Lt. Governor Cawley says Marcellus Shale Creating Jobs in Johnstown

JOHNSTOWN, Pa., Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- There may be no Marcellus Shale natural gas wells in City of Johnstown, but the industry is creating jobs here, Lt. Governor Jim Cawley said today during a tour of JWF Industries, a machining and assembly firm.

"This company visited well sites and found a way to make a product that the natural gas industry needed.  Now they are growing and creating jobs.  Governor Corbett and I want to see more of this happen across the state," said Cawley.

Cawley headed the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, which in July unanimously adopted 96 recommendations to the governor for responsible natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.  

A key recommendation of the commission is to grow the number of existing manufacturing firms participating in the shale gas industry by helping them:

• Adapt their products for industry use.
• Meet industry standards.
• Market their services to the industry.
• Identify qualified suppliers.

"This is about creating well-paying, family-sustaining jobs for Pennsylvanians - not just on the drilling rigs, but in manufacturing shops like JWF," Cawley said.  "There are real opportunities with Marcellus Shale and we need to help Pennsylvania companies make the most of them."

JWF Industries is a family-owned company employing 450 people in six locations with annual sales of more than $120 million. This year, the company started making mud tanks, vacuum boxes and above-ground impoundment systems for use in water storage at natural gas well sites, which has created 60 jobs.

The company has expanded their operations into a 100,000 square foot facility and expects to hire another 40 people in the near future.

For more information, visit www.pa.gov.

Media contact:  Chad Saylor, 717-787-3300

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Lieutenant Governor