Stoking a Fire: Justice touts ‘Wonderful’ economic announcement at West Virginia Chamber Summit
August 30, 2024
Gov. Jim Justice opened up the first day of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 88th Annual Meeting and Business Summit Wednesday with new economic development announcements, including one involving TV’s Mr. Wonderful.
Justice welcomed attendees to the Business Summit at Justice’s historic Greenbrier Resort Wednesday afternoon. The annual event brings together business leaders, state economic development officials, academics, and politicians.
Justice, wrapping up his final four-year term as governor and running as the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, thanked the business community for its past support. Justice faces former Democratic Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott in November.
“It’s been an honor of my life being your governor,” Justice said. “It’s a tough job. It’s a really, really tough job. We’ve come so far. It is off the chart, but there is so much further you can go. It is a rocket ship ride today. But let the rocket ship take you somewhere. Let it take you to the stars beyond anything you could ever possibly imagine.”
Justice announced a $35 million investment in an Upshur County manufacturing facility for Prime 6, the maker of charcoal and wood grilling logs. The Buckhannon-based project is estimated to create 75 jobs and could be up and running in the next several months.
The company, founded by Oron and Riki Franco, is known for its appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank, where the company received a $200,000 investment for 25% equity in the company from Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary. Both Riki Franco and O’Leary addressed the Business Summit by video.
“It’s been more than 24 months since we’ve started looking for a place to call home,” Franco said. “We’ve been through many states and spoke to many officials. When we landed in West Virginia, we realized that the team there had a completely different approach to bringing both innovation and being pro-business to make sure that the companies are successful here in the state.”
“This is the most sustainable fire log in the world and the best for grilling. And I love to cook. Yeah, I’m a chef,” O’Leary said. “I fell in love with them on Shark Tank. It is the classic company that is the essence of entrepreneurship. It started from scratch.”
O’Leary, also known for his many appearances on Fox News, visited Justice, lawmakers, and state economic development officials earlier this year.
“Not all states are the same. I’ve been very vocal about this. One great place to do business is West Virginia,” O’Leary said. “Why? Great leadership. Jim Justice and the entire team there, I’ve met personally. I flew there myself. They get it. Why? They run businesses, they made payroll before, and they know what it takes to do that. These are not politicians, these are leaders.”
“It all started with Kevin O’Leary – Mr. Wonderful of all things,” Justice said. “Can you just imagine? Can you imagine him coming to West Virginia and sitting in my office? We absolutely had great talks many times on the phone, and lo and behold, here they come.”
Justice announced a $59 million investment in Berkeley County by HandCraft Services, the manufacturer of linens and apparel for the health care industry. The company will build two new plants, creating an estimated 220 jobs. The first plant will open next year and the second plant will open in 2026.
“It became quickly apparent that the Berkeley area…was going to be the right spot for us,” said Ward Hackett, the vice president of business development for HandCraft. “The writing was all on the wall pretty quick. We’re just excited to get going. We’re going to start moving dirt next week and start washing laundry this time next year, and we’re excited to be part of the West Virginia community.”
The final project announced by Justice Wednesday is a $126 million investment in Mason County by Babcock and Wilcox for a coal-to-hydrogen project.
The company will implement a proprietary technology it calls BrightLoop. The technology can take coal, petroleum coke, natural gas, biogas, and biomass to produce hydrogen, steam, or syngas, while using carbon capture and sequestration to store any carbon emissions produced in the process. The company will create an estimated 28 jobs with future expansion planned.
“We have things going on at Mason County that are off the chart,” Justice said. “It may very well be that this blossoms into a billion dollar investment in West Virginia. And more than anything, this is all driven from making hydrogen out of coal. So, it keeps our coal miners going.”
According to Justice, more than $20 billion in investment has been made in the state through economic development projects since he first took office in 2017, which will result in approximately 30,000 jobs when it is all said and done.
“We’re going to run through the finish line and we’re going to keep bringing businesses,” Justice said. “We’re going to do it every single day if we can, because the businesses are just doing exactly what Mr. Wonderful just said to all of us. The businesses drive opportunity to all of you.”
Story by Steven Allen Adams, News & Sentinel