Council board approves loans
One of the larger loans, $375,000, was issued to Tri State Biofuels LLC, which is building a facility to process wood waste and sawdust by turning it into energy-efficient fuel pellets. The company estimates the total project to cost about $5.4 million. The facility is on Thomson Recovery Road in Lemont Furnace. Company officials are working on getting necessary permits in place so the facility can open in October or November.
Partners in the company include Norman Thomson of Moon Township and William West of West Materials Inc. in Uniontown. Thomson and West formed the company in 2007 to produce biomass fuel pellets for commercial and residential use. The facility is expected to produce 65,000 tons of pellets per year. The annual production is enough to heat 24,000 homes, according to the company. It is the first company to locate in the green energy park in Lemont Furnace, Fay-Penn said.
The company estimates it will initially hire 15 people.
A Fay-Penn spokesman said the company is completing the new plant and the loan will help in equipment purchases. The spokesman added the owners have operated similar plants, one in Somerset County.
Fay-Penn also approved loans from its revolving loan fund to Specialty Conduit and Manufacturing LLC, Hranec Corp. and Elias E. Sr., Vera and Elias E. Nickman Jr.
Fay-Penn is assisting Specialty Conduit with a $135,000 loan to help pay for roof replacement at the manufacturing facility on Mount Braddock Road in Lemont Furnace. The company coverts steel tubing to threaded pipe and manufactures electrical conduit.
Hranec Corp. will receive a $512,000 loan to assist in financing new equipment and construction costs for its newest, 20,000-square-foot expansion to its heating, air conditioning and ventilation ductwork operation. The company is going to begin producing oval ductwork.
The Fay-Penn loan to the Eliases of $321,500 will help cover the cost of a new building housing American Broadband, a provider of telecommunication and professional services throughout North America. The corporate office is at 1321 Connellsville Road, Uniontown. The company has divisional offices in St. Louis, Mo., and Atlanta, Ga. The total project cost was more than $900,000. The building contains more than 10,000 square feet.
For more information on the revolving loan fund, call Barry Seneri, Fay-Penn economic development manager, at 724-437-7913.