Dun & Bradstreet ranks
W.Va. second in job creation

West Virginia bucked a national trend to achieve the nation's second-highest rate of new business creation in 1998, according to The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (D&B), a leading provider of business information.

The number of new business starts in West Virginia reached 623 in 1998, compared to 555 in 1997 for an increase of 12.3 percent.

"By aggressively marketing the advantages of doing business in West Virginia and by developing a business climate that promotes job creation, we are attracting new businesses, laying the foundation for a brighter economic future and changing the lives of West Virginians in important, real ways," Gov. Cecil H. Underwood said.

D&B defined a new business as one added to its database between January and December 1998. It includes only newly opened establishments, and does not consider jobs added through expansion of existing companies, mergers, changes in ownership or changes in name, location or legal type.

Nationwide, the number of new business starts fell by 7 percent.

West Virginia on magazine's
list for new jobs created

In its March 1999 issue, Site Selection magazine ranked West Virginia No. 7 in terms of jobs created per million residents from 1996-1998.

With a new job creation figure of 11,215 per million, West Virginia placed ahead of such states as New York and Texas.

On the magazine's list of investment per 1 million residents, West Virginia's $1.9 billion figure gave it a rank of No. 6, tying with Indiana and Ohio.

United Airlines operations
land in West Virginia

Mileage Plus Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of United Airlines, will locate two new service centers in Huntington and Cross Lanes, creating 670 new jobs, Gov. Cecil H. Underwood announced.

The centers will assist United Airlines' Mileage Plus and Red Carpet frequent flyer members, providing them with the best service possible. Eighty percent of the new jobs will be full-time positions.

Executive chosen to visit
Japan for study program

Charles T. Burd, economic development representative with Hope Gas Inc., headquartered in Clarksburg, studied Japanese business practices and culture on a trip to the country in March.

Burd was one of 14 participants worldwide chosen as part of the "18th Japan Study Programme for International Executives."

The West Virginia Development Office nominated Burd for the honor.

The Japan Economic Foundation is the host of the program, under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in cooperation with the Japan External Trade Organization.

Aegis adds 500 employees
at Fairmont call center

Aegis Communications Group Inc. added 500 new positions at its Fairmont call center, sending the company's work force past the 1,000 mark.

The additions more than doubled the Aegis office and added another 27,000 square feet to the 21,000 square feet the company leases at the Fairhills Plaza.

Century Aluminum plans
$28 million expansion

Century Aluminum has made a $28 million investment at its Ravenswood plant.

The expansion will double the plant's capacity to produce heat-treated aluminum plate, the type of plate used by aircraft manufacturers, such as Boeing, to build new jet airplanes.

Approximately 25 tons of the company's heavy-gauge aluminum plate was used to manufacture the Unity Module, which was the first U.S. component of the International Space Station launched in October 1998.

Pratt & Whitney makes
$7 million expansion, adds jobs

A $7 million expansion at Pratt & Whitney will add a new "test cell," which is used to test engines by simulating flight conditions, and will renovate two existing cells.

The new cells will enable the Bridgeport facility to test the newest generation of high-thrust turbofan engines.

The aerospace company's Bridgeport engine service center employs 350 people. The expansion will create as many as 30 jobs.

West Virginia focuses
on aerospace industry

Investment in aerospace industrial facilities can earn a tax credit, thanks to House Bill 2999, passed during the 74th session of the West Virginia Legislature that ended in March.

The credit is closely aligned with the existing industrial expansion or revitalization credit.

It provides for a credit, taken equally over 10 years, equal to 15 percent of the qualified investment.

The credit can be taken against up to 60 percent of the taxpayer's corporate net and franchise tax liabilities.

WVU study details numbers
in high-technology sector

A West Virginia University study showed that West Virginia's high-tech sector has created 8,300 jobs over the past 10 years.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research study also found the value of work completed among 29 West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation members increased 54.3 percent to $48.6 million from 1996 to 1997.

The Consortium is a private foundation that facilitates business partnerships and focuses on technology and research contracts.

The Consortium also expects an increase in employment of 13.7 percent during the six-year period between 1997 and 2003, the study showed.

National publications feature
cabinetmaker, timber company

Timber Processing, a national publication with a circulation of more than 20,000, has named Kenova businessman Jim C. Hamer, owner and founder of Jim C. Hamer Co., as 1999 Man of the Year.

An article in the January/February 1999 issue chronicles Hamer's life, from working hard at his father's side, to earning a bachelor's degree in forestry manufacturing, to running the Kenova, W.Va.-based company that includes five sawmills, a dry kiln/concentration yard, a densified pellet fuel facility, an export business and a veneer mill.

The February 1999 issue of CabinetMaker includes an article on Neal McDermott and McDermott Woodworking Inc., his cabinet and high-end architectural millwork company in Parsons, W.Va.

CabinetMaker, a 30,000-circulation magazine, credits the efficiency of McDermott's operation for its growth from an 1,800-square-foot shop in Davis to a 7,000-square-foot shop in Parsons.

Regional Printing Institute
gains momentum

Anticipating the addition of hundreds of printing industry jobs, Eastern Panhandle schools and businesses have formed the Regional Printing Institute to train workers for the future.

The James Rumsey Technical Institute and Shepherd College have joined economic development officials and local businesses in the effort to provide technical training and professional development.

In the most recent development, Quad/Graphics, which operates an 850,000-square-foot plant in Martinsburg, donated a two-color printing press to the James Rumsey Technical Institute. High school students and adults interested in careers in printing will be trained on the press.

Quad/Graphics plans to expand its 656-person work force to 800 or more by the end of the year. Other area printing companies include Quebecor, located east of Martinsburg, Berryville Graphics in Berryville, Va., World Color in Winchester, Va., Perry Judd's in Strasburg, Va., and Phoenix Color Corp. in Hagerstown, Md.

Hardwood company brings
new jobs to Barbour County

A new company, West Virginia Hardwood Component Group LLC, will employ 28 full-time workers in a 28,000-square-foot building in Philippi.

Three native West Virginians with significant experience in business management and wood products manufacturing will manage this value-added company.

The company makes and exports hardwood components to other manufacturers, using the latest technology to maximize the yield from raw lumber.

Smith Services plans
expansion in Bluefield

Smith Services, Inc., with facilities in Bluefield, W.Va.; Saraland, Ala.; Sumter, S.C.; and Falls Mills, Va., plans a $12 million relocation and expansion project in West Virginia.

The company will move its Cumberland Industrial Park and Falls Mills, Va., operations to the former Pacific Encore building next to Interstate 77 just outside Princeton. The project will bring 150 new jobs to Mercer County.

Trade events offer
international possibilities

International trade events offered through the International Division of the West Virginia Development Office give companies an unparalleled chance to market their products and services globally.

The International Division led six companies on the April 1999 trade mission to South America and six companies on the April/May 1999 Tradex event in Canada.

Upcoming events include RepCan '99, June 15-16 in Toronto, Canada; the China Coal & Mining Exhibition in Beijing, China, August 8-18; a trade mission to Germany from September 17-23; and New Products USA, a multi-state catalog trade show in China, Vietnam and Taiwan September 13-24.

PARCEL/DIRECT opens
center in Martinsburg

Parcel/Direct, the sister distribution company of Quad/Graphics, the largest privately held commercial printer in the Western Hemisphere, opened a 400,000-square-foot parcel expediting center in Martinsburg, Gov. Cecil H. Underwood said.

The company's Martinsburg complex currently employs 650 people. That figure will grow to 800 by year's end.

Parcel/Direct delivers parcels, catalogs, magazines, direct mail, books and other mail to postal facilities to speed deliveries and earn customers sizable U.S. Postal Service discounts. The Martinsburg facility sorts up to 300,000 parcels daily.

Orgill, Inc., plans newest,
largest distribution center

Orgill, Inc., the largest independent hardware distributor in the country, broke ground on its newest and largest distribution center, a 500,000-square-foot facility that will create 315 full-time jobs in Berkeley County within the first five years of operation, Gov. Cecil H. Underwood said.

Company officials praised West Virginia's excellent location and dedicated work force as key factors in the decision to make a $20 million investment in the state.

The Berkeley County facility joins the Memphis, Tenn.-based company's other three distribution centers in Memphis, Tifton, Ga., and Vandalia, Ind., in supplying Orgill's 4,000-plus customers with a variety of products including hardware, plumbing, heating and cooling, lawn and garden and electrical supplies.

The company's newest center will be complete in early 2000.

Ralph Lauren distributor
opens children's wear center

Gov. Cecil H. Underwood and officials from S. Schwab Company announced the opening of a 187,000-square-foot distribution center for Ralph Lauren Childrenswear in Martinsburg, creating as many as 200 jobs with an eventual annual payroll of $3.5 million.

The Cumberland, Maryland-based manufacturer of children's wear built its distribution facility on a site within the John D. Rockefeller IV Science and Technology Center, adjacent to the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport.

Moody's upgrades bond
rating for West Virginia

Moody's Investors Service upgraded West Virginia's bond rating from A1 to Aa3.

Moody's concluded: "The outlook for the State of West Virginia is stable. Moody's anticipates that economic diversification and positive growth will continue in the near term, driven by the services industry - particularly tourism, its fastest-growing industry. The state's economy will continue to benefit from its low cost advantage. Established budget and debt management reforms should enable this low wealth state to better weather future fiscal stress."

Meanwhile, West Virginia also won an AA rating from Fitch IBCA for $91 million in bonds, the fourth and final issuance from the Infrastructure Council to address the state's water and wastewater needs and to fund various economic development projects.

The international bond rating agency applauded West Virginia's commitment to economic improvement and its pursuit of industrial diversity.

Ecolab Inc. to build manufacturing
facility in Eastern Panhandle

Ecolab Inc. will build a $17 million 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Berkeley County, creating as many as 85 new jobs, according to Gov. Cecil H. Underwood.

The company develops and markets premium cleaning, sanitizing, maintenance and pest elimination products and services for the hospitality, health care and light industrial markets.

Ecolab has global sales coverage of $2.8 billion through its wholly owned and joint venture operations. The company employs 17,000 associates and serves more than 350,000 customers worldwide.

High-tech metals company
comes to Tyler County

Resource Recovery Industries will locate in Tyler County, creating 63 new jobs in an 88,000-square-foot building touted as the most modern high-tech metals recovery facility in North America.

RRI processes aluminum dross and forms the recovered aluminum into ingots for return to the companies that generated it or sells it on the open market.