Washington company plans to double in size

A company in Washington plans to double the size of its plant. ACH Foam Technologies, in the town?s industrial park on North 12

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Avenue, made the announcement at the Washington City Council meeting Wednesday. The company?s expansion concerned the city because the building would not have sufficient water pressure to meet the fire code.

The Washington-branch plant manager Brad Ward asked the city to pay for the installation of a larger water main to allow more water into the building. The city would incur a cost of just under $15,000. He also asked for a partial property tax exemption on the improved portion of the property. The council voted 6-0 to build the water main for ACH Foam Technologies and give the company the property tax exemption.

Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG) Director Ed Raber addressed the council to speak about the dilemma facing ACH. He said the water line going into the plant is now 8 inches in diameter. That is not large enough to supply either the quantity of water or the water pressure the plant would need after it expands. A 12-inch line would supply enough water, and that is what the city will install.

The improved portion of the property will be exempted from property tax according to the following schedule: 75 percent exemption the first year, 60 percent for the second year, 45 percent for the third year, 30 percent for the fourth year and 15 percent for the fifth year. Raber estimated the expansion would increase the value of the property by $1 million.

Ward informed the council that ACH has nine branches scattered throughout the United States. Business was slow for most of the branches in 2010 but not in Washington, where its sales grew 20 percent.

?Our owners are looking at that, thinking the Iowa area has good potential,? said Ward. ?We don?t want to move. I know the management has looked into it.?

Ward said the water pressure at the plant in Washington is lacking compared to the pressure at its other branches. The Washington plant receives pressure of 46 pounds per square inch (psi) while the one in Kansas City enjoys 90-100 psi.

He said the Des Moines city government has offered his company substantial benefits to move there.

?There are costs involved in doing that (moving to Des Moines) and we don?t want to do it,? said Ward. ?We want to stay put. We have a nice facility here and we want to make it nicer.?

ACH Foam Technologies employs 36 people now and will add 10 more after the expansion. The company?s building is now 40,000 square feet and will become 80,000 square feet with the addition.

The company bought the building it?s in now from Plymouth Foam in 2000. At that time, the company had 12 employees. Prior to Plymouth Foam?s ownership the building belonged to Thermco.

Councilor Bob Shepherd said the company?s expansion was good news for the town.

?This is an example of economic development at the local level,? said Shepherd.

ACH Foam Technologies produces expanded polystyrene. Pure solid polystyrene is a hard plastic substance with limited flexibility. It is often used in packaging. Ward mentioned that his company?s products are also used in roofing and other kinds of construction.