Print |
E-mail to a friend
BUSINESS
W.Va. economy shows positive signs, but store closings, layoffs hit home
Sonny and Sharie Knight, owners of Hillbilly Hotdogs, and a few of their recipes are included in Food Network host Guy Fieri's new cookbook, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip with Recipes." The couple also flew to California on Oct. 31 to tape a special best of episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."
Purchase this photoRelated:
West Virginia's economy showed more positives than many areas of the country, but 2008's nationwide economic downturn began to take its toll on the Mountain State this fall.
While the housing market in the state remained steady, layoffs and closing of national chain stores closed out the year.
Here are some of the prominent stories on business in the Tri-State:
Housing market
While home prices plummeted nationwide, the Tri-State housing market has remained stable. Local real estate agents say the market is less likely to see extreme surges, but housing prices have dropped some. Earlier this month, local home sales were down 2 percent for the year, compared with the same time last year, said Lynn Clercx, a real estate agent with Prudential. Nationally, home sales were down 19 percent over the past year and 8 percent in the past month, according to the seasonally adjusted rate.
Foreclosures on homes also haven't been as common in West Virginia as in many other states. West Virginia ranks 47th in the nation for foreclosures, which is pretty good considering the state is 37th in population.
The housing slump did have some effect locally as a Huntington-based company closed its doors. SNE Enterprises, which made vinyl windows and patio doors, closed its plant at the Huntington Industrial Center in January. Company officials cited the national slump in the housing market. The plant employed 130.
Retail sales
The economic woes also were felt in declining retail sales nationwide fueled by housing market problems and rising gas prices. Several national retailers were forced to close stores in the area due to bankruptcy or restructuring to stay afloat. On the list of local store closings were Linens 'N Things, Value City Department Store, Steve & Barry's and Goody's.
Gas prices also took a wild ride through 2008 with prices above $4 per gallon over the summer. Prices now are hovering around $1.70 a gallon in most of the Tri-State.
Auto industry
The auto industry woes led to some local layoffs in the auto and steel industries.
Toyota announced in November that it was releasing 120 temporary workers from its Putnam County engine and transmission plant as part of company-wide cuts. The plant is joining other Toyota plants nationwide in reducing production to align with slowing demand, a company spokesman said.
Toyota's announcement came just little more than a week after AK Steel in Ashland announced that it was temporarily shutting down most of its operations and laying off about 650 workers until at least mid-January. The company cited reduced demand for steel, and much of that was attributed to a big slowdown in the nation's auto industry.
And Steel of West Virginia also announced in November that it was laying off 52 workers. Another 13 were laid off earlier this month.
Job growth
Not all of the economic news was negative. The Tri-State did have two major job expansion announcements this year.
CSX announced in April it was adding a $4.5 million dispatching center to its 7th Avenue facility to accommodate 80 workers it was moving to Huntington from Jacksonville, Fla. Most of the relocated workers are train dispatchers who earn $115,000 including benefits.
And Alcon Inc. announced in September it is building a second plant in Cabell County and will add 350 jobs over the next 10 to 15 years. The Swiss-owned, eye-care company will make a $25 million investment, including construction of a new 74,000-square-foot facility. The company has purchased about 20 acres at the new Huntington Area Development Council Business Park, just off W.Va. 2 near Greenbottom.
Overall, West Virginia's unemployment rate did see increases in the fall, rising to 4.6 percent in November, but remained well below the national rate of 6.7 percent. Most area counties remained near or below the state average, with Cabell ending November at 3.8 percent.
Airport continues to grow
The addition of Allegiant Air continued to give Tri-State Airport a boost. The airport also ended the year with new leadership.
Allegiant Air announced in September that it would resume nonstop service to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from the airport.
Tri-State was one of five airports that lost service to Fort Lauderdale on Sept. 6 because of rising fuel costs.
But strong community demand coupled with stronger than anticipated summer bookings and decreases in fuel costs convinced Allegiant to restore the service.
That same month, the airport learned it had been awarded a $500,000 Small Community Air Service Development Program grant to pursue non-stop air service to a major hub in the northeastern United States.
The airport also announced in November that it has chosen a successor for Airport Director Larry Salyers, who retired after 26 years on the job.
Following a nationwide search, the Airport Authority chose Jerry Brienza from a field of more than 30 applicants. He was the director of aviation at Pueblo Memorial Airport in Pueblo, Colo., where he had worked since 2002.
Hospital changes
The medical industry opened new facilities and announced the addition of future facilities in 2008.
Cabell Huntington Hospital completed the opening of its north patient tower. Portions of the facility opened in 2007, but the remainder of the $85 million facility opened in 2008. The hospital also added its 11th operating room and renovated areas vacated by the move-in to the North Patient Tower. Construction allowed for private rooms in several areas of the hospital, including the Mother Baby Unit.
The Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation announced plans to create a children's hospital within Cabell Huntington. The foundation continues to work to raise more than $10 million for the project. The fundraising campaign will be conducted through June 2011.
Officials at St. Mary's Medical Center announced that construction could begin next year on a $20 million family medical center that could be a precursor for a hospital on a 20-acre parcel off Ohio 141 and U.S. 52 in Ironton.
Restaurants get a national spotlight
A few Tri-State restaurants got some national attention this year from the Food Network.
Guy Fieri's popular mom-and-pop road-tripping show, "Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives," made several pit stops in the Huntington area.
Guy's show featured Smokey Valley Truck Stop in Olive Hill, Ky., Central City Cafe, 529 West 14th St., Huntington, and the original Lesage location, of Sonny and Sharie Knight's Hillbilly Hotdogs.
Fieri, whose father is from Wheeling, W.Va., also put two recipes from Hillbilly Hotdogs into his new cookbook, and flew Sonny and Sharie out to Cali in December to tape a "best of" episode for "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."
Other plants in state struggle
Another plant struggling in the economy is Century Aluminum's Ravenswood, W.Va., plant.
The plant closed one potline on Saturday and may close the entire plant in 60 days unless the price of aluminum stabilizes and it cuts costs.
Gov. Joe Manchin says he's looking at ways, including tax breaks, to help keep the plant from closing its doors as early as February.
The price of aluminum has plummeted across the globe, forcing the company to reduce expenses at its operations around the country.
Manchin plans to organize a delegation of state and federal officials to meet with top company officials to work on options for keeping the Jackson County plant operating.
Earlier this month, Dow Chemical announced it is closing plants and cutting 1,000 jobs, including 150 high-paying research and development posts in West Virginia, as part of a plan to rid itself of underperforming businesses and boost its global efficiency.
Wholly-owned subsidiary Union Carbide Corp. will shut down its polypropylene facility in St. Charles Parish, La., before the end of the year, and the company will significantly reduce research and development and other functions at a facility in South Charleston, W.Va.
Allan Fowler, Dow's top West Virginia manager, said the 150 job cuts to his operations include technology experts, lab workers and scientists with doctorates. While the average chemical job in the Kanawha Valley pays about $59,000 a year, Fowler said the positions Dow is cutting pay closer to $100,000 on average. "These are definitely on the high end of white-collar jobs."
Dow plans to keep about 100 R&D jobs in West Virginia, where it conducts research on gas-phase polyethylene, which is used in a variety of plastics to make everything from plastic bags to pipes.
Following the job cuts, Dow will have about 550 West Virginia employees, Fowler said.
