Glass maker Coresix to build $2.3 million plant in JCC enterprise zone

The 2-year-old company makes glass for high-precision items, such as scientific slides, viewfinders in camcorders and digital cameras, and computer-chip templates. The company expects to employ 30 initially. The plant will be about 33,000 square feet, and Coresix expects it to open this winter.

Coresix's move into the enterprise zone and its investment make it eligible for tax incentives.

"This is a high-quality precision manufacturer with excellent growth potential," Keith Taylor, economic-development director for the county, said in a statement. "We are pleased they selected James River Commerce Center."

Coresix, Taylor said, fits with the county's economic vision to draw in more technology-based businesses.

This is the second announcement of a new business coming to the county this summer. Haynes Furniture Co. announced its plans in June to build a $15 million distribution center in the GreenMount industrial park. Company officials say it will take a year or two to open.

When it relocates to James City County, Coresix will join a number of businesses in the county's industrial park, including Ball Metal Container, Service Metal Fabricators and Keystone Automotive Industries, which is expected to complete its building next year.

County officials are attempting to expand the county's economic base "beyond beer and tourism," Taylor said recently, by increasing efforts to pursue high-technology players.

The county, for example, has agreed to be the exclusive sponsor for the Sensor Science and Technology Forum, a series of meetings beginning in September that brings together sensor-technology industry leaders.

Sensor devices - designed to detect heat, radiation and other conditions - include things such as security light lasers.