Photo | Michael Browning
John White III of White Armature in Mallory, second from left, explains to a crowd of more than 60 people about rebuilding electric motors for coal mines at the Logan County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours last night. Standing beside White, at far left, is Delegate Rupert “Rupie” Phillips, who is the sales manager for White Armature.
MALLORY — More than 60 people attended last night’s Logan County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, which was hosted by White Armature in Mallory.
Chamber Director Debrina Williams said the turnout and food — cooked by Delegate Rupert “Rupie” Phillips — was great.
“I think people enjoyed learning about all that White Armature does,” she said. “It was also a great chance for business owners to network and learn about each other’s businesses.
“It was a good opportunity for people who really weren’t sure about what White Armature does to come and see for themselves. It was very educational. People got to take a tour of the business and talk to the staff and management and everyone seemed to have a great time.”
Williams said there had been several new people join the Logan County Chamber of Commerce lately and this was their chance to learn about other businesses.
White Armature’s John White III spoke before dinner was served.
White said the company had grown from just a one-man business in his grandfather’s basement to having around 70 employees and doubling the size of the current facility. He said the company serves coal mines in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and as far away as Illinois.
“We’ve continued to grow,” White said. “We now have roughly 70 employees and mainly what we do is rebuild electric motors for the coal mining industry. The majority of it is for underground mining. We do quite a bit of highwall mining systems. We do everything. The motors come in, we tear them down, we clean them out, burn them out and rewind the armatures and we, basically, from A to Z, do the complete rebuilds on the motors.”
White said that all of the motors wrapped in plastic and sitting on the many shelves around the facility were ready to be sent to mines. He said the company also has many electric motors, on consignment, sitting in mine warehouses waiting to be used.
“They can pull the motor off the shelf if one goes down, instead of waiting one or two hours for us to get there, they can just pull it off the shelf and we can pick up the bad one for a rebuild.”
Delegate Phillips has been with White Armature since 2000. He is currently the sales manager.
He said the owners of the business treat him like family.
“It’s a great company to work for,” Phillips said. “They are big supporters of the coal industry, just like myself and everyone in this room.”
John White II praised his employees.
“We have good employees, a good team of people here,” John White II said.
“There’s over 100 years of experience right here in the shop,” Phillips said.
John White III introduced staff and employees at White Armature before everyone broke for dinner, which included barbecue ribs, grilled chicken, cabbage, baked beans, barbecue pork, cooked potatoes and homemade desserts.
To contact Staff Writer Michael Browning, call 304-752-6950, extension 309, or email him at mbrowning@loganbanner.com.
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