With the potential for a variety of natural gas-related projects and the promise of more manufacturing jobs in the future, things are looking up in West Virginia. While challenges remain in making the Mountain State an ideal business environment for all, there is much to celebrate. West Virginia Executive (WVE) is committed to highlighting the successes of the state’s many existing businesses that make up the backbone of its economy.
Hard work and thriving under pressure are nothing new to these companies that—despite the changing tides of the state’s economy, population and budget—have risen to the top of their industries. Fueled by dedication and innovation, these businesses, all of which have some type of headquarters in West Virginia, have taken their unique products and services across state lines and around the world, thanks to their commitment to quality.
In conjunction with its annual energy and manufacturing issue, WVE is proud to present the 2019 installment of Winner’s Circle. Nominations were received from around the state, and the winning companies stood out as tried and true assets, providing jobs, contributing to their communities and proving that West Virginia companies produce high-quality products enjoyed around the country and the world.
Welcome to our winner’s circle.
3 Rivers Iron & Metal
By Cathy Bonnstetter
When Andrew Gongola decided to move his business, Clean Metal, from West Virginia to Chester, PA, in 2003, he couldn’t bear to put his employees out of work, so he and General Manager Barry Bledsoe opened 3 Rivers Iron & Metal, a scrap metal recycling facility in Fairmont.
3 Rivers Iron & Metal, located in Fairmont, WV, is a scrap metal recycling facility that specializes in recycling ferrous and non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, brass and copper. The owners purchase scrap metal from factories, mining and oil drilling companies, demolition operations and the general public and ship it to mills in all the states east of the Mississippi as well as other countries, including China, Turkey and Pakistan.
In addition to 3 Rivers Iron & Metal, Gongola owns C&K Metal Recycling in Moorefield; Elkins Metal Recycling (EMR), the largest of the operations that serves as the central office; and Ashley Metal Recycling in Mineral Wells. Each location is unique, but they all work together to accomplish the company’s mission of becoming West Virginia’s premier recycling company.
“Each location brings something unique to the divisions,” says Bledsoe. “It is a synergy that allows the different operations to help one another.”
Appalachian Distillery
By Maggie Matsko
Located in Ripley, WV, Appalachian Distillery makes premium sour mash moonshine, whiskey and bourbon. From fermentation to distillation and bottling, it is all done on-site using high-quality ingredients. The company’s entire product line is known for exceptional smoothness and great taste while encompassing the spirt of the Mountain State.
Founded in 2013, Appalachian Distillery is a family-run business that has proven that it is a force to be reckoned with. In the short time it has been in business, the distillery has begun distributing to Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas and Washington. After broadening its footprint to include Germany and Sweden, Appalachian Distillery was recognized by the state of West Virginia with the Governor’s Commendation for International Market Entry Award.
“Exporting to other countries is a different set of challenges, especially for alcohol,” says President Dwayne Freeman. “Every country has different rules and regulations when it comes to handling high-proof spirits, but exporting around and outside the U.S. is what helped us grow.”
Even though the distillery has found success around the country, Freeman couldn’t imagine being headquartered anywhere else. “The great thing about being in West Virginia is the people, customers and sense of community,” he says.
Doc’s Tea, LLC
By Maggie Matsko
Located in Inwood, WV, Doc’s Tea, LLC brews organic, ready-to-drink tea that has been growing rapidly in popularity since its start in 2012. The founder of the company, Dr. Ken Banks, wanted to make sure he could focus his time and attention on both his full-time job and his passion, so he situated his dental practice and tea-brewing facility side by side.
“Our family is born and raised in West Virginia, so it only made sense to start this venture in our home state,” says Sarah Langford, Doc’s Tea’s operations manager.
What makes this tea stand out from its competitors is that it is made exclusively from organic rooibos, which is caffeine free, and sweetened with monk fruit, which is sweeter than sugar. The entire line is micro-brewed at the Inwood facility, and each batch is handcrafted and flavored independently. The entire line of teas has less than 1 gram of sugar per bottle and contains 10 calories or less.
Doc’s Tea products are sold in retail locations varying from Whole Foods Market to local West Virginia farmer’s markets. The company distributes to New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia and exports products to China, Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands. In honor of its exporting success, Doc’s Tea was awarded the Governor’s Commendation for International Market Entry Award by the state of West Virginia in 2018.
Lakota Software Solutions, Inc.
By Jean Hardiman
Some of the most cutting-edge work in biometrics is being done right here in West Virginia at Lakota Software Solutions, Inc.
Established in 2007 in Bridgeport, Lakota offers biometric software products and IT services to government agencies and businesses serving all 50 states and Argentina, Dominican Republic, Greece, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. Lakota got its first contract through a grant from the National Institution of Justice and has since become a key service provider for nearly all the nation’s large-scale biometric identification systems, working with the FBI, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. It has reinvested in research and development, creating some of the most advanced biometric software development kits and biometric applications on the market.
Lakota’s Ani—a cross-platform software library that enables an application to read, write, edit and verify formatted biometric files, allowing biometric systems to communicate with one another—is among the company’s most popular products. The FBI uses Ani to read approximately 175,000 biometric submissions per day, and Northrop Grumman uses it in its mobile biometric handheld collection device, BioSled, to combine information on fingerprints, face images, iris images and transactions into a single file
Lakota’s Whorl product is the most advanced biometric transaction editor on the market while the company’s new biometric kiosk, RapID, will allow anyone to pay a fee to search fingerprints against the FBI’s criminal repository and receive a certified letter directly from the FBI regarding the findings. RapID can be used to verify that someone who is working with children does not have a criminal record or identify why an individual was denied a firearm purchase. According to Aaron Wilson, president and CEO at Lakota, West Virginia is the perfect place to be doing this work.
“West Virginia is the Silicon Valley of biometrics,” he says. “Two of the nation’s largest biometric systems are located in North Central West Virginia. Having Lakota’s headquarters here has been a huge benefit by allowing us the opportunity to work directly on these large biometric systems and providing critical insight into the technology gaps.”
MX Sports, Inc.
By Blair Dowler
Founded in 1982, MX Sports, Inc. is an industry leader in off-road and action sports race promotion. A second-generation, family-owned business headquartered in Morgantown, WV, over the years it has orchestrated some of the most prestigious motocross events across the country, including the High Point Pro National Championship in Mt. Morris, PA, and the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series and its Snowshoe GNCC on Snowshoe Mountain.
“By traveling to these other states, we have the opportunity to introduce new fans and racers to our sport,” says MX Sports CEO Carrie Russell. “If we do a good enough job, they will fall in love too and follow the series to other states and ultimately back to West Virginia.”
MX Sports also owns Racer TV, LLC, an online broadcast production company, and publishes Racer X Illustrated, the most prominent racing publication.
While most MX Sports events are located outside of the state, West Virginia will always be home base. “In the early years of our business, there was a big push to move west, as that is where the majority of the motorcycle industry is based, but we weren’t interested,” says Russell. “West Virginia is friendly to motorcyclists, and we look forward to bringing more events back home.”
Marsh Bellofram Corporation
By Maggie Matsko
Headquartered in Newell, WV, Marsh Bellofram Corporation is a world-class manufacturer of industrial products used in processing, refining and control applications around the globe.
Desco Corporation purchased Bellofram in the 1980s and moved its plants from New Hampshire and Massachusetts to the new facility in Newell. In 1995, Bellofram merged with its sister company, Marsh, and the group of companies has since grown to include 14 divisions: Automatic Timing & Controls, ATC Diversified Electronics, BelGAS, BelGAS Control Products, BelGAS Flame Management, Bellofram Diaphragms, Bellofram Precision Controls, Bellofram Silicones, ATC King Engineering, ServoTek Products Inc., Marsh Instruments, WESTCON, WNS Lowery and Thermocouple Products.
Today, Marsh Bellofram is a well-known brand in the industrial instrumentation and control market. Its manufactured product lines, which are currently exported to six countries outside of the U.S., include industrial timers and counters, relays, sensors, pressure regulators, pump and level controls, phase voltage monitors and alarms, tachometers, gauges, thermocouples, temperature controls, meters and cylinders.
With additional locations in Ohio and Oklahoma and an office in Europe, Marsh Bellofram has seen much success both in the U.S. and abroad. Currently, Marsh Bellofram employs 375 people in West Virginia, 41 in Ohio, 100 in Oklahoma and 16 at Marsh Bellofram Europe Ltd.
Marsh Bellofram has had to adjust to company growing pains, but customers’ demands are still the number one priority. “We continue to expand rapidly to meet the needs of the oil and gas market and are in the works of renovating our facility to accommodate even more production to address those needs,” says Dan Williams, marketing manager. “Today’s production environment is more than just parts—we are perfectly positioned to meet those needs by offering engineer-to-engineer consultations that blend the expertise of more than 20 on-site engineers who specialize in areas of electronics, pressure regulation and silicone sealing.”
Having its headquarters located in the Mountain State has proven to be a benefit for Marsh Bellofram. “Our location in proximity to the tri-state area has given us access to a good workforce, and being able to access tools that help us train and retain employees has also been an added benefit,” says Williams.
Multicoat Products
By Blair Dowler
Founded in 1988, Multicoat Products Inc. launched in West Virginia due to the state’s close proximity to two-thirds of the nation’s population.
Multicoat specializes in coatings used in a variety of construction areas, but the most prominent is the swimming pool industry. In fact, it revolutionized the pool construction industry when it created Scratch Kote 2000, a bond coat material that allows new swimming pool plaster to bond to existing plaster.
A trailblazer in its industry, the company has developed other construction coatings such as concrete restoration materials used to resurface old concrete or help protect freshly placed concrete. The company also manufactures water-based, environmentally friendly coatings used for basements, balconies and water features, and it also makes thin sets and sealers for tile, slate, stone and marble.
After more than 30 years in business, Multicoat strengthened its West Virginia presence with an expansion of its headquarters into the Putnam Business Park in Fraziers Bottom, where it opened a 27,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in July 2015.
“The West Virginia labor force is by far superior to other areas I have worked in,” says Vice President John Dill. “West Virginia is also less than 500 miles away from most East Coast metro areas that we do substantial business in.”
Multicoat reaches beyond the borders of the Mountain State. In fact, it is known across the nation, with a full manufacturing plant in Orange County, CA, and a warehouse in Lakeland, FL, to aid in shipment into the southeast and the Caribbean. The company has completed work for a variety of well-known companies, including Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Hilton Hotels and McDonald’s.
Exporting was a game changer for this manufacturing company when it was discovered that its products were needed in other countries like Japan, Canada, Mexico and Barbados. In 2018, the company’s successful expansion into exporting was recognized by the state of West Virginia with the Governor’s Commendation for International Market Entry Award.
While Multicoat’s goal is to grow its global sales and product line, the plant values being environmentally responsible.
“We capture and recycle all dust and wastewater back into various products to help reduce our carbon footprint,” says Dill. “We have a lot of visitors who are astonished at how clean of a facility we operate, and we take pride in those comments.”
NS Wheeling-Nisshin, Inc.
By Kristen Uppercue
The child of an international partnership between Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd. of Japan and Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corporation, Wheeling-Nisshin was
established in 1986 in Follansbee, WV, to create hot-dip galvanized products. Within its first five years of business, the company’s capacity grew from 400,000 to 700,000 tons annually. The proud employer of 179 people, the company has a 30-plus-year record of successful operations.
Wheeling-Nisshin is one of the most modern, state-of-the-art coating facilities in North America, coating five different products under one roof. The company, which serves the automotive, appliance, construction and distribution industries, distributes its products across the U.S. and into Canada. Its newest product, ZAM, was developed to deliver higher performance in regions where harsh conditions are prevalent and was approved for use in w-beam guardrails in West Virginia this year.
“We have not only invested in our business in Follansbee to make coated steel safely and competitively, but we also play an active role in the community by supporting educational and civic events,” says William Reder, vice president of the commercial department. “We are proud to be a West Virginia company and plan to be an ongoing supportive corporate citizen.”
Service Wire Co.
By Jean Hardiman
As a second-generation, independently owned business based in Ona, WV, Service Wire Co. manufactures top-quality wire and cable products distributed around the world. The company partners with its customers to develop solutions for specific challenges in the heavy commercial, industrial, utility, renewable energy, pump, irrigation and transit markets.
“While we offer a large array of specialty wire and cable products, we are also known for our high-quality service,” says Chuck Oldaker, senior vice president and CFO. “Our culture of listening to customers’ needs ensures the right products are delivered on time.”
Founded in 1968 in West Virginia, Service Wire added a sales office in Houston in 1980 and acquired an existing wire and cable manufacturing facility in Phoenix, AZ, in 1999. The company’s network of distributors and distribution capabilities has been critical to meeting the often-complex needs of its clients.
West Virginia, which has proven to be an ideal location for servicing many markets with one- and two-day delivery, has provided Service Wire with its best asset: its people.
“Our people are our greatest asset, and their work ethic allows us to provide superior service,” says President Louis Weisberg. “The availability of West Virginia’s ready and committed workforce has been fundamental to our growth.”
