Padnos Expands into Indiana

The recycling company Padnos, based in Holland, Mich., has announced plans to open a plastics recycling facility in Fremont, Ind., that will operate under the name Padnos Plastics Solutions Inc. It will be the first operation for the company outside of Michigan. When operational, the Fremont facility will be the second Padnos facility dedicated to plastics recycling; the company’s Wyoming, Mich., facility also processes plastic scrap.

The empty building Padnos has acquired is 120,000 square feet and is located in northern Indiana, near a number of Padnos’ industrial and commercial customers. The location, the company says, is close enough that the company expects to see sizable reductions in freight expenses. 

Ben Irwin, Padnos director of finance, says the company hopes to have the facility operational by early next year. The facility will target primarily postindustrial plastics for grinding, compounding and pelletizing.

Jeff Padnos, president of Padnos, says, “Growing into Indiana was a natural move for our plastics business. We service multiple vendors and customers in the area, and we also have great partners in this region. Our plastics plant in Michigan has reached full capacity, and it made a lot of sense to go somewhere far, but not too far. Indiana is known to be a great place to do business and the initial experience with the local municipality is proving that notion accurate. Everyone is making us feel incredibly welcome and that gives us confidence that we made the right decision.”

“In an increasingly competitive environment, Indiana is winning jobs and investment because we’ve built the best possible environment for business growth,” says Victor Smith, Indiana Secretary of Commerce. “Whether it’s across the country or around the globe, Indiana’s positive story is being heard. Companies find that our low cost of doing business, growing infrastructure and proximity to a large base of manufacturers make Indiana a state that works.”

Padnos’ Irwin also speaks in positive terms about the working relationship the company has had with Indiana. “It has been an absolutely wonderful experience working with the state.”

To assist the company, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) offered the company up to $75,000 in conditional tax credits and up to $40,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. The tax credits are performance based and the company is not eligible to claim incentives until it begins hiring residents. The town of Fremont approved additional incentives at the request of the Steuben County Economic Development Corp.

Padnos handles ferrous and nonferrous metals, paper and plastics. Irwin says the company has diversified to offer a full menu of services for its customers.

The city of Fremont will be hosting a meeting to discuss a possible exception for Padnos to operate at the location. The Fremont Redevelopment Commission also will hold a tax abatement meeting to discuss whether or not to offer the company tax abatement.