Never in the history of West Virginia has such a diverse group of leaders come together for one common goal — creating new infrastructure and jobs for West Virginia. With the group's diverse professional expertise, combined with legal prowess and political savvy, great things are in store for West Virginia and future generations. This is only the beginning of the incredible growth and journey the great state of West Virginia will benefit through efforts of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, or WVMA.
While ever present in the media is the much anticipated decision for a cracker plant in the Kanawha Valley, one organization, the WVMA, decided to organize a diverse group of businesses, chemical industry leaders, lawyers, as well as several members of the West Virginia Legislature interested in this topic to plan and determine how to best help in this new phase of development, specifically, how to effectively implement "Marcellus to Manufacturing" for the state of West Virginia.
Karen Price, president of the WVMA, said, "The goal was to combine a diverse group of individuals who would bring fresh ideas and be the best spokespeople for their specific industry to assist in this committee." In June 2011, 28 individuals came together to form the WVMA Marcellus to Manufacturing, or M2M, Committee
Steve Hedrick, vice president and head of Bayer CropScience Institute Industrial Park, said, "Marcellus to Manufacturing is about taking full advantage locally of the opportunities and value presented by the shale-gas ethane in the area. The next step, once a cracker is built in the area, is to attract other manufacturers to produce value-added intermediate chemicals from the ethylene and then still others to use these value-added materials in further manufacturing of consumer products."
The WVMA M2M Committee consists of Hedrick and Sen. Brooks McCabe as co-chairmen, plus 27 additional members: Maribeth Anderson, Chesapeake Energy; Patty Barnhart of the WVMA; Mike Basile, Spilman Thomas & Battle PLLC; Anne Blankenship, Robinson & McElwee PLLC; Charlie Burd, IOGA of West Virginia; Dana Burns, Potesta & Associates; Fred Clark, IVS Hydro Inc.; Dean Cordle, AC&S Inc.; Kevin DiGregorio, Chemical Alliance Zone; Tom Dover, Bayer CropScience; Joe Eddy, Eagle Manufacturing Co.; Sen. Karen Facemyer, Polymer Alliance Zone; Beri Fox, Marble King Inc.; Jeff Fritz, DuPont; Edward George, Robinson & McElwee PLLC; Frank Gilmore, PPG Industries; Tania Hotmer, Appalachian Power; Karen Kahle, Steptoe & Johnson; Jim Mosby, West Virginia Development Office; Robert C. Orndorff, Dominion Transmission; Karen Price, WVMA; Jay Richet, Marathon Petroleum Co.'s Catlettsburg Refining; Don Rigby, RED Partnership; Delegate Doug Skaff; John Stump, Steptoe & Johnson; Troy Thomas, Allevard Sogefi USA Inc.; and Steve White, Affiliated Construction Trades.
Plans were commenced immediately to do whatever necessary to bring new infrastructure and jobs to West Virginia in an effort to boost the economy for generations to come. A subcommittee was created from the original committee members to plan and organize the first Marcellus to Manufacturing Ethane Development Conference for 2012. Committee members of the M2M Ethane Development Conference committee are chairman Fred Clark, Patty Barnhart, Dana Burns, Kevin DiGregorio, Tom Dover, Jim Mosby and Karen Price.
Clark, the corporate secretary/CEO of IVS Hydro Inc., said, "I have a great love for the state of West Virginia, and it is my belief that when working with other business leaders, it is possible to reinvigorate West Virginia and ensure the growth and future of our great state."
Working in coordination with the West Virginia Construction & Design Expo, a decision was made to put into motion the M2M Ethane Development Conference, which is scheduled for March 21-22 at the Charleston Civic Center.
The objective of the 2012 M2M Ethane Development Conference will be to focus on opportunities that businesses and companies can utilize with the development of Marcellus shale gas and ultimately the downstream manufacturing that can be developed in West Virginia. Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, said, "Access to vast new supplies of natural gas from shale deposits is one of the most dramatic developments in the last 50 years. The economies of shale gas not only create a competitive advantage for U.S. petrochemical manufacturers, but lead to greater U.S. investment and industry growth."
The upcoming M2M Ethane Development Conference is honored to have Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette, who also is the executive director of the West Virginia Development Office, participate and extend opening remarks on March 22. When discussing the upcoming M2M Ethane Development Conference, Burdette said his agency is "pleased to partner with the West Virginia Manufacturers Association on this conference. We think this represents the beginning of a discussion that will help identify the opportunities in West Virginia that are associated with Marcellus development."
"The M2M Ethane Development Conference will assist in reinventing the chemical industry in the state of West Virginia with opportunity and the prospect that has not been seen since the 1950's. Downstream derivative for new chemical processing, inclusive of raw materials as will be derived from Marcellus shale gas, puts West Virginia in a unique position to change history to diversify the chemical manufacturing industry to alter the timeline by 50-plus years and to bring world class manufacturers into West Virginia for immeasurable growth," McCabe said.
Basile said he fully understands the importance of the efforts.
"The whole goal — from an economic perspective — should be to capture and add value to the molecule here in West Virginia," he said. "Piping gas — particularly wet gas — out of state is economically analogous to sending our children to Charlotte to work or our hardwoods abroad as furniture feedstock. Conversely, the conversion of ethane to ethylene via a cracking process will provide the anchor component, ethylene oxide, for a rejuvenated chemical and polymer base — thousands of jobs and billions in economic prosperity for our region. We must dedicate our collective shoulders to this vision!"
The M2M Ethane Development Conference will give the opportunity to hear industry experts discuss everything from tax incentives, transportation methods, the importance of ensuring future production growth while addressing environmental concerns, the importance of connecting chemical sector re-birth to shale gas (in other words, you have to frack to crack), all with the common goal of bringing much needed infrastructure to West Virginia.
Information on the March Marcellus to Manufacturing conference can be obtained, as well as registration information, at www.wvma.com or by calling the West Virginia Manufacturers Association Office at 304-342-2123.
Rachelle "Chelly" Morrison is the executive assistant to CEO of IVS Hydro Inc. in Institute.
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