Hardy County among best in West Virginia for business growth

MOOREFIELD, Wv. (WHSV) – Business is booming in Hardy County West Virginia. A report released on Tuesday by the office of West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner shows Hardy County had the second most business growth in the state in the month of May.

That follows a trend of significant growth in the county over the last few years.

“You see big companies coming in but, in addition to that, you see smaller entrepreneurs stepping up, and they’re starting their own businesses in addition to that, which is very important,” said Hardy County Commissioner Stephen Schetrom.

Hardy County has seen a number of new businesses open up over the last two years. That includes large manufacturers, like the Mettler Packaging Plant in Moorefield, which was over a $48 million investment that created 100 new jobs. Christopher Peacock Cabinetry is another new facility in Wardensville, which was around a $5 million investment that is creating 48 new jobs.

The county has also welcomed small businesses, like The Glass House florist in Moorefield.

“Our goal and our focus is to do retention and then expansion. We want to retain the industries that we currently have and then we want to expand,” said Mallie Combs, Executive Director of the Hardy County Rural Development Authority. “For every 100 manufacturing jobs you create and retain, you create service sector, and that’s also what we’re seeing right now is the service sector growth which is great, and that’s part of what we’re working to achieve.”

Combs and the development authority work with local businesses to provide resources and support as needed. It also provides entrepreneurial education in Hardy County schools and helps businesses secure funding and grant permitting for projects.

“If you locate in Hardy, we’re a member of your team if you’re in industry, but we’re not on your payroll. So, we’re going to do whatever we can to assure your success and when the industry is successful so is our county,” she said. “We’re small enough, and if you have a need as a business, we will work to help you address and achieve. As I had said earlier when the business is successful so is Hardy County.”

Combs said the county has also used C.A.R.E.S. funding for a new business park. Hardy County has taken many steps in recent years to improve its business environment.

“You have a very attractive environment for someone to come in and start a business. The taxes are very low, the cost of living is very low, we have a college right here, Eastern West Virginia Community Technical College that right now is working on getting funding to start up an excavation training program,” said Schetrom.

Schetrom noted that Hardy County has a much lower cost of living than neighboring counties like Fredrick, Rockingham, and Shenandoah County, Virginia as well as Berkley and Jefferson Counties in West Virginia.

In addition to adding new businesses, Hardy County has seen growth and expansion from existing businesses like Teets Cattle Company, which added a butcher shop, restaurant, and other recreation and retail options over the last two years.

“It’s made a huge impact. Before we built the butcher shop, we used to sell some retail meat here off the farm out of an old barn we have down here. It’s gone crazy since we built the butcher shop as far as the retail meat and the farm fresh meat we raise and sell through the butcher shop. I mean I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s just been totally 100-fold in those two years,” said Matt Teets, Owner of Teets Cattle Company.

The butcher shop is located directly across the road from the Teets family farm. It includes a golf simulator, gift shop, and the business plans to offer more agritourism options in the future.

“We’re obviously close to the D.C. area, Northern Virginia, and a lot of those folks come back here on weekends. They get Airbnb’s and just come back here to relax and enjoy the weekend. That’s a lot of our business, they come here on the weekends and take the meat back for the week,” said Teets.

Teets said that Hardy County has been a great place to do business.

“Taxes are reasonable for sure for a business owner and like I said there is just a lot of traffic going through here in and out from the Harrisonburg area, Roanoke, over to D.C., anyone going west uses this highway a lot,” he said.

Mallie Combs said that agriculture and agritourism are both growing in Hardy County.

“There’s a lot of destination agriculture in the Wardensville area as well as farmer’s markets, and it’s not just a roadside. It actually is a destination. That also is a growth area,” she said. “Agriculture is a very strong component within our county as well, not only is poultry but it’s dairy and a lot of other types but it also creates diversification. The more diversified you are as a county the more successful you can be.”

As Hardy County continues to grow and looks to keep its business climate strong, it is working to improve infrastructure. The county recently broke ground on a new health department.

“Costs have increased dramatically over the last five years with inflation. So there is a huge need for continuous investment in services, but when you have growth it allows for the ability to do that,” said Schetrom.

The county has also taken steps to improve its internet infrastructure over the years.

“The fact that we have fiber optics in Hardy County makes us a lot more attractive not only from a business perspective but also from a residential perspective,” said Combs.

Schetrom said the biggest challenge to attracting new businesses in the past has been the county’s small population. However, he said the county is continuing to see its population increase year over year, which is encouraging although the county hopes to see that number increase a little bit faster.

With this Schetrom said that one of the top priorities for the county is adding more housing. The county has created a housing task force and there are currently more apartments being built in Moorefield.

“Already the business environment for startups is very good. I mean a key thing is labor force, so that’s why the housing, that’s why the focus on housing because you have to have housing for people in order to have more workers to move in,” said Schetrom.

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