Sep. 19—A local company looking to expand in Raleigh County is now being given an incentive to keep its workforce local.

During Tuesday's Raleigh County Commission meeting, commissioners approved an agreement with Klöckner Pentaplast, a plastic manufacturer with a plant in Beaver, to give them a 50 percent discount on their personal property taxes on new equipment they purchase.

This discount will come in handy as Klöckner is planning a 60,000-square-foot expansion at its Beaver plant. The cost of this expansion is estimated to be $49 million.

County Attorney Bill Roop said the company must hire 21 new employees to obtain this personal property tax discount.

Roop said the employees do not have to come from Raleigh County; however, they must work at the Beaver plant in the industrial park at Beckley-Raleigh County Memorial Airport.

The Raleigh County Commission is also aiding with financing for part of the plant's expansion through $19 million in lease revenue bonds.

As part of the agreement for the bonds, the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA) will issue the $19 million bonds for construction and will become the owners of the property that is now on the Klöckner site as well as the expansion.

The NRGRDA will then lease the property to the Raleigh County Commission, which will then sublease the property to Klöckner.

The agreement was approved by commissioners Tuesday; they were quick to point out that the agreement will not cost the county any money.

In an interview Friday with The Register-Herald, Jina Belcher, executive director of the NRGRDA, said the Klöckner expansion is expected to take eight to 12 months and create at least 80 new jobs.

She added that Klöckner has also played a vital role in expanding the Raleigh County airport.

"They are actually one of the companies that are the main drivers behind that Appalachian Power substation upgrade that's happening at the airport right now," Belcher said. "Obviously, we needed that upgrade for the larger site development project, but we weren't going to be able to obtain that upgrade until we had companies that needed the power demand. And so now Klöckner is growing to a size that they're one of several companies there that need that additional power demand. And so they're thrilled because they were able to sort of help us help them."

Belcher said upgrades to the substation are expected to be completed at the beginning of 2024.

The substation will also be helpful to the companies who set up shop in the airport's new 105-acre industrial park, which is still under construction.

Klöckner Pentaplast, a German company, has operated from Beckley-Raleigh County Memorial Airport industrial park since 2000. According to the company website, Klöckner Pentaplast is a global manufacturer and one of the leading suppliers of sustainable plastic packaging products.

With its new expansion, Belcher said the company aims to make the Beaver facility its "North American food hub facility."

The facility produces plastic packaging, including clamshells for fruit and battery packaging. As part of the expansion, Belcher said Klöckner Pentaplast would be looking to use its Raleigh County facility to manufacture other products, including food-grade protein packaging for hamburgers, chicken and other proteins.

Email: jmoore@register-herald.com