NEW MARTINSVILLE — As the assistant site manager at Covestro’s New Martinsville location, Jay Leep sees the Ohio Valley as the “next opportunity” for the manufacturing industry due to the raw materials available in the region.

Covestro is one of the leading suppliers of high-tech polymer materials serving industries around the globe with polyurethanes, polycarbonates, coatings, adhesives and specialties. The company’s New Martinsville site, where Leep is based, manufactures polyurethane raw materials and thermoplastics used in a wide range of applications for the automotive, construction, appliance, sports and leisure industries.

“There are many more (Covestro) products that end up in everyday products from golf balls to medical grade tubing,” Leep noted.

Leep’s path to joining Covestro began when he graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering from West Virginia University in 1986. Since the petroleum industry was in a “down cycle” at the time, Leep decided to stay at the university and complete a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.

“I had summer internships in power generation and worked in energy research during the master’s program,” Leep said. “Through those experiences, I became interested in working with equipment and manufacturing processes.”

Upon graduating from his master’s program in 1989, Leep began searching for a job in manufacturing and joined Covestro at its New Martinsville site the same year.

As the assistant site manager, Leep said he is involved in “a lot of different activities” but is specifically responsible for maintenance, construction, training and managing the company’s industrial park tenants.

Leep said safety continues to be a priority within the manufacturing industry. He noted that this concern for safety has evolved beyond “just safety procedures,” as companies are now examining “human factors” that may be considered the root cause of a safety incident. Leep gave poor or ineffective communication, fatigue, distraction, staffing or the risk assessment before starting the job as examples of “human factors” that may cause a safety incident.

Leep identified another important factor in the industry as “reliability.” He outlined that manufacturing companies must strive to balance the cost of building new capacity against “getting the most out of existing assets.”

“There’s more technology available now to monitor the condition of equipment and drive reliability through improved maintenance planning and execution,” Leep said.

Another recent industry trend Covestro is following is increasing focus on energy efficiency and reducing one’s carbon footprint.

“Companies are setting environmental goals and working on projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Leep said. “Covestro, for example, is targeting climate neutrality by 2035.”

Leep believes the next opportunity for manufacturing may lie within the Ohio Valley area, noting the region has “a lot of potential” for manufacturing.

“The Marcellus Shale presents an opportunity with the production of natural gas liquids,” Leep noted. “It’s a huge potential for the area as companies look to build where the raw materials are located.”

Leep said Covestro has been actively participating in increasing manufacturing opportunities in the region with its industrial park initiative. The industrial park was created to take advantage of available land and infrastructure in New Martinsville.

“The New Martinsville site has been here for 70 years and has adapted to many changes along the way,” Leep said. “We had a much larger site at one time, and through downsizing, we now concentrate on specialty products tailored to the customer at the industrial park.”

Leep said Covestro has worked closely with the state and the Regional Economic Development office to identify tenants and bring them into the park. He noted that interest among potential tenants has “steadily increased.”

“We talk to many companies looking to build in the United States, and they are targeting this area due to the natural gas liquids,” Leep said. “The challenge for us locally is to show people the exciting careers available in manufacturing and prepare them for those jobs.”

To inform residents about the careers available in manufacturing, Covestro is working with neighboring companies, local community colleges and high schools to introduce residents to available manufacturing careers.

“Although companies may make different products, there is a basic knowledge for everyone entering manufacturing,” Leep said.