WILKES BARRE, Pa., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Executives of PEI Power
Corporation and Laminations, Inc. of Scranton today announced completion of an
agreement that will make Laminations the first occupant of PEI Power Park in
Archbald. PEI Power Corp is a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Enterprises, Inc.
(PEI) (NYSE: PNT) and owns and operates the Park.
"Laminations for years has been an anchor in this area's manufacturing
community and we're extremely proud that a Company that was founded in and has
prospered in Lackawanna County has chosen to walk with us into the 21st
century," said Thomas F. Karam, PEI President and CEO. "We think the low-cost
energy that will be available to Park tenants will make an address in PEI
Power Park a hot commodity and the Park itself a centerpiece in the region's
economic future."
Announcement of Laminations' commitment to the Park comes a day after the
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ruled that it will not regulate the
electricity and steam generated in the Park. Mr. Karam thanked the large
number of borough, county and state officials whose cooperation and assistance
helped make PEI Power Park and Laminations' decision a reality.
PEI Power Corp's Archbald Cogeneration Plant, located in the Park, is
burning methane and natural gas to produce electricity and steam. The methane
is recovered from Keystone Landfill in Dunmore and in the future will become
the only gas burned in the Plant.
PEI Power Corp has a long-term contract to recover methane from the
Landfill. The pact will allow the Plant to generate electricity and steam at
a fraction of the common commercial cost. The steam and electricity then will
be sold to Park tenants at a discounted rate. Laminations today became the
first company to commit to taking advantage of those savings.
"That's the key here. The low-cost energy caught our attention and
convinced us that we needed to be the Park's first occupant," said Bob
Dougher, Operations Director for Laminations. He said the power advantage
offered by the Park will allow Laminations to expand its workforce and be more
competitive in the plastics field.
Mr. Dougher said Laminations plans to build a 200,000 square-foot building
on a 30-acre parcel in Phase I of PEI Power Park. Laminations will relocate
and expand its manufacturing, warehousing and shipping facilities from its
VonStorch Avenue complex in Scranton, Mr. Dougher said. He said the Company's
fabricating work and office facilities will remain at the Company's Meylert
Avenue site.
The move will allow Laminations to expand its manufacturing, warehousing
and shipping workforce by 180 employees, the Company executive said.
Preparation of the Laminations property has begun and groundbreaking for the
sprawling plant is expected to occur in October. Laminations' new building is
expected to be in operation by September or October of 1999, if not sooner,
Mr. Dougher said.
Mr. Dougher said Laminations learned of the Power Park plan at a time when
the firm was being squeezed by its need to expand and the high cost and
impracticality of running its manufacturing, warehousing and shipping
processes in satellite buildings in Scranton.
"We checked the property and PEI's steam and electricity projections and
were happy to learn that we could cut our energy costs and save money by
expanding our manufacturing, storage and shipping processes and placing them
under one roof," Mr. Dougher said.
"The bonus here is that we were able to stay in Lackawanna County," Mr.
Dougher said. In his office are stacked dozens of books and brochures printed
by chambers of commerce and state marketing bureaus that sought to lure
Laminations to their communities.
"This business is owned by Michael T. Lynch and his sons, Brian and
Michael T. Lynch Jr. It was founded by their father and grandfather 50 years
ago in Scranton. Competition is dictating that we seek lower costs and more
efficient operations and we had nearly decided to leave Northeastern
Pennsylvania when we learned of PEI Power Park," Mr. Dougher said. "We're
extremely happy that we'll be able to cut costs and not uproot our employees
or business."
Laminations uses new and recycled plastics in its extrusion processes that
create a wide variety of products for residential, institutional and
industrial uses. Those products include cutting boards, basketball backboards
and a system of decorative bathroom partitions and countertops often installed
in schools, stadiums, restaurants and other public settings. Those products
are marketed and shipped throughout the United States, Canada and several
nations in Europe.
Laminations Inc. and its subsidiaries employ 320 people in Scranton and at
facilities in Florida and Texas.
The Power Plant formerly burned culm to generate steam and electricity.
Its previous owners ceased operations in mid-1997 and the facility sat idle.
It was about to be dismantled when PEI Power Corp began piecing its Power Park
plan together late last year.
The Company already has invested $11 million in a gas-recovery system at
the landfill, the six-mile pipeline that is transporting methane from the
landfill to the Plant, and in equipment that is allowing the 25 megawatt
facility to be fueled by gas. Boiler testing began with natural gas in early
July. Methane began being pumped into the Plant's combustion chamber in late
July. The Plant was taken up to full operation and has been putting up to
19 megawatts per hour on the PJM Interconnect. The interconnect is the third
largest distribution system of its type in the world. It services New Jersey
and Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland. PEI Power Corp will
continue to sell electricity to the system until Park occupants' demand
matches the Plant's capacity.
Phase I of PEI Power Park includes construction on 275 acres of land
adjacent to the Plant. Site preparation work on that property has begun. The
land will accommodate buildings with up to 1.65 million square feet of floor
space where up to 3,000 people could be employed.
The Company is estimating that development of the first phase of the Park
could create up to 350 construction jobs and pump between $75 million and
$100 million into the region's economy. PEI could expand the Park onto
300 acres adjacent to Phase I. Development of that area could support another
2,000 jobs, the Corporation has estimated.
The Lackawanna Valley Industrial Highway places PEI Power Park within a
few minutes drive of Interstate Routes 81, 380 and 84. The highway access
makes the Park an ideal location for manufacturers shipping their products to
destinations in the Northeast, Midwest and beyond. The Park also is serviced
by the Lackawanna County Railroad Authority.
PEI is a holding company with regulated and nonregulated subsidiaries,
including PG Energy and Honesdale Gas Company, which together provide natural
gas to approximately 150,000 customers in 13 counties in northeastern and
central Pennsylvania. Other subsidiaries are PEI Power Corp, Theta Land
Corporation and PG Energy Services and its subsidiary, Keystone Pipeline
Services, Inc. PG Energy Services, under the name of PG Energy PowerPlus,
markets energy and energy-related products in a 26-county area of eastern
Pennsylvania and PG Energy Propane markets propane in northeastern
Pennsylvania. PG Energy PowerPlus also markets home and business security
systems, fire detection and environmental hazard monitoring systems and Custom
Care, a maintenance and repair plan for propane- and natural gas-fired heating
equipment and appliances.
PEI news releases are available 24 hours a day by fax or by visiting the
Company website at http://www.pnt.com. To receive a faxed copy of their news
release, call 1-800-758-5804 on a touch-tone phone and use PEI's ID # 684209.
Follow the prompted instructions to receive a copy of the Company's most
recent news release or a menu of their latest news releases. Company news
will be faxed to you immediately without charge.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Enterprises, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.pnt.com
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com or
fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 684209
CONTACT:
John J. Hambrose of Pennsylvania Enterprises,
717-829-8756
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