Governor
Releases July "Open for Business" Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The
July 2007 report highlights projects and related
announcements that will help create new jobs
and preserve existing jobs in the Mountain
State.
Hino Motors to
open assembly plant in Wood County
Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. will open
an assembly plant in Williamstown, Wood County.
This is the first vehicle assembly facility
in West Virginia. It is also the first U.S.
assembly plant for Hino Motors. The company
expects to hire about 80 people within its
first year. Hino, which produces Class 4-7
medium-duty trucks, expects the plant to be
fully operational by November.
Hino will occupy the former Walker Systems
plant on West Virginia Route 14, investing
$8.6 million to purchase and upgrade the facility
and install manufacturing equipment at the
194,000-square-foot plant. Walker closed the
Williamstown facility in 2005, vacating the
30.35-acre site.
Gov. Joe Manchin, Sen. Jay Rockefeller and
Hino Motors President Hideichiro Chikahiro
made the announcement with Wood County and
Williamstown officials.
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State
unemployment rate falls to lowest May on record
West Virginia’s unemployment
rate fell to 4.4 percent, the lowest May level
on record, WORKFORCE West Virginia reported.
The service-producing sector added 4,600 jobs.
The goods-producing sector swelled by 1,800
jobs. The total number of unemployed state
residents fell by 1,200 to 35,800.
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Expansion
Management ranks West Virginia 8th for attracting,
retaining new business
West Virginia is among the nation’s
leaders in attracting businesses, according
to an extensive study completed by Expansion
Management magazine and the National Policy
Research Center. The study ranks West Virginia
eighth among the 50 states. The study also
ranks three West Virginia cities among the
top 20 small metro areas for business recruitment
and attraction. Charleston was ranked eighth,
Parkersburg 14th and Wheeling 17th.
The study appears in the May-June 2007 issue
of Expansion Management.
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West Virginia
nets more then $800 million from tobacco securitization
The successful completion of West Virginia’s
tobacco securitization will generate more
than $807 million in net proceeds, Gov. Joe
Manchin announced on June 14. The funds will
help assure the stability of state teacher
pensions.
The state Legislature set a target for the
proceeds at $800 million and that goal was
exceeded by more than $7 million. The landmark
deal is the single-largest West Virginia bond
issue and the largest taxable tobacco securitization
in the United States to date, said officials
from Citigroup, the lead bookrunning manager
on the transaction. The sale, along with earlier
advance payments to the teachers’ and
other retirement systems, will save the state
well in excess of $2.5 billion.
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Weatherford
Fracturing to open office in Upshur County
Weatherford Fracturing Technologies will open
an office on a 30-acre site near Buckhannon,
Upshur County. Weatherford expects to hire
at least 65 and spend $34 million on land
and construction, said spokesman Rick Smith.
The company also plans another office in Holden,
Mingo County, in southern West Virginia. Both
offices are part of a $68 million expansion
targeting the state’s oil and gas industry.
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InfoCision plans
to expand Huntington center, staff
InfoCision plans to boost its staff level
after completing its call center expansion
later this year. The customer services firm
employs 225 workers in Huntington and has
about 100 full- and part-time openings. The
Huntington expansion, expected to be wrapped
up by September, includes an on-site fitness
center and physician’s office. The goal
is to increase workers’ quality of life
and reduce corporate health care costs, InfoCision
officials said in a news release.
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Agreement among
CNX Gas-Peabody-CONSOL expected to preserve
jobs
An agreement among CNX Gas Corp., CONSOL Energy
Inc. and Peabody Energy is expected to extend
the life of a West Virginia coal mine by as
many as 10 years. Gov. Joe Manchin helped
bring the sides to the negotiating table to
reach the agreement, which doubles the reserves
and expected life of Peabody’s Federal
No. 2 Mine near Fairview, W.Va. In the agreement,
Peabody obtains the coal reserves, which allows
the mine to remain open; CNX, which has the
technology to extract coal bed methane, acquires
the gas assets from Peabody; and CONSOL gets
a cash payment for the assets it transfers.
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ATK receives $18
million rolling airframe missile contract
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) has received an
$18 million contract to upgrade the solid
propellant rocket motor of Raytheon’s
Block 2 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM). Work
on the RAM rocket motor system design and
development contract will be performed by
ATK at its manufacturing center in Rocket
Center, W.Va. According to the contract, ATK
will design, develop and test a boost-sustain
rocket motor that extends the missile’s
range and maneuverability. RAM provides U.S.
Navy surface ships with a lightweight, low-cost
self-defense system to defend against incoming
anti-ship cruise missiles and other threats.
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Rentech and Mingo
County officials agree to next phase of coal-to-liquid
fuel project
Representatives of Rentech Inc.
and the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority
recently signed an agreement to continue the
development of a coal-to-liquid plant in the
county. With the due-diligence phase now complete,
the agreement gives the green light to the
next phase of the $3 billion project. Rentech
executives said the Mingo County plant’s
carbon dioxide "footprint" and a
plan for capturing its emissions will be addressed
during this phase of the project. Projections
are that the Mingo County plant will be operational
by 2012.
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Chinese business
delegation visits West Virginia
A delegation from Shanxi province, People’s
Republic of China, recently visited Morgantown
and Charleston to talk about mutual business
opportunities. Like West Virginia, Shanxi
province is a major coal producer. The visit
to West Virginia was part of a whirlwind tour
of six cities that concluded in Washington.
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National study
shows West Virginia ahead of the curve in
graduation, work readiness
Today’s high school graduates
need at least some college to gain access
to decent-paying careers, according to the
2007 edition of "Diplomas Count."
And those without even a high school diploma
will face increasingly bleak labor-market
prospects. The study found that West Virginia’s
graduation rates were ahead of the national
average rate in 2003-04, when 71.7 percent
of all students graduated, compared to 69.9
percent nationally.
West Virginia is one of 11 states that has
defined college readiness as part of its master
plan for education. West Virginia also is
one of only five states that differentiates
between college readiness and work readiness.
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West Virginia
technical education graduates get WorkKeys
program credentials
This year’s qualified graduates
of West Virginia career and technical education
schools and community colleges were the first
in the state to receive WorkKeys Career Readiness
Certificates. The WorkKeys program assesses
abilities in applied math, locating information
and reading for information. Recipients receive
nationally recognized certificates that document
their work-readiness skills. The WorkKeys
credentials are part of a new WORKFORCE West
Virginia initiative to match jobs with qualified
job seekers and demonstrate to prospective
employers that the state has a ready workforce.
The recent graduates were assessed as part
of the school curriculum. Current and prospective
employees can get WorkKeys assessments from
WORKFORCE West Virginia Career Centers.
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West Virginia leads
the nation in narrowing the gender pay gap
Women still earn less than men, but come the
closest to reaching parity in West Virginia.
A revealing study by the American Association
of University Women found that even just one
year after college graduation, women earn
only 80 percent of what men do. Overall, the
gap widens over time. Louisiana has the biggest
pay disparity, as college-educated women over
25 earn just 64 percent of their male counterparts.
At 89 percent, West Virginia comes the closest
to reaching pay equality.
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WVEDA
approves funds for five firms
The West Virginia Economic Development Authority
gave final approval to five loans during its
June meeting.
- Snider Construction and Development, LLC,
$800,000, to buy four acres in Jane Lew,
Lewis County, and to finance a facility
to be leased to Leader Energy Services USA
Ltd. Leader provides coiled tubing and cement
services for the gas well industry in West
Virginia and surrounding states.
- David and Dorothy Suit, $114,750, to
expand their billiards supply company, Hampton
Ridge Billiards. Based in Palestine, Roane
County, the company offers billiard supplies
such as cues, cases, furniture, teaching
videos and accessories.
- Tug Properties LLC, $787,000, for property
in Campbell’s Creek, Kanawha County.
Kanawha Electric and Machine Company will
relocate from its existing facility in Shrewsbury
to its new facility in Campbell’s
Creek. The company will renovate existing
buildings and erect a new building for its
motor repair and machining operation.
- Polymer Alliance Services LLC, $367,360
for equipment, machinery and fixtures; and
$756,700, for expansion of its existing
plant in Washington, Wood County. The company
processes, packages and warehouses products
for DuPont. It also converts scrap polymer
into pellets.
- Merrick Engineering Inc., $787,378, to
purchase and install injection-molding equipment
for its manufacturing facility in Clarksburg,
Harrison County. Merrick is one of the world’s
largest producers of hangers and closet
accessories.
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