Clearly Clean holds ribbon cutting for Frackville plant
SHERRY STREETER / SENTINEL PHOTO - PET strap is stretched across the stage for the ribbon cutting at Clearly Clean Products, LLC,'s Frackville facility as Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce President Robert S. Carl speaks.
By Kaylee Lindenmuth | [email protected]
Sherry Streeter contributed to this report
FRACKVILLE – “The environment was not harmed by the cutting of this ribbon.” That’s what Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce President Robert S. Carl said prior to the ribbon cutting at a new manufacturing facility in West Mahanoy Township near Frackville.
The ribbon was made of leftover materials from the making of recyclable food trays to be made at the plant, which is being renovated by Clearly Clean Products, LLC, of Orwigsburg.
“While most companies use actual ribbon, Clearly Clean is using PET plastic strap. This is actual strap leftover after the trays are produced,” said Carl. “Please note that after the strap is officially cut, it will go right into the recycling bin to be reused at a later date.”
The ribbon cutting ceremony brought over 150 people out to the plant at 10 City Shirt Road in the Frackville Industrial Park, the former City Shirt facility, including county commissioners, U.S. Representative Dan Meuser, Frackville Mayor Kim Phillips, and West Mahanoy Township Supervisor Lauren Amato, among others.
“Today is the formal grand opening of our new 40,000 square foot production facility, and it’s an opportunity to have people from local government, our business partners, etc., to come out and share in that experience because they’ve all been conducive to that success,” said Alexander Eitland from the company. “It’s our hope to create more jobs within the Pennsylvania area.”
Eitland explained that the company produces a recyclable alternative to polystyrene for the meat and poultry industry, using PET plastic.
“We distribute all across the country,” Eitland said. “Anywhere from California to Texas, wherever, we could end up selling to.”
Why the Frackville location? Eitland said, “We wanted to stay within the Pennsylvania area. We have another facility in Orwigsburg. A business was going out, so it was prime time to grab this building, and we also wanted to tap into an employment base within this area.”
“We’re excited to be operating within the Frackville area,” Eitland added. “It is a big moment for us to do the actual opening. We will continue to operate, we will continue to make jobs, and do whatever we can.”
Eitland added that the facility currently has around 20 employees and the potential to expand as they see what the facility’s needs are.
Carl said during the ceremony, “Clearly Clean is out to change the industry, and its expansion to this great new facility indicates it’s well on its way to doing just that.”
Schuylkill County Commissioners Chairman George Halcovage praised the company and its workforce, using that as a reflection of the county itself.
“It shows that we have a great workforce here in Schuylkill County. We have a great future in Schuylkill County,” said Halcovage.
Jeff Maguire, managing partner at Clearly Clean, thanked the crowd for attended, and specifically applauded the company’s employees, who all wore blue shirts.
“Without you, we would not be here,” said Maguire. “It’s great we can sit here and all work together and do something that we hope to build to be an important part of Schuylkill County.”
“With the help of the people in the back, we hope to be incredibly successful in Schuylkill County,” Maguire added.
U.S. Representative Dan Meuser provided remarks as well, outlining the benefits of the county.
“We have low energy costs, we have low overhead costs for business, we have a great employment pool of hardworking people,” said Meuser. “It’s wonderful to see a company like this maximize on all of those advantages.”
Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin also spoke.
“Expansions and these types of opportunities are not easy. It takes countless hours of meetings, planning, phone calls, paperwork, brainstorming about how to overcome unexpected obstacles, but today’s ceremony gives everybody an opportunity to take a step back and appreciate how far you’ve come to get to this point,” said Davin. “What was once just an idea in somebody’s head is now a reality. This facility is going to have a big impact on the local economy here. We’re talking about more 125 new full-time jobs and millions of dollars of investment in this company.”
“It’s not every day we get to celebrate news like that, so it’s very special for us,” Davin added.
About Author
