Financing Boosts Indiana Plastics Recycling Plant

A Michigan-based plastics company has received a $1 million, zero-interest loan from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) that will help it equip its new recycled plastics consuming facility in Hartford City, Ind.

Petoskey Plastics Inc. (PPI), Petoskey, Mich., has announced an agreement with IDEM for a $1 million Recycling Promotion and Assistance Fund (RPAF) Attraction Loan. The company will use the RPAF loan to expand production capacity at the new plant for both post-consumer and post-industrial polyethylene film and bag scrap to be converted into a recycled-resin plastic.  

The plastics manufacturer is investing more than $8 million into the 280,000 square foot Hartford City facility. The company makes polyethylene film and bags for products ranging from automotive supplies to consumer products sold through major retailers.

 “The Hartford City plant is a key component of Petoskey Plastics’ closed loop recycling systems approach that diverts and recycles landfill-bound plastic waste for use in our products,” says president and co-founder Paul Keiswetter. “We greatly appreciate IDEM’s recognition of the environmental value of this facility through the approval of this loan.”

Keiswetter adds that the company chose Indiana for the recycling facility because of its central location near generated recyclables, and that the company is aggressively working to develop feeder markets in Indiana and other parts of the country.

The new plant will convert recycled material into a pellet that can replace virgin resin used by PPI and other end users in the manufacturing of polyethylene bags and film.

The RPAF Attraction Loan program encourages companies to expand their markets for priority materials processed in Indiana by offering zero-percent loans of up to $1 million for equipment purchases.

“I applaud PPI’s commitment to protecting the environment and its contribution to economic development in Indiana,” says Thomas W. Easterly, IDEM commissioner.

Keiswetter said work is progressing on the conversion of the former Overhead Doors facility to the new PPI recycling facility, and the company is anticipating an April 1, 2007 opening.

More information about PPI can be found at www.petoskeyplastics.com.