Putnam County Economic Development Authority Director Gary Walton (third from left) and (to his right) West Virginia Development office-Japan Director Trey Hoffman met with Japanese automotive executives after touring a plant outside Tokyo.
Japan-based manufacturers apparently have an affinity for Putnam County.
WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Japan-based manufacturers apparently have an affinity for Putnam County.
Out of 20 Japanese companies the state Department of Commerce lists as having manufacturing branches in West Virginia, Putnam County houses almost half.
"There are more Japanese companies here in this county than in any other county in West Virginia," said Gary Walton, Director of the Putnam County Development Authority.
More may be on the way soon.
Walton recently returned from a two-week trip to Japan to meet with executives from the Putnam branches of companies like Toyota and Diamond Electric. Walton makes the trip about every 18 months to discuss how well the companies are doing in Putnam, and whether they are thinking about expanding business in the area.
Walton also gave PowerPoint presentations to other companies potentially interested in opening plants on American soil. Several new companies made commitments to visit Putnam County and check out building sites, he said.
Walton declined to give the names of the new companies taking interest in Putnam County.
In his presentation to the executives, Walton emphasized the location of Putnam County, which is close enough to West Virginia's largest cities, Charleston and Huntington, to pull from a labor force of more than 100,000 people.
The county also is surrounded by many of the state's colleges -- Marshall University, the University of Charleston, West Virginia State University, etc. That was a big selling point for the companies interested in filling jobs that require degrees, he said.
One of the largest factors that specifically attract Japanese companies to Putnam County is the fact that a Toyota plant is already in the county, Walton said.
Executives like to hear that high-profile companies like Toyota manufacture in the area, he said. When he pitches to a Japanese company, Toyota is usually the first name he throws out.
WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Japan-based manufacturers apparently have an affinity for Putnam County.
Out of 20 Japanese companies the state Department of Commerce lists as having manufacturing branches in West Virginia, Putnam County houses almost half.
"There are more Japanese companies here in this county than in any other county in West Virginia," said Gary Walton, Director of the Putnam County Development Authority.
More may be on the way soon.
Walton recently returned from a two-week trip to Japan to meet with executives from the Putnam branches of companies like Toyota and Diamond Electric. Walton makes the trip about every 18 months to discuss how well the companies are doing in Putnam, and whether they are thinking about expanding business in the area.
Walton also gave PowerPoint presentations to other companies potentially interested in opening plants on American soil. Several new companies made commitments to visit Putnam County and check out building sites, he said.
Walton declined to give the names of the new companies taking interest in Putnam County.
In his presentation to the executives, Walton emphasized the location of Putnam County, which is close enough to West Virginia's largest cities, Charleston and Huntington, to pull from a labor force of more than 100,000 people.
The county also is surrounded by many of the state's colleges -- Marshall University, the University of Charleston, West Virginia State University, etc. That was a big selling point for the companies interested in filling jobs that require degrees, he said.
One of the largest factors that specifically attract Japanese companies to Putnam County is the fact that a Toyota plant is already in the county, Walton said.
Executives like to hear that high-profile companies like Toyota manufacture in the area, he said. When he pitches to a Japanese company, Toyota is usually the first name he throws out.
"It automatically gives Putnam County credibility as a good location for manufacturing," he said.
There's plenty of room for companies to build plants, too.
The development authority website lists five available industrial lots: the Solutia site in Nitro, Solco Inc. in Buffalo, the Henderson/Hayslette site in Hurricane, the Corey property at the Eleanor Industrial Park, and the Rock Branch site in Poca.
The website also lists 17 available industrial buildings, along with vacancies in the county's three industrial parks.
Putnam County has an impressive list of established Japanese manufacturers: Diamond Electric, Nippon Thermostat, Meiji Corp., Toyota, Toyota Tsusho, Okaya, and ARK Inc. Among them, Walton estimates that the companies employ more than 1,500 people.
Walton hopes to see that number rise. Having international companies visit the area is the first step.
"Putnam is pretty lucky to have a reasonably diverse industry base," he said. Different types of manufacturing, like plastics, chemicals and metals, add to a county's economic security. If one manufacturer folds, it's a problem, but luckily there are others to absorb the impact of the job loss, he said.
The county also has companies from Germany, like Vossloh and Kaeser Kompressoren, albeit not as many as Japan. Walton also travels to Europe to speak with executives there about opening plants in Putnam.
The advantage of talking with executives from international companies is that they do not have any "preconceived notions" of West Virginians that American executives might have, Walton said.
"They just know that West Virginia is within a day's drive of over 50 percent of the U.S. population."
Reach Zac Taylor at Zachary.Tay...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.
