MRC Global to close Nitro warehouse; 38 jobs impacted

NITRO, W.Va. — MRC Global announced Tuesday that it’s closing the company’s regional distribution center in Nitro at the end of the year impacting 38 workers.

The company, formerly known as McJunkin Red Man, is realigning its regional distribution centers in the northeast to support the company’s growing business in the Marcellus and Utica shales. According to a company release from Karl Witt, MRC Global Senior Vice President, the realignment will mean a new smaller branch location in the Kanawha Valley.

“Many of the 38 employees impacted will be offered positions at our new location or another MRC Global facility,” Witt’s statement said. “Although the Nitro RDC will close, West Virginia remains an important area for MRC Global, and our large Corporate Operations Center in Charleston is not impacted by this realignment. Immediately following these changes, we will operate three facilities and employ approximately 300 people in West Virginia.”

MRC Global, which is based in Houston, Texas, is a leading global distributor of pipe, valve and fitting, products and services to the energy and industrial markets.

The Nitro location will close in December. According to company officials, a site has not been chosen for the new branch location. It will house sales reps and a warehouse with some inventory. The company is expanding its distribution center in Monessen, Pennsylvania.