Mine Company's Move to Greene a Good Sign
Washington PA Observer-Reporter
1 February 2010
The announcement last week that a West Virginia mine construction
company plans to relocate to Mt. Morris and bring 98 jobs to the area
is good news for the Meadow Ridge Business Park and even greater news
for the county struggling with an 8.4 percent unemployment rate.
Shaft Drillers International will move its headquarters from Morgantown
to a 44,500-square-foot building that will be built at the park, which
up to now is home to just a few small businesses.
The company develops mine shafts that are used for ventilation as well
as transporting workers and equipment underground. SDI also drills for
the natural gas and civil engineering industries.
Greene County seems tailor-made for an enterprise like SDI, considering
the county's mining heritage and the ongoing exploration of the
Marcellus Shale that is taking place here.
But let's be clear. SDI didn't decide to pull up roots in West Virginia
and move across the state line because it likes the climate.
The state offered SDI $2.1 million as enticement to locate here. The
package includes a $2 million grant through the Redevelopment
Assistance Capital Program, which can be used to pay for some of the
construction costs. SDI also will get $110,000 to help train people to
work at the company.
In a very competitive business and employment atmosphere, supported by
the Greene County Commissioner's comment that Pennsylvania was
competing with West Virginia to convince SDI to locate in their
respective states, we find no problem with offering a $2 million carrot.
And it may not have hurt that the company's founders, Scott Kiger and
Charlie Riggs, grew up in Greene County.
State Rep. Bill DeWeese, who said he was "pleased to have had a hand in
procuring $2 million in state funds to make this worthy project a
reality," referred to SDI's decision to relocate as the "tip of a
proverbial iceberg when it comes to energy-related local job creation."
We have to agree with him because this type of job creation, especially
in this area, is what we will undoubtedly see in the next decade or two.
At least we are seeing a company with teeth that has the potential to
favorably impact this county economically.
We are relieved that retail development, while a vital component to an
area's economic survival, is not taking center stage relative to the
comments from state Sen. J. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville, who said this
project "... is a sign that the area is being positioned for more
robust economic growth."
We welcome SDI as a new player in what we hope is a turning point in
Greene County's economic future.