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Here are news briefs from around the South West and South End. Send yours for inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
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MOVA named a new CEO, expanded
MOVA, a Pulaski-based climate technology company specializing in air filtration and emission control technologies, has named John Schott as CEO. Schott, who previously served as MOVA’s chief operating officer, will continue to serve as MOVA’s president and chairman of the board, succeeding company founder Steve Critchfield.
Schott previously served as CEO of Blacksburg-based TeleWorks, an electronic billing and payment company founded by Critchfield.
The company’s leadership transition coincides with MOVA receiving a $174,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture. These funds are supporting the company to test a patented air filtration system to improve indoor air quality and reduce emissions from agricultural operations. The company is conducting the research in collaboration with Virginia Tech’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
This is MOVA’s fourth project with Virginia Tech.
“Meeting the productivity, economic and environmental needs of global food production today requires innovative and sustainable solutions that reduce emissions and prevent climate change,” said Alan Grant, dean of Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “MOVA’s aerial imaging technology has demonstrated successful results at each stage of development and is positioned to meet these growing challenges. I couldn’t be happier with our strong and integrated partnership, and working with a local Pulaski company makes me even more excited.”
MOVA said in a statement that it expects to complete this development phase by 2023, at which point the company estimates it will be 6 to 12 months from market. The company has added two full-time engineers in the past month.
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Dickinson County Lawn Care Company accepts VCEDA grant
CRC Affordable Lawn Care LLC of Clintwood received a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Caulfield Economic Development Authority.
The company opened in March and expects to have three full-time employees within five years, VCDA executive director/general counsel Jonathan Belcher said in a news release. The business offers lawn care, mowing services, hedge and shrub trimming, weeding, fall and spring cleaning and brush clearing.
The award is from the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Grant Fund. Business owner Craig Carpenter used the grant to purchase equipment.
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Virginia Tech receives transportation-related assistance
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Virginia Tech $614,871 to promote safer driving practices among drivers, including newly licensed teens and seniors, according to a release from Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia.
This funding will allow Virginia Tech to conduct classroom demonstrations in 80 high school driver education programs in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2024. Vehicles website and volunteer driver education instructors for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) will hold two seminars. In addition, Virginia Tech will work with AARP’s communications and road safety teams to produce a series of articles covering key strategies for sharing the road with trucks.
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