PARKERSBURG – The Wood County Commission has approved to give $15,000 to the Polymer Alliance Zone to help with an upcoming visit from a number of Japanese business officials to the area who are looking at places within the United States to possibly build and locate businesses and development to.

Cam Huffman, director of external relations for the Polymer Alliance Zone, appeared before the county commission to seek a sponsorship for a July 14-16 visit to Wood County that will include 19 Japanese business officials, representing eight different companies as well as representatives from the West Virginia Department of Economic Development. They are planning to look at sites within the area that are poised for development.

The leadership at Somar, which is located in the Polymer Alliance Zone Industrial Park on W.Va. 47 in Wood County, had reached out to their peers in Japan last year about coming to the area to see about development opportunities.

“These are companies looking to get into the United States,” Huffman said.

He described these efforts as being similar to what happened when local and state development officials were able to recruit and bring Hino Motors to the area.

“We are introducing them to the community, just like with Hino back in the day,” he said. “The Wood County Commission was very instrumental in helping to get Hino into the area.

“We now have about two dozen Japanese business representatives coming in. These are the decision makers, the CEOs, the presidents of companies and so on.”

In doing visits to an area like this, it is good to have a good community representation, he said adding the business leaders get a good sense of the community’s interest and community support in economic development.

“They want to see the community excited about a project,” Huffman said.

The commission will also be available to talk to the business leaders and interact with them, he said.

Wood County Commission President Blair Couch said they are always supportive when a trade mission like this comes to Wood County.

“The fact they are Japanese and were invited by Somar, an existing employer in Wood County, we thought it would be good to show participation,” he said.

The money will be used for meals and trips throughout the area, including a dinner on a sternwheeler boat, Huffman said. The money will also go for translation services to provide the Japanese visitors with accurate information to make sure they have accurate information about the area. The state will be utilizing an interpreter they have used before who will be traveling with the business officials.

The officials will be in Charleston for two days and in Parkersburg for two days. They will be touring the new West Virginia University at Parkersburg Innovation and Technology Center, there will be an event at the Discovery Museum in Parkersburg where the officials can meet people from around the community, such as the officials with the companies at Washington Works (Chemours, Kuraray America and others) as well as doing a tour of the Polymer Alliance Zone Industrial Park to see property that is being prepped for site development as part of the YesWV site readiness program.

“We are going to have 15-20 acres of property out there,” Huffman said. “Our goal is to construct 30,000-50,000-square-foot of space. We are looking at that for a building.”

They have had interest from a couple of companies interested in what they are planning to build as the companies are looking to expand.

The upcoming visit by the Japanese business leaders is about building relationships, Huffman said.

“It is getting to know them and what their needs are and the needs of their companies,” he said. “A lot of it is meetings where we are finding out about their industry, what their needs are and what they are thinking.

“We will try to meet their needs and help get them in the door.”

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com