Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today joined the West Virginia Export Council and the West Virginia Development Office, to honor a state record-setting 52 West Virginia businesses with the Governor’s Commendation for International Market Entry awards. This award honors companies that have successfully exported to a new country in the past year.
“In 2012, our state’s exports reached a record high of $11.3 billion,” Gov. Tomblin said. “Expanding into new markets around the world has provided our businesses an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to successfully compete in the global marketplace. And I’m pleased to have this opportunity to honor them for their success.”
The Governor’s Commendation for International Market Entry award is a framed piece of currency from each new country to which the recipient business began exporting in 2012. The presentation is based on the tradition of displaying the first dollar a business earns.
Commendations were awarded to:
Barbour County
- Blackheart International, Philippi – Norway, France, Brazil
Berkeley County
- Growth Media Services, Martinsburg – Hong Kong
Brooke County
- Merco Marine, Wellsburg – Bahamas
- United States Gypsum Co., Weirton – Russia
Cabell County
- American Babbitt Bearing, Huntington – Canada
- Crosscutting Concepts, Huntington – Canada
- Guyan International, Barboursville – Ecuador, Peru
- Nippon Tungsten USA, Barboursville – Brazil
- Star Technologies LLC, Huntington – Brazil, Canada, Mexico
- Steel of West Virginia Inc., Huntington – Netherlands, Australia, Mexico, Canada, China. South Korea, South Africa
- Tri-State Coating and Machine, Salt Rock – Canada
Fayette County
- The Robbins Co., Fayetteville – Brazil
Grant County
- Allegheny Wood Products, Petersburg – Indonesia, Mexico
Greenbrier County
- Almost Heaven Saunas, Renick – Australia, Belgium, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland
- BMS Rescue Equipment, Friars Hill – Australia, Canada
- EZEbreak LLC, Frankford – Canada
Hancock County
- The Homer Laughlin China Company, Newell – France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway
Jackson County
- J & M Industrial Inc., Millwood – Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Israel
Jefferson County
- Schonstedt Instrument Company, Kearneysville – Tanzania
Kanawha County
- Air Robotics, Charleston – Italy, Israel, Romania
- ConveyWeigh LLC, Dunbar – Dominican Republic, Russia
- Cyclops, South Charleston – Colombia, South Korea
- Precision Samplers, South Charleston – Colombia
- Preiser Scientific, Saint Albans – Bolivia
- Terraquip Construction Products, Charleston – Australia, India, Ireland, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Turkey
- Walker Machinery Co., Belle – Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Germany
Logan County
- Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Mount Gay – China
Marion County
- Backbone Security, Fairmont – Azerbaijan
Mason County
- ICL-IP America, Gallipolis Ferry – Trinidad & Tobago
McDowell County
- Gilco International Lumber, McDowell County – Thailand, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic
Mercer County
- The Daniels Co., Bluefield – Mongolia
Mineral County
- Automated Packaging Systems, Inc., Keyser – Malaysia, New Zealand
- Howell Automotive, Keyser – Argentina
- Kessel Lumber Products, Keyser – Canada
Monongalia County
- Gurkees, Morgantown – Japan, South Korea, Romania, Tanzania, United Kingdom
- Petitto Mine Equipment, Morgantown – China
- RockyBrook Sinkers LLC, Morgantown – Canada, Japan, Russia
- Z Electric Vehicle Corp., Westover – Australia, Bermuda, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom, Vietnam
Morgan County
- Caperton Furnitureworks, Berkeley Springs – Dominican Republic, Pakistan
Nicholas County
- Advantage Precision, Summersville – Australia, China
Ohio County
- DirectOnline Marketing, Wheeling – South Africa
- Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd, Triadelphia – Portugal, Israel, Italy
- TROY Group, Wheeling – Bahrain, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Cayman Islands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Israel, South Korea, Libya, Nicaragua, Russia
- Warwood Tool Co., Wheeling – China, United Kingdom
- Wheeling Truck Center, Wheeling – Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Mongolia, Namibia, Philippines, Uruguay, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Putnam
- Clark International Logistics LLC, Poca – New Zealand
- Eagle Research, Scott Depot – Bolivia, Peru
- Premier Solutions, Hurricane – Hungary
Raleigh
- Quality Environmental Containers, Beaver – Nigeria
Wayne
- Aplicare, Inc., Prichard – Afghanistan, Canada, China, India, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom
Wood
- Baron Blakeslee SFC, Williamstown – Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia
- Rolling Ridge Woods, Parkersburg – Austria
The West Virginia Development Office (WVDO) International Division regularly organizes international trade events to assist small and mid-size West Virginia companies with their export growth. Upcoming events for 2013 include mining trade shows in Australia and China, and an open industry trade mission to Colombia. Interested companies may view upcoming events on the wvdo.org exports website and contact WVDO International Division for details.
