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Inventors to gather in South Charleston

Jim Strawn • Mar 01, 2022

Will you be there?

Just like our founder, Gene LeRoy, inventors have been backbone of progression for centuries.

Are you an Inventor?

Our partners at RCBI are having very special event for you.

Learn more below:


nventors from across the Mountain State will gather this spring in South Charleston for an inaugural meeting of the minds.

The West Virginia Inventors Society (WVIS) will launch April 21 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the West Virginia Regional Technology Park. The brainchild of businessmen and entrepreneurs Linwood Hamilton and Brian Joseph, WVIS will provide a forum for inventors at all stages of the development process to network, evaluate each another’s ideas, connect to entrepreneurial resources and potentially secure investors.


“Not only do we want to invite seasoned inventors to participate, but anyone who has an idea for an invention that they’d like to vet,” Hamilton explained. “We also welcome service providers, intellectual property experts, community lenders, angel investors and others who can help move ideas from concept to commercialization.”

The event will be hosted by the Tech Park, the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) at Marshall University and West Virginia Executive magazine.


“We at RCBI are excited to be involved in the creation of the West Virginia Inventors Society,” said Derek Scarbro, RCBI deputy director. “Our clients, many of whom are inventors and entrepreneurs, frequently mention the need for such a group, one in which like-minded individuals can interact, brainstorm and share best practices. This is another important way for us to support product development and innovation in West Virginia.”


To attend the free WVIS kickoff, register at www.rcbi.org/inventors. For more information, contact Scarbro at 304.781.1684.


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WHO IS THIS SMALL BUSINESS IN WEST VIRGINIA SHIPPING TO 37 COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD. We are a designer and manufacturer of safety sight glasses, viewport assemblies, sight flow indicators, spray rings, sight lights and sight glass replacements for observing processes in industrial pressure vessels and pipelines. Cyclops sight glass provides maximum safety under high pressure, high temperature, corrosive and volatile processing operations. They can withstand a wide thermal shock range and are capable of resisting blow out or rupture. In most applications no packings, compression rings or screws are involved, eliminating costly continuous maintenance. With uncomplicated installation, safety sight glasses use only ASME approved materials and tolerances. During the late 40's, early 50's several localized plant explosions were experienced by a major chemical facility were directly attributed to the failure of conventional or sandwich type sight glasses. As a result, an engineer, my grandfather, Gene LeRoy was given the task of developing a sight glass that when broken, would maintain its integrity and not rupture or blow out, even while under extreme pressure at high temperature. After much trial and error, he hit upon the idea of peripherally sealing the lens assembly instead of vertically clamping and sealing the sight glass against the top and bottom lens gaskets. With a grateful heart, I became the President & Owner in 1999. I have certainly learned a lot along the way. Our company has relationships and customers all over the world. Thank you. Over the last 22 years, we have reinvented ourselves by reaching out to area professionals in business, manufacturing, marketing, branding, and networking. And I feel confident we have positioned our company for 2023 and beyond. Especially after our award-winning year in 2022. We have set our ‘sights’ high for this year. Thank you, Kim Mack, President 800-292-9011
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