Waelz kiln in Indiana slated for 2020 startup

Waelz Sustainable Products LLC plans to build a waelz kiln facility for the recovery of zinc oxide in Muncie, Indiana. The company is a joint venture between Heritage Environmental Services LLC, Indianapolis, and Zinc Nacional, Monterrey, Mexico, which formed in August 2018.

According to an Inside INdiana Business news release, Waelz Sustainable Products plans to invest $75 million in a 30-acre kiln facility at the former BorgWarner campus in Muncie. The project is expected to create about 90 jobs over the next few years.

Nigel Morrison, president of Heritage’s subsidiary PIZO Technologies, says the company decided to locate the facility in the Midwest because that is where most of the raw material that would be used at the facility is generated. He adds that other criteria considered included rail access, road access, utilities and access to workforce. 

Inside INdiana Business reports that demolition at the BorgWarner campus already started as of the second week of January. Waelz Sustainable Products plans to break ground on the facility early this year and be operational by late 2020. The facility will be used to produce zinc oxide from steel mill byproducts. When fully operational, it will be able to process about 100,000 tons of raw material each year.