News Archive
- Jennifer Piercy joins WVMA as Vice President
- Encova Insurance and WVMA announce Swanson Industries as 2025 Safety Award winner
- Glenn Jeffries, Bob Fehrenbacher & Robert E. Akers named WVMA’s Champions of Industry
- WVMA Endorses McCuskey for Attorney General of West Virginia
- WVMA Endorses Morrisey To Be The Next Governor Of WV
- Manufacturing and Energy Growth Summit Concludes in Wheeling
- WVMA Releases Endorsements for 2024 Primary Election
- Metro Valley Magazine Q&A w/Bill Bissett
Wheeling Nisshin
Located along the Ohio River in the small town of Follansbee, Wheeling Nisshin is proud to be the only West Virginia manufacturer that makes every major type of coated steel. The company has further distinguished itself with a new coating product made from zinc, aluminum and magnesium (ZAM), with highly corrosion-resistant properties that define it as the coating of the 21st century.
Established in the 1980’s, Wheeling Nisshin was the first joint venture between an American steel company and a Japanese company. For 30 years, Wheeling Nisshin has supplied coated steel products to every industry that uses them. With 180 employees, the company is proud to be an active partner in building a sense of community in Follansbee.
Gat Creek
Berkeley Springs is home to Gat Creek Furniture, a company that began just after World War II as a one-man shop. Gat Creek now uses several skilled artisans to hand craft a variety of solid wood home furnishings that are sold throughout the United States and to nearly 40 countries around the world.
The Appalachian forest supplies Gat Creek with some of the highest quality hardwood in the world. Each artisan at Gat Creek takes ownership over building an entire furniture piece, which is then finished, stained and signed by hand. With 150 employees -- the majority of whom are women, along with a solid number of young people -- Gat Creek’s entire staff takes pride in producing superb, hand-crafted wood furnishings being used worldwide.
Ziegenfelder
In the 1860’s, Ziegenfelder, a small family company, began making homemade candies and ice cream. They did so until the 1980’s, when steep competition motivated the company to shift its focus to the water-ice business -- a niche that has made Ziegenfelder one of the world’s largest producers of frozen twin pops.
Located in Wheeling, the Ziegenfelder company now has over 300 employees with three manufacturing facilities in the United States. This woman-owned company is built on strong family and customer-centered values. Ziegenfelder takes a great deal of pride not only in selling their twin pops to retailers in every state, but in being a model employer striving to uplift their “backyard” communities in vital ways.
Warwood Tool Company
The northern panhandle of our state is the home of Warwood Tool Company. This small company produces industrial grade, forged steel hand tools that serve a wide variety of industries. From the most commonly used tools to specialty items that are industry specific, Warwood’s high-quality tools have withstood the test of time.
Beginning as a blacksmith shop in 1854, Warwood Tool has endured for decades. Employees at Warwood represent an ideal mixture of long-term, highly skilled workers and younger, apprentice workers who are ready to carry on the Warwood tradition of quality. Warwood Tool Company takes pride in being a small manufacturer where the high level of skill and efficiency required to make their fine products also gives rise to their employees’ strong sense of camaraderie and commitment to excellence.