*International Media Tour to Attract FDI into Pennsylvania
Innovation in mining, oil and gas is beating in the heart of Pennsylvania, and CORE PA Global hosted a tour to showcase some of those regional industries to international and national journalists.
The journalists toured six companies from Oct. 5 to Oct. 8, starting in Wilkes-Barre and ending in Williamsport. On the tour, they learned about the supply chain, foreign investors in the region, infrastructure, workforce and education, producers, and liquid natural gas port and pipeline. They also heard from regional partners, industry experts and additional companies about the oil and gas industry, and the effects of the energy industry on the state.
CORE PA Project Manager Noelle Long said Pennsylvania has much to offer the world. “The goal was to globally expose the great assets the core region of Pennsylvania has in the mining, oil and gas fields. We want to show the world what fantastic resources we have,” Long said.
The world’s first commercial oil well was drilled in 1859 in Titusville. Room-and-pillar mines have been active in Pennsylvania’s bituminous coalfields since the late-1700s, and natural gas production in Pennsylvania dates back to 1881. The real story of innovation in mining, oil and gas in Pennsylvania is happening today.
Now the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S., Pennsylvania shale gas is driving down energy costs and opening new opportunities for manufacturers. Businesses ranging from small family operations to huge multinational corporations are taking advantage of Pennsylvania’s abundant natural resources to advance their businesses in today’s global economy.
The following companies and organizations were featured on the tour:
Bridon American, 280 New Commerce Blvd., Hanover, manufactures wire and fiber rope solutions on a global scale. With over 30 design and manufacturing specialists, they specialize in efficient processing of wire and enhanced rope properties that give improved performance. They also offer rope inspection services, rope installation, maintenance and training. Bridon serves the lifting, material handling, oil, mining, communications, marine and fishing industries.
Medico Industries, 1060 Hanover St., Hanover Township, manufactures high-pressure swivel elbows and tool joints for the oil and gas industry. The company masses tool joint sets for the oil and gas industry, and can produce over 2 million pounds of steel per month. They also offer engineering services for plant design, layout and installation.
Clark Technology Systems, Inc., 2297 Housels Run Road, Milton, has been engineering, designing, and fabricating packaged equipment for over 25 years. They support the local and global energy, refinery, petrochemical, power plant, paper mill, and mining industries. They source local- or U.S.-made materials and components whenever possible. They specialize in a variety of turbomachinery packages and related auxiliary systems for refinery and petrochemical applications worldwide.
Panda Patriot is an 834-megawatt natural gas power plant under construction in Montgomery that will begin powering up one of the three turbines by the end of 2015, with full power slated to be operational in spring 2016. Constructed to take advantage of its proximity to the Marcellus Shale, the plant will be cooled by air rather than water to eliminate the need for drawing or discharging water from the nearby Susquehanna River, preventing potential impacts to river habitat. The plant should create up to 500 construction jobs. The facility will create about 27 skilled jobs for operations and 45 local indirect jobs to support the plant.
Halliburton has expertise in the emerging U.S. shale plays including the Bakken, Barnett, Bone Spring/Avalon, Eagleford, Fayetteville, Haynesville, Marcellus and the Utica – and provides well construction and well completion products and services. Halliburton North America (the toured location was 343 Riddell Road, Montgomery) focuses on both conventional and unconventional reservoirs containing oil and natural gas, as well as geothermal wells for electrical power generation. Their goal is to maximize the value of these oil and gas assets through leveraging other reservoir expertise and tailored technology solutions. This goal is achieved by delivering a secure source of superior products, quality materials, and reliable equipment with an experienced, knowledgeable and safe workforce, while protecting the environment.
NuWeld, Inc., provides customers with over 280 years of combined experience in welding, engineering and fabrication. NuWeld’s main facility encompasses 211,000 square feet of high-capability manufacturing on 24 acres with direct rail access. Located in the Industrial Park of Williamsport at 2600 Reach Road, their fabrication shop is equipped with 13 overhead cranes with capacities of up to 20 tons, which offers a variety of field and shop services to the nuclear, natural gas and power industries.
Wirerope Works, Inc., sits on a 46-acre manufacturing complex at 100 Maynard St., Williamsport, and with over 620,000 square feet under roof, is the single largest wire rope manufacturing facility in North America. It has been in business for over 100 years, and manufactures a complete line of Bethlehem Wire Rope® in a wide variety of constructions, lays, cores and steel grades. They serve many industries including construction, logging, marine, mining, oil and gas, and steel.
Journalists represented Alberta Oil Magazine of Canada; Australian Mining; Oil and Gas; and Manufacturers Monthly of Australia; and Site Selection and Rigzone magazines of the U.S.
Featured speakers were from CORE PA; Procter & Gamble; Linde Corporation; EthosGen; Vibra Tech Engineers; IMG Mid-Stream; Franklin County Area Development Corporation; Volvo Construction Equipment; Appellation Pre-Fab; St. Francis University; Pennsylvania College of Technology; Inflection Energy; Canary Labs; and LNG Allies.
The tour was CORE PA funded and executed, with additional support from the TEAM PA Foundation, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), and Tierney, a public relations firm, whose services were secured through DCED.
CORE PA Global is an initiative established to increase the visibility of the 53 counties that make up the core region of Pennsylvania to potential investors in both the international and domestic arena as well as reshoring prospects. SEDA-COG is the host organization for the initiative.
*By Liz Regan, www.seda-cog.org
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