MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Leaders from the United States Department of Agriculture(USDA), Mountaintop Beverage, local economic developers and elected leaders held a roundtable discussion about the $25 million investment made into the project.
Administrator of the Rural Business Cooperative Service of the USDA, Karama Neal said the Business & Industry Loan Guarantee program encourages lender participation by guaranteeing 80% of the loan amount.
“We’re excited about the investment through our Business & Industry Loan Guarantee program into Mountaintop Beverage,” Neal said. ” This is a program that guarantees loans that lenders make to businesses with the purpose of creating jobs.”
USDA Rural Development West Virginia State Director, Ryan Thorn said growth of the business will include at least two phases and the impact is expected to be felt across the local economy. The first phase is a 475,000 square facility that can be expanded to 750,00 square feet in the future.
“This investment will allow, I believe the last number was at least 200 positions when they’re operational no including local construction jobs it has created,” Thorn said.
Over the last fiscal year the USDA has invested about $100 million from the program into the state. Monday, Neal promoted the program in hopes more investment can be made.
“Through conversations like this one and other kinds of work there will be more businesses and lenders interested in this program,” Neal said. ” And that will help facilitate access to capital in West Virginia.”
State officials have been working with Mountaintop to increase milk production to meet the facility’s needs. It’s likely more dairy farms will either start or expand.
“I think they’ll need a greater source of dairy and I think that will require additional dairy farms to come online or existing dairy farms to add more head to their production,” Thorn said.
A 2019 study estimated the total economic impact of the Mountaintop Beverage operation to be more than $300 million. Additionally, a new I-79 Harmony Grove interchange is proposed for the Morgantown Industrial Park that draw even more manufacturing interest.
“The economic impact is not just a one-off it impacts numerous organizations,” Thorn said.