SDI Set to Relocate to Meadow Ridge Park
Washington PA Observer-Reporter
26 January 2010:
By Cara Host, Staff writer
chost@observer-reporter.com
WAYNESBURG - A West Virginia mine construction company plans to
relocate to Mt. Morris, bringing 98 jobs to the area.
Shaft Drillers International will move its headquarters from Morgantown
to a 44,500-square-foot building that will be built at Meadow Ridge
Business Park. The company develops mine shafts that are used for
ventilation as well as transporting workers and equipment underground.
SDI also drills for the natural gas and civil engineering industries.
The state offered SDI $2.1 million as enticement to locate here. The
funding package includes a $2 million grant through the Redevelopment
Assistance Capital Program, which can be used to pay for some of the
construction costs. SDI also will get $110,000 to help train people to
work at the company.
Greene County Commissioner Pam Snyder said Pennsylvania was competing
with West Virginia to convince SDI to locate in their respective
states. The money, which was negotiated through the Governor's Action
Team, "tipped the scales in our favor," said Snyder.
"We worked very hard on this one," Snyder said. "It will be a huge
project that will fill up Meadow Ridge, and I think you will see a lot
of good things happening in Mt. Morris."
Kevin Adrians of SDI's land development department said the state
incentives played a major role in the company's decision to locate to
Mt. Morris, but another reason had to do with the company founders'
Greene County roots. SDI executives Scott Kiger and Charlie Riggs grew
up here.
"They're Greene County natives, and I know they are just excited that
they can bring their company back home," Adrians said.
Greene County Industrial Development Authority and Regional Industrial
Development Corp. in Pittsburgh started developing the 108-acre
business park about 12 years ago. A few small businesses located there,
but the park has had some difficulty luring other companies.
In recent years, the county has tackled several infrastructure projects
to make the park more appealing. A water line was extended to the area,
and Allegheny Power's nearby power line project will upgrade the park's
electrical system.
SDI also will benefit from Meadow Ridge Business Park's designation as
a Keystone Opportunity Zone. Businesses that move into a KOZ get breaks
on local and state taxes. SDI will enjoy tax abatement through 2017.
"This was a competitive project, and SDI's decision to move its global
headquarters to Pennsylvania is a direct result of the commonwealth's
economic development efforts," Gov. Ed Rendell said in a news release.
"This project, and the 98 high-paying jobs it will create, is great
news for Southwestern Pennsylvania and its work force."
SDI started as a geo-technical construction company more than 30 years
ago. The company drills coal shafts, bores tunnels, provides ground
stabilization and helps build gas transmission facilities in North and
South America. SDI recently increased its services to address advances
in mining and drilling techniques arising from Marcellus Shale natural
gas exploration.
"The steady growth of SDI's services in civil and energy construction
has positioned the corporation to make this move at a very strategic
time," Kiger, co-founder of SDI, said in a news release.
Adrians expects the company should be ready to start construction on
the new building by spring, and the yearlong project should be finished
by spring 2011. Once complete, the building will replace SDI's smaller
offices in Morgantown, and it will function as corporate headquarters
for SDI's global operations.
The 98 jobs are new positions that the company expects to create in the
next three years, based on its current growth rate. SDI will need
people in engineering, accounting, legal, administrative and field
support roles.
The project also will help retain 146 existing jobs in Pennsylvania.