New Manufacturing Sites in West Virginia
By Megan Bevins
West Virginia hosts an abundance of land and natural resources that position it as a top spot for manufacturing goods. Realizing this, many companies have decided to open or expand in West Virginia, creating and supplying products made right here in the Mountain State. Recently, a few of these projects have made significant headway, coming close to turning West Virginia into a major manufacturing hub.
TIMET
Titanium Metals Corporation (TIMET), a long-time manufacturer of titanium-based metals, has invested $500 million into a new facility in Ravenswood, WV. This new build, which will produce titanium ingots, will serve the aerospace, defense, industrial and health care industries.
The TIMET project will be completed in two phases and remains on schedule with an expected first production run of mid-2026.
“TIMET is committed to a dedicated footprint in the Mid-Ohio Valley, fostering a culture of innovation as the facility will be powered by the world’s largest solar and storage microgrid,” says Alun Davies, general manager of TIMET. “The Ravenwood facility’s ability to manufacture products with 100% renewable energy strengthens TIMET’s position as a world leader in titanium metals.”
TIMET prioritizes forming meaningful relationships with the regions it serves and works hard to ensure these connections benefit not only the company itself but the community as well. TIMET is involved with many local initiatives, including the STEM Curriculum Development Project with Roane-Jackson Technical Center, Ripley High School Beautification Project, Read Aloud Jackson County and Hunting Heroes.
“Through these partnerships, we aim to support education, workforce development and community initiatives that help ensure this project creates lasting value for residents,” Davies says.
TIMET’s addition to Ravenswood will not only make state-of-the-art titanium products available to the city but also stand as a support to its families, making the company a welcome addition to the Mountain State.
CMC Steel West Virginia
A new micromill is coming to Berkeley County thanks to Commercial Metals Company (CMC) Steel West Virginia. The new $450 million facility will produce straight, spooled reinforcing bars used to support structures like roads, bridges, infrastructure and buildings.
The micromill is progressing as planned, with CMC Steel already testing equipment in cold commissioning, a process which helps ensure the products operate functionally and are mechanically adequate. Hot commissioning, conducted after cold commissioning, involves testing equipment under real operating conditions and is usually the last phase of testing. CMC Steel’s hot commissioning phase is likely to begin in June 2026.
Christian Fisher, director of operations at CMC Steel, says West Virginia met all the criteria for a facility like the new CMC Steel micromill.
“The state of West Virginia offered several attractive advantages as the location of our newest state-of-the-art micromill, including a welcoming business climate and skilled available labor force,” Fisher says. “Berkeley County in the Eastern Panhandle is well situated to serve key metropolitan markets in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Midwest.”
Operating in a small community, Fisher says CMC Steel wants to ensure its presence makes a positive impact on Berkeley County. The company has already been involved in local initiatives such as sponsoring the community’s Fourth of July event, participating in the Chamber of Commerce and supporting multiple nonprofits throughout the Eastern Panhandle.
“CMC Steel works with local stakeholders to ensure our operations create meaningful benefits for the communities where we operate, supporting workforce development and strong community partnerships,” Fisher says.
This new facility, bringing a new source of sustainable steelmaking to the state, will help push the manufacturing industry forward in Berkeley County.
TCL Specialties LLC
TCL Specialties LLC is currently working on two new manufacturing plants in Marshall County, WV. One of these projects, a food ingredients plant, will produce malic and fumaric acid. TCL is also introducing an advanced materials plant that will manufacture high-strength, low-weight composites for automotives, aircraft, public transport and trucks, household durables, boat hulls and coatings.
Sarathy Parthasarathy, chairman of TCL Group, says these facilities—particularly the food ingredients plant—will work to cater to the U.S.’s exports market.
Parthasarathy explains that the U.S. currently only produces 25% of its food demand while importing the rest. TCL hopes to change those numbers.
“Demand for these food ingredients in the U.S. is growing steadily,” Parthasarathy says. “These are used in thousands of snack foods, beverages and food and fruit processing. However, no new plants for food ingredients have been built in the U.S. in the last six decades, and the technology is very closely held. TCL brings in an integrated technology going back to the primary inputs.”
All equipment and systems for the two new plants are fully installed. Final touch-ups are happening now and expected to reach completion soon. Three hundred people, mostly from West Virginia, are already employed at the site, and production is expected to begin this year.
Butane, the main raw material used to make advanced materials, is plentiful in West Virginia, making the Mountain State a great choice for TCL’s new advanced materials plant.
“The advantage of this project is that it is fully based upon West Virginia raw materials, built in West Virginia and constructed, operated and managed by the people of West Virginia,” Parthasarathy says.
Aside from its new plants, TCL has also built infrastructure that will benefit not only its own projects but also attract other investors to the Mountain State. These include a barge docking station, off-gas clean up incinerator, emergency steam systems and emergency power plants.
“We have been delighted by the incredible support from the government of West Virginia that has held our hand at every step of this project and made it possible for us to build a complex high technology facility here,” Parthasarathy says.
Through its training and apprenticeship programs, TCL is creating training and job opportunities for West Virginia natives. By producing this manpower within the state and increasing the number of exports nationally, TCL is putting West Virginia’s manufacturing sector on the map.
US Gearworks
When Diana Barnette and her husband were unable to find gears to conduct underground mining equipment repairs, it slowed production for their mining repair business and identified a larger supply chain issue in the state. The couple decided to address this issue directly by opening US Gearworks, a new gear manufacturing facility in Holden, WV.
Gleason Manufacturing, a Rochester, NY-based company, is providing the equipment for the facility and sent trainers and technicians in to get the site up and running in early April 2026. Barnette says the company then plans to do a soft opening, slowly hiring its first wave of employees. US Gearworks also has a partnership with Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center to train additional employees.
Barnette says US Gearworks plans to grow to 70 employees by recruiting and training Mountain State residents.
“One of the chips on my shoulder is about Southern West Virginia and the idea that all we have here is coal mining,” she says. “I want to be a diamond in Southern West Virginia.”
US Gearworks has worked with the West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WVEDA) and West Virginia Department of Economic Development throughout this $20 million project, a partnership Barnette says was essential in bringing the new site to fruition.
“It makes me feel better knowing I had the support of the WVEDA and Department of Economic Development,” she says. “If I had gone to a bank for this funding, it wouldn’t have been able to carry that and wouldn’t have put all its eggs in this basket,” she says.
US Gearworks plans to start manufacturing for the coal industry, but through hiring salespeople and making contacts, it could eventually begin operating in other places around the country. With interest already shown from subway systems in New York and Gleason spreading the word about the new facility, growth is almost certain.
