UPDATE (3/9/13 12:00 pm ET): The Wellsville Intermodal Park is continuing to be a success story in Columbiana County.  With only about 14 acres left in total, the facility is seeing an increase of work for companies who have set up shop.

Pier 48 Stevedoring LLC operates the 60-ton overhead river crane that came online last summer.  The company has unloaded steel coil from 18 barges filled to capacity and 36 barges loaded with material for Cimbar Performance Materials, which supplies barite to Anchor Drilling Fluids USA.  Anchor is seeing a huge increase in business, which then trickles down to supply and logistics companies.

According to the Youngstown Business Journal, Pier 48 is looking to moving hydraulic fracturing sand and steel pipe for drilling.  Pier 48 owner and president, Larry Heck, said he expects business grow tremendously for the company and the industry as Utica and Marcellus Shale activity increases.  He expects crane operations to continue to increase through the end of the year with two shifts six to seven days a week by the middle of the year.  They are also hoping to hire, bringing their number of employees from five to 20.  He emphasized he’d like to hire from areas benefitting from shale:

From the area, I try to gather people from all over. From Wellsville, itself, East Liverpool, Chester, Salineville. Just to localize it and try to build up employment for this area—Larry Heck (Wellsville Intermodal Park Ramps Up with Shale, 3/9/13)

The local chamber of commerce is looking to benefit from the increase in business as well.  Randy Allmon, president of the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce expressed his interest in spreading the benefits:

My goal is to get more spinoff from these businesses, especially on Main Stree. If we can get Main Street going, I think Wellsville will have a bright future—Randy Allmon (Wellsville Intermodal Park Ramps Up with Shale, 3/9/13)

READ THE REST: http://www.eidohio.org/wellsville-sees-expanding-investment-expandi...