Stamping Plant To Reopen; Create Hundreds Of New Jobs

A former automotive stamping plant in South Charleston is coming back to life. Governor Manchin announced May 17 that more than 500 manufacturing jobs will be created over the next five years by Charleston Stamping & Manufacturing Inc. The company is reopening an idle stamping operation that closed last year. Charleston Stamping will invest more than $35 million to refurbish the plant with new automation equipment, Wise said. That figure includes a $15 million loan preliminarily approved today by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority. The modernization is expected to allow the company to create 79 jobs in its first year, 140 jobs in its second year, and as many as 550 jobs in its fourth or fifth year. The plant is located in the 80-acre industrial park owned by Park Corp.