A new foundation in the Mon Valley
By JEFF KOTULA
Many industries in our nation have a Mon Valley heritage. Steel, coal, and glass production in the United States can all trace their origins back to our region. These companies had the investment of local leaders, were built by the unsurpassed work ethic of local families, and helped valley communities grow from the strong presence of industry.
This region has also experienced downturns, closings, and layoffs that have changed the area, both economically and socially. Growing up in a coal mining family in the Mon Valley, I lived through many of these changes and saw firsthand the region’s struggles.
But I have also seen the Mon Valley always ready to dust itself off and embrace new opportunities to create economic growth. That is why Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s recent announcement is so vital to the Valley’s future.
On July 30, Gov. Shapiro visited the Mon Valley to announce a new investment at GE Vernova’s manufacturing facility in Speers Industrial Park. In addition to the governor, the event hosted Mon Valley leaders in the business, labor, and public sectors and most importantly, employees of the plant.
During the press conference, the governor and company officials announced $166 million in new private investment, complemented by $6 million in state incentives, which will help to expand GE Vernova’s regional high voltage switchgear production. This multi-million dollar investment will create 250 new, family-sustaining jobs in the Mon Valley and help to strengthen our national electrical grid.
In his remarks, Gov. Shapiro stated that Pennsylvania at one time was “a sleepy afterthought when it came to economic development.” Until recently, the same might have also been said about Mon Valley region.
Gov. Shapiro touted that Pennsylvania is the only state in the northeast with a growing economy, according to Moody’s Analytics. You can see evidence of this encouraging growth with significant new developments across the region.
Earlier this summer, the Mon Valley Alliance, developers of Alta Vista, welcomed the 15,000-square foot Spaleck USA facility to the business park. Spaleck specializes in both stationary and mobile conveying/ separation systems for use in recycling plants, metals reclamation, and other industries.
Joining Spaleck in the business park are operators like Komatsu, DeLattre, and Bloom Engineering. Elsewhere across the Mon Valley, companies like RETAL PA, Tech Met, and Apex North America in Donora Industrial Park and Perryman Company, Rose Plastics, and Incap Electronics in California Technology Park are leading a manufacturing renaissance in the area.
We also cannot underestimate the contributions of our local school districts, career and technology centers, and Pennsylvania Western University-California to providing a robust workforce as well as the municipal leaders, tourism investments, chambers of commerce, and local small businesses that are helping to revitalize downtowns across our community.
The industrial revolution was built on the banks of the Monongahela River with steel plants and coal barges.
In this current era, we are creating a new industrial revolution, with a foundation built on innovation and led by companies like GE Vernova and other advanced manufacturers that continue to invest in the future of the Mon Valley and its people.
Jeff Kotula is president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Promotion Agency.
