A major building materials company will build a Pierce County plant in Frederickson to create insulated foam roofing panels, Pierce County and the company announced Friday.
Carlisle Construction Materials is expected to employ about 75 workers at the 42-acre site in the Randles Business Park at South 196th Street and Canyon Road. The Randles Business Park is adjacent to the Port of Tacoma’s Frederickson Industrial Development.
Carlisle, based in Carlisle, Pa., will manufacture polyisocyanurate insulation at the new plant. The plant will be the company’s seventh to manufacture the insulation. The nearest such plant is located in Utah.
The new manufacturing facility is expected to serve customers in the Northwest and Western Canada.
“We are proud to welcome Carlisle Construction Materials to their new home, and I am excited for the opportunity to put more of our citizens to work,” said Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy.
The recruitment of Carlisle was a joint effort by the Tacoma-Pierce County Economic Development Board and Pierce County’s Economic Development Department.
Site consultants for Carlisle first contacted the EDB and the county in March looking for a rail-served site for the new plant, said Denise Dyer, Pierce County’s economic development manager. The company was looking at multiple sites in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The site consultants also worked with Tacoma Rail to identify potential plant sites with rail access.
Tacoma Rail serves the Randles site area. To reach the plant directly, the Tacoma-owned railroad will have to extend a new spur to the plant location. The company plans to bring rail cars loaded with resins to the plant.
Dave Randles, president of Randles Sand & Gravel, said the company initially talked about buying 25 to 30 acres of ground, but later settled on a larger, 42-acre tract that will give the company room to expand.
EDB Senior Vice President Susan Suess said the company has a tight timeline to build its new plant. Carlisle wants to begin producing the foil-backed roof insulation by late next year.
Dyer said contractors are already talking with the county to obtain permits to allow construction to begin as soon as possible.
“We’re implementing an expedited permitting process to ensure that they can meet their construction targets,” she said.
John Gillie: 253-597-8663 john.gillie@thenewstribune.com
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