Craig Howell PROVIDING AN UPDATE – John Chisholm, plant manager for Bidell Gas Compression's Weirton facility, spoke before members of the Weirton Rotary Club Wednesday, discussing the company's ongoing expansion in the city.

WEIRTON – Since opening its doors in the Ohio Valley in 2017, Bidell Gas Compression has seen opportunity for growth – both for the company and the community – and that’s not stopping any time soon.

“We’re not going anywhere,” John Chisholm, plant manager for Bidell’s Weirton-based fabrication operation, said Wednesday while speaking before members of the Weirton Rotary Club.

The Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based company first opened its doors in Weirton in September 2017, investing $3 million into a 100,000-square-foot facility once used as a machine shop by Weirton Steel Corp. and some of its successor companies.

The Weirton location – the company’s lone U.S. fabricator – is tasked with building compressor units for use in the oil and natural gas industry, with Chisholm noting approximately 80% of its business is located in the Tri-State Area.

Continuously increasing business has led the company to expand its footprint in recent months.

“We broke ground last month on a new facility,” he noted of the 30,000-square-foot building currently under construction next to Bidell’s existing fabrication plant on North Main Street between Avenue D and Avenue F.

The expansion was first announced last November during the Governor’s Energy Summit, organized by the state Office of Energy, when Gov. Patrick Morrisey touted a planned $7 million investment by the company, which included a $1 million performance-based loan package.

Once completed in October, the new building will be used for the assembly of units, while the existing one will focus on fabrication of the compressors. Chisholm anticipates the need to hire 40 to 45 new employees to begin operations, with between 40 and 50 more added in the coming two to three years.

That will be in addition to the roughly 125 already working in Weirton for Bidell.

While Bidell has continued relationships with many area high schools and community colleges, no formal training from those schools, specifically for the company, has been offered in several years, with Bidell now opting to provide such opportunities for training employees on its own.

“We’re doing more in-house training,” Chisholm said, explaining the company is planning to eventually start up its own apprenticeship program, similar to what had been offered through West Virginia Northern Community College when the company first began production in Weirton.

It’s not the only expansion project for Bidell, though, as Chisholm noted the company already has completed a $1.8 million sandblasting and painting facility.

“They believe in Weirton,” he said of the company.

Their order books for 2026 are full, with production plans for 2027 nearing capacity, he said.

Weirton Assistant City Manager DeeAnn Pulliam, also a member of Weirton Rotary, expressed the city’s appreciation for Bidell’s commitment to the city and region.

“It’s always good to hear they want to continue to expand,” Pulliam said.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com

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