Investment, economic development continues in West Virginia, despite pandemic

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has said it will expand its workforce at its Bridgeport location, global manufacturing and supply company Klöckner Pentaplast has chosen its production facility in Beaver for its production expansion, and Gruppo Fanti, an Italian metal packaging manufacturing company, plans to open a plant in Weirton.

Speaking at an event at Bridgeport’s North Central West Virginia Airport at the end of October to announce Mitssubishi’s expansion, Gov. Jim Justice said the company planned to add more than 200 workers in the coming months.

“Today I am now announcing an additional 240 employees that MHI will he hiring over the next few months, between now and March of 2021, bringing their total workforce up to approximately 750 people,” he said.

Justice also commented on the number of positive economic development announcements he has made lately.

“We can’t keep up with the announcements,” he said. “Whether it be West Virginia methanol or it be broadband (expansion) or it be Clorox or now it be Hyperloop or now it be MHI. Think about it: It’s just one right after another after another. Or the explosion of tourism throughout our state. West Virginia is moving people, and we’re doing it all together.”

North Central West Virginia Airport Director Rick Rock said the expansion of Mitsubishi’s workforce represents exciting prospects for the airport’s future.

“Companies like MHI, they have their footprint expanding here and to be invested in West Virginia and this airport it’s incalculable what that really means, what the potential and future means to all of these people,” he said.

Klöckner Pentaplast, which manufacturers and supplies sustainable packaging products, announced Nov. 16 it would further investment in its site in Beaver in Raleigh County by adding thermoforming capabilities to further grow their sustainable food tray offer for the North America market.

The investment will bring about several million dollars in economic development to the area and create 21 full-time jobs, according to Justice.

“This is truly a great day and a terrific announcement,” he said. “I want to thank all the good people at Klöckner Pentaplast from the bottom of my heart for their commitment to West Virginia and Beaver, and for being a strong local employer over the last 20 years.”

Klöckner Pentaplast’s representative, Mark Gonyar, said the company has had a longstanding presence in the Raleigh County area.

“We’ve been honored to be part of West Virginia’s economy these last 20 years and look forward to continuing our partnership with the state for many years to come,” he said.

The company established its facility in Beaver in 2000. Klöckner Pentaplast chose to expand its operations in West Virginia due to Beaver’s proximity to customers, local workforce availabilit, and regional transportation infrastructure, according to the company.

“With expansions over the years, Klöckner Pentaplast has proven that they believe in West Virginia,” said West Virginia Secretary of Commerce Ed Gaunch. “I want to thank them for choosing our incredible state for this expansion and for continuing to enhance the local economy and further develop our workforce.”

Last Wednesday, Gruppo Fanti said it would modify an existing site in the Weirton area, will initially create 40 new full-time jobs and will result in investment of around $30 million into the Brooke County operation.

“I love when we have firsts in West Virginia, and I’m really proud that Fanti Group has chosen to make West Virginia the home of their first manufacturing plant in America,” Justice said. “Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts, from all of us in West Virginia. This is so meaningful to our state. We want you to make this your home in the United States and we want to be able to grow with you and help you in every way we possibly can.”

Fanti Group is an Italian industrial group, founded in 1948. It specializes in packaging and is owned by the Fanti family. The group has an aggregate revenue of 120 million euro. It operates several plants in Italy along with several production and commercial entities in Europe, Russia, and Africa that manufacture more than 100 million metal cans every year.

“My father Giorgio Fanti, founder of Fanti Group, visited this area in the United States for the first time in the ‘70s to see how U.S. manufacturers worked and to see if it was possible to buy some steel,” said Stefano Fanti, chairman of Fanti Packaging.

“I was a kid at that time, but I still remember when he left home ‘per l’America’ and when he returned to Italy after a long business trip bringing lots of ‘strange’ presents and toys,” Fanti said.

“Now, after 50 years, I am glad to achieve my father’s American dream by starting a production plant in the United States. Our U.S. entity will be established in Weirton, West Virginia, and it will be legally owned by our main company located in Bologna, Italy, that has the name of my father,” Fanti said.

West Virginia was one of three states in consideration for the company’s expansion into the United States.

“Fanti USA will be the largest expansion in the history of the Fanti Group,” said Nicola De Santis, CFO, M&A, Business Development, Board Member of Fanti Group. “In West Virginia, we found the right place to expand. We studied the market, the supply chain, and the potential locations intensively. We traveled extensively before the COVID limitations and met a lot of people across the United States. Here in West Virginia we plan to initially create 20 jobs and to grow to 40-50 jobs after three to four years. One of the main reasons we have chosen West Virginia is because of the great support from the Governor’s Office and the West Virginia Development Office. Their great assistance to develop our project made our decision easy.”

Gruppo Fanti’s leadership team visited West Virginia in early 2019 as part of their due diligence in finding their U.S. expansion site.

“While we competed with Pennsylvania and Ohio for this new plant, our state’s pro-business climate, made possible by the business experience and incredible leadership of Governor Justice, along with our manufacturing base and an incredible workforce helped us prevail in the end,” Gaunch said.