West Allis firm’s Pennsylvania facility gutted by fire
A 35,000-square-foot transportation and waste treatment facility owned by West Allis-based Advanced Waste Services Inc. in New Castle, Pa., was severely damaged by fire last Thursday. No one was injured in the fire, but the Castle Environmental Inc. facility will be closed for the immediate future, said Robin Brotherhood, Advanced Waste Services’ marketing coordinator.
The origin of the fire was not known to authorities Thursday. Advanced Waste Services hauls industrial chemical waste – both hazardous and non-hazardous. The non-hazardous chemicals are treated onsite and are eventually recycled.
Because of the amount of chemicals stored onsite, officials in New Castle evacuated a one-mile radius around the facility, Brotherhood said. "There could have been chemicals burning, but there has been no evidence of that," she said. "There were several homes and a small nursing home (evacuated)."
Advanced Waste Services employs about 35 in Pennsylvania. Because its chemical-hauling trucks were offsite when the fire broke out, the company has been able to temporarily contract with other chemical haulers while it rebuilds its former facility or finds a new one, Brotherhood said.
"None of our transportation equipment was affected, and we do have a facility that has offered to house our transportation equipment," she said. "We will continue to haul all of the waste that we did before. Well just use alternate treatment facilities."
Mike Malatesta, president of Advanced Waste Services, and several other key managers of the company traveled to New Castle Thursday. "Our team is on the way," she said. "The rebuilding process is underway. And both the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. EPA are on site to… make sure everything is contained and safe."
Case to build new tractor dealership in Mount Pleasant
Case IH will build a new company-owned, model Case IH dealership next to its Racine facility.
The new 31,000-square-foot, two-story Case IH agricultural equipment dealership will be constructed by early 2009. The Mount Pleasant Village Planning Commission recently approved the company’s plans for the project.
"This dealership will be a first-class retail environment serving local farmers, landowners and a symbol of pride for our over 2,000 local employees," said Jim Walker, vice president of Case IH North America. "The facility also will model best practices in dealership design, management and operations, and create a world-class brand experience for our visiting customers, dealers and global trade partners."
Walker said the new dealership will likely generate a dozen or more jobs in its first year, with the potential to employ more than 30 people. He also estimated that the dealership could generate as much as $25 million in sales, which will boost the local tax base.
"Our Racine plant, home of Case IH Magnum tractors and transmissions and components for many other Case IH products, already hosts a couple thousand guests annually," Walker said. "We expect that number to reach 5,000 or more, as we draw new visitors from around the state and around the world. Farmers and ranchers like big iron. They enjoy watching equipment being manufactured and talking with our employees on the line. With the new model dealership, we’ll also be able to offer them a top-notch retail experience while they’re here. They can kick the tires on our full line of Case IH agricultural equipment."
Case IH is a brand of CNH, a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Group of Italy.
