Coldwater Creek to build West Virginia
distribution facility, create 500 new jobs

Coldwater Creek, a national specialty direct mail retailer, will construct a $30 million, 400,000-square-foot distribution center at Mineral Wells, West Virginia, creating 500 new jobs.

The Idaho-based company is one of the leading catalog companies in the country, with nearly 65 million catalogs delivered annually to a customer base exceeding 3.7 million people in the United States, Canada and Japan.

"We feel West Virginia's excellent location and outstanding work force will allow our company to continue its growth while maintaining the level of quality and customer service Coldwater Creek has become recognized for," said Dennis Pence, president and CEO of Coldwater Creek.

The new West Virginia facility will supply the company's customers in the eastern United States. Coldwater Creek will establish initial operations beginning May 1, 1998, in a 120,000-square-foot facility along Interstate 77 until construction of the state-of-the-art distribution facility is completed in January 1999.

Governor Underwood welcomes new
Japanese company to Eastern Panhandle

Governor Cecil H. Underwood recently joined U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller and officials with Ten Incorporated in announcing the company's plans to construct a new facility at the Morgan County Industrial Park South.

The Japan-based company specializes in the assembly of ferrite tiles, which are used in the absorption of electromagnetic waves emitted from electronic equipment such as automobiles and computers.

"Ten Incorporated is the latest in a long list of Japanese companies to bring quality investments to West Virginia. Japanese companies employ more than 1,200 West Virginians and are playing an increasingly vital role in the economic future of our state," said Gov. Underwood.

The company will assemble Lite Tile Ten, a superior observer for electromagnetic waves, at the new West Virginia facility.

SITEL Corp. brings 300 new jobs
to Huntingon, West Virginia

SITEL Corp., the largest, independent, publicly held international teleservices company, recently opened a new call center in Huntington, West Virginia, creating 300 new jobs.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company provides outsourced customer service and sales programs for more than 400 major corporations worldwide.

Workers at the Huntington call center contact people throughout the United States, offering them direct life and health insurance products on behalf of SITEL's clients, according to William A. Miklas, general manager of SITEL Corp. Insurance Direct Services.

Huntington is also home to teleservices firms TeleSpectrum Worldwide Inc., Faneuil Group and Civic Development Group.

Taiwan-based TLM Aerospace to construct
aircraft manufacturing plant in West Virginia

TLM Aerospace Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Taiwan-based Tong Long Metal Inc., will invest $15 million in a new aircraft manufacturing plant at the John D. Rockefeller IV Science and Technology Center in Martinsburg, creating 200 new jobs.

TLM initially plans to produce two models of single-engine, four-passenger aircraft. Company officials set production levels for 100 airplanes during the first few years of operation and hope to increase output to as many as 600 airplanes per year as demand grows.

"The arrival of TLM Aerospace Inc. in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle reinforces the state's commitment to developing strong relations with international companies," Gov. Underwood said.

TLM expects to break ground for the facility this spring and produce its first plane by the end of 1998. The facility will be situated adjacent to the Sino Swearingen Aircraft Co. plant, another Taiwanese aircraft manufacturing facility.

TLM officials hope to increase their West Virginia investment to $30 million and employ as many as 400 workers within five years.

New-Chem Corp. purchases
Newell, W.Va., facility

New-Chem Corp. has purchased the former Newell Specialty Chemical facility, creating 75 new jobs. New-Chem is an affiliated company of Deltech Corp., a chemical manufacturer based in Whippany, New Jersey.

Deltech specializes in the production of specialty monomers for a variety of high-value applications, crystal polystyrene resins for assorted end products and aromatic-derived products under exclusive manufacturing agreements with the chemical, plastics and companion process industries.

Mayflower Vehicle Systems relocates
corporate headquarters to West Virginia

Mayflower Vehicle Systems, the parent company of South Charleston Stamping and Manufacturing (SCSM), will relocate its North American corporate headquarters from Farmington Hills, Michigan, to Teays Valley, West Virginia.

Mayflower Vehicle Systems is a member of The Mayflower Corp. plc, and purchased SCSM in December 1996 for a reported $165 million.

"We became involved with the state of West Virginia during our efforts to reopen the former Volkswagen facility as South Charleston Stamping and Manufacturing in 1988," said John Wise, president and C.E.O. of SCSM and Mayflower Vehicle Systems Inc.

"The state of West Virginia has truly been a partner in the growth and development of this company. We are looking forward to continuing and expanding this relationship for years to come."

SCSM employs more than 1,000 and maintains contracts with major auto manufacturers including GM, Chrysler, Ford, Mercedes, Freightliner, Saturn and Toyota. SCSM recorded annual sales of approximately $140 million in 1996.

Pure Tech Plastics to open facility,
create more than 100 new jobs

Pure Tech Plastics, a division of New Jersey-based Pure Tec Corp., will open a state-of-the-art plastics recycling facility in the Huntington Industrial Center, creating more than 100 new jobs.

Employees at the $8 million facility will clean, sort and recycle containers such as soft-drink bottles and food packages into clean, high-quality polyester terephthalate (PET) flakes or filament. The filament is used by the Home and Garden Division of Pure Tec Corp. to strengthen garden hoses.

"Our decision to locate our facility in Huntington was the result of our search to find a site that is strategically located to best service our customer base and to have the personnel resources to staff our facility. Huntington offered both of these advantages to us," said Anthony Conte, president of Pure Tech Plastics.

Pure Tech Plastics is the second major tenant to establish operations in the Huntington Industrial Center, joining Wisconsin-based window manufacturer SNE Enterprises, which located at the facility in June 1997.

The company will lease 150,000-square-feet of the facility and expects to be fully operational during Spring 1998.

Lippert Components plans $2 million
production facility in Morgan County

Lippert Components, a manufacturer of chassis and chassis parts for the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries, will open a $2 million production facility in Mineral County, West Virginia, creating 50 new jobs.

The Alma, Michigan-based company, a division of Drew Industries, will establish operating in a 45,000-square-foot facility currently under construction in the Morgan County Industrial Park, approximately 10 miles south of Berkeley Springs. Workers at the new facility will manufacture metal chassis for final assembly on recreational vehicles.

Company officials cited Morgan County's central location for both manufacturing and distribution and the area's quality work force as the main factors influencing its decision to locate in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle.

Gov. Underwood joins Japanese officials
to sign business exchange agreement

Gov. Cecil H. Underwood recently joined Masashi Oshita, executive director of Commerce, Industry and Labor for Gifu Prefecture, Japan, in signing a new staff exchange agreement between the two states.

Under the agreement, Gifu Prefecture will send a representative to West Virginia to work full-time for a three year period with the Governor's Office of Technology to assist the state in developing business, trade, cultural and educational opportunities.

Gifu Prefecture is a state of about 2.1 million residents located in Central Japan, approximately 300 kilometers west of Tokyo. Gifu occupies 10,595-square-kilometers, ranking it as the seventh largest among Japan's 47 prefectures.

Gifu's diverse economy includes many of West Virginia's target industries, such as the automotive, plastics, aerospace, wood and high-technology industries.

West Virginia Development Office
captures national awards

The West Virginia Development Office captured two first place awards in the Southern Economic Development Council's (SEDC) 1997 Literature and Promotion Awards program.

The award-winning publications are the West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development 1996 Annual Report, named "Best of Class" in the annual reports category, and the Polymer Alliance Zone marketing brochure, named "Best of Class" among tailored report entries. Both publications were written, designed and produced by the Marketing and Communications Division of the West Virginia Development Office.

The SEDC is the nation's oldest regional development council with more than 1,400 members from 30 states and territories.

The West Virginia Development Office was recently honored with a first-place award in the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards competition. The competition annually recognizes outstanding international government communications projects and their producers. Judges awarded the West Virginia Data File publication first place in the Most Improved-Occassional Publications category.

Unemployment rate reaches
record low in September

West Virginia's September's unemployment rate of 5.5 percent was the lowest for any month since 1978. Unemployment rates for every month of 1997 have maintained the lowest levels in nearly two decades.

The low unemployment levels follow a four-year trend of improving unemployment in the Mountain State.

Federal News Service opens production
facility in southern West Virginia

Federal News Service, the nation's fourth largest news service organization, recently opened a new production facility in Bluefield, West Virginia, creating 50 new jobs.

Federal News Service is leasing 4,100-square-feet of office space in the Freight Station Complex, owned by the City of Bluefield.

The Washington, D.C.-based news service organization transmits news and information by satellite to most major maedia organizations throughout the world as well as corporations, associations, most branches of the U.S. Government and 50 foreign governments.