Plastics are a $2 billion player in the West Virginia economy, according to results of a 2009 study completed for the state Polymer Alliance Zone by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Marshall University.

Results of the study, which were announced Oct. 14, indicate West Virginia’s plastic industry, directly and indirectly, accounts for more than 22,630 jobs, $1.19 billion in employee compensation, $2.2 billion in economic activity, pays more than $178 million in state taxes, with 75 percent of its customers located out-of-state.

“The plastic industry in West Virginia is both robust and diverse and is an economic engine for the state of West Virginia,” Gov. Joe Manchin said. “This is a high-tech, high-wage industry that sells its product all over the globe.”

Manchin also noted it’s a growing industry, referring to the June opening of PWP Recycling in Wood County and Kureha Corp.’s partnership with DuPont in Kanawha County to open a new plant. While there is a heavy concentration of plastics firms in the Polymer Alliance Zone counties of Wood, Jackson and Mason, the industry is comprised of more than 75 companies in 33 counties.

PAZ President Karen Facemyer noted the industry is making a significant impact across the state. Facemyer said there also are new prospects that may be enticed to locate in the region by the state’s relatively low energy costs.

“We’re working with several companies who have expressed an interest,” she noted. “Sometimes it takes several years to get them on line, but low-cost electricity is a driving force to get them here.” Noting that it’s the first study of its kind conducted since 1996, Facemyer described the new report as “a road map that shows where we are and will help us get to where we need to go.”

She said data reflecting industry wages was a pleasant surprise.

“Polymer companies are paying among the leading salaries in the state,” Facemyer noted. The study indicates plastic industry wages, averaging $54,000, are more than one and one-half times the state average wage of $37,000.

The polymer industry produces both final products for businesses and households as well as intermediate products for other industries.

“Without question, the plastics industry has a major impact on West Virginia’s economy, comprising $2.2 billion (or 3.6 percent) of total economic activity,” said Christine Risch, director of research for MU’s Center for Business & Economic Research and lead author of the polymer industry study.

Risch said the industry cluster in the PAZ counties directly and indirectly employs more than 7,300 people and accounts for 13 percent of all employment in that region. The average plastic industry salary in that area is twice the state average at $74,000 per year.

Plastics companies operating in the state include Allied Logistics, Bayer Material Sciences, Chemtura Corp., Commercial Plastics Recycling, DuPont, ICL Supresta, K.S. of WV, Polymer Alliance Services, PWP Industries, PWP Recycling Center, Sabic Innovative Plastics, SDR Plastics, and Star Plastics, among others.

The firms can be divided into four types of manufacturing: plastics materials and resins; chemical additives, such as antioxidants, polyols, fire retardants and organofunctional silicones; final and intermediate plastic and polymer products produced from a variety of materials, including urethane, polyurethane, fiberglass, phenolic foam, sponge rubber, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl, cultured marble, latex and polypropylene; services, such as compounding, mold making and plastics recycling.

For additional information on the study, the plastics industry or the PAZ, visit the organization’s Web site at www.pazwv.org.