The Community, Connections & Commerce Podcast, presented by OUE & St. Clairsville Chamber - Community, Connections, & Commerce Episode 20 feat. Shale Cresent Pt. 2

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

Welcome back everyone, this is Wendy Anderson sitting um for the host right now for Drake Watson who is uh at school doing his class work and I am um very excited to have Sam from the Bloom Daddy Experience as my co-host today. Hi Sam. Sitting back here in the important seat behind the board. Yeah look at me now nice seat nice cushy seat i love it you're in the driver's seat so you have um you are with us at community connections and commerce this is a podcast that we're doing with ohio university eastern and if you have any questions that you would like us to address, please send them to ouepodcast.ohio.edu. Again, ouepodcast.ohio.edu. So I'd like to welcome back for part two

to Greg Cassara and his lovely wife, Linda, who is sitting in here. And he has referred to her a couple times, which is awesome. So thank you very much. She is one of the things I've learned about Linda. And I think maybe all of us should look at our spouses a little differently. There's more to her than meets the eye.

And when we got engaged in business together, I never ceased to be amazed at how quickly she learns and how big an asset she's been, not just to me, but to Sheil Crescent. Because she looks at the world differently than I do, and that's important. And that's what makes a wonderful marriage. Honestly, two separate ideas coming together to share. So, good for you. All right. And she runs an awesome trade show.

Does she? That whole deal. What she did at SelectUSA was phenomenal because she's not afraid to engage people. There were people walking by that she would just start to talk to. And that's what's important in a trade show. We're working an active company from India that would have walked by had she not reached out to them. And now they're dead serious about coming to our region. And, again, if she just sat there and kind of waved.

But that's the stuff that makes a huge difference. The engagement. And that is what makes a trade show very successful is the engagement. I've been to several and they just sit doing nothing. Like, oh, we're here. We're getting paid for just eight hours of sitting. Not you, Linda. You go after them.

You go, girl. Okay. So, Greg, let's finish what we were talking about before on when we last left you. So you were talking about this company that was coming. It's Dermali Chemicals. Dermali. And they're not coming. They're here.

Okay. TCL. They've actually had, they've got some offices that they're using up in the Wheeling area here right now. Oh. But their plant is under construction down outside of New Martinsville. Okay. construction down outside of New Martinsville. And what's fascinating, and this is what's so important for folks in the region to grasp, is the product that they were going to make here in the U.S. starting in 25 was being made in India. Now, the energy that takes to make that, a lot of that

was coming from the United States. So imagine, we're shipping our energy and some of our raw materials to India. They make this product, or they were getting it from the Middle East, and they ship the product all the way back here to the U.S. Well, they looked at it and said, you know, all our customers, most of them are in the U.S. anyways. So they decided to bring the plant here. Now, they were looking dead. They were really dead serious about the Gulf Coast. And we saw them at the World Petrochemical Conference and began to convince them.

And some of those studies we did with the first study we did with IHS Markit, that moved them. Their project manager was able to take that to the board of directors and to the CEO and say, you know, we really need to take a serious look at the Shell Crescent region. Right. Because they had no idea. They just figured, well, of course you go to the Gulf Coast.

That's where it is. And one of the things that moved them, A, was we have, they literally have, Jerry James actually helped them site the plant because he showed them there's those, we have the fractionators down there that take the natural gas liquids and turn them into ethane, butane, propane, that kind of stuff. So he said, you know, if you're going to build this thing, he said, here's an area you might want to consider. And it literally is right where they found that property from Covestro. So they built the plant there. And they literally are on top of their feedstock. Oh, wow.

I mean, that's where the gas and the natural gas liquids are all right there. And they're in the middle of their customers. And the other thing that their CEO brought up that they hadn't even thought about is we don't have a hurricane. It was devastating for that plant there in india they're used to floods where they locate in it where their plant is in india they've never had to deal with a hurricane and when we explained the guys in the gulf coast never told him this stuff oh okay so when we're talking to him we said well you know we don't have hurricanes up there you mean there's hurricanes in the gulf yeah. So, but can you imagine they're on top

of their energy and feedstock in the middle of their customers and their CEO told us this. We had a meeting in Charleston and he said, usually I have to decide when we're going to build a facility, do I build where the customers are or I build where the raw materials are? He says, this is the first time in my entire career that I didn't have to make that decision because the energy is here, the raw materials are here, and the customers are all here. And can you imagine why they can expand that plan? Sure. Because the money they save from shipping, they're going to be wildly profitable because now you say 15,000 to 20,000 miles plus the natural gas and the liquids are a tenth of what they are in India. So when you do that, their profitability is good. And what are they going to do? They're hiring local people to do all this work.

So it's not just the contractors, but these are good, high-wage jobs that's real important for our region. So that's the kind of stuff that's just the beginning. But can you imagine that opportunity? And we're seeing that across the board. And what I love about it is Lynn and I, because of our travels, we get to meet some of these jobs. I mean, we know those folks, the thermally chemical, the TCL folks. We know those guys. We helped to bring Shell Crescent was involved in bringing a facility to Pennsylvania from Costa Rica.

And they take plastic waste, mixed plastic waste, and they put it into a conveyor, they grind it up, and they turn out these little pellets that they add to concrete block to make the block lighter and stronger. But they're getting rid of two tons of plastic an hour. We call it waste. They call it feedstock. And they're in York, PA, and we actually got a chance to go up there and meet the jobs that we helped bring to the region. And we're seeing the same thing here in these plants that are expanding. And the biggest, I think the one message that

your listeners really need to know and understand is it's not hard to bring companies here. But the second question is the one that we really have to work hard on is, I'm coming. Now, tell me about workforce. And that's the challenge. Our real problem now is we need workers. Yeah. And you can go up and down the Ohio Valley and find people that are looking for workers. Yep.

And we have got to develop that. That has got to be a priority because I mentioned Buddy Malone and the Parkersburg Marietta building trades. His problem, he's got all of his trades people are sleeping at home now. All the jobs are right here in the region. He said, but I need apprentices. And a lot of these folks are, let's put it this way, they're getting close to retirement time. So you've got that issue, and they're finding creative ways to help these retirees.

Some of them don't want to work. They want to travel in the wintertime. Right. But they'd like to work a few months in the summer. So what they've done is some really creative things of helping these folks that want to still stay involved, but they don't want to work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. They want to go to Florida. They want to travel. They want to do something.

But what he's found is we can bring them back in the summertime, and so when our young people want to go on vacation, we've got these seasoned workers that know what they're doing that just want to maybe they only want to work 20 hours a week. We can accommodate that. So I think we need to think in terms of two things. The young people bring them along. But for the seasoned worker, these experienced folks that have done this for years, that don't want to work 80 hours a week anymore or 40 hours a week. They want to do something different.

We can find ways to accommodate them. And if you think about it, some of those folks have forgotten more than some of the young people already know. So let's take advantage of their experience and their expertise. And I love that. He's capitalizing on the work-life balance. people who already know so let's take advantage of their experience and their expertise and i love that he's capitalizing on the work-life balance and that is like that seems like to be the thread and all of our podcasts that we do it's that work-life balance and i'm so happy to hear that because you're right some of these retirees are forgotten and they only want to work a few hours 20 hours a week maybe 25 hours a week but what they have to mentor these younger people is you just can't there's no price on that

that is crazy that um they forgot they're they're forgotten but i love this that he is really working on that work-life balance and being creative in the human resource area. And I think that's something, if other companies consider that, and you have, you know, I remember just a few years ago, I was up along Route 50 in West Virginia. I was surprised at all the water truck drivers. How many of those were women? And I asked someone, and they said, well, they said that's a great job for them

because they can be home, see their kids off to school in the morning. They can drive this water truck, and actually they don't need to work eight hours. They can work from like nine to two and be home when the kids come home from school. But they're getting a good wage, but they're providing a service that's needed. And I think the challenge for a lot of employers is to be thinking creatively. How can we take advantage of different parts of our workforce? And, you know, the other thing, we were at a Plastic News executive conference a year ago. It was down in Florida. And it's the high level business owners. Okay.

And they gave an award for the 10 best places to work. And what was fascinating to me is they had all these programs, again, work-life balance, and they were very worker-focused. But you know what the amazing thing was, is the 10 most profitable companies and those 10 companies that were the best places to work just happened to be the same darn companies. Really? So the message really is, if you take care of your people. Oh, they'll take care of you. They'll take care of you.

Absolutely. Isn't that a message that a lot of employers have come to realize post-COVID? Because working with a lot of different industries in my job, hiring and recruitment is a major issue, and I think companies are beginning to realize the importance they need to put behind their workers. Absolutely. And there's still, I think what's happening, Sam, is some of them, it's almost like they've got to get beat over the head.

Right. Because here's what happened. This one gentleman, I always like to know the rest of the story. And he talked about what had happened with, oh, there was an engineer. And this engineer, they were making a part for General Motors, one of the cars. And he couldn't reach the senior VP. So this engineer made a $3 million decision to buy these hollow ball bearings from Italy. And he made the decision, they got the part, and it worked.

General Motors was thrilled. And I asked the gentleman at the fire pit that night, I said, what would you have done if he had failed? And I worked corporate long enough to know that there were companies that I worked for, and if I'd have made that decision, it would have failed, they'd have fired me. And this guy looked at me, he said, well, Greg, he said, I can't fire him. I've got $3 million invested in his education.

So we would learn that, you know, it's all about, again, how you treat people. But the other thing he added, I said, do you have any problem getting folks? He starts laughing. He says, Greg, I've got to tell you something. He said, my competitors have no idea, but HR has a list of some of the best people working for my competitors that have came to us and said, look, when someone quits or retires, can you hire me? So he says, my competitors have no idea that their best people want to leave and come to work for me because of the way we treat our people.

Well, and that ties directly into Ohio University Eastern, who is in partnership with this podcast. The different companies that you're talking to, whether it's the Italy company, India, for the students that are currently in school, whether it's a high university, Eastern, or a trade school, what are the most in-demand jobs that they're looking to fill? I'd say what we're looking at, a lot of these are manufacturing jobs. But we're seeing a lot of robotics. And it's not just running that stuff, but you've got to have people that can program it but you've got to have people that can program it. Right.

You've got to have people that can repair it. So those are the high-tech jobs we're talking about. These manufacturing jobs, a lot of them aren't on the floor. They're in a, like, our doctor's son works in a control center. He loves it. Yeah. But he doesn't even get his hands dirty. So there's a variety of. He loves it. But he doesn't even get his hands dirty. So there's a variety

of different opportunities out there. That manufacturing terminology is not of the days of on the floor. We have to expand that thought process of what manufacturing is. My grandfather was

in manufacturing at the steel mill. I did not want to do that job. Exactly. And so these kids can get a two-year degree and go on to make lots of money. But not only that, stay here in the valley. The Ohio Valley is really where we want them to stay. And I think what's happening today is they're going to get that choice if they're trained.

I mean, that's the key part. True. There's some programs that I know some of the high schools are even starting this stuff. But I think it's real important. I think this podcast is important so that young people understand that they do have options. That two-year degree I mentioned, my students started.

Can you imagine starting at $60,000 with a two-year degree? I coach high school soccer. I got soccer kids that graduate with four-year degrees that aren't making $60,000 a year. Right. But that $60,000 is just the beginning because our doctor said, I know he's six figure now. And that doesn't cut his bonuses.

Yeah. So you're talking 100 grand a year plus vacation, plus all the benefits with a two year degree. And he can raise three kids on and have a new pickup truck and have a house. But that's the beginning. And then I guess whenever he gets time, when the kids will let him, one of these days he'll get his Mountaineer season football tickets. Right. But that's the opportunities that we have. And I think it's really important that young people, to your point, Sam,

understand that this is not grandpa's manufacturing. And even from a – there's people that are out there thinking, when they think of manufacturing, they're thinking smokestacks. You wouldn't even know when you drive by these facilities. You wouldn't even know they're making anything. Because there's no smokestack. I mean, these are, and actually from an environmental standpoint, this is some of the best stuff going. Because we're using our energy under our environmental

law we're making the stuff that we need and we're not having it chipped in and and you know i'd mentioned you guys earlier after after the pandemic started we did we put a pitch, we, Shell Crescent, talked about why Made in America is now a must. Because people were mad that we have to wait on ventilators from China? What's wrong? People didn't know we didn't make rubber gloves here. We couldn't get

hand sanitizer. And all of a sudden, now, those were making gloves in Ohio. They're making hand... Dow came online in Charleston, added a full line, start making hand sanitizer. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that we're now making these products. But another good point from the podcast standpoint is Americans got to know that we can't fall off the wagon. We can't allow these manufacturing jobs to go away again. Right.

And we don't have to. Right. But I think that's really important, that the more stuff we can make here, it's good for the country, it's environmental, it's good for the environment, good for the country, and it's a win for all these regions. And it's security. Absolutely. It's security of our nation also.

Right. Absolutely. And I think the challenge is, and one of the problems we see going forward is we need more electricity, not less. Right. At the business summit, they were talking about these data centers and AI.

And to do AI, you need 10 times more processing power than you do for a Google search. So all these things. We have data centers that are looking to come in here. Now, those aren't great job creators, but they do support other jobs that are here in the region. Sure. So even though they're not great job promoters,

but it's the people that work there will get the paycheck and they'll go out and go to restaurants and they'll buy their groceries and they'll stay here local. They'll buy their gas and their cars or whatever. So it's all important. So what can you, for a student in college, what would you say the most important studies would be? Wow. Of course, the technical studies are important. There's actual hands-on. But you

know what I would recommend is the one weakness that I see from a lot of students is people skills. You've got to be able to communicate. And this one, my wife goes crazy because our granddaughter's in the backseat of the car and sends her a text message. I understand. And you've got to be able to talk to someone like we're doing right now. And even writing, to be able to write something and have it make sense. Put your thoughts down on paper. At least ask a question. I have the same issue in different things that I do. These kids, their faces in their phones, and they don't look up.

They don't know. Their social skills are almost gone. And that's a challenge that, boy, we've got to find a way to keep that. Because, you know, when you look at the world, when we have problems in industry, and it's just like we've got two friends of ours, Willie and Dee Jolly, do a marriage program. It's on tonight, matter of fact.

And they talk about the number one thing that kills relationships is communication. And when I go back to my corporate career, the number one place we had problems, when there was an issue, it was communication. And that is so important. It doesn't matter whether you're doing, it doesn't matter what the product you're making is, but that manufacturing process, you've got to be able to communicate. You've got to be able to tell your story.

I'll tell you one thing I did, even as an instructor at Pierpont. I made sure that when they were – I wanted my students to present. I wanted them to stand in front of the class and be able to tell a story, to be able to explain things. And I'll never forget the first class they did. These guys, after three of them, I just, I got so frustrated, I shut it down. They had their hands in their pockets. They're looking at the floor.

And I said finally, okay, guys, time out. Forget the assignment. All I want you to do is, I said, do you know everybody in here? It's not a big class. Stand in front of the room and just tell your fellow students what you did this weekend. They knocked it out of the park. And it's all they had. I said, that's it.

That's all it is. But you've got to be able to communicate, to tell a story. And I'll tell you how powerful that is. A couple years later, one of my students graduated. And we were touring Dominion's facility. It was in Clarksburg. And he's leading the tour in front of 30 of us seasoned industry professionals at the time. And it's like, wow, he got it.

He had no problem talking to 30 experienced people, telling the Dominion story. And that's what we need our students to be able to do. Because if they can talk to a large group, they can talk to a small group. But communication is essential. And it's not just for work. It's for relationships. It is. Well, I'll tell you what, we have to wrap it up. But Greg, this has been really eye-opening a great experience and I'm gonna see if we can get you to come back on always happy to thank you so much for coming in Greg because they're a director of marketing for shell Crescent USA and his wife Linda thank you so much Sam thank you for being my sidekick today. Again, Wendy Anderson in for Drake with Drake Watson. If you have any questions for Community Connections and Commerce, which is our podcast, please send them to OUEpodcast.ohio.edu.

Again, that's Ohio University, OUEpodcast.ohio.edu. Again, Wendy Anderson in for Community Connections and Commerce, along with Sam. We'd like to say goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.

Goodbye.