Mountaineer Brand Mustang Sampling, LLC
BY SAMANTHA CART. Mountaineer Brand is creating a whole BY SAMANTHA CART. Mustang Sampling,
new definition for what it means to be a well-kempt West
Virginian. Based in Martinsburg, WV, this family-owned,
all-natural beard and personal care product company creates
and sells an original beard care line as well as a variety of
deodorants, body washes, shaving oils, balms and soaps for
the entire family.
In January 2018, four of
the company’s best-selling
items from its WV Timber
product line debuted in
Walmart stores. The cedar
and fir needle-scented beard
oil, beard balm, heavy duty
beard balm and beard wash
are now available in more
than 3,500 Walmart loca-
tions across the U.S. Mountaineer Brand products are also
available in all 50 states; shipped internationally to the U.K.,
Sweden, Australia and Canada; and sold online through
Amazon, Costco, Neiman Marcus and Target.
Founded by CEO Eric Young in 2013, the company quickly
outgrew his home and now operates out of a 12,000-square-
foot facility with 40 full-time staff members and additional
seasonal employees. Meredith Young, Eric’s sister, joined
him as vice president and chief operating officer in 2014, and
together the team, known locally as Mr. and Sister Moun-
taineer, are taking on the challenges and celebrating the
successes of rapid growth together.
According to Meredith, the company’s background is a
real tribute to the idea that necessity is the mother of inven-
tion. After losing his mother and his wife to cancer, Eric was
committed to pursuing a natural, healthy lifestyle for himself
and his family.
“Eric was looking for a beard product he could not only
feel good about putting on his face but one that would also fit
in his already too-tight budget,” she says. “He created several
of our first products as a crew of one, working in his kitchen
at his home in Shepherdstown.”
Since then, Mountaineer Brand has patented a variety of
all-natural products using only high-quality ingredients. Even
with international success, the brother-sister duo cannot think
of anywhere else they’d rather have their company located than
the Mountain State.
“We are located in West
Virginia because it is and
always has been home,”
says Meredith. “We come
from a family of proud
West Virginians, and West
Virginia is very much a part
of who we are. You can tell by
the names of some of our
products: WV Timber, WV
Coal and WV Barefoot.” LLC is a Ravenswood-based company
that provides custom products and
services for the natural gas, natural
gas liquids (NGL) and liquefied
natural gas (LNG) industries. Over
the past 30 years, Valtronics, the
parent company for Mustang Sampling,
has grown into three separate divisions. The Mustang
Sampling division is dedicated to the development of products
and systems for use in sample conditioning—the process that
prepares natural gas for introduction into analysis equipment—
and is the leading provider of Analytically Accurate systems
within the natural gas, NGL and LNG markets.
Valtronics ships products to every state in the U.S., through-
out the Western Hemisphere and to a variety of oil and gas-
producing countries and large LNG importers. Also, in
addition to its Mountain State headquarters, Valtronics has
offices in Houston, TX, and Dallas, NC.
“West Virginia has been a great location to recruit and
retain a loyal employee base for decades,” says President and
CEO Ken Thompson. “We have benefited from employees
familiar with the energy industry and have developed close
ties to the power, waste water and mining markets. West
Virginia also provides a solid commercial base within the
Marcellus Shale region.”
Congratulations,
Steve Rubin,
on being inducted into
West Virginia Executive’s
Sharp Shooters
Class of 2018!
WWW.WVEXECUTIVE.COM
SPRING 2018
45