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New European trade office
opens in Munich, Germany
West Virginia's third international trade office opened in Munich, Germany, giving the state a formal and permanent presence in Europe.
The continent is home to several current and potential investors in West Virginia business operations and is the largest market for exports from the Mountain State.
"The West Virginia European Office will greatly enhance our export and investment opportunities throughout Europe, solidifying the two-way channel of international trade and economic opportunities," said Gov. Cecil H. Underwood. "Munich is the perfect location from which West Virginia can continue its global expansion and build on our recent economic success."
The new office is staffed by Director Ken Pierce and Assistant Director Tom Darcy.
More than 100 new jobs
come to Polymer Alliance Zone
Gov. Cecil H. Underwood welcomed new investments by four West Virginia companies that will create more than 100 new jobs in the Polymer Alliance Zone (PAZ).
Three existing PAZ companies - Concepts West Corp., K.S. of West Virginia and West Virginia Polymer Corp. - will expand operations while South Charleston-based J & M Industrial Inc. will open a new location within the three-county zone.
The four new projects account for an investment of nearly $5 million in Jackson and Wood counties.
PAZ is a public-private partnership among education, government and plastics and polymer industry leaders in Jackson, Mason and Wood counties.
Precision Extrusion plans
new manufacturing facility
Precision Extrusion will open a new vinyl extrusion manufacturing facility in Pleasants County that will create as many as 100 jobs, according to Gov. Cecil H. Underwood and company officials.
A subsidiary of Parkersburg-based SBR Inc., Precision Extrusion plans to construct an $18 million facility on a 33-acre site in the Pleasants County Industrial Center.
The company will form polyvinyl chloride (PVC), commonly known as vinyl, into window profiles.
Stover Industries plans
new manufacturing facility
Gov. Cecil H. Underwood, Stover Industries Inc., state and local officials broke ground on a new $6 million 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Mason County that will create as many as 100 jobs.
Headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, Stover Industries manufactures and supplies precision-manufactured parts for the automotive, aerospace and electronics industries.
New manufacturing facility
comes to Wayne County
Gov. Cecil H. Underwood and U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV joined Okuno International, state and local officials in announcing plans for a new manufacturing facility in Wayne County that initially will create 50 jobs.
The West Virginia Japan office in Nagoya developed the project.
A Kariya, Japan-based company, Okuno International manufactures hydraulic cylinders used in forklifts, farming equipment and industrial trucks.
The Wayne County plant, which will operate in a 5,000-square-foot building on a 10-acre site in the Prichard Industrial Park, is Okuno's first U.S. manufacturing facility.
Tyler County gets
new manufacturing jobs
A 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Tyler County will create more than 60 new jobs, according to Gov. Cecil H. Underwood, Resource L.L.C. Chief Executive Officer Max Strauss and state and local officials.
The new $9 million facility is the most modern aluminum dross recycling plant in North America. The facility will use state-of-the-art recycling equipment technology to minimize environmental impact and maximize recoverable aluminum.
Magazine takes note of state's
education technology
Education Week's annual Technology Counts report shows West Virginia public schools are well above the national average and in some cases among the nation's leaders in several key areas of education technology.
Among other achievements, the report noted the state's continuing investment in the Basic Skills Computer Education program for elementary schools.
The report also lauded the Milken Exchange report that demonstrated the program's positive impact on student achievement and the expansion of technology into middle and high school curricula.
Manufacturing facility, 50 jobs
come to Hampshire County
Gov. Cecil H. Underwood joined Phoenix Mecano Inc., state and local officials in announcing plans for a new light manufacturing facility in Hampshire County that will create as many as 50 jobs.
With North American headquarters in Frederick, Md., Phoenix Mecano Inc. is an international components manufacturer and supplier to the machine building, electrical and electronics industries.
The company also manufactures drive systems for adjustable beds and lift-seat chairs, predominantly in the medical and furniture industries.
West Virginia Clean State
Program wins renewal
West Virginia was the second group nationwide to win renewal of its status as a U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities Coalition.
Activities including the co-sponsorship of 140 clean natural gas vehicles, support of the development of alternative fuel infrastructure and the encouragement of the state's citizens to use alternative fuels have demonstrated the state's enthusiasm and commitment to the program's ideals.
The West Virginia Clean State Program is managed through the Energy Efficiency Program of the West Virginia Development Office.
Teleservices company brings
500 jobs to Logan County
Millennium Teleservices Inc., an operating subsidiary of Civic Development Group, announced it will create 500 jobs at a call center in Logan County.
The new center, the New Jersey-based company's ninth in West Virginia, will begin as an outbound and inbound call center, but ultimately will handle only inbound calls.
Funds from the Governor's Guaranteed Work Force Program enabled the Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College to establish pre-employment training for this project.
State targets training
for wood products industry
A new public/private partnership will provide a trained work force for wood products companies investing in West Virginia.
The West Virginia Wood Industry Training and Technology Assistance Consortium in Elkins will serve as a one-stop shop and clearinghouse for training and technical assistance for all forestry and wood product companies in West Virginia.
It will compete for public and private grants and plans to obtain nonprofit status to vie for foundation and other nonprofit grants.
The West Virginia Development Office, the Division of Forestry, the West Virginia Wood Technology Center, the West Virginia Forestry Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and West Virginia University are partners in the nonprofit consortium.
Conference explores
alternative energy
Scientists, wood and electric industry officials, and federal government representatives explored using wood residue to generate electricity at the Biomass Co-firing Conference.
West Virginia University's Appalachian Hardwood Center, the West Virginia Development Office's Energy Efficiency Program, the Southeastern Regional Biomass Energy Program, the West Virginia Forestry Association and the Federal Energy Technology Center sponsored the conference.
Trucking firm to build
a $6 million facility
Con-Way Transportation Services plans a $6 million trucking terminal and the creation of as many as 30 jobs.
Con-Way Central Express (CCX) will operate Con-Way, a national freight company based in California. Con-Way and CCX are subsidiaries of CNF Transportation Inc.
New aerospace training program
gets off the ground
Pratt & Whitney Engine Services, Inc., Aurora Flight Sciences of West Virginia, Bombardier Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, KCI Aviation and FMW Rubber Products, Inc., joined forces with educational facilities in the Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex to provide pre-employment training for people pursuing careers in the aerospace industry.
Participating facilities and programs include Fairmont State College's Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center, Fairmont State Community and Technical College's Center for Workforce Education and Training and the Governor's Guaranteed Work Force Program.
For more information, contact Anne Hart at Fairmont State College at (304) 367-2712.
West Virginia Film Office
plans symposium
The West Virginia Film Office will use a $60,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to produce the West Virginia Film Production Symposium, a series of weekend "infotainment" events for the state's indigenous film production community, in 2000.
Wood manufacturing
facility opens
Gov. Cecil H. Underwood joined West Virginia Hardwood Components Group officials to celebrate the opening of a $1.5 million value-added wood manufacturing facility in Philippi that will create as many as 38 jobs.
A newly formed manufacturer, West Virginia Hardwood Components Group cuts raw lumber into shapes and sizes ready for use by manufacturers in the cabinet, furniture, molding, millwork and flooring industries.
Belington Industrial Park
expansion attracts company
An expansion of Barbour County's Belington Industrial Park will allow Energex, a wood pellet fuel company, to open a facility in the park and create 24 jobs.
A loan from the Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council (IJDC) will allow the Barbour County Economic Development Authority to buy 91 acres to expand the park, resulting in 74 acres of land ready for industry.
Fifteen wood companies already call the park home. For more information, contact Chuck Ervin, executive director of the Barbour County Economic Development Authority, at (304) 457-1225.
Steel fabrication operations
expand to Putnam County
Trojan Steel will add at least a dozen jobs when it expands to the former Putnam Fabrication facility.
Its Charleston operation will continue the fabrication of steel products and the sale of warehouse materials.
Group recognizes promotional
efforts for Logan County
Promotional efforts for the Logan County Development Authority won two awards from The Marketing Communications Agency Network, a 20-member network of agencies from the East, Midwest and Canada.
Lockney & Associates, Inc., of Parkersburg designed the winning entries.
West Virginia efforts
win SEDC awards
The West Virginia Development Office's Marketing and Communications Division won four awards from the Southern Economic Development Council.
The organization recognized the annual report for the West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development; the division's multimedia promotion; its direct mail campaigns; and its literature promoting international efforts.
The Huntington Area Development Council won superior awards for its community profile and its Web site.
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