Even in the midst of the worst recession in seventy years he recruited major companies, including Hilton Hotels, Meadwestvaco, VW of North America, and others, to relocate their headquarters to Virginia. During Kaine’s term, Virginia was named Forbes' best state for business all four years, best managed state by Governing magazine, and best state to raise a child by Education Week.
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