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Met Pro Packaging pitches expansion, apprenticeships to Hardy County Schools board
Summary
Met Pro Packaging presented as a new business partner, said its Moorefield operation employs about 130 people, outlined plans to expand (including a 35,000-pallet ASRS warehouse), and proposed apprenticeships with local schools and Eastern College to build a skilled local workforce.
Met Pro Packaging, a German-owned packaging company that recently located in Moorefield, presented to the Hardy County Schools board as an official business partner and outlined expansion plans and workforce partnerships.
At the meeting, a company representative introduced as Julian, the company's general manager, described the firm's growth since purchasing a local building about four years ago. "We're now at roughly 130 employees," Julian said, adding that the company intends to expand production and build an automatic storage and retrieval (ASRS) warehouse with capacity "of more than 35,000 pallet spaces." He said expansion could allow the company to double production lines and workforce over time.
Why it matters: Board members and staff said the partnership could create local job opportunities and give schools options for vocational training and apprenticeships. Julian said Met Pro is pursuing an apprenticeship program with Eastern College and wants to work with local vocational programs to recruit and train machine operators, forklift operators and technicians.
Julian told the board that operating the equipment requires lengthy training. "To run these machines and to maintain these machines...you need skilled labor," he said, noting training can take "months or years." He listed near-term hiring needs that include machine operators, a purchasing manager, a warehouse manager and an accounting assistant. The company said applications arrive through Indeed but it prefers online applications via its website.
Board members asked about facility tours and proprietary technology. The company said visits would be possible but restricted: no photographs or video would be allowed because of proprietary equipment. Julian also described the company's European origins and its U.S. headquarter town name: "the town that we're out of is called Morbach," he said, adding that the Moorefield site was chosen because of similarity to that hometown.
The board welcomed the partnership and applauded the company's interest in local training and apprenticeships. Staff and trustees discussed exploring vocational ties between Met Pro and county training programs to supply skilled labor as the plant expands.
What happens next: The board formally recognized Met Pro as a business partner and will follow up on vocational and apprenticeship coordination between the company, schools and local postsecondary partners.
