CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Harrison County Delegate Ben Queen is hoping the recent economic development in West Virginia can continue to carry over in the north central part of the state. With the announcements of lithium battery maker SPARKZ establishing operations in Taylor County and the increasing worker demand in several counties, opportunities are creating an environment that Queen feels could benefit companies looking to set up shop in the Mountain State.
“We don’t have very many employers over 500 (employees), and I think that we want to build relationships with these employers who are taking their businesses and locating them here,” said Queen.
A major selling point that Delegate Queen feels could help the state two-fold is the redevelopment of properties that have been closed for several months and in some cases years. Former industrial sites in Weirton and Taylor County that were once home to glass and steel producers are among the sites that have been fitted to immediately take in companies large and small. This includes the move in of SPARKZ in Taylor County, Pure Watercraft in Brooke County and Hope Gas in old Mylan facilities in Monongalia County that Queen hopes can build towards more development.
“We have economic development directors in each of our counties, who are busting their butt, to make sure that utilities are brought to our sites,” said Queen on WAJR’s Talk of the Town. “To make sure that we have these site ready projects thta developers can come into,” he said.
North Central West Virginia’s education hub is another selling point that Delegate Queen hopes will help entice businesses to West Virginia. With a combination of students from West Virginia University, Fairmont State University and local institutions retraining West Virginians in the process of a career change (displaced coal miners in particular), Queen feels the worker supply in North Central West Virginia is in a position to compliment new business developments.
“Anybody in the tech industry wants to surround themselves with young bright minds,” he said. “And our education system, from WVU down to Pierpont, are graduating young people who have bright new ideas who want to be involved in something new,” he said.
To create a perfect match for North Central West Virginia counties and incoming businesses, Delegate Queen says the West Virginia Department of Commerce and the state’s economic development team maintains a working relationship with local county officials. This involves a match-making process for incoming companies that provides support to minimize cost of entry and presents employment viability options regardless on the size of the company. If the approach continues, Queen says to expect to see a completely different outlook for the region in it’s economic prospects.
“We have companies here in West Virginia who are going to continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars over the next six months,” Queen said. “It is so encouraging to see ideas brought forth by our economic development team to attract and roll out the red carpet,” he said.