If you get an advertisement in the mail, there's a chance it came from Bedford County.
Mail America has been in Forest since 1989, printing and sending out documents for clients.
"We love Bedford County," said Mail America's managing director, David Collins. "It's been a very important partner to us."
The partnership could have ended last year.
Business was declining, and Mail America needed to downsize its workforce.
"We had to make some decisions on how we were going to stay in business," said Mail America president, Dan Reber.
One of the options? Shut down the Forest plant and move jobs to Texas.
Company leaders chose to do the opposite.
"What we chose to do was close down the Texas plant," Reber said.
150 people lost their jobs in Texas, but the company was able to save more than 300 jobs in Bedford County.
By consolidating its operation in Forest, Mail America is now poised to expand. The company is moving part of its operation to the old Gammapar building.
40 new workers have been hired, and that's just the beginning. Mail America is spending $5-million in Bedford County, with plans to add 75 jobs in the next three years.
"The county's help was able to make that decision a little bit easier, because it costs money to move a plant," said Reber.
The Virginia Tobacco Commission is giving Mail America $160,000. That money, along with a grant from Bedford's economic development office, is keeping manufacturing jobs in Virginia.
"We have a great, well-trained workforce here," said Delegate Kathy Byron, who represents the Forest area in the Virginia General Assembly and sits on the Virginia Tobacco Commission.
"We have a low tax rate and it's just a beautiful environment for businesses to grow and thrive in," Byron said.
Mail America now occupies two large buildings in Forest: an expanded footprint that's keeping local workers employed.
