Rebeca Romero Rainey, president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA), was the special guest at a small business celebration in Clarksburg at Engine Management Specialist, LLC.

 

The event, which highlighted the success between Engine Management Specialist, LLC and its local community bank, Clear Mountain Bank, was held just as Romero Rainey and community bankers across the state joined the annual convention of the Community Bankers of West Virginia (CBWV), which kicked off last week in nearby Roanoke. 

 

At the event and facility tour, guests learned of expansion plans for the Engine Management Specialist, LLC facility. The plans are to grow its business, allow for greater production volume, invest in its staff, and further contribute to the local community. 

 

Established in 2003, Engine Management Specialist, LLC is an aircraft management specialist serving a unique and important market segment. Since its inception, Engine Management Specialist, LLC, with two current West Virginia facilities, has been an industry expert on Pratt and Whitney jet turbine engines including turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft engines. The team has extensive experience with providing significant turbine-engine work such as Overhaul (OH), Hot Section Inspection (HSI) and other major repairs. 

 

EMS has a total of 20 workers with a shop in Clarksburg as well as an inventory facility in Bridgeport. The facility expansion, according to MetroNews, is for a 40,000 square foot building on Route 19 South in Clarksburg and could add 75 additional employees.

 

“I’m proud and honored to be in West Virginia today to celebrate the successful community banking relationship between Clear Mountain Bank and EMS,” said Romero Rainey. “The dedication of our community banks in support of local businesses like EMS is vital to the communities our members serve, and today’s announcement of its expansion plans underscore the foundational and positive impact that community banks have in growing small businesses and local economies nationwide.”

 

Those gathered highlighted the vital role of community banks in channeling local dollars to support community and economic development and job creation. Community banks know and understand their customers and have a shared goal of success not only for the customer, but for the community at large. Local reinvestment helps business, communities and individual households realize their dreams of financial security with their community bank as their partner. 

 

“Community banks and small business have long been tied to a healthy community,” said Donna Tanner, president and CEO, CBWV. “The success of EMS and Clear Mountain Bank showcases the collaboration that is happening all across West Virginia.”

 

The event was hosted by FHLBank Pittsburgh, which provided a portion of the funding to finance the purchase of real estate needed for the new business through its Banking On Business (BOB) program. BOB offers qualified small businesses access to secondary loans that supplement the primary loans made by FHLBank member financial institutions. Clear Mountain Bank, a member of FHLBank Pittsburgh, secured the BOB funding and provided additional financing to support the businesses’ operations. 

 

Engine Management Specialist, LLC owner and president Tim Critchfield commented, “It is a privilege to showcase the work of our organization today and to announce our expansion plans for the organization. This is more than a celebration for us; today’s events highlight the work of our team and our ability to provide vital resources to the turbine engine industry. I am really proud of what our team has been able to accomplish.”

 

Engine Management Specialist, LLC used FHLBank Pittsburgh’s BOB program through Clear Mountain Bank to help with their expansion plans. The new business will process individual parts from aircraft engines and recertify them under an FAA/OEM standard. The BOB loan, which was funded in June 2021, helped to support the total project cost of nearly $1 million. Since its inception in 2000, FHLBank’s BOB program has provided $7.29 million in financing to 87 businesses in West Virginia. These funds helped create and retain nearly 700 jobs in the state.

 

Jessicah Cross, Field Representative, U.S. Senator Shelly Moore Capito and Michael Garcia, Regional Coordinator for U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined the group in addition to former ICBA chairman, Tim Zimmerman, who is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of FHLBank’s member institution Standard Bank, and Mike Frazier, EMS General Manager.

Editor's Note: Shown in the photo on the far left are Tim Critchfield, President and Owner, Engine Management Specialist, LLC with FHLBank staff members, while on the right side of the banner showing planned expansion is Dave Thomas, Senator Capito staff and Mike Frazier, and Senator Manchin staff.