Perpetual Recycling Solutions (PRS) is close to announcing plans to open a new plastic recycling facility in Richmond, Ind. The new production facility is expected to create up to 55 jobs by 2012.
Established as Pure Tech Plastics LLC in 1989, the company converts plastic bottles into flake and resin pellets to be used in food and beverage packaging.
In a release, the company says it plans to invest more than $25 million at the former General Aluminum building in Richmond, which was vacated in 2008. The building will give the company roughly 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
However, a spokeswoman for Perpetual says that while the company has picked the location for its proposed plastics recycling plant, the decision is not quite official.
When fully operational, the plant is expected to process about 130 million pounds of plastics per year. Perpetual Recycling Solutions says it is FDA-approved to produce recycled plastic for use in food and beverage packaging.
"Indiana's business climate provides cost and workforce advantages that have put our state at the top of the list for many new companies this year, and we are pleased to welcome Perpetual Recycling Solutions as our newest addition," says Mitch Roob, secretary of commerce and CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corp (IDEC).
The company already operates a plastics recycling facility in East Farmingdale, N.Y.
"We are excited to join Richmond, Indiana--a great community and state--that enables businesses to grow and offer opportunity," says David Bender, CEO of Perpetual Recycling Solutions. "We represent a green sector of the economy that is growing at 40 percent. Our work is good for the economy of Richmond and Indiana and good for the environment."
To assist in the construction of the project, the Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County (EDCWC) is offering Perpetual Recycling Solutions a $350,000 grant to be used to reimburse the company for expenses related to the purchase of machinery and equipment as well as for the purchase and renovation of the real estate.
In a release, Kevin Ahaus, chairman of the EDCWC board of directors, says the county’s staff has been working for nearly a year on this project. “We competed against sites located in two other states, Missouri and Iowa, and another site in Indiana. We are extremely fortunate, in this economic climate, to welcome to our county a new employer and a business that is committed to being a community partner.”
Further assistance on the project has been made by the IDEC, which has offered PRS up to $550,000 in performance-based tax credits and up to $50,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans.
The city of Richmond will provide a $125,000 grant to be used to reimburse the company for expenses related to the purchase of machinery and equipment, and the purchase and renovation of real estate.
The company is seeking a 10-year tax abatement on new machinery and equipment as well as the purchase of real estate, contingent upon approval by Richmond Common Council.