HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) – A Pennsylvania company packed up its equipment and officially moved operations to Hancock County, bringing nearly 100 jobs to the Ohio Valley.
Chester officials, county commissioners and residents joined as Heavy Iron Oil Services cut the ribbon to their new headquarters and paving the way for new jobs.
7News Reporter Annalise Murphy was at that celebration and learned what economic impact this move will have on Chester.
The property sat vacant for years, causing major concerns for Chester Residents. On Tuesday, the city celebrated as Heavy Iron officially moved their headquarters to the new building, sparking economic growth and development.
Heavy Iron sits on the property once occupied by Taylor Smith and Taylor Pottery, which went out of business back in 1981.
Following the closure of the pottery, the building and property sat vacant – slowly dilapidating and becoming a serious safety issue for Chester.
With complaints coming from residents and worries about worsening conditions, the city of Chester, the Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle and other agencies began working together to find a solution.
“The BDC worked with a lot of different partners in acquiring the site in 2011 and worked very diligently with a lot of different federal partners and granting agencies to get this property cleaned up so we could eventually see a ribbon cutting as we saw today with Heavy Iron.”
Jacob Keeney | Co-Executive Director, Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle
After the property had been cleaned, a “shell” structure was built around 2017 to provide a starting point for a new business.
Heavy Iron President, John Van Slyke, says it was about $1 million to get the structure from the “shell” they started with to the operational building it is present day.
Heavy Iron is a production servicing company for the oil and gas industries.
They started in 2011 and can offer frack support, drill out services, production testing and their newest service, well tending.
Heavy Iron then gathers data from these services and creates reports for their clients to help them make informed decisions.
He says he was attracted to the site for a variety of reasons but has been truly inspired by the work ethic of people in the Ohio Valley.
“Washington County is a little crowded with oil and gas, and so we thought moving a little ways away from the center, but still convenient to that area might attract some new, new local talent to our employees. We’ve been pretty happy with the local employees that we’ve hired so far.”
John Van Slyke | President, Heavy Iron Oil Services
Everyone is excited to see this project come to fruition, many saying they never thought they’d see the day a new company would occupy the property.
Chester’s Mayor, Ed Wedgewood says the company will have a huge economic impact on the city.
“They’re hiring people. They’re bringing stuff out. So, every time you have another person interacting with the city of Chester, that’s an opportunity to use some of the other facilities within Chester. The gas station, the restaurants, the stores. So, it’s a huge impact. Even beyond the tax revenue that Heavy Iron would bring in by itself.”
Mayor Ed Wedgewood | Chester, WV
Another huge advocate for this project was past and present Hancock County Commissioners who provided funding along the way.
“Hancock County really believes in Chester. It’s a very special part of the county and it contributes a lot to the well-being of our communities. So, the opportunity to revitalize and repurpose this space meant that we could keep our communities active and prosperous.”
Eron Chek | Hancock County Commissioner
Heavy Iron moved to Chester, West Virginia from Washington, Pennsylvania, bringing along with them 75 full time employees. They hope to hire 20 more full-time workers.
Read More: Oil service company bringing headquarters to West Virginia with almost 100 jobs