Petrochemical Industry Looks to Expand in Appalachia by Liz Partsch For years, Southeast Ohio has been a hub for fossil fuel jobs that the industry claims employ millions. With the rise of coal mining in the 19th century and the fracking boom of the 2000s, the industry presents its latest push: plastic production. Now, petrochemicals have their sights on a new destination in Appalachia: Belmont County, located in southeastern Ohio, to accompany an existing plant in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. In Belmont County, a global chemical company from Bangkok, PTT Global Chemical, has proposed plans to construct an ethane cracker plant […]
Coffee Brewers Go from Hobbyists to Wholesalers
The Walkers broke into the coffee industry after humble beginnings as coffee enthusiasts. Lorraine and Phil Walker started their coffee business off about as local as possible. They began roasting coffee beans in a popcorn maker and selling it to their friends in Gallipolis in 2008. With no starting capital, they managed to turn one of the rooms in their house into a USDA-approved roasting site, distributing to one Kroger in Athens, and gained a very small online following. These days the Walkers spend most of their week inside their 400-square-foot coffee warehouse alongside whirring grinders and the constant smell of beans. With simple origins, Silverbridge Coffee now produces about 1,200 pounds of coffee […]