Ashley took a step closer to being selected for a new fuel production plant when the Steuben County Council approved a $500,000 loan to the firm on Sept. 9.
The loan would be provided to RES Polyflow once it makes its final commitment to Ashley. The loan would be part of the financial commitment needed by the company to augment the $90 million investment it is making in equipment and startup capital.
Jay Schabel, Polyflow CEO, said a decision on a site will be made near the end of October.
“It’s between two states and it’s between three locations now,” he said.
RES Polyflow – RES stands for Renewable Energy Solutions – takes waste plastic and converts it to transportation fuels.
Ashley is the lone Indiana site in the running, with the other two in Ohio. The company will employ 58 people initially with a payroll of $2.6 million with a second phase adding 50 jobs and an additional $2.2 million in payroll. Schabel said five people would be brought in to the facility and all others would be hired locally.
“It’s a nice fit,” Schabel said of Ashley. He added the probability of Ashley being picked is very good.
Ashley is a finalist for the plant for a number of factors, including a strong transportation infrastructure, with two intersecting interstates in Steuben County, plus rail on site. The proposed site is 80 acres near the Klink Industries facility on C.R. 800S at Interstate 69.
Another strength is close proximity to the Northeast Indiana Solid Waste Management District headquarters, which is on C.R. 800S and could provide plastic as a raw material.
The company’s facility is being built to consume 80,000 tons of plastic waste annually to produce 17 million gallons of fuel.
“This is plastic waste that is destined for the landfill,” Schabel said.
Polyflow designs, markets and manufactures energy recovery systems that offer an end of life solution for mixed plastic and rubber waste including tires, carpeting and e-waste, the company’s website said.
Typically these materials are discarded in landfills, incinerated or exported. RES Polyflow’s continuous feed process equipment converts these items into renewable transportation fuels, octane enhancers and aromatics using a patented waste to energy conversion process.
Schabel said the company is not classified as a landfill by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management but, rather, as a manufacturing facility.
Schabel said more site work has to be done to make sure the Ashly site will work. Also, other lenders are being tied down to make the project work.
Schabel said it would take about 12 months to put the facility in place and up to another 6 months to reach full operating capacity.
It is expected RES Polyflow will attract supplier and complementary companies once it is running.