OIT Times: West Virginia, the Inaugural IOF State, Continues to Lead the Way

September 22, 2001

ith increasing global competition, wee very concerned with keeping industrial employers in our state,said Jeff Herholdt of the West Virginia Development Office. dentifying and implementing new technologies are key to industrial retention, and state IOF is the foundation of all our technology-based industrial retention activities./p>

Herholdt is proud of the fact that West Virginia was the first state IOF participant, and his organization and West Virginia University worked closely with OIT to establish the program in 1997.

Since then the state IOF program has helped bring more than $14 million in R&D funding to West Virginia companies in the steel, aluminum, glass, chemical, forest products, mining and metal casting industries.

Herholdt listed a few of West Virginia many IOF successes. he state hand glass industry is doing a irtual showcaseover the internet to show West Virginia hand glass manufacturers how off-the-shelf technologies can reduce energy use and boost productivity,he said. nother big success has been a joint project with the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection to declassify spent foundry sand as hazardous waste, allowing its reuse. This will cut operating costs and provide West Virginia foundries more flexibility./p>

These and other efforts will be highlighted at the West Virginia IOF Annual Symposium later this year which will also feature the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by new Governor Bob Wise and DOE. Commensurate with its leadership role in the state IOF effort, West Virginia IOF will also sponsor outreach sessions to help other states learn from its experiences.

Key to this effort is Carl Irwin of West Virginia Univ. who has helped several other states implement and expand their own programs. In recognition of his tireless efforts, Irwin was named OIT artner of the Yearat the 2001 Expo.

For more information, visit www.nrcce.wvu.edu/iof/