CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Manufacturers Association praises House of Delegates leadership for elevating the manufacturing industry to major committee status.

In organizational meetings of the West Virginia House of Delegates today the former House Committee on Energy, a major committee, added an additional area of focus to become the House Committee on Energy and Manufacturing.

“We are thrilled and supportive of the House focus on manufacturing in the 2021 legislative session,” WVMA President Rebecca McPhail said. “The link between energy and manufacturing is inextricable, so this expanded direction for the committee makes a lot of sense. Not only do our members rely on affordable energy to run their operations, they also are major players in the downstream applications of West Virginia’s fossil energy resources.”

McPhail said that according to the latest statistics West Virginia’s manufacturing industry has enjoyed growth this year, despite the Covid-19 crisis, and that signs point to continued growth in 2021. The WVMA’s mission is to promote the health and well-being of manufacturing in West Virginia. In addition to policy development and advocacy, the Association works closely with the Development Office and other stakeholders to help companies expand their operations and recruit new business investment to the Mountain State.

“We are excited to educate the membership about everything happening in manufacturing, which provides nearly 48,000 good-paying direct jobs and almost 10 percent of total our state’s total output,” she said.