May 2, 2008
West Virginia Open for Business Report May 1, 2008 Edition
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Charleston, WV (HNN) -- The May 2008 Open for Business report highlights projects and related announcements that will assist with the creation of new jobs and the preservation of a significant number of existing jobs.
ATK lists 50 high-tech positions in Mineral County
Aerospace and defense contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) in Rocket Center,
W.Va., currently has 50 specialized job openings. Positions posted on the ATK Web site
http://www.atk.com include lab technicians, design engineers, manufacturing engineers,
environmental engineers and shift supervisors. ATK’s facility in West Virginia has
manufacturing capabilities in energetics, composite structures, metal and munitions and
electronics integration. Parent company ATK has more than 17,000 employees in 21
states, including 1,275 in West Virginia.
Metso Power expansion creates as many as 20 new jobs in Marion County
Responding to strong demand from utilities for boiler remanufacturing at power plants,
Metso Power has invested more than $1 million to expand its boiler service center in
Fairmont. The new machining area was specially designed to allow Metso to serve the
steam containment market. Operations are scheduled to begin in mid-June. The expansion
is expected to create as many as 20 new jobs.
WVEDA approves loan for Ohio County business
The West Virginia Economic Development Authority approved a loan of $259,000 to Hubco
Bronze LLC. The funds will help the Wheeling metal casting foundry to finance equipment.
An entity of parent company Advance Bronze Inc., Hubco employs 16.
InfoCision seeks to fill 60 jobs in Huntington
InfoCision has 60 new positions available in its Huntington office. The company provides
inbound and outbound marketing for nonprofit, religious and political organizations.
InfoCision operates call centers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For information
on the job openings, call 1-888-462-7298.
West Virginia earns “A” for technology in classroom
West Virginia was the only state to earn an overall grade of “A” in Education Week’s
“Technology Counts 2008” report. The national annual report gauges the use of technology
in teaching STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The
grades for all 50 states and the District of Columbia are based on 14 individual indicators
that fall under three categories: access to technology, use of technology and capacity to
use technology.
Morgantown Petitto Mine Equipment seals deal with Russia
Morgantown-based Petitto Mine Equipment Inc. signed an equipment sales contract valued
at a half million dollars with a Russian firm in April. The new contract follows a $1.4 million
contract in 2007 signed with the same Russian company. Petitto Mine Equipment first
began developing relationships with the Russian mining industry by co-exhibiting with other
companies 12 years ago. Petitto Mine Equipment manufactures heavy duty, crawler track
mounted longwall move equipment. The company also provides repair facilities and a full
fleet of rental equipment. Petitto employs 30 people.
New bill moves West Virginia a step closer to broadband goals
Gov. Joe Manchin recently signed a new bill designed to move West Virginia closer to
meeting its goal of statewide high-speed Internet access by 2010. HB 4637 requires any
new service involving state money must include a minimum downstream transmission rate
of 600 kilobits per second (Kbps) — three times the minimum required by the Federal
Communications Commission. The minimum rate will allow users to access high-speed
Internet for such services as distance learning and encourage new broadband
infrastructure that can easily be upgraded. State officials hailed the legislation as marking
significant progress toward developing the infrastructure to support broadband access in
West Virginia.
West Virginia Small Business Division helps 166 clients in March
The West Virginia Small Business Division (WVSBD) provided 473 hours of counseling to
166 clients in March. The division trained 97 people at 11 training events and approved
eight loans totaling more than $1 million. Since the fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2007,
WVSBD has served 690 clients, provided 3,068 hours of counseling and trained 593
participants in 70 training events. So far this fiscal year, the agency provided 44 small
business loans amounting to more than $8 million. The WVSBD is a division of the West
Virginia Development Office and works with colleges, universities and other host institutions
to provide free business consulting and technical assistance statewide.
Tucker County auto business gets training to expand business
Three employees of Performance Auto Body LLC in Parsons received specialized training
that has expanded the firm’s services. The auto specialists attended a training school to
learn about powder-coat painting. The training was funded by a Small Business Work
Force training grant from the West Virginia Small Business Division. Performance Auto
Body has seven employees.
Hino moves work to Wood County manufacturing plant
Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. plans to halt production of its trucks by the Toyota Auto
Body Consortium in California this summer. That move leaves the plant in Williamstown as
Hino’s primary truck assembly plant in the United States. The plant began sequencing and
final stage assembly of Class 4-7 Hino trucks in November 2007. Local officials agree that
the switch from California to West Virginia will not immediately affect operations or
employment at the Wood County facility, but expect the plant will be poised to absorb any
expansion when the commercial truck market recovers.
West Virginia groups exhibit at SAE 2008 World Congress
West Virginia exhibited in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2008 World
Congress in Detroit, April 14-17. Representatives of the Putnam County Development
Authority, Wood County Area Roundtable and Charleston Area Alliance joined with the
Development Office to exhibit in this premier automotive industry exhibition.