New business to operate in former DiNovo building

STEUBENVILLE - Those shale jobs the Ohio Valley has been waiting for are beginning to find their way here.

Power Torque Services will operate out of a portion of the old DiNovo building on North Third Street, creating more than a dozen jobs to start, while Heavy Duty Industrial Services is already working out of leased space in the Wintersville area. A third company, Environmental Management Specialists, is buying property in the South End of Steubenville and expects to be operational by April 1, bringing roughly 15 jobs to start.

Jefferson County Commissioner Thomas Graham said the business activity "is a tribute to our economic development team," adding that the behind-the-scenes efforts to attract business and jobs are "starting to pay off."

"We help fund them through taxpayer dollars and it's great to see the fruits of their labor being demonstrated," he said. "These announcements are good for the future of Jefferson County and I know there are more to come."

PTS, founded in 2002, has leased 8,000-square feet of warehouse and apartment space in the DiNovo building, which means roughly 14,000-square feet are still available for other potential tenants.

Wayne LeCompte, who will oversee PTS's Jefferson County operations, said the company runs casings on oil wells.

"We isolate the well bore so you can flow the well without risk of contamination," he said.

PTS is in the first wave of shale-related businesses to set up shop in Jefferson County, but LeCompte said they "wanted to get the jump" on the drilling buildup locally.

Until now, drilling activity had focused on Marcellus shale fields in Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia, but mild winter weather meant declining demand for natural gas. With prices falling, drilling giants like Chesapeake and Hess are reducing their Marcellus activity and instead shifting their focus to the more profitable liquids-rich Utica shale.

LeCompte figures that means the empty commercial properties sprinkled across Jefferson County aren't going to be empty for long.

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New business to operate in former DiNovo building