DAVISVILLE — Polymer Alliance Zone of West Virginia has added two more counties.
PAZ added Wayne and Cabell Counties to its list, which also consists of Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Tyler and Wood counties.
PAZ President Keith Burdette said the expansion to include Wayne and Cabell made strategic sense.
"It will broaden our ability to reach out for new investment and new jobs for our state and strengthen the resources we have to offer," Burdette said in a news release. "If we are to be successful we must think smarter and work together for common goals."
Burdette said adding Wayne and Cabell into PAZ fits well into the equation.
PAZ focuses on expanding the industrial base by adding value to polymer businesses and related service industries. It has one of the highest concentrations of high-technology, specialty and engineering polymers production in the region.
Huntington Area Development Council (HADCO) President David Lieving said the council is pleased with the development of the partnership with PAZ, as it will advance economic development in the counties. Both organizations are focusing on polymer and related industries and the creation of high-paying jobs in the area.
"Shared success between the HADCO and the Polymer Alliance Zone allows the entire Ohio Valley Region to achieve its economic development vision of attracting high wage and high skill jobs to the area," Lieving said in a news release. "This partnership is the kind of collaboration we need to connect our Ohio Valley communities around our shared goal of growing our existing manufacturing base and attracting new jobs and investment."
Lieving said HADCO looks forward to building even more innovative partnerships in the future.
"An abundance of natural gas, including natural gas liquids (NGLs), low natural gas costs, and proximity to 70 percent of the polyethylene industry within a day’s drive, are a game changer for the Ohio Valley," Burdette said in the news release.
Burdette said the region is primed to become the second major petrochemical hub in the continental United States.
"These are exciting times and we are pleased to welcome Cabell and Wayne counties as members of the Polymer Alliance Zone of West Virginia," Burdette said in the release.