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Learn More About This Year’s Export Award Winners


On August 26, Gov. Jim Justice, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Sen. Joe Manchin and EXIM President and Chairman Kimberley Reed recognized 30 companies in West Virginia that exported to 66 new markets in 2019. This year’s diverse group of award winners come from all over West Virginia and represent industry sectors such as technology, consumer goods, polymers and chemicals, building products, and machinery.

Click through the regions below to learn more about award winners.

Central

Our 2020 Export Award Winners sell to a variety of sectors and the diversity in West Virginia’s Central Region is no exception. Industries represented in this region include steel, raw materials like rubber and plastics, industrial equipment, building materials, cyber security, and consumer goods.  Multicoat Products is nestled in the Industrial Park in Fraziers Bottom and manufacturers waterproof coatings and related materials for the construction and building products sectors with sales to sixteen countries. Participating in State of WV led trade missions to markets like Cuba and utilizing grant funding through the WV First-STEP Next-STEP Program, the company leadership is committed to a global presence and the continued growth of the company. 

Rubberlite is a Huntington based company manufacturing rubber, plastic, foam, and adhesives products for a variety of industries, such as consumer goods, medical products, packaging, transportation, and other industrial applications. Rubberlite, Inc. proactively exports through participation in trade events organized by the U.S. Commercial Service and the West Virginia Department of Economic Development and their own independent travel and engagement with overseas buyers. The company makes exporting a priority in their business strategy and emphasizes this by implementing an export compliance program within the company to ensure they meet all the requirements and policies set forth by the U.S. Government.

Not all our award winners are manufacturing products for global markets. In the case of J&M Industrial in Millwood, the company acts as a broker, buying and selling used industrial equipment to support the mineral processing, chemical, and plastics industries. Buyers can be found in 45 different countries around the world.    

Our other distinguished winners from the Central region of West Virginia include:

  • APG Polytech, owned by the Taiwan-based Far Eastern Group, is a manufacturer of PET resin with barrier properties located in Apple Grove.
  • Kreinik Mfg. Co. Inc. located in Parkersburg manufacturing specialty craft threads for textiles and fly-fishing applications.
  • North American Consulting Services provides their clients with cyber security and communications security from their location in Point Pleasant.
  • Steel of West Virginia is located in Huntington and manufactures steel structural I beams, channels, and other special shapes for a variety of industries.
  • Wilson Welding is fabricator in Huntington providing welding and fabrication services to the mining, mineral, petroleum, and industrial sectors. 
Eastern Panhandle

Our 2020 Commendation for International Market Entry award winners have spent time and effort to pursue global sales and this award recognizes their commitment to exporting.

For some of these exporters, such as Schonstedt Instrument Company, also a WV First STEP- Next STEP client, the commitment to exports includes a humanitarian component. The company has an option to purchase one of their underground locators to donate, and they will match this donation, to the demining efforts through the United Nation Mine Action Service. This program, to date, has donated more than 500 Schonstedt magnetic locators to 28 countries to find and remove unexploded mines in war torn areas.   

Peacock Manufacturing Company, headquartered in Connecticut, goes the by the brand name Christopher Peacock. Custom designing high-end cabinetry for their elite clientele’s gourmet kitchens and walk in closets, the company boasts showrooms in some of the world’s most exclusive destinations, such as Cannes, Sydney, and London. All manufactured in West Virginia, Christopher Peacock participated in the State of West Virginia’s Pavilion at the AIA Conference on Architecture which was funded in part through the WV First STEP-Next STEP Program, and continues to show their commitment to export with the recent openings of their showrooms in Jakarta and Singapore.

A hardwood furniture company, Caperton Furnitureworks, has been owned and operated by Gat Caperton for almost 25 years. The company sells their fine Appalachian hardwood furniture to international customers in 61 different markets, but do not be surprised if you also see their Gat Creek label on pieces in U.S. Embassies and consulates around the world. With a commitment to lean manufacturing principles and sustainability, they have Silver Exemplary Status according to the Sustainable Furnishings Council, Gat Creek continues to excel as an American made furniture company in the global marketplace.

Our other distinguished winners from the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia include:

  • C2M Consulting, a cyber security firm in Charles Town working in South America in the financial sector
  • Growth Media Services a film company in Shepherdstown which produces movies and tv shows shown on PBS and other networks
  • Washington Homeopathic Products, which advocates for the use of herbal and homeopathic remedies manufactured in their Berkeley Springs headquarters
  • Thermo Tech of Keyser, a manufacturer of belt heaters used in cold climates for mining and other related industries
Northern Panhandle and North Central

In the Northern Panhandle and North-Central region of West Virginia, Legacy Truck Centers, located in Wheeling has continued to define excellence in exporting with reported sales to over 100 countries. Formerly Wheeling Truck Center, the company was acquired by Legacy Truck Center of Pennsylvania, which was impressed by the company’s export strategy and strong international presence. Legacy Truck Center has been an enthusiastic supporter of the U.S. Commercial Service and West Virginia Department of Economic Development and participated in trade events to grow their export sales. Legacy Truck Center also takes advantage of the reimbursement funding available through the WV First STEP-Next STEP Program.   

Direct Online Marketing is a service exporter also located in Wheeling. While it is most common to think of exporting as boxing up a product and shipping it to foreign country, services can also be exported. In the case of Direct Online Marketing, the company sells their website marketing, social media marketing and search engine optimization services to both foreign clients looking to advertise on U.S. platforms, and U.S. exporters interested in taking advantage of their international marketing options. The company has taken advantage of the U.S. Commercial Service and West Virginia Department of Economic Development export services in the past as well as WV First STEP-Next STEP funding. As a member of the WV District Export Council, the company’s president Justin Seibert, shares his knowledge of international marketing first-hand with WV exporters each month on his video series featured in the WVDED Trade Talk Newsletter.

Our other distinguished winners from the North Central/Northern Panhandle region of West Virginia include:

  • Best Business Strategies is a Glen Dale based business specializing in business software solutions such as Sage 50 accounting and Act! CRM to over 50 countries.
  • Chestnut Hill Candle Company a candle company located in Chester offering enticing scents like Country Roads, Mediterranean Fig, Roasted Coffee, and Cinnamas. 
  • TMC Technologies is a technology company located in Fairmont that developed as part of an initiative by the U.S Trade and Development Agency, the TrueSense Sensor Technology, which provides real-time environmental safety and emergency management monitoring for chemicals and hazardous materials. 
  • TROY Group located in Wheeling, provides security printing solutions, such as specialty printers, ink, toner, and software to 64 countries around the world for printing checks and other secure documents. 
Potomac Highlands

Some of our newest 2020 Export Award Winners, come from unlikely places, like small towns, tucked into the mountains and sell truly one-of-kind items.

Nellie Rose Textiles designs and creates hand painted and hand dyed clothing in her studio in Thomas. Trained in the shibori dyeing method while studying as a Fulbright Scholar in Japan, Nellie Rose Davis owns and operates a brick and mortar shop as well as an online website showcasing her unique items. Her first export sale to Japan signifies that West Virginia exporters of all sizes, creating a variety of products, have opportunities in global markets.

Our other distinguished winners from the Potomac Highlands region of West Virginia include:

  • EZEBreak located in Frankford manufactures the lightweight and portable Mico-Blaster™ rock breaking equipment for the construction industry and local governments, which efficiently removes boulders, concrete structures, and rock formations.
  • Pro Poly of America manufactures custom-designed thermoplastic water and foam tanks and bodies for the fire service industry from their Davis facility.
South

Coal Fillers, headquartered in neighboring Virginia, has a southern West Virginia location in Sophia and manufacturers Austin Black 325, a carbon powder used as a pigment and filler in rubber and plastic products, such as sealants, coatings, tires, and automotive parts. The company sells their specialty formulated powder to 28 countries around the world and has utilized the West Virginia First STEP – Next STEP program to support their efforts.

DRK Studios, which stands for Die Rise Kill, is a special effects and prop manufacturer located in St. Albans that designs and creates custom pieces for haunted houses, escape rooms, cosplay, and other entertainment purposes. Their custom prosthetics, masks, and other ghoulish and gory props are one-of-a-kind and shipped to destinations like Germany, Canada, and Australia to scare, surprise, and maybe even delight people worldwide. In addition, the company provides special effects makeup and trauma training for educational reenactments at local high schools to provide realistic injuries caused by vehicle accidents.

Our other distinguished winners from Southern West Virginia include:

  • Belle Chemical Company, an affiliate of Louisiana-based Cornerstone Chemical, is a manufacturer of chemicals for the water treatment and agricultural sectors.
  • Billow Global in Charleston was born out of an idea to give breast cancer patients and survivors a comfortable pillow on which to rest and recover, but also meets their specific and unique needs.  Marnie Rustemeyer, herself a breast cancer survivor, designed the Billow, a pillow used during recovery following mastectomy surgery to provide support and comfort while healing, which can continue to be used long after the scars have healed.
  • Industrial Bolting Technologies in Charleston manufactures the TorsionX hydraulic torque wrench, designed to provide maximum force with little effort.
  • Hernshaw Farms grows gourmet mushrooms in Hernshaw on an old mine site.  The farm sells grow your own mushroom kits to Canada, as well as sells their mushrooms to local farmers’ markets and restaurants in supporting the farm-to-table movement.

To connect with a West Virginia Department of Economic Development representative, call +1-304-558-2234.

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