Williamsport was the seventh fastest growing metropolitan area in the nation this year, something the head of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce attributes to the rise of the gas industry atop the Marcellus Shale.
"There were six above us," said Vincent Matteo, chamber president and CEO of the rankings by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. "Four to five, or six, were all energy-related. Energy is where the money is being made.
"The rest of the economy is not good. The national unemployment rate is 9 percent. It was never that high in my lifetime that I've been aware of," he said. "The gas industry) is benefiting us tremendously. That's what is driving the growth."
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. expanded its facility this year. The company began with 5,000 square feet of space at 33 W. Third Street in November 2009 and five employees. By October, it had 30,000 square feet and 63 employees.
Champion Technologies, the second largest privately-owned chemical company in the world, became the first tenant at the natural gas industrial park in Wolf Township. Local officials and developers broke ground Oct. 28 at the 45-acre development at Boak Avenue and Woolen Mill Road.
Resurgence in local economy
The chemical company will use 4 1/2 acres on the development site, and more companies are expected to fill the land within a year or two.
"The number of businesses opening and expanding in Williamsport and Lycoming County during the past 12 months is testament to the fact that we are seeing a resurgence in our local economy, and the positive impact goes beyond job creation," Matteo said.
That includes the recent announcement that the airport authority budget for 2012 will not need to use the cash reserves because of an increase in revenue. The Chamber and its affiliate, Industrial Properties Corp., worked with Exco Resources and Sooner Pipe, both of which are now located on authority land and are paying rent that helps offsets other authority costs.
In July, Moxie Energy officials announced plans to build an $800 million power plant in Clinton Township and another one in Asylum Township, Bradford County.
An average of 200 jobs will be created during the construction of both plants, with a peak of 500 workers. Moxie Liberty construction, in Asylum Township, could begin by the end of 2012 and Moxie Patriot, in Clinton Township, construction could begin by mid-2013. It will take between 32 to 34 months to build each of them.
The permanent job count will be 30 technical jobs.
More than 100 companies located in county
Matteo said in the past three to four years, more than 100 companies located to Lycoming County because of the gas industry. Those companies employed 2,000 to 3,000 people collectively, according to Matteo.
"They may be working in Towanda, but they're based in Lycoming County," Matteo said.
He compared it to an insurance worker who travels all over the Northeast but is considered employed wherever he reports to work, even if he is never there.
Matteo said it is hard to determine how many companies began because of the rock formation.
"I don't count the new Marriott (Hotel), even though we know that's why it was here," he said.
Even after years of growth, Matteo said all indications point to continued growth.
"At the high point, it might slow down a little bit, but not enough to notice," he said. "A lot of companies are moving into Ohio. At some point, it will level off and it will just be based here."
He predicts another 50 years of the gas industry.
"There's so much of it," Matteo said. "We still get companies all of the time, but not at the pace it was."
Back before the gas industry began to move to the area, Matteo said a team was sent to Texas to find out more information.
"We didn't know what to expect," he said. "The gas industry did not know how big it was."
The numbers kept multiplying as they realized there was more gas than they expected, and better quality gas too.
