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Council announces
Burns' retirement
Gov. Cecil H. Underwood and the West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development announced they regretfully would accept the retirement and resignation of Thomas C. Burns as executive director of the West Virginia Development Office.
“Tom is an outstanding leader who has provided enthusiasm and direction to our development efforts for nearly four years,” Gov. Underwood said.
“This has been a period of great prosperity and growth for economic development statewide. Our unemployment rate is at its lowest level in 20 years and we have created a record number of new jobs.”
Burns has served in this capacity since returning to West Virginia from New Zealand in March 1995.
“I view this decision with ambivalence. On the one hand I’m eager to spend more time with my wife and family, and, on the other, I will miss this great team. The state development team has made significant strides in bringing new industry to the state and assisting existing business in expansion ... I couldn’t have asked for a more devoted, committed group of people to work with for the past four years,” Burns said.
Dana D. Davis, deputy director of the West Virginia Development Office, will serve as interim executive director until a search yields a replacement for Burns.
Council Chairman Don Rigby said, “While we completely understand Tom’s desire to relax, travel and enjoy his family, we will miss his leadership and team-building initiatives in economic development.”
West Virginia has record
job creation in 1998
Gov. Cecil H. Underwood announced 10,690 jobs were created in West Virginia in 1998, exceeding the record single-year job creation total of 9,613 jobs set in 1997.
Additionally, more than $1.2 billion in total capital investment was committed to new business projects with 158 companies announcing the location of new facilities or the expansion of existing facilities. New investment projects made up more than 56 percent of 1998 job growth, an increase from a year ago.
January 1999 is the biggest month on record with 1,446 jobs created.
Manufacturing jobs bring
$969 million in capital investment
Investments in West Virginia’s manufacturing sector exceeded those in the service sector by more than a 3-to-1 margin in 1998.
A total of 122 manufacturing sector projects accounted for more than $969 million in capital investment in 1998, compared to 63 service sector projects totaling $295 million.
“West Virginia is providing companies with the essential advantages to compete in an expanding global economy,” Gov. Underwood said. “These record results for the second consecutive year confirm our state is moving in the right direction.”
The governor and the West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development honored the companies that contributed to the state’s success at an Investors Appreciation Dinner: 1998 Partners for Success event at the State Capitol in January.
Job creation momentum continues:
TicketMaster announces 700 positions
TicketMaster Inc. will build a $5 million, 23,000-square-foot telecommunications center in Charleston, creating 700 new jobs.
Based in Los Angeles, TicketMaster is the largest provider of entertainment event ticketing services in the world. Formed in 1988, the company has 6,500 employees worldwide and reported more than $230 million in sales for 1997.
The Charleston service center in the North Gate Business Park is the newest and most technologically advanced facility TicketMaster has ever built.
Completion of construction is expected by July of this year.
The West Virginia Development Office, BIDCO, the city of Charleston and Kanawha County provided assistance for the project.
West Virginia gets highest
education grades in the nation
For the third consecutive year, West Virginia received the highest overall score nationwide in Education Week’s “Quality Counts” report, which evaluates states on education standards and assessments, quality of teaching, school climate, and adequacy, equity and allocation of resources.
West Virginia earned an A- for its curriculum standards and its system of assessing student performance; a solid B for the quality of teaching; an A for adequacy of resources; and a B+ for equity in funding its school districts.
A grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts for a comprehensive study of efforts to improve education in the nation’s K-12 public schools funded the report.
Company expands vinyl window
operation in Huntington
West Virginia’s large available work force prompted window maker SNE Enterprises to expand its Huntington operation.
The company makes windows in Wisconsin and in West Virginia but decided to move its vinyl window operations to Huntington, keeping only the production of wood windows in Wisconsin.
The move adds 150 to 300 jobs at the Huntington plant. SNE Enterprises invested an additional $1 million in its move to West Virginia.
The company, which first came to Huntington in 1997, leases its site from the Huntington Area Development Council.
West Virginia leads
trade mission to India
The West Virginia Development Office led a trade mission to India in February to develop new markets for mining equipment manufactured in West Virginia.
“We believe that this trade mission offers West Virginia companies an extraordinary opportunity to enter this market, which is the world’s third-largest producer of coal,” said Thomas C. Burns, executive director of the West Virginia Development Office.
India, designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce as one of the top 10 emerging markets for U.S. companies, won a $1.6 billion World Bank loan to update and expand its coal mining operations.
Participating companies include Conn-Weld Industries, Princeton; Peters Equipment, Bluefield, Va., with manufacturing facilities in West Virginia; W.R. Ramsey and Associates, Millwood; Phillips Machine Service, Beckley; and Wheeling Corrugating, Wheeling. Pennsylvania joined West Virginia in leading the mission.
Teleservices company opens
call center in Bluefield
Civic Development Group, a New Jersey-based teleservices company, will create 150 jobs at its seventh teleservices center in West Virginia when it begins operations in Bluefield.
The company provides direct sales for Fortune 500 companies, fund-raising organizations, and telecommunications and mortgage companies.
Civic Development Group also operates call centers in Charleston, Clarksburg, Elkins, Huntington, Parkersburg and Wellsburg.
100 new jobs expected in new
wood products industrial park
West Virginia and Mingo County officials broke ground in January for the Mingo Wood Products Industrial Park.
The park will provide up to 680 acres of property for industrial development, targeted specifically to wood products manufacturers.
The first phase of development, which will provide 73 usable acres, includes the creation of shell buildings for wood products companies and a dry kiln operation.
A consortium of local and out-of-state lumber producers plans to operate a new hardwood flooring manufacturing facility and the dry kiln as the initial operations, which will employ about 100 people.
“This project represents an important investment in the future of southern West Virginia and a major step toward the diversification of the region’s economy,” said Gov. Cecil H. Underwood.
State and federal money will fund the project, including a water extension to the site, water system construction, property acquisition and road construction. Additional acreage will be developed based on the needs of future tenants.
New silver oxide recovery
plant brings jobs
A New York-based company’s decision to locate a silver oxide recovery plant in Institute saves transportation costs for two companies.
Union Carbide plants worldwide send used silver catalyst to the Institute plant. Silver catalyst aids reactions that produce ethylene glycol, which can be formed into polyester fiber for fabric and resin for plastic bottles.
Workers package the solid material in 50-gallon drums or bags for the 725-mile trip to Glen Falls, New York. Ames Goldsmith Corp. recovers the valuable silver from the used catalyst and ships it 725 miles back to Institute.
Ames Goldsmith plans to open a new, 30,000-square-foot refining facility less than a mile from the Union Carbide manufacturing units.
Union Carbide will be the plant’s sole customer, but because the company increasingly demands greater quantities of silver catalyst, Ames Goldsmith plans to double its capacity in five years.
Program helps companies
get ISO 9000 certification
The Governor’s Guaranteed Work Force Program (GGWFP) provides quality work force development for West Virginia’s new and existing industries, expanding opportunities available to the labor force through the jobs the industries create.
Representatives from the program also can help large and small companies attain ISO 9000 quality standards, which provide a way to study their operations, identify problem areas and improve overall quality and efficiency.
SMC Electrical Products in Huntington, which designs and manufactures motor starters, electrical controls and distribution equipment for the mining industry, recently attained ISO 9001 certification with help from the GGWFP.
To learn more about ISO 9000 quality standards and how they can improve competitiveness, contact the Governor’s Guaranteed Work Force Program at 1-800-982-3386.
Village at Heritage Point
caters to seniors
A $26 million, state-of-the-art continuing care retirement community opens this summer for senior adults in Monongalia County and surrounding areas.
The Village at Heritage Point in Morgantown will have three connected components: a three-story independent-living building with 90 one- and two-bedroom apartment homes; a commons area with country club facilities; and a two-story assisted-living building with 40 efficiency and one-bedroom apartments.
The Foundation of Monongalia General Hospital and Monongalia Health System, Inc., sponsor the Village.
Charleston 33rd on list
of magazine's "50 Hottest Cities"
Charleston is one of America’s “50 Hottest Cities,” according to Expansion Management magazine.
In its January 1999 issue, the magazine shared results discovered by 60 of the most prominent site location specialists in the country.
They looked at American cities in terms of business climate, quality and availability of workers, taxes, incentives and quality of life.
In the article by senior writer Lance Yoder, the specialists also considered extra efforts by politicians and economic development officials in landing their clients’ business.
The survey focused on second-tier cities that are getting a majority of facility relocations. Charleston ranked 33rd, ahead of such cities as Ft. Lauderdale and Pensacola in Florida; Reno, Nev.; and Baltimore, Md.
Wood furniture manufacturer
lands contract with Sam's Club
A $1.5 million wood furniture manufacturing facility in Sutton will create more than 40 new jobs.
Harpeth Resources Group’s furniture for the home, office and ready-to-assemble furniture markets will be distributed through national retailers, mass merchandisers and major home centers.
Sam’s Club, the membership-only warehouse store chain run by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., recently signed a $3.5 million order. Company officials are currently bidding on contracts with retailers such as Price-Costco, BJs, Tucker Designs and Regency Leathers.
“We welcome Harpeth Resources Group to West Virginia’s growing family of wood industry leaders,” said Gov. Cecil H. Underwood.
The Braxton County Development Authority, the Central Appalachia Empowerment Zone of West Virginia and Mountain CAP of West Virginia worked with state officials to package financing and provide working capital for the new company.
West Virginia Development Office
attends high-tech networking event
The West Virginia Development Office made its first appearance at NEPCON, the premier marketing event to the high-tech manufacturing sector, February 23-25, 1999, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.
The team presented its “Wired for Success” exhibit to conference attendees.
Industry representatives attending the conference included engineers focusing on production, manufacturing, design, packaging, quality assurance and control, and research and development; engineering support; purchasing; sales; marketing; and corporate management.
New investors acquire
Raleigh County manufacturer
Officials announced the acquisition of Superior Manufacturing Services, Inc., at the Raleigh County Airport and Industrial Park.
Former West Virginian and WVU graduate Wes Rogers led a group of investors from Huntsville, Alabama, in the recent acquisition of the Beckley business, formerly EWA Manufacturing Services, Inc.
The existing jobs were retained and officials expect to double employment in the next year.
Superior Manufacturing Services, Inc., an electronic contract manufacturer serving all electronic users including the automotive, telecommunications and computer industries, now has a contract to produce telephone switching equipment bound for the Washington, D.C., area.
Contract manufacturing recently has experienced rapid growth, as original equipment manufacturers tend to outsource their assembly operations. The Beckley facility is well-positioned to take advantage of this trend.
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