SOUTH CHARLESTON: AVN Corporation has acquired Mid-Atlantic Technology & Innovation Center (MATRIC), a strategic research and development (R&D) partner for companies in the chemicals and advanced software technologies industries.

AVN Corporation acquired all of the operations and assets of MATRIC, including all technology, patents and facilities.

All MATRIC employees were transitioned to AVN in the same roles they previously held. MATRIC, the 501c3 non-profit entity, will continue its efforts on fostering economic development in the Kanawha Valley.

AVN Corporation is an employee-owned, for-profit company founded by senior executive leadership Steven B. Hedrick, Elton Bond, John “Jack” P. Dever, Ph.D., and John T. Miesner in 2022.

All employees received shares in AVN, and MATRIC, the non-profit entity, will have a small ownership stake, with the holdings expected to further fund charitable works in the future.

“This is an exciting day for our company, our employees and our customers. This year, we will celebrate our 20th anniversary of operation under a new name and legal structure, but with the same commitment to delivering excellence to our customers around the world,” said Hedrick, AVN CEO.

“Previously, our non-profit status was impeding our ability to grow, and our name use was restricted. With a new name and legal structure, we have the ability to pursue new avenues of operation and market penetration. We will build off our company’s strong heritage in West Virginia and the science and technology communities, while charting a new course for growth. I am absolutely certain that our visionary founder, Dr. George Keller, would be thrilled with this development.”

The transaction was completed January 1, 2023. Financial details were not disclosed.

“For years, AVN Corporation has been an innovation mainstay in our great state, comprising some of the smartest and most talented chemical engineers, chemists and scientists,” said U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

“I am thrilled they are expanding their footprint and look forward to the exciting work they will do in the decades to come.”

“When this company was founded in 2003 in an effort to retain talent in the Kanawha Valley, no one could have known what the future would look like twenty years later,” U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said.

“In their previous configuration, the company’s accomplishments in the areas of science and technology have far exceeded anyone’s expectations, which I have been proud to support. Most recently, their work to establish a Center of Excellence for chemical process design, along with their partners, underscores the talent and expertise that is housed within this organization. I look forward watching AVN Corporation grow and wish them continued success moving forward.”

AVN will continue to operate at its South Charleston and Morgantown, W.Va., locations. MATRIC, the nonprofit entity, will be governed by an independent volunteer board of directors.

“We are very grateful to the talented professionals at AVN who have added nearly $200 million to the local economy over the past two decades. We looked forward to seeing even greater achievements from them. MATRIC will now refocus our efforts on our core mission,” said Bill Goode, MATRIC Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“As we look forward to exciting times, we remember great leaders like Dr. George Keller, Newton Thomas and Dwight Sherman.”