Manufacturing recycler picks Union County site for its Midwest expansion
You probably haven’t wondered what happens to giant electrical transformers when the equipment is replaced.
But those behemoths have to go somewhere.
One of those places is the village of Richwood in Union County where TCI of Ohio now is up and running.
“These can be huge machines,” spokesman Mark Westcott told me. “We take them it, disassemble, refurbish what we can, recycle what we can’t refurbish. This is all stuff that used to go to the landfill.”
Kearny, New Jersey-based owner G&S Technologies’ hunt for expansion sites brought it to Ohio.
“We’re East Coast to West Coast,” Westcott said of the company’s reach. “Our Alabama facility couldn’t take on any more product, so we needed a space in the Midwest.”
TCI of Ohio is the newest addition to G&S’ portfolio of businesses, which includes operations in New York, Virginia and Oregon. The Ohio operation gives it better access to markets including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Louisville, Kentucky.
Westcott also praised the presence of Ohio State University and the access to trade schools. TCI of Ohio recycles transformers and other oil-filled electrical equipment. Customers include large utilities, municipalities, colleges and other institutions as well as private businesses.
The Ohio facility specifically will handle the oil recycling and the breakdown of machinery and equipment. Anything that needs to be refurbished will be sent to a sister operation in New York.
The first refurbish and recycle job, however, was on the building itself. The company took over a 59,000-square-foot space that previously was a Honda supplier. The facility is expected to handle more than 4 million pounds of equipment and machinery in its first year alone and grow from there.
It employs 50, and the estimated economic impact from the plant is about $2 million, including salaries and benefits to employees, state and local tax impact and spending on local suppliers and services.
“Innovative businesses like TCI of Ohio are important to our economic health and have led to the Columbus Region’s reputation as a great place to do business,” Kenny McDonald, president and CEO of Columbus 2020, said in a release.
Eric Phillips, Union County economic development director, said TCI is providing more good paying jobs and benefits to Richwood and the county.
“The management team at TCI recognizes the value of our geographic location, extensive transportation network and skilled workforce to service their growing Midwestern customer base,” he said in the release.
Frank Jackson is the president of TCI of Ohio, having relocated to Ohio from the company’s Alabama facility.
Dan Eaton
Staff reporter
Columbus Business First