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Richmond, IN (2019)

DAK Americas

NMTC financing helps mitigate environmental and economic development challenges in Richmond, Indiana.

Investment

  • NMTC Amount: $24,600,000
  • Total Project Cost: $68,114,965

IMPACT

  • 100 FTE jobs
  • 10 construction jobs
  • 23,300 sq. ft. of real estate

Investor

Project Description

DAK Americas is an integrated producer of PET resins and one of the main producers of polyester staple fibers in the Americas. In 2018, the company saw an opportunity to expand and meet the growing recycling challenges facing the state of Indiana.

Indiana has a recycling rate of only 17 percent. Given that plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to fully decompose in landfills, this leaves a huge opportunity to improve the rate of recycling of plastic waste. In the past, Indiana municipalities exported their waste to other countries, most notably to China. However, due to new and increasingly strict waste import policies, export to China has been significantly reduced.

Instead of seeking alternative markets for waste export or contributing to waste buildup in Indiana’s landfills, DAK sought to build a sustainable, long-term waste solution by establishing a circular recycling model for PET resin used in bottling.

DAK chose the highly distressed community in Richmond, Indiana, to launch this new line of business. DAK Richmond Plant’s expansion and innovation will not only avoid the financial and environmental costs of landfill disposal but will also reinforce the use of regional recycling collection centers by the general public. The project also brought additional business and employment opportunities to the Richmond, Indiana, community by attracting businesses that depend on PET resin. This project created 100 full-time jobs with health benefits, 401K, paid sick leave, paid time off, and advanced educational and technical training.

TDCDC and Dudley Ventures provided $24.6 million in NMTC financing for the installation of equipment to be used for processing rPET flake into rPET pellets as a part of the development and construction of 23,300 sq. ft. of manufacturing and office space.

DAK’s circular recycling model moves Indiana closer to removing valuable PET from waste. The company’s reuse, reduction, and recycling processes significantly offset the waste and carbon impacts of its production processes.

MAP

Address: 1561 NW 11th Street, Richmond, IN 47374

Census Tract: 18177000600

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