West Virginia Aqua

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Location:

Man, WV

County:

Logan

Description:

Building Renovation & Equipment Acquisition

Total Project Cost:

$800,000

People:

West Virginia Aqua, LLC is an aquaculture company that was founded in 1999 and markets arctic char under the name of Isis Arctic Char. Its grow-out fish culture facility was located several hours from a processing plant that had limited processing and storage capabilities. These inefficiencies limited production capacity and the potential for growth. The company decided they needed a modern processing plant located near the grow-out facility to be more successful and began evaluating their options.

A suitable 5,000 square foot building was discovered within five miles of the grow-out facility and several innovative funding sources were pulled together to make to project the viable. The Logan County Development Authority became the vehicle to finance the project because the equity was coming from two government grants. This project is a good example of private and public cooperation resulting in economic development.

Role of NCIF:

The Logan County Development Authority requested NCIF’s participation in its project to renovate a 5,000 square foot building and purchase state-of-the-art fish processing equipment, which would be leased to West Virginia Aqua, LLC. NCIF provided $150,000 of the $800,000 needed to complete this project. Prior to this project, NCIF provided technical assistance with the design and construction of the company's fingerling hatchery and provided system design assistance with the grow-out facility, as well as training of key staff in the production area.

Impact:

The state of the art fish processing facility will allow the company to increase processing capabilities by 15% and increase production, which will result in the future addition of a second grow facility. The new processing facility is capable of processing two million pounds of whole fish per year and a thirteen jobs will be added as a result of this project.

Company Website:

http://www.isisarcticchar.com/