Coal Industry Stabilizing Around Region By SCOTT McCLOSKEY Staff Writer Coal production dropped in recent years as coal-fired power providers worked to comply with new federal regulations, but Ohio Coal Association President Mike Cope believes there are a number of positive takeaways as the industry moves into 2021. “We have stabilized in Ohio. There was a period (of uncertainty), especially (when) American Electric Power was divesting itself of coal power plants. They had been one of the biggest users of coal in Ohio — I think across the country,” Cope said, explaining how the number of coal-fired electric generating facilities across the Buckeye State has ”rapidly” decreased in recent years. “But that has at least taken a breath now,” Cope commented. “One of the things that we are doing legislatively -- we are exploring working with a member of the General Assembly in the (Ohio) Senate to introduce legislation to require whoever owns a plant … to put them up for sale before they close them. So we’re working on that.
The Coal Industry n The coal industry has somewhat stabilized regionally. n Coal officials are working with Ohio lawmakers to introduce legislation to mandate that coal-fired power plants be put up for sale before they are closed. n The coal industry has made some progress with environmental regulations. That’s just a fairness issue to us.” Cope said in many cases coal-fired power plants have closed prior to reaching the end of their full “useful lifetime.” Cope said there are cases where companies have come into Ohio and purchased power plants, believing they can operate them at a profit. He said the Cardinal Plant near Brilliant, where two of the three units are owned by electric cooperative companies, is a good example. “Electric co-ops themselves are still heavily using coal -- so they’re a primary example of where,
if a co-op can make it work, then we think it can be commercially viable for other corporations,” Cope said. “So it (the coal industry around Ohio) has stabilized and we made some progress with nuisance environmental regulations,” Cope continued. “The Trump administration relaxed some of those things. But really the major issue for coal in Ohio and the United States is the cost per ton. It’s too low, and we’ve had a difficult time competing against the really cheap natural gas, which of course in Eastern Ohio is really abundant.”
File Photo
Coal barges travel on the Ohio River. Industry leaders say the coal business has stabilized regionally.
However, he is quick to point out that with the supply of natural gas currently going down, the demand will go up -- and the price will go up. “If the price goes up, then that takes some pressure off of coal and makes it more economically feasible,” Cole explained. “So those are some of the things that are on the horizon. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.”
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Following a year when U.S. coal production fell by 168 million short tons (24%) in 2020 due to less demand for coal amid low gas prices last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects overall coal production to rise in 2021 due to an increasing demand for coal in the electric power sector as natural gas prices are expected to increase, according to the agency’s
website. Cole said the industry as a whole did not have to close down since the onset of the pandemic, as the industry was designated as a necessary industry. “So, we didn’t have to shutter like when they closed down some of the restaurants. … As far as (coal mine) shutdowns in Ohio, we haven’t had any,” Cole added.
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What’s New This Year In Vehicles? Better Safety, Mostly By ALAN OLSON Staff Writer Yearly improvements on modern vehicles tend to focus on two areas — superior safety for drivers and passengers, and an eye toward the future of electric vehicles. Joey Thurby is chairman of the board of Neighborhood Ford Store, which consists of the 80 dealers in northern and central West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and the panhandle of Maryland, has been selling vehicles for 40 years and now operates Thurby’s Riverside Ford, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Especially over the last year, due to COVID-19 Thurby said, the clear distinction between model years has become blurred, as new models enter the lot at a staggered rate, meaning new improvements are nearly always just around the corner. “New cars come out every month. There’s no longer an introduction day; all these vehicles come out at different times,” Thurby said. “We’re just getting the bulk of our ‘21 (Ford) F-150, which is COVID related, and we still don’t have the ‘21 Big Bronco. … Everything was late, because of COVID.”
The 2021 Ford F-150 boasts expanded safety features, which are among the most notable improvements across the automotive industry this year. Pictured is Joey Thurby, chairman of the board of the Neighborhood Ford Store. Photo Provided
Ted Showalter, owner of Whitesides GM in St. Clairsville, said the customer’s need for a new vehicle determines the best time to buy -- there’s no better time than when you need one. “I don’t know if there’s ever a better time to purchase than when you need to purchase,” he said. “To say that technology may be better in three or six months, I just don’t think we can say one way or the other.” Thurby said that as a salesman, he compares auto sales to computer sales — a customer who waits to see what “the new stuff” is going to be will find themself on the cusp of another technological leap.
“If you need a computer and you say you want to wait until the new stuff comes out, by the time it’s out, the new stuff is already being made that will be out before you know it. It’s the same in the car business -- everything they do in the auto business is technology.” The new feature Thurby was enthusiastic to talk about was the embedded modem in Ford vehicles, which connects to the FordPass app, as the vast majority of consumers have mobile phones. Through the app, he said the vehicle’s onboard system is able to communicate diagnostic concerns such as maintenance due, give the owner access to remote
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start or door locking, and find the location where it was parked. In addition, service appointments and car payments can also be made through the app. This app is regularly updated, which future-proofs it to some extent. Thurby said it’s a common occurrence for customers with vehicles a few years old to come looking for a new model and to be enamored with the new technology, which makes it hard to go back. A particular favorite is the Blind Spot Information System. “Once you have it, you’ll never (want to) not have it,” he said. “You’re driving down the road and someone pulls into your blind spot, … this
little light comes on and beeps, letting you know. Once people get that, you can never sell them a car that doesn’t have it. They get so used to BLIS, and it saves a lot of accidents.” Thurby said these improvements come out nearly constantly, aimed at improving the safety features available to the consumer. “The Automatic Electric Braking, that comes on all of our products,” he added, noting the system uses cameras to automatically stop the car when an unseen obstacle, such as a bicyclist or deer, comes running. “... I have people say all the time, ‘A deer ran out, and before I could
even hit the brakes, the vehicle stopped.’ That’s what it’s supposed to do.” Showalter echoed the sentiment, saying that safety features are improving each year. “(The safety features in) most GM vehicles today are so much better than they were five or 10 years ago,” he said. “Back in the day, the technology was airbags, then passenger airbags, and then you’ve got side airbags, and now you’re surrounded by airbags. Nowadays, they’re trying to prevent the crash with alerts and extra vision in your blind zones. The alerts are there to prevent the crash from even happening.” (Please see NEW, Page 8)
Automotive Technology n Most improvements to vehicles in recent years have been on superior safety features. n Safety features aim to prevent accidents entirely, on top of better protection if it’s already too late. n The future of the automotive industry seems likely to be electric vehicles.
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Page 2 — Monday, February 22, 2021
Midyear Announcement Expected For Belmont County Cracker Plant By JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH Staff Writer Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of a project partner, PTT Global Chemical America aims to make a final investment decision regarding its proposed ethane cracker plant by midyear. A similar announcement had been expected last summer, but the coronavirus made travel for international company officials difficult and posed economic challenges for the entire petrochemical industry that put the announcement on hold. Work on site preparation and strategic partnerships continued, though, allowing the project to keep moving forward. Dan Williamson, Columbus-based spokesman for PTTGC America, earlier this month said Kongkrapan Intarajang CEO of PTTGCA’s Thai parent company PTTGC, intends to announce the FID around the middle of this year. “As I understand it, he’s committing to a midyear announcement … ,” Williamson said. “Nothing has changed in the timeline as the company sees it.” The company already purchased and cleared a 500-acre site along the Ohio River — previously home to the FirstEnergy R.E. Burger coal-fired power plant — and has invested millions in property acquisition and site preparation. It had partnered with Daelim Chemical in 2018, but Daelim withdrew from the project after the pandemic struck. Since then, PTTGCA has secured agreements with companies that would provide feedstock
PTTGA Ethane Cracker n A final investment decision is expected by midyear. n PTTGCA continues to secure supply and storage agreements for its proposed plant. n The search for a major investment partner continues. and ethane storage for the plant, but it continues to seek a new major investment partner. Belmont County Port Authority Director Larry Merry, who works on behalf of the county on economic development projects including the proposed cracker plant, said plans for the project remain on track. “I was on a call with team leaders about a week ago,” he said last week. “The project continues to move ahead. They are continuing to work on agreements and talking about the future. … Merry said PTTGCA continues to secure ethane supply and storage agreements in anticipation of building the facility, which would use six natural gas-fired furnaces to “crack,” or break apart, ethane molecules. The resulting ethylene or polyethylene could be used as components of plastics, textiles and household or industrial chemicals. Ethane is a natural gas liquid that is abundant in the local natural gas stream. Plans are evolving for con-
struction of an ethane storage facility in northern Monroe County, in salt caverns located about 8 miles from the PTTGCA site at Dilles Bottom. “I’m looking very forward to some different announcements dealing with these projects in the next few months,” Merry added.
File Photos
This 500-acre site at Dilles Bottom is the proposed home of a PTTGCA ethane cracker plant. Officials recently said a final investment decision on the project could be announced by the middle of the year.
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Monday, February 22, 2021 — Page 3
Tips To Avoid Misinformation, Scams on Social Media By SHELLEY HANSON Staff Writer In the age of online communication it is easy to run into information that appears to be legitimate, but with large amounts of misinformation being spread these days one should be careful about what they consume. For example, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic officials have struggled to educate people on the virus while scientists were learning more about it every day. Jessica Gibson, health educator for the Belmont County Health Department, said the sources the health department relies on to help educate people are the same ones the public should use. “We do a lot of posts
for our Facebook page, and we try and stick with the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website, the Ohio Department of Health … and World Health Organization,” Gibson said. Gibson recommends using reputable sources and not just random information shared by people who may not have done their research. Gibson noted, however, she does believe it could be helpful if more people who have contracted the virus would share their real experiences with it. Some people have only had mild symptoms, while others have had to deal with nausea and vomiting and harsher symptoms. While many have recovered, 400,000 people in the United States have
Online Communication n Check sources of information before sharing it online. n Consider scaling back how much information you share publicly, as such details can make for an easier target for scam artists. n When it comes to buying goods and services online, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. died from the disease. If more people talked about their experiences with it, there may be less of a stigma attached to it, she believes. “Even when I call people they are kind of shy
about talking about it,” she said of her health department duty to contact people. “Yes, there are people who get over it. People need to talk about their real-life experiences so we’re not just getting
Photo by Shelley Hanson
Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate, but such platforms contain plenty of misinformation.
what Dr. (Anthony) Fauci puts out about it.” Gibson noted the ODH’s and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s guidelines regarding COVID can change quickly. Local health departments
get the information at the same time the public receives it. This can be frustrating for health officials and the public. (Please see SOCIAL, Page 6)
Shale Crescent USA Spreads Word of Region’s Potential Shale Crescent USA opened 2020 with excitement and expectation. The organization had big plans for the World Petrochemical Conference in New Orleans in March. Representatives were set to speak at Select USA, a huge conference put on by the U.S. Commerce Department at Washington, D.C., in June. In late February, the group had a follow-up meeting with an Asian company in Houston. It had just incorporated in the USA and was planning to open an office in the Shale Crescent USA region in advance of manufacturing operations. A regional tour and meetings were being set up for April with an Israeli company that has a unique recycling process with a negative carbon footprint. Existing projects were moving forward. When COVID hit, immediately all of the conferences with their speaking and networking opportunities canceled.
Shale Crescent USA n Despite event cancellations, Shale Crescent continues to get the word about the region’s manufacturing potential out through various channels. n Some investors are now moving forward with projects in the region following pandemic-related delays. n New events and outreach are planned for 2021. New leads stopped. Visits to the region by the Asian and Israeli companies were canceled. Contacts were limited to conference calls and Zoom meetings. Existing projects slowed. Shale Crescent’s dream and mission to bring high-wage jobs back to the region and raise the standard of living for people living here were in jeopardy. The pandemic impact-
ed trade and travel globally. The United States suddenly had a shortage of health care personal protective equipment and medical equipment such as ventilators because the majority are made overseas. Americans learned 80 percent of our prescription drugs come from outside the U.S. Many companies had to shut down manufacturing because of the pandemic,
not because people were sick but because of global supply chains. They couldn’t get overseas supplies. Millions suddenly were unemployed. In every challenge, there is opportunity if we look for it. Shale Crescent members were doing print media, radio and TV interviews and podcasts. We were speaking virtually at conferences including Pittsburgh Chemical Day, Petchem Update and internationally to Supply Chain Brain and investment banker groups. We had never had this level of media attention. Regardless of politics or location, urban or rural, Americans want to see manufacturing come back to the U.S. Americans want the jobs. They don’t like being dependent on other countries for basic necessities like PPE and other critical products. Shale Crescent USA was able to explain why and how manufacturing and jobs can come back to the USA. People across
the country need the hope of a brighter future that bringing back manufacturing can help give. Advanced manufacturing methods, work force, energy and feedstock (the molecules needed to make stuff) give the U.S. huge advantages over the rest of the world. Manufacturing technology allows the USA to be competitive with cheaper labor overseas. The United State is the largest economy in the world. Products manufactured in the USA can be sold in the USA. The Shale Crescent region alone has almost twice as much natural gas as the nation of China. This is important for energy, but more important because the U.S. has the feedstock needed to make things. Renewables can be a source of energy, but they cannot create molecules for products. Shale Crescent shared information on the manufacturing advantages of our region openly through the media. Some compa-
nies saw opportunity and acted. One West Virginia company began making parts for medical equipment, another opened a shuttered assembly line to make hand sanitizer, other companies started making PPE such as masks, gloves and face shields. A friend in Pittsburgh was approached to make components companies previously purchased overseas to get assembly lines moving again. This is now a permanent part of his business. At Shale Crescent, the vision is to see businesses in the region expand and see other companies choose to come here to take advantage of our location on top of the energy and feedstock and in the middle of the largest economy in the world. Shale Crescent USA’s research gives companies hard data to justify expanding in this region. Its leaders expect to have live conferences in 2021 to generate new prospects.
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1). Problems with a catch basin or curb box, located along the streets and alleys, that are in need of repair. 2). Illegal Dumping. Someone that is dumping any substance down a catch basin or curb drain along the streets, ditch or stream. Remember “Only rain down the drain” 3). An illicit discharge. Water leaving a Stormwater outlet pipe during dry weather. This may indicate that a building is connected to an incorrect pipe. 4). Street flooding. 5). General questions on Stormwater or the City of Moundsville Stormwater Program.
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Page 4 — Monday, February 22, 2021
Mountaineer NGL Storage Looking Forward By CARRI GRAHAM Staff Writer Mountaineer NGL Storage LLC hopes to begin construction on its new Monroe County facility later this year. The Appalachian Storage Hub will be located on a 200-acre site along the Ohio River near Clarington. Mountaineer will use underground salt caverns to store barrels of natural gas liquids, such as ethane, propane and butane, for local manufacturers and producers. The impending facility is also a vital component in supporting the proposed PTT Global Chemical America ethane cracker plant project in Belmont County. Mountaineer NGL Storage has faced some challenges this past year amid the coronavirus pandemic, including delays in planned projects and travel limitations for officials with the company, which is based in Denver, Colorado. David Hooker, CEO and president of Mountaineer NGL Storage LLC, said he is hopeful that the PTT project will be able to move forward this year. “They are a key anchor shipper for us. Had COVID not occured, I think that project would already be in construction. ... I still believe in that project’s revival and it will go forward, but it’s a key component for us too,” he said. It has also been a difficult time in terms of coordinating meetings with regulators and local communities, Hooker said. Still, he is hoping to begin construction on the NGL storage hub later this year. “The site is ready. ... We’re just waiting on well permits. We hope we can secure those in the next 60-90 days,” he said. However, construction of the storage facility cannot move forward until the cracker plant project has committed to move ahead, Hooker said. “We’re waiting on the anchor shipper, in this case it’s PTT. We continue to explore other options like hydrogen, but in order to build these the market has to have an interest,” he said. The work to the new facility will create 200 construction jobs and around 20 permanent jobs once it is fully operational, he said. It will take around four years to construct the facility, he added. Hooker said he wants to assure the community of the storage facility’s safety. The use of salt is the safest method for storing the liquid components, he said.
Photo Provided
This photo of the Mountaineer NGL Storage site near Clarington along the Ohio River provides a view of the site from above.
“There are more than one billion barrels of liquid hydrocarbon storage, in salt, all around the country. This technology has been around for 100 years and it’s only gotten better over time,” he said. “We are setting new standards for this facility, even beyond what has existed for 30 years.” Hooker said Mountaineer has followed all environmental and safety standards. The storage facility will have no impact on air or water quality, he said. The storage company is also exploring the possibility of green hydrogen storage. Hooker said officials are currently gauging interest in the possibility of storing carbon-free hydrogen at the planned storage facility. “We don’t know who’s out there that might have an interest in storage for hydrogen, but that’s why we’re doing an open season,” he said. To gauge interest in hydrogen bulk storage, Mountaineer plans to launch a non-binding open season sometime this year.
Natural Gas Storage n Developers with Mountaineer Gas Storage hope to begin construction to the Appalachian Storage Hub in Monroe County this year. n The company is exploring the potential for ethane storage at the site. n In response to market conditions, the firm also is exploring the potential for hydrogen stor-
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A Supplement of The Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register and The Times Leader
Monday, February 22, 2021 — Page 5
Touchstone Laboratory Rediscovering Its Core By JOSELYN KING Staff Writer Touchstone Research Laboratory, based in Triadelphia, has always reached for the sky -- and mostly the aerospace industry -- to sell the products it creates, develops and manufactures. But the year 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic had the company looking inward and rediscovering its roots in metal and steel fabrication. Brian Joseph, president and CEO of Touchstone Research Laboratory, said 2020 affected the business “in a funny way.” “This whole COVID thing hit hard, and we didn’t experience it in the same time frame as everyone else,” he said. “The first thing we noticed, everybody stopped calling. The world went silent for us, and we went, ‘That’s just strange.’” Many Touchstone clients are in the aerospace industry and utilize composite parts produced by Touchstone. With fewer people flying, and with less commerce, there wasn’t as much of a call by the aerospace industries for Touchstone’s products. “We had some deep discussions and asked ourselves, ‘how do we
Touchstone Research Laboratory n The firm looked outside the aerospace industry for new clients. n The researchers revisited their metal roots. n Officials redirected employees where they are most needed.
Photo by Joselyn King
ABOVE: Brandon Coates, research engineer at Touchstone Research Laboratory in Triadelphia, examines examples of the company’s Met-Preg aluminum in his office. BELOW: Brian Gordon, research and development director at Touchstone bring in work that isn’t cation facility in Wheel- Research Laboratory in Triadelphia, stands with a ship’s smokestack made from reliable on the aerospace ing’s Peninsula Industrial composite material at Touchstone.
industry?” Joseph said. “We broadened our base, and took on some additional things. “We changed some of our offerings, and started making more things out of metal. There are people who wanted that, too.” The aerospace industry and others continue to need metal fixtures to surround composite parts, he said. “There is a whole market for that,” Joseph said. “We used to do more of that. But when the composite things were doing so well, we just focused on that.” Touchstone next shifted its direction and set up a separate steel fabri-
Park. “We had most of that (production line) here, but we weren’t using it,” Joseph said. “Now that becomes a significant piece of the business again.” The Touchstone main campus in Triadelphia consists of Touchstone Research Laboratories, Touchstone Advanced Composites, the Touchstone Testing Laboratory and CFOAM LLC -- makers of the CFOAM coalbased product most often used in making molds for aerospace parts. It also has plants in Mingo Junction and Millwood, W.Va. (Please see CORE, Page 6)
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Page 6 — Monday, February 22, 2021
Internet Access a Priority Now More Than Ever By ROBERT A. DEFRANK Staff Writer ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The need for internet access has become all the more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced more people to work and learn from home. State lawmakers such as Ohio Sen. Frank Hoagland, R-Mingo Junction, have been focusing on the broadband question and consulting with the Federal Communications Commission. However, initiatives to expand and improve access remain in planning stages. Hoagland said he continues to look at factors such as how to allocate funding for a project that best suits the local area’s needs. “We’ve learned quite a bit since we’ve had the shutdowns and the modifications of our daily routines,” he said. “We’ve now become much more reliant on our main form of communication, either
cellular or through some form of a broadband connectivity, and this has impacted our school systems and our telehealth programs.” A chief consideration is the minimum speed necessary to support video telemedicine, since those speeds would also support functions such as homeschooling and other options. “A lot of parents, especially in our district, they don’t really have the capacity of connecting with the internet unless they use satellite. The FCC is 10 (megabits) down and 3 up, and that’s not going to support Google School. It’s not going to support video telemedicine.” Hoagland said the demand is now much higher, particularly for video services. And while improving underserved areas is a matter of improving existing infrastructure, many sections of his district have no infrastructure. “We’ve got to focus on
Broadband n Broadband infrastructure to unserved areas is still in planning stages. n Internet speed is a priority. n Existing “dark fiber” and other structures may be modified to provide infrastructure.
unserved areas,” Hoagland said. “There’s a huge difference between underserved and unserved areas.” Many are left to employ methods such as directing a microwave antennae to a cellular phone tower or other service provider. “That’s the only way as of right now I can see that we could actually support it,” he said. “We’ve not increased our speeds in 30 years in this area.” The question of infrastructure means the state must find service providers who will commit to obtaining the speed to support the communities’ needs. While Hoagland has spoken with several service providers, none so far has committed to that level of speed. “I want to see that increase until we actually have a functional internet,” he said. One possible option is “dark fiber,” a pre-existing underground infrastructure that does not yet have the hardware or software that enable it to run services. Hoagland said years ago, when the government was running fiber optics to libraries, schools and municipal buildings, installers bypassed many small towns. “We can pull off of that dark wire, and we build the infrastructure to support some of these very rural areas,” he said. “We’ve got to figure out how to tap into that dark wire.” (Please see PRIORITY, Page 7)
Photo by Robert A. DeFrank
Jim Lindroth, a tech trainer at the St. Clairsville Public Library, conducts work on the internet. Libraries offer internet access to people in unserved areas.
Core (Continued from Page 5)
Touchstone had plans to expand and build an additional facility at its Triadelphia campus in 2020, but that project was put on hold, according to Joseph. During the past year, the company had its high and low points. As the pandemic continued, Touchstone found it had to decrease its operations in Millwood, and lay off some employees, he said. At the same time, it increased the number of workers at the Touchstone campus. Touchstone won a fifth “R&D 100” Award for its Bonded Met-Preg product, a patch made of the “world’s strongest aluminum” that is used by the U.S. Navy when repairing naval ships. The award is presented to those involved in the research and development of revolutionary ideas in science and technology. Touchstone also received a $750,000 contract with NASA in which it will develop and produce solar sails for the government agency, according to Joseph. Another contract for the agency -this one for $2 million -- asks Touchstone to research how NASA rockets can be protected from lightning strikes, he said. “I think it will be fine. I think we will bounce back,” Joseph said. “I think
commercial aviation will kick off here inside 2021. I think individual travel will go through the roof. Once we are allowed to travel, I think people will want to go on vacation somewhere. People are anxious to get out.” But he is not so sure business travel will return to past numbers as more and more businesses are finding it better virtual meetings a better alternative. In 2021, Touchstone will re-examine its plans to expand and construct another building and launch another company at its Triadelphia campus, he said. “I can’t wait — I want to spin out another company soon,” Joseph said. “The thing we are always looking for is talent. Who wants to run a high tech business? Who wants to be the lead engineer for that business? My biggest challenge is going to be finding the right people to put in the right places. We see that now.” He said Touchstone also will continue to look for new customers in 2021, and he predicts Touchstone Advanced Composites will emerge from the pandemic as “a bigger business.” Businesses that do survive will get stronger as they examine, learn about and adapt to the environment, and create new relationships, Joseph said. “2020 was a bad year, but these times pass,” he said.
Social (Continued from Page 3)
“One morning I just talked to people and had to tell them they couldn’t have their reception, and at 2 p.m. the governor announced so many people were now allowed,” she said, adding it felt like she “ruined” the couple’s lives and others in similar situations. “We don’t want to take anything away from people, but we have to follow the guidelines,” she added. Misinformation online and on social media can also come in the form of scams — people trying to steal money or personal information by posing as a legitimate company, a potential new friend or even a romantic interest, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Scammers will often create fake profiles in an attempt to contact people. Sometimes they will “hack,” or illegally gain access to, a real person’s account in order to contact that person’s friends. According to the FTC, one should be aware of social media scammers and
how not to become a target. For example, one should consider scaling back how much information one shares publicly, and also check one’s privacy settings to make sure information is only shared with friends. Another possible sign a friend’s account is hacked is if that person sends a request for money out of the blue. Sometimes a money scam can also be disguised as a grant opportunity. If the request seems off, it is better to directly contact or call the person first before making any decisions. When it comes to buying goods and services online, this old adage likely holds true — “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” The FTC says if a company is unfamiliar to a person, it should be checked out first. The commission recommends typing the company’s name into a search engine and the word “scam” after it. The FTC notes those who believe they may have been scammed or that someone is trying to scam them can report it online at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Supporting jobs in the Ohio River Valley
A Supplement of The Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register and The Times Leader
Monday, February 22, 2021 — Page 7
Iconic Air Entrepreneurs See Big Opportunities on the Horizon By ERIC AYRES Staff Writer Growing a new company may seem like a big enough challenge without even considering impacts of a global pandemic and a changing administration in Washington, D.C., but Iconic Air is poised to emerge out of turbulent times and soar to new heights. Ohio Valley natives Kyle Gillis of Wheeling and James Carnes of Weirton founded Iconic Air during their senior year at West Virginia University’s Statler College of Engineering. The startup company specializes in pioneering technology that helps companies such as those in the oil and gas industry monitor and analyze emissions data. Within two years, Iconic Air began making waves in the industry for its cutting-edge approach to real-time emissions data analysis, and was awarded a $700,000 grant through a 15-month research contract with the U.S. Air Force to adapt Iconic Air’s technology to military needs. Still in their 20s, Gillis, the CEO of the company, and Carnes, chief technology officer, were recently named to Forbes magazine’s famous “30 Under 30” list of young, successful entrepreneurs -- with their work recognized in the Energy cate-
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Iconic Air co-founders Kyle Gillis, left, and James Carnes are natives of the Ohio Valley who were recently named to Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” list in the category of Energy for their company’s cutting-edge work providing emissions monitoring data analysis for the oil and gas industry.
gory. Like many other businesses, however, their firm faced challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Unfortunately it led to a downturn in the oil and gas industry, but what has happened with COVID as a whole across all industries has accelerated what we see as the future,” Gillis said. Because of the pandemic, there has been an increase in online retail sales and online ordering, and society has punched the gas pedal with the wheel already steered toward a more virtual world. Gillis said this is a transition everyone could
see coming over the past decade, but it had been moving at a much more deliberate pace, until now. “It’s something we were just talking about 10 years ago about being around the corner sometime, but it was kind of moving slow,” he said. “COVID has accelerated all of that, and it’s the same in the oil and gas industry.” Gillis said he believes companies in the industry are having to look harder at ways to increase sustainability and improve ESG — or Environmental, Social and Governance factors on how far advanced they are with
sustainability. “Platforms like Iconic Air — where we help organizations specifically in the oil and gas industry — help them improve sustainability by logging, tracking and reporting their emissions data,” Gillis said. “It’s no longer once a year, but day to day, week to week, month to month, making it continuous and transparent.” By doing that, what Iconic Air provides used to be just a “nice-to-have” system for companies in the era before COVID hit. Now it is an “absolute need-to-have” system, Gillis said. “A lot of our customers are saying that 2021 is the year of getting our air quality reporting right, and I think that in order to do that, in order to make changes — in order to break down or reduce your emissions as a whole, you first have to be able to log and track that information,” he said. “I think the industry is catching up on that right now -- they want to be fully accurate right now.” Some of the biggest companies in the world are formed out of economic downturn and recessions, Gillis noted. “They’re born in that era,” he said. “I can’t say exactly why, but there’s a pattern there and a reason for it. I think that’s going to be the same for us. We
were essentially born in this economic downturn, and I think it’s solving massive pain points for industries and companies during that time period and leading to better outcomes at the end of the day. “We have more people calling us and asking for demos and wanting to pull the software in right now than pre-COVID, for sure. I don’t think we have to wait until after COVID, I think that right now, our business is accelerating. We’re just trying to position ourselves so that over the next one or two years, we’re going to come out on the right side of things.” In addition to the pandemic, companies -- particularly those that deal with oil, gas and other fossil fuel industries — are also in the midst of
changing times in terms of a new administration in Washington, D.C. The sharply shifting political winds and change of power will no doubt have an affect on how certain companies will be able to do business in the future. Gillis said this is a double-edged sword in a way. “The new administration is going to drive a lot more compliance in terms of forcing the industry to do particular things,” he said. “But what’s fascinating is there’s always arguments about regulatory bodies and how much they help versus how much the markets help. This ESG movement — sustainability movement — is a classic example of when the financial incentives align with having sustainable futures, things tend to move really, really fast.”
Iconic Air n The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated industries’ move into a virtual world. n Oil and gas companies are looking to increase sustainability and improve emissions monitoring. n The new federal administration is expected to enforce strict compliance with environmental regulations.
Priority (Continued from Page 6)
“First off is finding a service provider that’s going to give it the speeds, then get the funding, get everybody involved, and make it happen,” he said. “First of all, you’ve got to develop and locate where the dark wire is, where we can tap into it. Then the engineers are going to have to get involved to figure out what kind of hardware they’re going to install to support the distribution of broadband internet,” he said. It may not be possible to run fiber directly to a house, but rather to use antennae at the closest point. Others who
live closer-by might be able to tap into the infrastructure directly. “Every area is going to be a tad bit different,” he said. “(Dark fiber) is not all over the place. There’s certain thoroughways the engineers put it when they were running it from Point A to Point B.” Other possibilities include running coax cable directly to houses. Meanwhile, across the Ohio River in West Virginia, state Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said Senate President Craig Blair has made it known one of his top priori-
ties is the expansion of broadband in the Mountain State. While Weld represents a largely urban district, he is attentive to the issues of those without internet service. “There are a lot of parts of the state that are very rural and have no access whatsoever to any providers that can give them high-speed internet, and so the federal government (FCC) this year is undertaking a massive action to expand broadband and to facilitate expansion of the market, and so we’re going to do things on the state’s side to compliment that action, doing what we can
to lessen restrictions on things like pole attachments and ensuring that providers can place fiber optic cables on telephone poles, but also even things like right-of-way access over publicly held property. Many utilities — water, telephone, electric — have right-of-ways next to public roads, so ensuring access to the right-of-ways and easements that other utilities have for broadband.” He also said the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt many students’ ability to participate in learning online, downloading or uploading materials. “That made us even more
aware of the challenges that many people who live in a rural area face,” he said. “This is just as important as having electricity if you’re a business.” He also said lawmakers intend to enact legislation so that providers in West Virginia such as Frontier and Comcast will be expected to launch an expansion program. He expects work on the multi-year program to begin this year. “It can’t be solved in a week or a month or one single year,” he said, adding it is an immediate need and one of West Virginia’s most pressing issues.
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Page 8 — Monday, February 22, 2021
New (Continued from Page 1)
Both dealers said consumers are increasingly conscious of gas milage, and to that end, hybrid and electric models are becoming increasingly popular. Hybrids have been increasingly common for years, but plugin hybrid vehicles are on the rise in popularity, Thurby said, which allow drivers to top off their car’s battery when not in use, in addition to the passive charging normally done while driving. “If you’re not leaving town, you’re not going over 40 mph, you’re going to run on that battery,” he said. “I have people who do that, they use maybe a tank of gas a month.” Showalter said that among GM vehicles, electric vehicles are quickly gaining in popularity, particularly among Cadillac models, and even an electric model of Hummer. “General Motors is putting a lot of emphasis on electric vehicles, Cadillac in particular, and we’ll be seeing their new products hopefully by
Photo by Alan Olson
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this time next year. If they want one, they may want to wait another nine or ten months.” Alongside the PHEV vehicles are the incoming battery electric vehicles, such as the Ford Mach-E, which are fully
electric. With a range of 300 to 400 miles on a full charge, Thurby said drivers of those vehicles are remapping their travel plans to great effect. “These charging stations, people have to change their way of life, so when they say,
‘I’m going to the beach, I’m going to stop in Hagerstown, stop an hour for lunch, then head down, stop at Roanoke, charge up there.’ “But they don’t buy fuel, it’s all electric, and it’s all new technology. It’s about 5 percent of the total industry, with all the automakers, but every year it gets better, the distance gets better. The batteries are more high tech.” Showalter said the steps needed for a dealer to properly service electric vehicles come at significant cost locally, and he thinks the investment will pay off. “We’re making those steps toward selling and servicing electric vehicles; it’s quite an investment from every dealership that wants to participate,” he said. “It’s going to be upwards of a $300,000 investment for us to be able to sell and service these products. “We are excited about the electrification of vehicles, and I hope that our area is as enthusiastic as we are. It’s kind of
an unknown at this point, but GM put a lot of money into research and development. Once they have that ready to go, and the infrastructure in place, I think the electric movement will probably start taking off. We’re looking at a year to two, even more, before it really takes off.” On the heavier-duty side, Thurby touted the Bronco Sport as an impressive piece of hardware, which uses the “Go On Any Terrain” system to enable off-roading in myriad environments, such as a rock-crawling mode. The demand for the new model was so high, he said, that the ‘21 model is already sold out, and some orders were pushed back until next year. “The Bronco is nostalgic. It’s a nameplate from years ago. Now that they see this vehicle with all this new technology that comes standard, … they’re picking up all this technology for on- and off-road, sand mode, snow mode, mud and rut mode.”
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