Governor
Releases April "Open for Business" Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The
April 2007 report highlights projects and
related announcements that will assist with
the creation of new jobs and the preservation
of a significant number of existing jobs.
NGK Spark Plugs
to expand in Sissonville
NGK Spark Plugs USA Inc. is building a new
spark plug assembly facility in Sissonville,
W.Va. The manufacturer plans to build the
new facility next to the oxygen sensor plant
and distribution center it already operates
in Kanawha County. The existing plant employs
about 220 people. NGK anticipates that the
initial assembly and production of the new
plant will begin in the third quarter of 2008.
NGK decided to build because its California
plant cannot keep up with increased demand
and has no space for expansion. The company
researched locations for the new plant for
about a year before deciding on Sissonville.
Based on the 12-year positive history of a
dedicated work force and the cooperative efforts
of governmental and private agencies, the
commitment to West Virginia was an obvious
choice, company officials said.
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Company to produce
biodiesel at Bayer site in Institute
Illinois-based Emerald Biofuels LLC has announced
a $15 million project to produce biodiesel
fuel at the Bayer CropScience site in Institute,
W.Va. Construction of the production facility
is expected to start in June at the Institute
site, with product shipment beginning by the
end of the year. A contract between Bayer
CropScience and Emerald Biofuels, based in
Golf, Ill., calls for 30 million gallons of
biodiesel fuel from the plant annually. At
least a dozen employees from Bayer CropScience
will support the biodiesel plant.
David Drew, president and chief executive
officer of Emerald Biofuels, said, "The
Bayer CropScience Manufacturing Industrial
Park in Institute offers a strategic manufacturing
location for us; distribution by truck, rail
and barge; and Bayer CropScience’s world-class
resources that they’ll be providing
for the operation, maintenance and supervision
of the facility."
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Governor welcomes
Enviro Tech to West Virginia
Enviro Tech International Inc. has acquired
the assets of Farr Manufacturing and Engineering,
a move that keeps the Williamstown, W.Va.,
plant open and preserves more than 40 manufacturing
jobs.
"We congratulate Enviro Tech owners
Larry Clark and Ted LaMantia for recognizing
the business opportunity in purchasing Farr
Manufacturing," said Gov. Joe Manchin.
"We appreciate Enviro Tech’s timely
purchase that allows … the retention
of more than 40 good manufacturing jobs in
the state, and the planned creation of 25
to 50 additional jobs."
Illinois-based Enviro Tech manufactures solvents
and degreasers that are used as the cleaning
solvents for the degreasing equipment produced
by Farr Manufacturing. FARR Manufacturing
Division of the ETI Corporation will continue
to produce vapor degreasing systems, solvent
recovery systems, aqueous cleaning systems,
heat treating furnaces and other industrial
equipment, said Enviro Tech President Larry
Clark.
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State
unemployment rate at 5.4 percent, lowest February
rate on record
West Virginia’s unemployment rate was
5.4 percent in February, the lowest February
rate on record, WORKFORCE West Virginia reported.
The total number of unemployed state residents
was 43,800 and total unemployment was down
1,800 over the year. Total nonfarm payroll
employment added 2,300 jobs, with a gain of
3,800 in the service-providing sector, overpowering
a decline of 1,500 in the goods-producing
sector.
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AEP to
install carbon capture on two existing power
plants
American Electric Power will install carbon
capture on two coal-fired power plants, the
first commercial use of technologies to significantly
reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing
plants. The first installation on Mountaineer
Plant in New Haven is expected to complete
its product validation phase in 2008 and begin
commercial operation in 2011.
"AEP’s carbon capture initiative
furthers our goal of developing new technology
that allows us to increase the use of West
Virginia coal, while reducing the impact of
greenhouse gases. It’s fitting that
a West Virginia power generation plant will
be the first one retrofitted with this new
technology and I commend AEP for taking the
lead in reducing these emissions," said
Gov. Joe Manchin. "Combined with the
scrubber technology the company is installing
on its coal-fired plants across the country,
the carbon capture program is enhancing our
state’s ability to meet our country’s
energy demands."
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Biotech company
to manufacture lab device in Morgantown
A company founded in 2002 by West Virginia
University researchers to commercialize new
scientific technology is launching its first
product line. The Protea Explorer System,
a $30,000 device developed at Protea Biosciences
in Morgantown, allows scientists to complete
a week’s worth of work in three hours.
It is expected to be in heavy demand among
the 12,000 pharmaceutical, biotech and academic
laboratories around the world where protein
research is conducted. The device integrates
the complex steps of protein analysis, said
Protea CEO Steven Turner, and provides results
in a few hours. In addition to the vast increase
in speed, the enclosed system protects samples
from contamination and allows better results
from small quantities of biological materials.
The new devices will be manufactured at Protea’s
facilities near the Morgantown airport. "We
have 10 employees in Morgantown, and I expect
that to double in the next six months,"
Turner said.
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State Small
Business Development Center names new director
Mary Elizabeth "M.E." Yancosek Gamble
has been named director of the West Virginia
Small Business Development Center (WVSBDC).
Formerly the small business developer for
Loudoun County, Va., and regional director
for the WVSBDC in Fairmont, Yancosek Gamble
has extensive experience in training, marketing
and organizational communication. She has
degrees from California University of Pennsylvania
and Marshall University and she owns Yancosek
Gamble LLC.
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Sitel to
add 150 jobs to Huntington facility
Following a recent merger and expanded partnership
with XM Satellite Radio, Sitel Corp. will
hire about 150 new employees for its Huntington
facility. In January 2007, Sitel merged with
ClientLogic, a leading global business process
outsourcing provider. Sitel also recently
announced the expansion of its partnership
with XM Satellite Radio to continue providing
customer service, technical support and customer
retention services for XM’s 7.6 million
subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
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Entrepreneurship
Week USA celebrated at Capitol
West Virginia entrepreneurs, community leaders,
educators and young people honored Entrepreneurship
Week USA from Feb. 24 to March 3. The event
encouraged the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship Day at the Capitol featured
a lemonade stand project for which fifth-grade
classes carried out business plans they developed
for their stands. A reception at the Governor’s
Mansion acknowledged entrepreneurs’
contributions to the state’s economy
and allowed business owners to network with
their legislators. West Virginia: A Vision
Shared hosted the events.
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New asphalt
plant to locate in Mingo County
Appalachian Paving will locate its new asphalt
and concrete plant in Mingo County. The new
plant is expected to bring 20 to 25 new jobs
to Tug Valley. Plans call for the new operation
to be based in Belo Industrial Park.
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Three communities
receive funding for infrastructure improvements
The West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection helped three communities
successfully apply for financing from the
Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The funding
program recently committed more than $13 million
to Logan in Logan County, Fairmont in Marion
County and the Putnam Public Service District
in Putnam County for the future construction
of sewage treatment facilities. The low-interest
loans will be repaid during the next 20 to
40 years. Construction will start after all
regulatory approvals and permits are obtained.
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First Ashley Furniture
HomeStore in West Virginia opens
The first Ashley Furniture HomeStore
in West Virginia opened in March at Southridge
Centre in Charleston. The Southridge Center
Ashley HomeStore is larger than 45,000 square
feet and will employ 45 people when fully
staffed, reports owner Bob Young. The independently
owned Ashley stores sell furniture produced
by Ashley Furniture Industries. Unlike traditional
furniture stores, Ashley stores do not keep
inventory. Instead, customer selections are
ordered and then filled from the store’s
warehouse.
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Morgantown named a "Distinctive
Destination" by National Trust for Historic
Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation
recently named Morgantown one of its Dozen
Distinctive Destinations for 2007. Morgantown
was selected from among 63 destinations in
27 states. The prestigious annual designation
recognizes communities in which residents
have worked to preserve the historic and scenic
assets of their towns.
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Snowshoe Mountain and Sawmill Village
to construct new trails at region’s
premier ski resort
Snowshoe Mountain and premier residential
development company Sawmill Village will construct
two new ski trails at the Pocahontas County
resort in West Virginia. The new slopes will
increase the number of Snowshoe’s ski
trails to 59. The deal includes an investment
of roughly $1 million for construction of
the two trails, which will be adjacent to
the Sawmill Village development in Snowshoe’s
South Mountain area.
One trail will be for expert skiers and snowboarders,
while the other will be an intermediate trail.
Despite relatively warm temperatures early
in the season, skier visits for the 2006-2007
ski season increased three percent over the
previous year. The season ended April 1.
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New housing bonds remove biggest
obstacle to first-time home ownership
The West Virginia Housing Development Fund
has completed a $60 million bond issuance,
which will make available to qualified West
Virginia homebuyers 100 percent mortgages
with no down payment. The $60 million will
be available to fund mortgage loans for more
than 600 qualified West Virginia applicants.
The money is available through 70 of the state’s
lenders that participate in the program. Applicant
income and home price limits apply and vary
by county.
"The sale of West Virginia Housing Development
Fund AAA-rated bonds will allow us to provide
West Virginians with very affordable 30-year
mortgages, and mortgages that don’t
require a down payment," said Gov. Joe
Manchin, who is chairman of the Housing Development
Fund’s board of directors. "This
program removes the biggest obstacle to home
ownership, a down payment."
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Yeager Airport to add more flights
to Atlanta
Starting in June, Delta Connection will offer
five daily flights to Atlanta and three to
Cincinnati seven days a week, said Yeager
Airport executive director Rick Atkinson.
Currently, the airline offers that many flights
three days a week. For bargain hunters, the
beefed-up flight schedule "will make
more seats available for low-fare status,"
Atkinson said. The flights will mean an extra
388 departure seats each week.
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Spring turkey season starts April
23
West Virginia’s spring turkey season
opens April 23 and runs through May 19. The
state Division of Natural Resources (DNR)
Wildlife Resources Section reports that the
2006 spring gobbler harvest was 11,735, up
7.1 percent from the previous year.
The first big game season of the year, spring
gobbler season is growing in popularity. The
National Wild Turkey Federation estimates
that turkey hunters spend about $800 each
year on their sport, including licenses, permits,
firearms, hunting gear and travel-related
expenses, contributing significantly to the
estimated $360 million economic impact of
all hunting seasons in West Virginia each
year.
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West Virginia Small Business Development
Center helps 382 clients in March
The West Virginia Small Business Development
Center (SDBC) provided 663 hours of counseling
and training to 382 clients last month. The
SDBC has provided 4,168 hours of counseling
and training to 1,819 clients this fiscal
year beginning Oct. 1, helping to create or
retain 204 jobs. SDBC staff trained 200 people
at 19 events in March and trained 1,102 people
this fiscal year. Nine loans totaling $365,000
were approved in March. Forty loans totaling
more than $4.8 million have been approved
fiscal year-to-date. New customer satisfaction
was 100 percent in March and for the year.
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