Skip to main content
Rain icon
38º

Eldor Corporation Exec. tours Virginia Western Community College

Eldor opened North American headquarters in Botetourt County in 2018

ROANOKE, Va. – Eldor Corporation Operations Supervisor Luca Forte was eagerly greeted as he arrived at Virginia Western Community College Wednesday afternoon.

“I would like to see the progress they’ve made since four years," Forte said.

That progress includes the STEM building, which Forte toured.

Eldor Corporation is an Italian company that makes car parts.

In 2016, the company announced plans to build its North American Headquarters in Botetourt County.

That facility opened a little over a year ago.

“It’s going to be very interesting to see which types of programs they have at the college; are they tailoring them to industry needs, or actually, to our mechatronics needs," Forte said.

Making sure the college is keeping up with the company’s needs is important because the college is Eldor’s decision to be in Botetourt County is heavily dependent on the college.

“We hope there’s a good number of people being trained here with the right technologies, the latest state-of-the-art technologies so that once they finish school they can immediately jump into our production processes,” Forte said.

Since the company’s North American headquarters opened, 200 people have been hired and parts are being made for all car manufacturers in the U.S.

Botetourt County Board of Supervisor member Dr. Richard Bailey says county leaders were excited to get to show Forte around.

“This is a real opportunity for us to have him visit the county, visit with some of the leaders in the county and to get up here to Virginia Western Community College.”

Forte also took time Wednesday to talk to Virginia Western students about what they’re learning and how it applies to Eldor.