Contract Extended for Scrap Recycler

The Pease Development Authority, which is in charge of attracting private business to the Portsmouth, N.H., area, has extended its contract with Grimmel Industries to operate at the Port of Portsmoth for an additional year. The contract will run until June 30, 2007. The company has operated at the port for around 5 years. The one-year contract is the typical length the PDA issues, according to David Mullen, interim director for the PDA.

According to local reports the vote went 5-1 in favor of extending the Grimmel contract. Grimmel, headquartered in Maine, uses the portside location as a staging area to load ferrous metal onto vessels for shipment on the water.

While some critics of the operation have pointed out dust that was caused by the scrap company’s operations, Mullen noted that "Grimmel has been very good at taking suggestions." As for the issue of blowing rust, Mullen notes that the company has begun spraying down the metal piles, which reduces the amount of metal dust.

While PDA board members are interested in diversifying the fairly small port facility, the opinion is that the economics of bring in containerized cargo is, at the present time, fairly costly, and the scrap yard was a more easily applicable operation.