Green Metals Opening Delayed

A scrap metal recycling center originally set to open its doors several weeks ago in Eleanor Industrial Park in Charleston, W.V., has been delayed a couple of months but should be open for business by early July, a company official said. Green Metals didn't meet its initial plan to open its new scrap metal processing center by early May because the company decided to expand its function to be more of a "full- service recycler for the entire area," said Steve Cecil, vice president of Green Metals.

The scrap metal processing company then expected to complete construction early this month, but consistently poor weather has made it difficult to finish construction, said Gary Walton, executive director of the Putnam County Development Authority. "It's a slop hole around there," Walton said.

Walton said concrete is difficult to pour in the rain. Groundwork can't be done if the ground is muddy because it doesn't settle right, he said.

Cecil said the weather - from the harsh winter to the rainy spring - had a significant impact on the company's ability to finish the facility.

Walton didn't seem too concerned, however. "It's just one of the things you get into when you're trying to build something I guess," Walton said.

Cecil said the facility is now to the point that it is entirely protected from the elements - barring severe flooding - so that the inside of the building is now dry enough for construction to continue. He expects the center will open its doors in early July.

Green Metals specializes in environmentally safe scrap metal processing. "Our role is to accumulate, process and coordinate the flow of material from the generator to the ultimate consumer," Cecil said.

Cecil said the business is environmentally friendly because the scrap materials are totally enclosed in the facility, keeping any fluids inherent to manufacturing off the ground and out of the water supply. Many processors store scrap metal uncovered and on the ground.

"In the past, it's been a situation that the industry standards were to take it and dump on the ground," Cecil said. "That's not what the accepted practice should be any longer and that's what Green Metals is attempting to change."

Most of Green Metals' initial business will be with the Toyota plant in Buffalo, three miles away.

Green Metals is jointly owned by Toyota Tsusho; Toyota Tsusho America; ARK; and Nakadaya.

Toyota Tsusho is the trading company within the Toyota Group. ARK, a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho, provides collection, processing and sales for industrial waste and recyclable materials, according to the Web site.

Nakadaya is one of the largest scrap metal processors in Japan.

Green Metals hauls scrap metal every day from the Toyota plant to its processing center in Georgetown, Ky., about 180 miles away. The new site at Eleanor is only about three miles from the Toyota plant, Walton said.

Cecil said the center would initially employ 10 to 12 people. Some of these people are already employed in hauling the scrap metal to Georgetown. Cecil said although the new plant may not directly produce new jobs, it will "continue to save" those jobs.

Although most of Green Metals' initial business will be with Toyota, Cecil said the company is also in negotiations with several local firms.

Walton said the business is a great addition to the county.

"They're servicing primarily the Toyota facility, but that opens the door for other activities," he said.

Cecil said the environmental friendliness of Green Metals may be a good recruiting tool for the state to bring in new businesses.

"It's a resource the state can use to utilize to calm any concerns the company may have to environmentally dispose of their waste," Cecil said.

Green Metals was awarded a state economic development grant for $100,000 to extend a railroad spur to the processing plant.  Charleston Daily Mail