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Council unveils "West Virginia:
A Vision Shared"
The West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development unveiled “West Virginia: A Vision Shared,” a strategy designed to strengthen West Virginia’s economy, to an audience of nearly 200 community, business, government and education leaders.
Four cornerstones anchor the strategy: Intellectual Infrastructure in the 21st Century; New Economy: New Challenges and New Solutions; Results-Based Government: Planning for the Future; and Building Bridges and Empowering Citizens.
Interviews with more than 400 people across the state helped shape the strategy. Their ideas and suggestions for creating a brighter future, plus the expertise of the council and research provided by consultants at Atlanta-based Market Street Services led to a vision statement:
“West Virginia’s strong commitment to future generations has created a vibrant and diverse economy balancing quality jobs and the state’s irreplaceable natural beauty. West Virginia has a highly skilled and educated work force, is a leader in innovation and offers an excellent quality of life for all residents.”
The council will build on partnerships and collaboration to accomplish goals outlined in the strategy.
Morgantown is America's
best small city
Demographics Daily, using 20 sets of statistics such as vitality, supply of good jobs, freedom from stress and a low cost of living, rated Morgantown as the best small city in America.
The study found 141 “dreamtowns,” those with 10,000-50,000 in population offering an outstanding quality of life. Owatonna, Minn.; Bozeman, Mont.; Columbus, Ind.; and Oxford, Miss., rounded out the top five cities on the list.
EchoStar customer service
center to bring 1,000 jobs
EchoStar Communications Corp. opened its newest customer service center in Bluefield to serve DISH Network satellite television customers nationwide.
The center is expected to create as many as 1,000 jobs. With the addition of the 15,000-square-foot Bluefield facility, EchoStar now operates six inbound sales and customer services centers with more than 5,000 customer service representatives in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
EchoStar started DISH Network in 1996 and has since launched six satellites that broadcast more than 500 premium entertainment, news and pay-per-view TV channels as well as audio, video and data services.
Applied Card Systems
to employ 450 at new center
Applied Card Systems will open a new operations center in Beckley that will employ 450 people.
Applied Card Systems, founded in 1987 in Wilmington, Del., processes VISA and MasterCard accounts, primarily for Cross Country Bank, a leading national issuer of credit cards. The company, which serves 3.5 million card holders, employs 1,000 people at its Huntington operation, which opened in September 1998. Employees at the Huntington center process and service credit card accounts.
Forbes magazine honors
West Virginia company
Bridgeport-based Petroleum Development Corp. has been ranked 150th in the Forbes Magazine 200 Best Small Companies in America list.
“We are honored to be included on the list,” said Steve Williams, president of Petroleum Development. “This accomplishment is the result of the efforts of all of our employees and business partners. ... This is an achievement very few of our peers have matched.”
To be considered, Williams was required to show five-year sales and earnings-per-share growth of at least 5 percent, annual net income of more than $1 million and annual sales between $5-$350 million. Petroleum Development had a five-year sales growth of 37 percent, an earnings-per-share growth of 31 percent, a 12 percent return on equity and sales of $96.8 million in 1999.
SEDC fall conference
held in Charleston
More than 400 people attended the Southern Economic Development Council’s fall conference in Charleston.
Dr. James Crupie, Dr. Jeffrey Rosensweig and Dr. Richard Florida spoke on technology and human resources as the driving forces in the New Economy. Conference-goers had dinner at the Capitol, saw a performance of Mountain Stage and were entertained by the Capitol Steps at the Volunteer of the Year dinner.
Veneer manufacturing
plant opens in Spencer
Eight months after announcing a $12 million investment that would result in 120 new jobs, Spencer Veneer LLC was in production in Spencer, West Virginia.
The new company, a division of Montreal-based General Woods and Veneers Ltd., established operations in a 120,000-square-foot facility.
General Woods and Veneers is an innovative leader in world-class veneers, wood industry technologies, strategic forestry maintenance, conservation and outstanding hardwood logs and lumber. With more than 1,000 employees, General Woods & Veneers does business in more than 70 countries and operates manufacturing facilities in Canada, the United States and Hungary.
Grant supports leadership
development in education
The West Virginia Department of Education received a $1.2 million leadership development grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The grant will prepare superintendents and school principals for their emerging role in technology and encourage their support and use of technology to transform learning.
The grant will launch the Learning Educational Administration from a Distance project, developed with state education and government leaders. More than 1,000 public and private educational leaders will receive intensive technology and leadership training as part of the three-year project.
Wholesale distributor
comes to Roane County
Citing West Virginia’s central location within 500 miles of 60 percent of the United States’ population as a motivating factor, National Industrial Lumber Co. announced a $3.8 million investment and the opening of a distribution and manufacturing facility in Amma.
National Industrial Lumber Co., based in North Jackson, Ohio, is a wholesale distributor of building products to retail lumber and building material establishments. Ten percent of its business is in the manufacture of building components.
West Virginia company
supplies Olympic games
Royal Vendors Inc., located in Jefferson County, supplied between 800 and 900 soda vending machines to the Sydney Olympic Games. Royal Vendors employs about 800 people and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of beverage machines.
Housing components manufacturer
locates in Greenbrier County
Structural Systems Inc. will invest $1.1 million to open a manufacturing facility in Rainelle that will employ as many as 75 people within three years.
The Thurmont, Md.-based company manufactures wall panels, roof and floor trusses for the housing and construction industries.
The Greenbrier County facility will complement the company’s existing 137,000-square-foot manufacturing plant.
Structural Systems plans to purchase wood products used in its manufacturing process from West Virginia wood companies such as Trus-Joist and Georgia Pacific.
Lewis County largest pool
manufacturing county in U.S.
Lewis County soon will have a manufacturing capacity of 3,500 pools a year with Composite Pool Corp.’s announcement of a new facility.
This newly formed West Virginia company, which will employ approximately 50 people, combines premium raw materials in a unique four-stage manufacturing process to create high-quality swimming pools.
The company will invest $4 million to construct a 32,000-square-foot facility in the Lewis County Industrial Park along Interstate 79.
Viking Pools, the nation’s largest fiberglass swimming pool manufacturer, opened a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Lewis County Industrial Park last year.
Architectural manufacturer
expands to Wood County
PCI Industries Inc., a Montebello, Calif.-based company that manufactures fabricated architectural products, announced an expansion of its fabricating operations to Wood County, creating as many as 50 jobs.
The company will establish its East Coast Manufacturing and Distribution Center in the 32,000-square-foot Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Development Council building at Mineral Wells. In addition to its new facility, the company maintains operations in Montebello, Calif., Leavittown, Pa., and Fort Worth, Texas.
Chemical company to build
a plant in Berkeley County
Chem-Pak, Inc., will build a 40,000-square-foot plant on 22 acres south of Martinsburg. The company plans an expansion to about 50 jobs at full production.
ClientLogic call center
expands operations
ClientLogic, which opened a call center in Huntington about a year ago, is adding 200 technical and customer support associates to its staff.
The company uses e-mail, online chat, fax and voice-based services to serve its clients’ customers.
The expansion will bring the number of employees to 500 at the Huntington office. ClientLogic is a subsidiary of Onex Corp. of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Silver reclamation company
locates in Bluefield
Gemark Corp., whose specialty is the reclamation of silver from photographic materials, will locate in Bluefield’s Cumberland Industrial Park. The $6 million investment will result in 36 jobs by the end of 2001.
Aerospace corporation
to build plant in Harrisville
Gilbert-Ariz.-based Spectrum Astro will build a highly automated plant in Harrisville that makes thermal blankets for satellites. The company was founded in 1988 by W. David Thompson, a Harrisville native.
Company celebrates anniversary,
plans new manufacturing line
Guardian Fiberglass of Martinsburg plans a second fiberglass insulation manufacturing line within the next year and an addition to its 130-employee operation. The West Virginia plant celebrated the 20th anniversary of Guardian Industries, its Michigan-based parent company.
2000 job total exceeds
1999 performance
Employers in 2000 have announced the creation of 8,849 jobs in West Virginia, eclipsing the 8,576 jobs created during all of 1999. Investment in business growth in 2000 has reached $1.6 billion compared to investment of $617 million in 1999.
West Virginia's technology
use recognized
West Virginia ranks 24th in the nation for technology use, according to The Nation’s Digital State Survey, conducted by the Center for Digital Government, the Progress & Freedom Foundation and Government Technology Magazine. That’s up from 48th in 1998.
Specific increases include:
- K-12 education, fifth, up from 39th
- Management/administration, ninth, up from 14th
- Tax and revenue, 11th, up from 50th
- Law and the courts, 24th, up from 45th
- Digital democracy, 26th, up from 42nd
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