The Keystone State is offering a boost to plastic lumber manufacturers, awarding $773,424 in Recycling Markets Infrastructure Development Grants to three producers.
The money will be used to buy equipment that will increase manufacturers' use of Pennsylvania-generated recycled materials, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
BJM Industries Inc. of Kittanning, Pa., will use its $186,653 to add a third production line at its 16,000-square-foot facility. The line will produce the firm's Millennium brand of high density polyethylene lumber, President Boyd Galbraith said in a July 7 telephone interview.
Galbraith will add employees over time to his base of five.
Everlast Plastic Lumber Inc. in Auburn, Pa., was awarded $500,000, which it will use to convert an extruder into a continuous production line and to buy a shredder, said Tiffany Cougle, chief operating officer. The firm will increase its use of HDPE, but also grow into recycling other plastics, Cougle said.
Pandya Inc.'s plant in Davidsville, Pa., will use its $86,771 grant to purchase a compactor, shredder, conveyors and a forklift.
The company will add second and third shifts to continue extruding composite products from recycled HDPE and PET mixed with sawdust, officials said. Its products are used most widely in decking and landscaping applications.
``By assisting businesses to increase the use of recycled materials in their products, these grants will help build market demand for recycled materials,'' said Kathleen McGinty, Environmental Protection secretary for the state, in a news release. ``That will create jobs and promote growth.''
