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NEW MARTINSVILLE -- As construction continues to create a Thirumalai Chemicals Limited Specialties plant in New Martinsville, Lacy Drury, an administrative TCL employee, sees the new location as a development opportunity for the Ohio Valley and beyond.
TCL is an Indian company that creates additives for industries such as plastics, paints, foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
The company's New Martinsville location, projected to open at the beginning of next year, will be its first branch in the United States, where the company will produce food ingredients.
"There is a need for products like this everywhere," Drury said. "The main company is in India. They have a couple of different plants throughout Europe and Asia, so this will be the first company and first plant here in the United States. Lo and behold, it is in our small part of the Ohio Valley."
Since joining the company in August, Drury has been focused on getting the U.S. branch up and running. Her work includes collaborating with state agencies and vendors and assisting new employees.
Before TCL, Drury worked for an excavation company in New Martinsville. She decided she wanted a career change and reached out to TCL. When she joined the company, Drury learned about its culture in India, what it needed for its U.S. location and why TCL decided to move to West Virginia.
The company elected to create the branch in West Virginia because of the resources available in the state and its people. Drury noted the company "fell in love" with the state while searching for the U.S. location.
"I used to be in the stone and construction industry with a company in Spain, so this kind of took me back to my previous company and the culture and diversity that I really liked," Drury said. "I just jumped ship (to join TCL) and have been with them since August."
Drury is collaborating with employees from the main TCL branch, some of whom travel to and from the local area from India, to determine what is needed for the plant's startup, including vendors, internet service providers and cleaners. Drury is also assisting in setting up interviews for potential employees and making travel arrangements.
Once completed, the plant will produce two TCL products and employ approximately 50 people.
Drury noted the facility is expected to not only create jobs, but also to boost the economy within the Ohio Valley and the state as a whole.
"I think this branch is really going to help the area," Drury said. "We're also focusing on creating an apprenticeship program to get the youth to explore different opportunities here in the valley rather than moving away."
While Drury's immediate future with the company is focused on completing the new branch, she sees sustainability and supply chain resilience as greater trends within the building materials industry that will become more prevalent among companies.
Drury also sees another important piece of the future for the building materials industry: technology adoption for AI-driven concepts.
"I've been in the building industry for the last 12 years, and the biggest thing is sustainability," Drury said. "More companies are investing in eco-friendly materials, recycled steels and engineered wood as well as trying to keep everything low carbon. There are significant shifts in the industry driven by sustainability, supply chain resilience and technology adoption."