An industrial waste services company is planning a $100 million expansion that will add 120 jobs at its facility in El Dorado.
Clean Harbors said Tuesday it plans to build a new incineration unit for industrial waste at its El Dorado plant.
"Clean Harbors new world-class incineration unit will add much needed waste destruction capacity to our North American Waste Management Network," said Phil Retallick, senior vice president of regulatory affairs at the company, in a prepared statement.
"The new rotary kiln incinerator will almost double the waste destruction capacity at our El Dorado complex," he said.
The new incineration unit will be able to process up to 70,000 tons of waste per year, giving the facility the total capacity to process 160,000 tons per year, Christy Gunter, spokesman for the company's El Dorado Plant.
She said the plant, which is regulated by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, incinerates hazardous waste delivered to El Dorado from different parts of the country.
The company processes waste created by a variety of industries and by government entities at the local, state and federal levels. Its main customers are utility, pharmaceutical, chemical, petroleum and industrial companies.
Clean Harbors has four business units, which include industrial and field services and oil and gas field services. It also provides technical services that include the collection, packaging, recycling and disposal of waste, according to its website.
Shares of the publicly traded company fell 7 cents to close Tuesday at $56.20 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Massachusetts-based company provides environmental, energy and industrial services, and specializes in the destruction of hazardous and industrial waste.
Construction on the plant has started and is expected to be completed in two years, Gunter said.
She said the new jobs will be full-time positions with a combination of salaried and hourly workers. Clean Harbors currently has 300 workers at the El Dorado facility.
Clean Harbors will receive several incentives from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the state agency, said in an email.
The company will get an income tax credit that will be equal to 2 percent of the total payroll of the new jobs.
The commission will also provide training assistance for the employees, he said.
The agency will also provide El Dorado with a $900,000 Community Development Block Grant that the city will give to Clean Harbors for infrastructure improvement related to the expansion, Hardin said.
Business on 09/24/2014