WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

CHARLESTON -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin joined Cabinet Secretary Keith Burdette, the West Virginia Development Office and the West Virginia Export Council to present the Governor's Commendation for International Market Entry to representatives of 37 West Virginia business exporters, celebrating top small and medium businesses in the Mountain State.

"West Virginia has shown the world that we have the quality products, services and workforce to compete in the global marketplace," Tomblin said Tuesday. "Nearly 95 percent of the world's consumers live outside the United States. West Virginia businesses that export enlarge their own markets while they also expand our state's economy and support jobs here at home.

"I appreciate the opportunity to honor them for their success."

Although West Virginia companies continue to export to traditional trade partners such as China and Canada, many of this year's honorees exported to emerging markets in Africa and the Middle East. These regions include destinations such as Ghana, Mozambique and Sierra Leone in Africa, and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in the Middle East.

West Virginia's exports represent a diverse range of products including consumer goods such as barrel saunas and rope sandals; technology such as computer software; biomedical such as large scale DNA sequence production; automotive such as truck parts; and manufacturing such as fabricated steel products and industrial ceramics.

This year, more than 100 awards were given to 37 small and medium-sized West Virginia companies recognizing export sales to 72 different countries.

The governor also presented certificates to the Polymer Alliance Zone, Chemical Alliance Zone and the West Virginia Coal Association to recognize the success of West Virginia exporters in those sectors.

Commendations were awarded to the following businesses:

Berkeley County

* Brentwood Industries, Martinsburg. Product: Cooling Tower, Wastewater Filters. Country: Bolivia, Kazakhstan.

* PowerSonix, Martinsburg. Product: Aircraft loud hailers. Country: Ireland.
The Library Corporation, Bunker Hill. Product: Integrated library automation systems and services. Country: United Kingdom.

Brooke County

* Eagle Manufacturing Company, Wellsburg. Product: Flammable storage, safety cans, spill containment, plastic drums, machine guards. Countries: China, Israel, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Vietnam.

Cabell County

* Crosscutting Concepts, Huntington. Product: Hands-on science education kits for schools and universities. Country: St. Lucia.

* Nippon Tungsten USA, Inc., Barboursville. Product: Rotary die cutter/regrinding. Countries: Peru, Poland.

* Steel of West Virginia, Huntington. Product: Steel rolling mill. Country: United Arab Emirates.

* Vandalia Research, Huntington. Product: Large scale DNA sequence production. Country: St. Lucia.

Fayette County

* The Robbins Company, Fayetteville. Product: Conveyor systems. Countries: Chile, Norway, Republic of Georgia.

Greenbrier County

* Almost Heaven Saunas, Renick. Product: Barrel saunas. Countries: Finland, Mexico, Norway, Qatar, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates.
Ezebreak LLC, Frankford. Product: Micro-blaster products. Country: South Africa.

Hancock County

* Homer Laughlin China Company, Newell. Product: China & Ceramics. Countries: Greece, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.

* Metsch Refractories, Inc., Chester. Product: Custom design manufacture industrial ceramics. Country: India.

Hardy County

* Peacock Manufacturing, Wardensville. Product: Custom cabinetry. Country: France.

Harrison County

* MSES Consultants- Corrosion Products Division, Clarksburg. Product: Test kits (for testing corrosion on pipelines) and test canes (equipment to facilitate the testing of pipelines). Countries: Argentina, Ecuador, France.

Jackson County

* J&M Industrial, Inc., Millwood. Product: Used industrial equipment. Countries: Italy, Mali.

* Valtronics Solutions, Ravenswood. Product: Sample conditioning equipment. Countries: Brazil, South Korea, United Kingdom.

Jefferson County

* Schonstedt Instrument Company, Kearneysville. Product: Underground utility locators. Countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Liberia, Republic of Kosovo, Turkey, Turkmenistan,  Uganda.

Kanawha County

* Charleston Steel, Dunbar. Product: Fabricated steel products. Country: Jamaica.
Cyclops Industries Inc., South Charleston. Product: Safety sight glass. Country: France, Ireland, Saudi Arabia

* Preiser Scientific, Saint Albans. Product: Coal testing and laboratory equipment. Countries: Austria, Tunisia.

* Terramite, Cross Lanes. Product: Compact construction equipment. Countries: Chile, China, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago.

* Walker Machinery Company, Belle. Product: Caterpillar mining and construction equipment. Countries: Bolivia, United Arab Emirates.

Marion County

* Backbone Security, Fairmont. Product: Computer software, hardware, training. Country: Greece, Lebanon.

* T&T Pump Company, Fairmont. Product: Pump manufacturing. Countries: Honduras, Peru, United Arab Emirates.

Marshall County

* Leveltek International, LLC, Benwood. Product: Stretch leveling systems for retrofit and new cut-to-length lines. Country: Australia.

Mason County

* ICL IP America, Inc., Gallipolis Ferry. Product: Functional fluids and flame retardants. Country: South Africa.

Monongalia County

* Gurkees, Morgantown. Product: Rope sandals. Countries: Kuwait, Spain, France, Italy.

* Protea Biosciences, Morgantown. Product: bioanalytics. Countries: Hong Kong, Turkey.

Ohio County

* Direct Online Marketing, Wheeling. Product: Internet advertising. Country: Hong Kong, Netherlands Antilles.

* TROY Group, Wheeling. Product: Security printing products. Countries: Argentina, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Yemen.

* Wheeling Truck Center, Wheeling. Product: Truck parts. Countries: Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Kingdom of Bahrain, Maldives, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Portugal, Sierra Leon, Sri Lanka, Thailand.

Raleigh County

* Cogar Manufacturing Inc., Beckley. Product: Mining machinery. Country: Colombia.

* Mining Controls, Inc., Beaver. Product: Power distribution equipment. Countries: Brazil, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Senegal.

* Quality Environmental Containers, Beaver. Product: Laboratory sample containers. Countries: Kuwait, Netherlands.

Tyler County

*  Marble King, Paden City. Product: Marbles. Country: Turkey.

* Sistersville Tank Works, Sistersville. Product: Custom metal fabrication. Country: South Korea.