In
FOR THE PAST COUPLE YEARS, when the
staff at West Virginia Executive (WVE)
magazine sat down to plan the annual
energy and manufacturing issue, we strug-
gled with content. Our goal as a statewide
business magazine is to shine a positive
light on the many successes of West Vir-
ginia in an effort to change the state’s nar-
rative. There are so many good people here
doing good things that generally this task
is easy. But let’s be honest: when it comes
to energy and manufacturing, there hasn’t
been a great deal of good news to share.
When success stories are hard to find,
our editorial staff looks at the challenges
and tries to generate content that will lead
to conversations and solutions for the state.
There are some things, though, that dis-
cussion on a personal level cannot change,
like federal overregulation, a volatile coal
market, the challenges of globalization
and a scenario in which natural gas is in
such high supply and low demand that
the market bottoms out.
This year is different, though.
After interviewing the executive direc-
tors of the West Virginia Oil and Natural
Gas Association and Independent Oil and
Gas Association of West Virginia and the
presidents of the West Virginia Coal Asso-
ciation and West Virginia Manufacturers
Association for this issue, it appears things
are looking up for these two industries.
Changes in state and national leadership
have industry leaders who were once ex-
pressing frustration over what they couldn’t
fix now expressing cautious optimism.
Things appear to be turning around, albeit
slowly, for West Virginia’s energy and man-
ufacturing industries and the businesses,
families and communities they support.
In this year’s annual energy and manu-
facturing issue, the leadership of these four
8
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
Letter from the Publishers
associations shared with us their respec-
tive industry’s challenges and what legis-
lative action can do to help spur growth
in “Inside the Industry” on page 42. For
the natural gas industry, infrastructure to
move product to buyers is vital to a resur-
gence. Read about the state’s current and
upcoming pipeline projects in “Extend-
ing Our Network” on page 49. With all
these pipelines in the works, it won’t be
long before the manufacturing industry
will benefit from the once stagnant natural
gas industry. In “A Blueprint for Success”
on page 39, learn about the importance of
competitiveness in manufacturing, where
West Virginia ranks and which issues need
to be addressed for us to come out on top.
As our manufacturing industry reawak-
ens, supply chain management will play a
pivotal role in our success. In “The Supply
Chain Advantage” on page 59, Dr. Javier
Reyes explores the role supply chain man-
agement can play in growing the state’s man-
ufacturing industry while accomplishing
much-needed economic diversification. For
this issue, WVE also had the opportunity
to speak with Austin Caperton, the new
secretary of the West Virginia Depart-
ment of Environmental Protection. In
“Mountain State Stewardship” on page
54, Caperton discusses his new role, how
he’ll use his industry experience to help
the state navigate energy-related chal-
lenges and how he hopes to inspire more
efficiency in state government.
In this issue’s Politics department, we
asked individuals closely following six
bills from this year’s legislative session to
discuss what passage of each of these bills
would mean for West Virginians and where
each bill ended up at the end of the session.
“Progress Report” on page 25 provides
insight into the fights for legalizing medical
marijuana, expanding broadband, provid-
ing additional substance abuse facilities, as-
sisting agriculture-based small businesses
and reforming education. “West Virginia’s
Rural Water Crisis” on page 33 takes a
look at the work volunteers from Engineers
Without Borders’ West Virginia University
chapter performed over spring break in the
small town of Prenter, where clean water
has been unavailable since 2007.
Our new Industry department revives
WVE’s Winner’s Circle feature on page 82,
which highlights 18 West Virginia companies
doing big things to reach great success. In
“Industry Outlook” on page 76, we examine
West Virginia’s economy in terms of popu-
lation, employment and exports and take
a look at the eight industries forecast to
have the highest employment gains over the
next five years, according to WVU’s “West
Virginia Economic Outlook 2017-2021.”
On the cover of this issue, we are proud
to present our Sharp Shooters Class of 2017.
This year’s class is comprised of 10 suc-
cessful West Virginians who have exhib-
ited a commitment to their careers and a
passion for giving back to the Mountain
State. To nominate someone for the Class
of 2018, visit www.wvexecutive.com/
sharp-shooter-nomination-form.
The optimism hovering over the energy
and manufacturing industries in West
Virginia gives us hope that these industries
are on the cusp of a resurgence. Perhaps,
in these areas, West Virginia can be the
comeback kid and provide much-needed
relief to our workforce, business commu-
nity and state economy.