The Washington Post has an article today about Ikea opening its first U.S. furniture factory in "scrappy little Danville" Virginia; a town once in decline because of falling textile and tobacco production. Here are three quotes from the article.

"You have two choices here: You can fold up and die, or you can get it together," said Anne Moore-Sparks, a project manager with the city's Office of Economic Development.

"We're going to wash away the past, and we're going to set our sights on the future," Gwaltney recalled saying. "And we're never going to look back."

"This decade, right now, is probably the strongest in advanced manufacturing that we've seen in years," said Liz Povar, director of business development for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. "The time has come ripe for them."

Danville chose to compete, and Danville won, here are some facts about the others in Virginia's trade economy, courtesy of TradeRoots.

• Virginia exported over $14 billion in manufactured goods to the world in 2006.
• 82% of the nearly 3,944 Virginia companies that exported goods in 2005 were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
• In 2005, Virginia-produced manufactured goods generated more than 88,100 jobs for workers in Virginia.
• There are 133,700 Virginia workers employed by foreign companies.
• In 2005, Virginia's agricultural exports were estimated at $552 million.
• Agricultural exports help boost farm prices and income, while supporting about 6,995 jobs both on the farm and off the farm in food processing, storage, and transportation.

"The changing global economy is creating opportunities we cannot afford to ignore -- to penetrate new markets, sell our products, and thereby create new jobs at home." - Former Governor Mark Warner