Industry Base
Employment Base
Manufacturing is the largest employment sector in Washington County with 4,599 employees. Other top sectors include: Retail at 4,144 workers, Health care & social assistance at 3,829 workers, Government at 3,650 workers, and Construction at 2,625 workers.
In the manufacturing arena, Washington County is blessed with a diverse array of technologically advanced companies producing polymers for consumer products and medical equipment, advanced temperature control cabinets for laboratory and medical use, environmental drilling equipment, industrial and commercial floor and wall coverings, critical alloys for steel and aluminum, and many other products. Over $1.8 billion dollars of shipments are being produced by 110 Washington County manufacturers. The total payroll for these firms exceeds $215 million. Source: 2002 Economic Census.
| Manufacturing as Percentage of Total Employment | |
|---|---|
| U.S. | 9% |
| Ohio | 13% |
| Washington County | 13.9% |
| Source: ODOD, OSR from 2003 BLS data | |
Industry clusters in Washington County:
- Chemical
- Resins & Synthetic Rubber
- Primary Metal
- Fabricated Metal
- Machinery
Source: 2000 County Business Patterns, ODOD-OSR
Fortunately, our economic foundation is built upon much more than manufacturing. Creating a nice balance in the community, the Parkersburg-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area is also home to a significant number of white-collar, information-based jobs at four hospitals, four colleges, a large U.S. Bureau of Public Debt office, as well as numerous professional offices and service companies.
| Occupation Type | Number Employed |
|---|---|
| Healthcare practitioners & Technical Occupations | 4,270 |
| Management Occupations | 2,740 |
| Business & Financial Operations Occupations | 2,460 |
| Architectural & Engineering Occupations | 790 |
| Computer & Mathematical Occupations | 600 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Spots & Media Occupations | 570 |
| Legal Occupations | 460 |
| TOTAL | 11,890 |
Major Washington County Employers
Washington County is blessed with a diverse array of employers - many homegrown entrepreneurial success stories and some part of large international corporations.
| Employer | Product/Service | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Marietta Memorial Health System | Health Care | 1200 |
| Pioneer Pipe | Construction, industrial maintenance | 700 |
| Eramet – Marietta | Ferro manganese | 440 |
| Kraton Polymers | Styrenic block copolymers | 430 |
| Thermo Fisher | Environmentally controlled cabinets | 385 |
| RJF International | Wall coverings, plastic extrusions | 312 |
|
Bank headquarters |
300 | |
| Broughton Foods | Milk & cultured dairy products | 255 |
| Tata Enterprises | Dot-com customer service call center | 280 |
| Solvay Advanced Polymers | Sulfone polymers | 218 |
| AEP Muskingum River Plant | Coal-fired power station | 209 |
| Americas Styrenics | Styrenic plastics | 180 |
| Globe Metallurgical | Silican metals | 150 |
|
Flexible Magnets |
135 | |
| Flexmag Industries | Flexible Magnets | 120 |
| Hi-Vac | Industrial Vacuums | 115 |
Washington County represents international businesses from France,
India, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia.
Productivity
Many of the employers listed above are part of multi-national corporations that are competing with sister plants from around the world. The Washington County work force compares favorably to the competition as you will see from our employer testimonials.
“Eramet has found Washington County as a good place to conduct business. We have a loyal work force with a strong work ethic. The local community college and other educational institutions have been very cooperative in development of training programs to support Eramet's needs. We have been successful in finding reliable skilled and unskilled workers who have a short-term absentee rate below 3%. In comparison to other Eramet locations in the U.S., the Marietta plant has workers who are more skilled and productive workers with a strong desire to stay in the area. This is also true about many of the professionals we have hired from the Washington County area.”
Russ Craig
President & CEO
Eramet – Marietta
“In the six years working at the Belpre (Washington County) Plant, we have been able to drastically increase productivity and plant performance. This is attributed to the very capable workforce at our plant and the willingness to work together to make our plant more viable for the future. The area offers outstanding training programs for process operators, maintenance crafts, safety programs, and much more through local community colleges and career centers at very reasonable costs. This area has a lot to offer, more than the other parts of the country I've been associated with.”
Donnie Loubiere
Plant Manager
Degussa Engineered Products"AEP Ohio's Muskingum River Plant employs 217 skilled men and women from the communities surrounding the plant. The plant's experienced work force consists of individuals with proficiencies in various areas needed to support plant operations. Forty-five percent of the employees have college and advanced degrees, and 11 also have professional certificates... Innovative, intelligent, hard working, flexible, adaptable and responsible are all attributes that describe the work force that makes up AEP Ohio's Muskingum River Plant."
Dan Kohler
Plant Manager
AEP Ohio - Muskingum River"We have been very pleased with our ability to hire people in this area. There is a strong work ethic and a demonstrated willingness to learn and help improve our business." During the past several years, our new hires have been able to quickly learn and qualify on some of our most difficult jobs and work effectively in our teams."
Bob Roesch
Plant Manager
Kraton Polymers