Gov. Bob McDonnell announced this morning that Continental Waste Management LLC, will invest $6 million to establish a post-industrial and post-consumer plastic recycling plant in Covington.
The company, which will occupy the former AET Film property, will also produce plastic/wood composite products.
The project will create 100 new jobs. Virginia successfully competed against North Carolina for the project.
“This project is tremendous for Covington and Alleghany County. Not only will Continental Waste Management create 100 new jobs for a region that is striving to rebound, they are able to put a former industrial property back into productive use. Virginia is gaining a great corporate partner in this environmentally conscious recycling company,” McDonnell said.
“I am confident that Covington will be a great fit for Continental Waste Management’s new operation,” said Jim Cheng, Virginia secretary of commerce and trade. “The company has access to facility infrastructure that meets its production and recycling needs, and the region offers an eager, available workforce to fill the new jobs.”
Continental Waste Management is a recycling and manufacturing company utilizing environmentally friendly recycling and manufacturing methods to convert waste plastic materials into commercially viable products.
The company will be vertically integrated producing both clean PET Flake/Pellet and molded plastic products for worldwide markets. The Covington manufacturing operation will begin by early summer.
Ujas Patel is president of Continental Waste Management. He has business interests in the United States and India, in both the industrial and hospitality sectors. He recently opened the Quality Inn on Main Street in Covington after spending $1.7 million to renovate the Town House Motel property.
“I am extremely excited about the growth opportunities presented to our business by locating in the commonwealth of Virginia,” said Patel. “Virginia offers us both the infrastructure and qualified workforce needed to support our growth plans and Covington is a great location for industrial operations.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Covington, Alleghany County, Clifton Forge and the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation to secure the project for the Highlands.
McDonnell approved a $150,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Covington with the project.
Through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide funding and services to support the company’s recruitment and training activities.
Covington, Alleghany County and Clifton Forge contributed a collective $150,000 to match funds provided by the governor’s incentive program.
“Covington City Council is most appreciative for the support and assistance we have received from Governor McDonnell, Alleghany County, Clifton Forge and the AHEDC,” said Covington Mayor Bob Bennett. “We have been working with this prospect for close to a year and it is gratifying to know that our efforts will result in new job opportunities for so many residents of the area.”
American Industries LLC will acquire the entire 144 acre AET property. American will own, maintain and lease the former AET property to employment creating businesses, creating a campus of companies. American will complete the acquisition of the AET property this month.
Continental Waste Management LLC will lease approximately one-fouth of the 600,000 square foot industrial complex for its plastics recycling and manufacturing business.
Post consumer and post industrial plastic waste will be transported to Covington via rail and truck for conversion into PET flake and polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) pellets. These flakes and pellets will be the primary manufactured products produced by CWM in its first year and will be sold worldwide.
Beginning in year two, CWM will begin using these flakes and pellets to manufacture molded plastic products.
AET will lease 40,000 square feet of space from American for its plastics research and development operation. AET will employ six people.
The remainder of the space at the AET property is being actively marketed worldwide so the announcement of additional employment creating operations is anticipated, said David Kleppinger, executive director of the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation.
One significant on-site asset is the presence of a complete water system from water impoundment on Potts Creek to a water treatment facility having the capability of producing 5 million gallons of treated water per day, which American hopes to use to attract an industry requiring a large and inexpensive water supply, such as a bottling plant or food processing company,” Kleppinger said.
Plastic bottles could be manufactured on the plant site, he noted.
Patel, 42, is a native of Ahmedabad, India. He received master’s degrees in organic chemistry and polymer engineering from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology located in Melbourne, Australia. Patel became a U.S. Citizen in 2004.
Patel, his spouse Ketki, and their 14-year-old son, Priyansh, reside in Raleigh, N.C.
Mike Wade, a former employee of Hercules Inc. and AET, will serve as manager of Continental Waste Management in Covington.
AET closed its Covington operation in 2008. The plant employed about 125 people prior to its closure.