Purple Land Management Comes to Ohio’s “Utica Capital”
In the heart of Ohio’s Utica Shale lays Canton— a city dubbed “The Utica Capital” by Mayor William Healy. The Mayor has done everything he can to promote the City of Canton and encourage the energy industry to make his city their home.
Back in April, the city hosted the Oil & Gas Business Development Seminar, designed to educate the local business community about oil and natural gas development. At the event, Mayor Healy emphasized that Canton is ready to embrace the industry – and the city has certainly followed suit. Companies like Timken and Chesapeake Energy have accepted the invitation and are providing a pivotal role in the city’s economic revival. Recently, the Timken Company broke ground on their $225 million dollar expansion at the Faircrest steel mill right down the road in Perry Township.
Recently, EID-Ohio met with another newcomer to Canton, Purple Land Management. PLM is a lease acquisition, project management and title firm. Founded by Jesse Hejny and Bryan Cortney in Fort Worth, Texas, the young company took notice of the incredible potential of Ohio’s energy resources and headed north to open their new regional headquarters in Canton.
As the company has rapidly expanded operations here in the heartland, they have helped expand job opportunities for Ohioans across the state. Working with local universities, the group has sought out and employed local prospects from northeast Ohio to grow their business. If there is one thing Ohio has no shortage of, it’s hard working folks looking for greater opportunity, and they are finding that at Purple Land Management.
Energy in Depth – Ohio sat down with President and Co-Founder Jesse Henjy and some of the company’s local staff. Lucky for us, they were happy to share their experiences of newfound opportunities discovered at Purple Land Management and brought about by the increasing development of Ohio’s Utica Shale.
Nathan McIntyre, originally from New Philadelphia, has “been around here [his] entire life”. He specializes in computer and GIS based mapping, which he says didn’t provide many opportunities in Ohio…until now. He explains that the growing energy industry has transformed the area and provided many new opportunities, not only for him, but the region as a whole.
With your big employers like Timken and now Chesapeake moving in, I mean, it’s an entirely different world—Nathan McIntyre.
Another New Philadelphia native, Ashley Castille discussed how Canton has now become a hub or center of development thanks to the Utica Shale.
I know that in terms of local economy, a lot of local businesses have been impacted positively—Ashley Castille
Troy Tice, a Salem native and Bowling Green State University graduate, shares how he believes he has been able to connect with the community by working for an industry that can help so many.
I know a lot of the people where I work, and I feel like I’m actually helping my friends and family—Troy Tice
With the community and it’s workforce getting a first hand look at the positive impact of shale development, it seems it will only be a matter of time until more companies look to make Canton their home, and join in the effort to put Ohioans back to work.
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