You can't maximize both timber and tourism. Cutting more timber Tom Burns, executive director of the Development Office, thinks pulp and paper mills and chipboard plants are good for the state. All the large mills are highly automated, expensive investments that make something out of West Virginia wood, Burns said. We want to add as much value as possible and create as many jobs as possible close to this resource we have. Both segments are expected to grow by 3 percent to 4 percent through 1998.
Plants located in West Virginia are close enough to ship easily to their markets.
In both segments, the Development Office says, companies could operate more profitably in West Virginia than in other states. But most of the savings for these companies would come in the form of lower wages for workers, according to Development Office promotional booklets. The Development Office promotional brochures for these industries end by touting the state's quality work force. A resource that is self-generating, unlimited and constantly taking performance levels over the top. It's the work ethic of the people.