Governor
Releases November "Open for Business" Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov.
Joe Manchin today released the latest “Open
for Business” report documenting the
state’s economic progress. The November
2006 report highlights projects and related
announcements that will assist with the creation
of as many as 1,400 new jobs and the preservation
of a significant number of existing jobs.
 Resort
developers to build $87 million indoor water
park in Fairmont
The Water Works and American Resort Management
companies announced an $87 million indoor
water park and family resort that will be
built starting next year on a 25-acre site
along the Monongahela River near I-79 in Marion
County. The Volcano Island Resort project
will infuse millions of dollars into the local
economy and create as many as 475 new jobs.
It will feature a 50,000-square-foot indoor
water park; a 30,000-square foot conference
center; a five-acre outdoor water park; marina
and lake; multiple restaurants; full-service
spa and 300 suites overlooking the river.
It is expected to open by mid-2008, and will
be one of the largest private development
projects in state history.
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Huntington
customer services center to bring 300 new
jobs
Houston’s GC Services LP will spend
$1.9 million to open its second Huntington,
W.Va., customer service center and add 300
jobs to the local economy. GC Services will
lease about 12,000 square feet of space in
West Huntington’s Commerce Park, with
room for an additional 20,000 square feet
of expansion. The company contracts with Fortune
500 companies to provide customer service,
receivables management and strategic business
intelligence, and currently employs 1,000
in its other Huntington center, which opened
with only 150 workers in 1998.
Mark A. Schordock, senior vice president
of operations for GC Services, said that in
1998 the company didn’t realize how
successful its partnership with Huntington
would become. “So when we started looking
at options for a new center, naturally, Huntington
was a top choice,” he said.
The new jobs will provide complete benefits,
including medical insurance and long-term
disability.
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Mountain
State Blue Cross Blue Shield to build $27
million Parkersburg headquarters
Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield plans
to invest as much as $27 million to build
a new downtown Parkersburg, W.Va., headquarters
building to accommodate the company’s
growing number of workers. The five-story,
125,000 square-foot building will be built
across from its current facility starting
by October 2007 and ready for occupancy by
February 2009.
When the company located in Parkersburg in
1991, it employed 91, while today more than
550 work there. It expects to hire 170 more
employees in the next 12 to 15 months, in
addition to those jobs created by the actual
construction. The move allows Mountain State
Blue Cross Blue Shield to place all its Parkersburg
operations, which currently are in three buildings,
under one roof.
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State
saves $6.3 million with refinancing of bonds,
has ‘solid financial management practices’
The State of West Virginia refinanced infrastructure
bonds originally issued in 1996, saving taxpayers
$6,290,084 in future payments and making an
additional $470,000 per year available for
water and wastewater projects across the state.
The refinance lowers the interest rate from
an average of 5.39 percent to 4.79 percent,
and is part of Gov. Joe Manchin’s “Responsible
Government” initiative. The three national
bond rating agencies reviewed West Virginia’s
finances and upheld the investment grade rating,
with one firm acknowledging the state’s
“solid financial management practices”
and “ability to tackle large-scale financial
challenges.”
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State
Small Business Development Center recertifies
its top-quality rating
The West Virginia Small Business Development
Center (WVSBDC) refreshed its ISO 9001-2000
internal auditor certification to keep up
with the latest developments in quality management.
In November 2003, the Small Business Development
Division of the West Virginia Development
Office (WVSBDD) achieved ISO 9001:2000 registration
for all operations including the WVSBDC program,
the Micro Loan program, the Commercialization
program and the Small Business Work Force
program. The WVSBDD was the first statewide
governmental small business development program
to achieve this designation.
West Virginia Small Business Development
Center representatives also received Small
Business Innovative Research and Small Business
Technology Transfer training in October, programs
that expand funding and public-private partnership
opportunities for small businesses.
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West
Virginia’s tourism industry attracting
international media attention
The state Division of Tourism and its tourism
business partners played host to travel writers
from Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom,
which is expected to result in magazine and
newspaper feature stories in those markets
in the coming months. The Canadian group visited
three West Virginia golf resorts as part of
a three-state tour highlighting southern golf
opportunities. The German and U.K. groups
traveled to locations across the state in
search of the best autumn color. West Virginia’s
golf, fall foliage, wildlife viewing and hiking
opportunities, in addition to its friendly
residents, top-notch state parks and outstanding
resorts are popular for international tourists.
Canadians tend to visit West Virginia on their
way to the South for the winter, while the
European tourists find West Virginia easy
to reach through international gateways in
Washington, Pittsburgh and Charlotte, said
Betty Carver, West Virginia tourism commissioner.
On the domestic front, members of the Society
of American Travel Writers selected Elkins’
Mountain State Forest Festival as one of the
top fall festivals in North America.
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U.S.
Coast Guard to open maritime center in Martinsburg
The U.S. General Services Administration awarded
a $30 million contract to build the U.S. Coast
Guard National Maritime Center in downtown
Martinsburg, which will bring 250 jobs to
the area. The facility, which is expected
to be complete by next fall and fully functional
by summer 2008, centralizes licensing and
documentation programs at 17 regional centers
throughout the country and at the National
Maritime Center in Arlington, Va. The center
currently has a temporary home near Kearneysville
that is expected to employ 45 by early next
year.
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Economists
expect Eastern Panhandle to continue growth
next five years
West Virginia University economists predict
that a diverse economy in the state’s
Eastern Panhandle will maintain its job, income
and population growth through the next five
years. Economic growth in the three counties
of the Eastern Panhandle has matched or exceeded
national averages the last few years. Dr.
George Hammond of WVU’s Bureau of Business
and Economic Research said the panhandle’s
job prospects in construction trades, hospitality,
health care and education, coupled with highly
educated residents with high incomes, aid
the region’s performance.
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Mineral
County weapons lab to undergo millions in
renovations
A federal defense spending bill appropriates
$60 million for the replacement of aging buildings
at the U.S. Navy’s expanding Allegany
Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, W.Va.
ABL and the companies under its umbrella provide
high-tech weapons solutions and employ nearly
1,400 in Department of Defense contract work
in West Virginia. Alliant Techsystems, one
of the ABL companies, has a $10 million contract
to build rotor tubes used in nuclear power
plants, which will create 100 new jobs at
ABL in 2008.
The upgrades at the plant also will allow
the Navy and National Archives and Records
Administration to use the Mineral County complex
for its electronic records archive program.
Another $12 million in the spending bill will
support Alliant Techsystems’ extended
range munitions program.
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45
West Virginia exporters recognized for reaching
new international markets
Gov. Joe Manchin joined the West Virginia
Export Council and the U.S. Department of
Commerce to commend 45 West Virginia companies
that export their products to more than 70
countries across the globe. Manchin presented
company officials the Governor's Commendation
for International Market Entry, an award plaque
that, in the tradition of displaying the first
dollar a business earns, instead includes
currency from each of the countries to which
the companies export. More than 450 of these
awards, representing export sales to 108 countries,
have been presented since 2002.
West Virginia exports totaled $3.1 billion
last year and contributed 12,000 jobs to the
state’s economy.
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Berkeley
Springs company testing mobile surveillance
system for U.S. troops, border patrols
STS International of Berkeley Springs is testing
for the U.S. Army a movable camera system
that can detect motion along borders and across
long stretches of land. The sensor camera
units can be towed to different locations
and adjusted to varying terrain, and could
replace some troop patrols or give more warning
to soldiers. STS President Ted Morgan said
because of their portability and the need
for less manpower, they could be used along
the Mexican border, as well as around military
bases, traffic control points and other areas
that require surveillance.
The units cost more than $1 million each,
but might possibly replace a 10-person squad
on patrol, Morgan said. The test units are
built in Berkeley Springs, and STS is preparing
to send some to Iraq for trial under real-life
conditions.
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Southern
West Virginia company a world leader in mining
equipment
The A.L. Lee Corp. of Lester, W.Va., unveiled
the world’s first “combo”
machine for the underground coal industry,
continuing its nearly 40-year tradition of
custom building equipment that makes underground
mining safer and easier. The massive 25-ton
ST-20, which was built in Lester, is a road
grader, a scoop and bucket and a towing tractor
all in one. The diesel-powered machine quickly
and efficiently repairs underground roads,
making a smoother, safer and more comfortable
ride for miners, said Leonard Urtso, A.L.
Lee’s president and general manager.
The company has built supply and utility
vehicles and other underground mining machines
for use in Turkey, the Ukraine, Poland, Australia,
Canada, Mexico and South Africa, in addition
to West Virginia. A.L. Lee employs more than
80 and has produced more than 4,500 machines
used worldwide.
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State
unemployment rate drops almost one percent
in September
West Virginia’s unemployment rate plunged
nine-tenths of one percent to 4.7 percent
in September, reducing the state’s total
unemployed residents by 8,000. Since September
2005, total nonfarm payroll employment has
risen by 8,200, with the following gains:
- 2,600 in trade, transportation and utilities
- 2,000 in construction
- 1,300 in leisure and hospitality
- 900 in natural resources and mining
- 700 in educational and health services
- 600 in professional and business services
- 200 in manufacturing
- 100 in information
Government employment was unchanged over the year, while the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined a half-percent in September.
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Small
Business Development Center advises more entrepreneurs
The West Virginia Small Business Development
Center helped create or retain 69 jobs in
October. Capital infusions into client businesses
totaled $1,388,500. During October, WVSBDC
first-time clients reported that they employed
88 people. New client satisfaction was 100
percent for the month.
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Economic
Development Authority approves $542,250 to
help Cabell business
Huntington Industrial Corp.
of Huntington, W.Va., received preliminary
approval on a $542,250 loan to expand by
nearly 10,000 feet a call center it leases
to InfoCision Management Corp. of Akron,
Ohio. The expansion, which will bring the
building’s size to about 24,000 feet,
is expected to create as many as 100 new
jobs within a year. InfoCision currently
employs 279 in Huntington, and operates
22 call centers in three states.
Note: These loans do not include those
EDA loans that received final approval in
October. Those loans were listed in previous
Open for Business reports as receiving preliminary
approval.
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