Pyrolyx, a German manufacturing company, is considered a leader in turning old tires into raw materials.
“We take end of life tires. Tire shred is a feedstock and we process that mostly into carbon black,” said Thomas Redd, CEO of Pyrolyx USA.
Pyrolyx currently has a facility in the Fort Harrison Business Park in Terre Haute, a project that has created 35 jobs so far with another 20 expected in January.
Redd says his company is looking to build a second facility which will bring more employment opportunities to the city.
“We’ll be adding approximately 50 jobs to our facility with total annual payroll of approximately $2.5 million dollars per year,” Redd said.
A second facility is estimated to cost $52 million dollars to construct.
To finance this construction, representatives with Pyrolyx went before the Terre Haute EDC to ask for $70 million dollars in Economic Development Solid Waste Facility Revenue bonds.
Members of the EDC voted to approve the issuance of the bonds and officials say the responsibility falls on bond purchasers, not the city.
“The city serves as a conduit, if you will, for the financing. There’s no financial obligation whatsoever to the city of Terre Haute, city taxpayers,” said Steve Witt, president of Terre Haute EDC.
Witt says this process is used as a way for the city to encourage new developments.
“If we have an opportunity to assist in this way, particularly when there’s no financial obligation to the community, we want to take advantage of that to try to encourage new job creation and investment in our community,” Witt said.
Both Witt and Redd say a similar bond was issued to Pyrolyx for their first facility.
The bond issuance must be approved by the Terre Haute City Council.
They will hear the project during a January meeting
