MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A Fortune 500 company has officially broken ground in Morgantown.
Medical logsitics company Owens and Minor (OMI), hosted a ground breaking ceremony at the Westridge development Monday afternoon as part of their new working partnership with WVU Medicine. Representatives from both WVU Medicine and Owens and Minor were in attendance as well as state officials including West Virginia Secretary of Economic Development Mitch Carmichael.
“This is one of the most beautiful locations for business development, and for really, to live, work and raise a family in America,” said Carmichael on the new facility’s location. “This is such a great venue and the economic development engine in West Virginia is really hitting on all cylinders right now,” he said.
The new 350,000 square foot facility, will be used as a distribution center for Owens and Minor. The company, which has been in business for over 120 years, will distribute medical supplies that range from basic personal protective equipment (PPE’s) to more complicated supplies such as custom procedure trays for more complicated surgeries. All of Owens and Minor’s products, are made in the United States which OMI President and CEO Ed Pesicka makes the company unique in the medical supply industry.
“Most company source products from China, we work different,” said Owens and Minor President and CEO Ed Pesicka after the ceremony. “We actually make the fabric for our masks, our gowns, our N95’s, think about all of the fabric based PPE, the majority of that fabric, we’re making in our own facilities in Lexington, North Carolina,” he said.
With their new partnership with WVU Medicine, Owens and Minor will manage medical supply logistics for WVU Medicine hospitals and clinics. This includes their sixteen regional hospitals across West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as their joint ventures and partnerships that have taken place over the past several years. The partnership is considered to be a win-win by both OMI and WVU Medicine officials in that supplies can be provided in a more faster and convenient way than in years past.
“We know what our demands are going to be,” said WVU Medicine President and CEO Albert Wright on the partnership. “That gives Owens and Minor guaranteed business, you know to service our healthcare system, it also allows them to more conveniently serve other healthcare systems,” he said.
Construction on the facility, is expected to be completed by 2023 and when finished, it’s expected to bring approximately 140 new jobs to the area. This is one of several new businesses that have recently announced the construction of new facilities in West Virginia, with steel maker Nucor and PepsiCo among the other multi-billion dollar corporations that have made investments in the Mountain State over the past several months. This continues a statewide goal of bringing in more dollars to West Virginia, with the help of the arrival of new businesses.
“Businesses create jobs, and opportunities and growth and good things happen, when people move to West Virginia and see all of the beautiful aspects that we can offer in our state,” said Carmichael.