Ohio Sand Turns to Gold as Drilling Boom Comes to Buckeye State
Rob Sidley is sitting on a gold mine, thanks to Mother Nature. His family-owned company produces the special sand needed for the drilling boom in Ohio’s deep layer of Utica shale. The sand is perfect for the hydraulic fracturing process which uses force to open cracks in the shale and free up natural gas, oil and other lucrative products. … Sidley declined to reveal how much fracking sand his company is expecting to produce, but the company annually produces 400,000 to 500,000 tons of sand and gravel from its 1,800-acre operation with its 150 employees. (Akron Beacon Journal, 12/26/11)
Uniform Supplier: Shale Drilling Helps our Sales
Gas companies from around the nation have come for the Marcellus Shale, but area businesses also have profited this year. One example of the ancillary growth, Jody Rogers, partner of Rogers Uniforms with his mother, Margie, noticed a change in the business at the beginning of the year. He said he stocks the store with what customers want, and just having one worker from the gas industry was not enough to start stocking their uniforms. … "At this point, with nothing at the beginning of the year, (gas industry clothes are) 25 percent of the business, just in a short time," Rogers said. "I predict it will double next year to 40 to 50 percent of the business." Growth of the business has meant increases in staff and changes in the way the business is run, Rogers said. (Sun-Gazette, 12/25/11)
Technology Center to Provide Training for Marcellus Shale Industry
Workers eyeing a career in the Marcellus Shale industry need look no further than the Somerset County Technology Center. … "We're talking about a chance at very good, high-paying jobs," [Tom Wojcicki, adult education coordinator for the Somerset County Technology Center] said. "The industry has a huge demand for workers and the drilling companies are investing in the work force." … Wojcicki said many Marcellus Shale industry positions begin at a wage of $20 per hour. ShaleNET training graduates could make more than $70,000 within the first year, he added. "They're not easy jobs and the industry is very demanding," Wojcicki said. "But it's a tremendous opportunity." (Daily American, 12/23/11)
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