| Bucks County Courier Times
Two new projects could attract a few hundred new jobs to Falls.
Following unanimous preliminary and final land development approval by supervisors, Empire Sunshine Fiber LLC will move forward with plans to construct a 300,000-square-foot recycling facility while Alro Steel Corp. plans to build a 254,699-square-foot warehouse.
Together, the facilities could add up to 200 permanent jobs in the township, officials said.
Empire will construct a recovered fiber market pulp manufacturing facility on a 33-acre parcel at the U.S. Steel property off Middle Drive. The site in the township’s materials processing and manufacturing district in located in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex.
The facility is expected to take 17 months to build and employ 150 to 200 workers during construction and roughly 100 to 110 permanent full-time employees when complete, township officials said.
Once operational, Empire will recycle old corrugated containers and mixed paper products into recycled paper. The company estimates processing about 500,000 tons of material from Waste Management, Republic Services and other trash and recycling haulers.
Jim Austin, the company’s CEO and president, said bails of dry fiber are put into a “hydro pulper” of hot water to be broken down before contaminants like tape, Styrofoam, and plastic are removed.
While about 5% goes in the dumpster, 10% to 15% of materials no longer strong enough to be manufactured into paper will be used for daily landfill cover through a deal with Waste Management, officials said.
Discharged water will be treated and sent to the Morrisville Municipal Authority or U.S. Steel’s wastewater treatment facility.
The company could ship 60 containers of pulp by barge each day or haul product by truck to the Port of Newark and transport on container ships, officials said.
More: Falls approves zoning changes for 1-million-square-foot warehouse
Austin said the site was chosen because of its access to land and water transport.
“The beauty of the site is that we do not have to pass the residences coming and going to this property,” Austin said.
While it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the plant will be virtually odorless unlike other paper processing facilities, Austin said.
A few miles over, Alro plans to consolidate two vacant properties and undertake a three-phase project at Progress Drive and Steel Road South in the town’s heavy industrial district.
The warehouse will be built on a 14.63-acre tract for the company’s metals, plastics and industrial supplies with 10,744 square feet of the building set aside for office space, company representatives said.
The warehouse initially will hire 35 to 50 employees before expanding to 75 to 100 workers once the company is fully operational.
Alro has been in business since 1948 and operates more than 70 locations in 12 states plans. It plans to primarily employ warehouse positions, but also will hire administrative staff, a general manager, a superintendent for the warehouse as well as an inside sales and operations managers, representatives said.
The proposal is the newest warehouse approved in the township.
More: Falls OKs 225,000-square-foot warehouse near former US steel site
In August, supervisors OK’d a 225,000-square-foot warehouse and 10,380-square-foot office building on an 18.31-acre tract at 85 Ben Fairless Drive inside the Keystone complex.
A representative for the developer said it would not house hazardous materials at the site.
Earlier this week, supervisors also voted to adopt an ordinance amendment to allow warehouse operations in the riverfront district, which nixes a requirement for conditional use approvals.
The move could pave the way for a plan by New York-based developer Stalwart Equities to construct a 916,300-square-foot warehouse and 60,000 square feet of office space on three parcels off Pennsylvania Avenue along the Delaware River.
A majority of the project would be on 84.66 acres at the former Solvay tract, along with more than 11 acres on two other parcels near the border of Morrisville.
The site could house one tenant or be subdivided to house up to four, according to Stalwart representatives.
While the ordinance change was approved, no land development plans have been filed with the township.
