$1.49 million award

Name: Cyclops Industries, Inc.
Address: 432 3rd Ave, South Charleston, WV, 25303, US
Telephone: (304) 744-9486
Price range: $$

RCBI and a broad coalition of partners, including Marshall University’s Creating Opportunities for Recovery Employment (CORE), Region 1, 2 and 3 Workforce Boards in West Virginia, the Greater Ohio Workforce Board, Mountwest Community and Technical College, Rhema Development and Hope Nation as well as private industry partners will launch an innovative, mutifaceted, industry-driven workforce training initiative across the Tri-State region thanks to a $1.49 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Advanced Manufacturing and Construction Skills Training initiative will provide the hands-on education and training needed to put people to work, said Charlotte Weber, RCBI director & CEO. The program will target and retrain workers displaced because of the downturn in this traditionally coal-reliant region as well as individuals recovering from substance use disorders.

As part of the initiative, RCBI will expand the short-term manufacturing training and career skills degree and certificate programs it offers in partnership with Mountwest to train manufacturing technicians for entry level jobs that align with the specific needs of industry. In addition, Mountwest will expand its industrial electronics offerings and provide peer recovery counseling through the Southern West Virginia Collegiate Peer Recovery Network.

The initiative also will team with the soon-to-launch Marshall/Mountwest Aviation Maintenance Technology program to offer additional certifications that not only will enhance students’ aviation education but develop skill sets applicable across a variety of industries.

Through an innovative partnership with Rhema Development and Hope Nation, individuals will be given the opportunity for immediate employment in construction while they learn to build components for prefabricated housing units. Marshall’s CORE program will conduct training for recovering individuals as well as industry human resources teams to assist with employment re-entry for individuals completing the training programs.

“This effort will build upon RCBI’s successful, broad-based workforce development initiatives by leveraging the considerable resources of our multiple partners to deliver flexible, industry-driven training that leads to sustainable employment for participants,” Weber said. “RCBI appreciates the recognition and support provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Appalachian Regional Commission.”

The service area will include Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Putnam and Wayne counties in West Virginia; Boyd, Carter, Greenup and Lawrence counties in Kentucky; and Lawrence County in Ohio.

The initiative is funded through the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative, a joint project of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Appalachian Regional Commission to align workforce development efforts with existing economic development strategies in rural communities hard hit by economic transition.

To learn more about the workforce training options available through the program, contact RCBI’s Carol Howerton at carol.howerton@rcbi.org or 304.781.1680.

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The Year is Underway. Here we go!

By Kim Mack • 01 Feb, 2023

WHO IS THIS SMALL BUSINESS IN WEST VIRGINIA SHIPPING TO 37 COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD. We are a designer and manufacturer of safety sight glasses, viewport assemblies, sight flow indicators, spray rings, sight lights and sight glass replacements for observing processes in industrial pressure vessels and pipelines. Cyclops sight glass provides maximum safety under high pressure, high temperature, corrosive and volatile processing operations. They can withstand a wide thermal shock range and are capable of resisting blow out or rupture. In most applications no packings, compression rings or screws are involved, eliminating costly continuous maintenance. With uncomplicated installation, safety sight glasses use only ASME approved materials and tolerances. During the late 40's, early 50's several localized plant explosions were experienced by a major chemical facility were directly attributed to the failure of conventional or sandwich type sight glasses. As a result, an engineer, my grandfather, Gene LeRoy was given the task of developing a sight glass that when broken, would maintain its integrity and not rupture or blow out, even while under extreme pressure at high temperature. After much trial and error, he hit upon the idea of peripherally sealing the lens assembly instead of vertically clamping and sealing the sight glass against the top and bottom lens gaskets. With a grateful heart, I became the President & Owner in 1999. I have certainly learned a lot along the way. Our company has relationships and customers all over the world. Thank you. Over the last 22 years, we have reinvented ourselves by reaching out to area professionals in business, manufacturing, marketing, branding, and networking. And I feel confident we have positioned our company for 2023 and beyond. Especially after our award-winning year in 2022. We have set our ‘sights’ high for this year. Thank you, Kim Mack, President 800-292-9011