(Photo Illustation - MetroCreativeConnection)

WILLIAMSTOWN — A new economic development committee is looking at potential development opportunities at the Mid-Ohio Valley Airport.

The committee was recently formed by the Wood County Airport Authority with the goal of coming up with a 5-10-year plan for the facility, said committee chairman Andrew Daniel.

“We will be looking at what the airport can be,” he said. “What future development that we could do up there to entice aerospace/aviation type businesses to set up shop at the airport.”

The committee was formed from a need at the airport to increase business.

“That is something we have always strived to do at the airport,” Daniel said. “There is a lot of land up there, and if we can develop it and get additional income by land leases or building hangers and leasing those out, the airport will be able to thrive.”

The committee has gotten people from around the area in both West Virginia and Ohio with a variety of experiences.

The committee includes Daniel (a local businessman), Del. Bob Fehrenbacher (R-Wood), WVUP President Torie Jackson, Wood County Development Executive Director Lindsey Piersol, Pleasants County Commissioner Doug Renner and Executive Director of the Southeast Ohio Port Authority Jesse Roush.

The State of West Virginia has identified the aircraft and aerospace industry as a “focal point” for business growth opportunities and job growth, Fehrenbacher said.

The North Central Airport near Clarksburg has set the standard for such activity.

“They have created hundreds of jobs related to aeronautics,” Fehrenbacher said. “There are a number of employers there that have been boon to the regional and state economy.”

The state sent a delegation, including Daniel and Fehrenbacher, to the MRO Europe Show last year in Barcelona, Spain. MRO stands for “maintenance, repairs and overhaul” in relation to aircraft.

“A lot of companies involved in the airline industry attend the show and there were around 600 vendors and over 10,000 people there,” Daniel said. “Many businesses are looking to expand and are looking for possible locations within the US.

“People are trying to bring that industry to West Virginia.”

The Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport and others across the state have the room to grow.

The committee is working on putting some concept drawings together with the help of Thrasher Engineering to show the local airport’s potential for expansion and business growth.

Many aircraft related businesses could find good locations in West Virginia, including at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport with its proximity to Ohio and the entire region.

Some of the possibilities the committee is looking at are companies that manufacture seats, install wifi and video systems, or do airplane painting. Some companies paint narrow body and wide body planes like Airbus 320s and Airbus 350s, the big planes that fly overseas. Others work on overhauling the engines.

Some companies want locations within the US to be able to do that work here as opposed to having to fly planes overseas to be worked on.

“There is a huge demand,” Daniel said. “We are trying to seek out those types of businesses.”

Fehrenbacher said there were a number of these “business opportunities” that could benefit West Virginia.

“The state wants to see if we can convince those companies that perform that kind of work to expand their operations into West Virginia,” he said. “(The Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport) has a good location and a long runway.”

With pilot training programs at Marshall and Fairmont universities, the potential is in West Virginia to build these types of businesses, Fehrenbacher said.

“I am interested in bringing them to Wood County,” he said.

The recent renovation of Hanger 4 with River Town Aviation at the airport was a first step to show what could be done at the airport to develop business opportunities, Daniel said.

“That was a good first step,” he said.

The committee is working on putting some concept drawings together with the help of Thrasher Engineering to show what could be done at the airport.

The committee is meeting monthly with the goal of having an overall concept drawing that Daniel can take to the Paris Airshow that will be held June 16-22 where a lot of vendors and worldwide businesses will be attending that might be interested in expanding into the United States and West Virginia.

“We are trying to think outside the box,” he said. “We are trying to put some drawings together to show what can change at the airport to create more usable land. What are our must-haves? What infrastructure do we need to get there to make it site ready for these selection committees to pick us?

“From there, we will grow it into a workable business plan that can be achieved.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com.