Eco-friendly food packaging company opening facility in Martinsburg 

A new eco-friendly food packing company will open a facility in Berkeley County, bringing 600 jobs to the area.

Gov. Jim Justice announced the new economic project Thursday during the West Virginia Chamber Annual Business Summit at his luxury resort, The Greenbrier.

Treplar will invest $50 million into the state and is opening a facility in Martinsburg. Justice said the facility will be up in running in the next couple of months. 

“Treplar is currently testing a new generation of food packing material that is 100% home compostable,” the Republican governor said.

The company mission is to “help food businesses seamlessly transition away from banned single-use plastic to a more sustainable product that benefits our industry — and the planet,” according to its website. 

Treplar makes food retailer trays, plates and more using a technology known as “XPET,” a sustainable solution to hard-to-recycle polystyrene trays.

“Our new project is a catalyst for change,” said Murat Ogulcan, president of Treplar, who thanked the governor for his support. “We found a new home in West Virginia.”

The governor’s office said the company did not receive any incentives to launch in West Virginia.

The summit has so far been packed with economic announcements for the state, including a $800 million restart for the Pleasants Power Plant in St. Marys and a program that looks to keep Marshall and West Virginia University graduates in the state. 

The event, which has been attended by state leaders and business owners, wraps up Friday. 

Many of the announcements have centered on reversing the state’s population decline — the fastest in the country — by providing jobs and incentives to remain in state. 

“What’s going on in this state, it’s absolutely a movement toward jobs and opportunity for our kids,” said Justice, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in the 2024 election. 

Following the announcement, Justice said he was leaving the resort to survey flood damage in the state. The governor declared a state of emergency in five West Virginia counties — Kanawha, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay and Roane counties — because of heavy rain and flooding.