Rudy Henley is cofounder and Senior Managing Director of McCabe-Henley Limited Partnership, and a founding member of Mountaineer Capital, a licensed SBIC providing venture capital investment to companies in West Virginia and the surrounding region. He has been project leader and partner in charge of the $64,000,000 Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park, and the $12,000,000 Alan B. Mollohan Innovation and Incubation Center projects. Mr. Henley serves on the board of directors of the Chemical Alliance Zone (CAZ), the MidAtlantic Technology Research and Innovation Center (MATRIC), and the Advantage Valley Entrepreneur League System (ELS).

Seizing the Advantage

Publication: Views and Visions, a publication of Bowles, Rice, McDavid, Graff, & Love, LLP
Published: November 2004
Page: 46-47
Headline: Seizing the Advantage
Byline: Rudy Henley, Managing Director, McCabe-Henley Limited Partnership

This edition of Views & Visions is focused on activities and or ganizations that seek to invigorate economic growth in the Advantage Valley area. Judging from recent headlines and statistics it is easy to cite information that suggests the area is at a disadvantage in its efforts to sustain much of its historic economic base. Large scale manufacturing faces stiff foreign competition. Changes in technology and market forces seem to threaten most businesses that were con­sidered bedrocks of our economy just 10 or 15 years ago. News of layoffs and facility closings seem more prevalent than news business growth and job creation.

Are there factors at work that create a disadvantage which cannot be overcome? If the citizens in the Advantage Valley area as a whole are waiting for a miracle announcement of the relocation of a large company offering hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs, then perhaps we are at a disadvantage caused largely by our own inaction and naiveté.

If, on the other hand, we organize our efforts, recognize our competencies, and attack our weaknesses, we are in a position of advantage with economic growth potential largely a function of the collective will and determination of a diverse group of public and private resources.

The Advantage Valley area can arguably be called the cradle of the chemical industry. Innovation, production, and marketing skills that have been nurtured here have resulted in products with global markets. Now that the historic methods and competitive fields have changed, we can still look to the past to get a hint of our prospective future. For decades Union Carbide's South Charleston Technical Center served as the working home of hundreds of scientists, engineers, and technicians who were responsible for product and process development as well as manufacturing at a globally competitive level.

At one time the Advantage Valley area boasted the highest per-capita level of PhDs in the country. Although times have changed, there still remains a significant base of residents with advanced degrees and experience, as well as an even larger number of alumni of the area. This group can be organized as a resource to rejuvenate the innovation and production environment that the Advantage Valley area has historically known.

Many of the more robust local economies in the country have become successful by transforming their economy from dependency on a large employer, single industry, or a large government activity to a diverse economy that uses its technical skills in a variety of commercial endeavors. In Huntsville , Alabama, scientists and engineers working for the U.S. Government at the Marshall Space Flight Center and the Redstone Arsenal became entrepreneurs who started businesses now employing hundreds and even thousands in that local economy. The same can be said in Austin Texas, Silicon Valley, the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, and numerous other regions of the country.

The first steps to such success is aware­ness and action. Research, tech transfer, and workforce training resources in higher education are well represented in the area byWVU, Marshall University, the Advantage Valley Community College Network, WVUIT, West Virginia State University, and the University of Charleston. The formation of the Entrepreneur League System, Chemical Alliance Zone, Polymer Alliance Zone, MidAtlantic Technology Research and Innovation Center (MATRIC), Rahall Trans­portation Institute, Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and similar organizations signify action and desire to change. Other entities such as Discover the Real West Virginia Foundation, Vision Shared, and theWest Virginia Venture Connection provide additional support and evidence of desire to grow our economy.

The Advantage Valley area has signification resources including intellectual capacity among advanceddegree scien­tists and engineers, available permitted facilities, a skilled work force, and higher education institutions. At present there is very little connectivity among these resources. The Chemical Alliance Zone, in cooperation with DOW Chemical Company is using a former lab and research building at the South Charleston Technical Center to efit from relationships with the higher education institutions, as well as prospective mentors in large corporations and among retirees. Thus, excess physical capacity, driven in part by the merger of DOW and Union Carbide, presents an opportunity for a focused means of organizing technology-based development.

If the Advantage Valley area and indeed, the State of West Virginia are to position themselves to effectively compete in the 21st century economy, then we must act now to create the means to take advantage of opportunities. The focused reuse of facilities such as the research labs at the South Charleston Technical Center represents one component of the opportunity to organize various resources with a specific intent and means of identifying and creating opportunities that can build new jobs.

The resources available to energize the economic development effort are diverse. These resources apply across the range of skills needed to develop new products and bring them to market. Expertise in chemistry applies to pharmaceuticals and forensics, as well as chemical production. Intellectual property skills, marketing skills, production skills and similar expertise have broad application in today's economy. Opportunities abound for advancement of existing and new technologies across a range of product types using the current facilities, as well as focusing on early stage production using our skilled work force.

A holistic, focused effort to identify our inventory of assets and to actively support technology and business formation can enable and accelerate the reinvigoration of the local economy. It is critical that all interested parties find a means of cooperating and creating a platform that can connect and support knowledge based economic activity. This can and will lead to the type of job creation that has long term positive implications for the area. The Advantage Valley region has demonstrated a historic ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals in engineering, science, and technology. This history provides insight into the means by which a focused effort can recreate a similar positive environment in the Advantage Valley area and provide a road map for a proactive means of securing the future of the area.