Coal Contributes to Northeast Tennessee-Southwest Virginia's Growth

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. and BRISTOL, Va., July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Coal may not be king anymore, but through innovation, aggressive expansion and cleaner technologies, it is an industry that is still providing jobs and economic growth in the ten Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia counties participating in the Regional Alliance for Economic Development.

A cornerstone of the region's coal industry is Bristol, Va.-based Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), which in just eight years has grown from a small storefront company into the nation's third largest coal producer with 6,400 employees. The company recently unveiled its new five-story, 130,000-square-foot corporate headquarters outside of Bristol.

ANR now produces 100 million tons annually of steam and metallurgical-quality coal in 60 active mines and 14 coal preparation plants throughout Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.

The company also invests in community arts and culture, social development and human services, and, especially, in education.  ANR recently awarded renewable tuitions to 47 high school graduates in six states.

Northeast Tennessee is also home to Decanter Machine, another local company that started small in the coal industry.  A subsidiary of Powell Construction, Decanter originally serviced coal centrifuges. Today, Decanter also manufactures its own centrifuges and filtration technologies that serve not only the coal industry, but are also used in the wastewater and biosolids industries. Decanter now has satellite offices in South Carolina, Australia and Russia.

"Coal has always been an important source of jobs and community support in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia," said Tom Ferguson, Regional Alliance CEO and President.

Chris Lambert, Decanter's director of marketing, says the region's network of community colleges, apprenticeship colleges and private and public four-year colleges has helped Decanter recruit an outstanding workforce.

"We have an excellent talent pool here," he said. "Another big selling point in recruiting is that we have a lower cost of living than most places."

"This is such a laid back community," he said, "but it's also one of the most hard working. People take pride in their work."

For more information about the Regional Alliance and how it works with local and state economic development offices and the private sector, contact Tom Ferguson at (423) 323-8107 or at [email protected].

Media representation:  Clark Miller Communications, (865) 414-1908.

SOURCE Regional Alliance