Rotarians Tour New Driftwood Plant

Emporium Rotarian Dick Sebring, second from left, welcomes the Gooches (from left, Mike, Ryan and Clay) to Cameron County and hands them Rotary's Certificate of Appreciation for taking part in last Tuesday's program.

Members of the Emporium Rotary Club took a road trip this week.

Their destination: the new Pa. Pellet & Millwork Inc. plant in Driftwood.

Things are on the move at the facility, with flooring and moldings already being produced. Production of wood pellets will follow in a separate building. The owners are working with public agencies on a plan to extend a railroad siding to the plant,

allowing more efficient delivery of products to the market.

The Gooch family of Coudersport are the principals. They've worked with Emporium's Bill Bogart, a small business consultant, from the outset.

Rotarians were welcomed by CEO Ryan Gooch and his father, Mike Gooch, who's handling much of the administrative workload at Pa. Pellet & Millwork, along with Ryan's brother, Clay Gooch.

Ryan Gooch majored in wood product technology at Penn State and was employed in the western states before returning to Pennsylvania to start the Driftwood plant. Mike Gooch holds a degree from Robert Morris College.

The touring Rotarians thanked the Gooches for their investment in the Cameron County economy and wished them well.

In other business, Rotary members agreed to sponsor another bench at the Memorial Park.