AUBURN – A $10 million warehouse and transportation project planned by Safe Handling Inc. got the go-ahead from city planners Tuesday night, the latest development in the area’s growing industrial base.
Related to that project, Safe Handling officials Thursday announced their intention to initiate a study aimed at building a multimillion-dollar biorefinery at the same location.
Planners Tuesday night endorsed a proposal submitted by Safe Handling President Ford Reiche to develop a 144-acre parcel into a distribution hub. The plans call for constructing two warehouses totaling 250,000 square feet and building seven additional rail sidings that connect with the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad.
The project, named Port of Auburn Intermodal Facility, provides Safe Handling with the space it needs for future growth. The chemical manufacturing, transportation and servicing company handles materials for customers primarily in the pulp and paper industry.
“We have so much growth coming our way, we needed more property,” said Reiche. “And there are a number of other companies interested in developing around us.”
He said Tom Dunham of The Dunham Group in Portland is assisting Safe Handling with its brokerage needs. Among the site’s amenities are its superior transportation options with rail and air facilities, as well as trucking terminals nearby. Lower costs and less congestion than can be found in southern Maine are added selling points.
According to the plans submitted by Technical Services Inc. engineers, the project will be developed in two phases. The first phase, which should be complete by next spring, calls for the construction of four new rail lines offering more than 8,000 feet of track and space for 100 rail cars. It also calls for the removal or relocation of several small buildings left from the previous owner, Bayshore Concrete, and general site work and debris clearing.
The second phase calls for the construction of the two warehouses and three more rail lines. Work on the second phase will begin when there’s enough customer demand to warrant it, Reiche said.
The warehouses will be used to store freight that is delivered by train or truck before it is shipped out. The tracks will be laid out so that trucks will have full access to load or unload containers.
Ray Goss, general manager of the St. Lawrence operation in Auburn, said the rail company worked closely with Reiche on his plans. Although the new tracks will belong to Reiche, they connect with the St. Lawrence line and will be serviced by that railway.
“We’re very pleased that he designed the project around rail service,” said Goss. “We see a lot of industrial growth coming in that area.”
Lucien Gosselin, executive director of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, hailed Reiche’s newest project.
“This Port of Auburn LCC expansion by Safe Handling is consistent with the development objectives of our community and is an exciting new chapter in our successful 15-year partnership with Safe Handling,” Gosselin said.
The project is the third local transportation effort to come online this year. Last month Max Finkelstein tire distributors announced plans to build a $5.2 million, 101,000-square-foot warehouse in the Gendron Business Park near the turnpike in Lewiston.
Earlier in the year, Bisson Transportation announced plans to build a 300,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution project off Kittyhawk Avenue in Auburn’s new industrial park. The West Bath-based company chose the location for its railway access, as well as the city’s newly designated Foreign Trade Zone. The first phase of that $13 million project should begin in the spring of 2006.
Reiche said Tuesday night’s Planning Board action was particularly satisfying for him.
“The only comment … (came from) a man unknown to me who stood up to thank Safe Handling for further increasing its investment commitment to Auburn, even though we have facilities outside of Maine,” he said. “That sentiment was much appreciated. My great-grandfather was a businessman here in Auburn; my father made the Planning Board presentation back when we started Safe Handling, and I had my intern son with me at the Planning Board meeting … so we have a long family history here. It is a privilege to be in business in Auburn.”
The highlights
What: Two warehouses totaling 250,000 square feet and seven additional rail sidings that connect with the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad
Where: A 144-acre parcel across from the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport on Lewiston Junction Road
Cost: About $10 million for the first phase
Who: Safe Handling Inc. of Auburn, a transportation and servicing company working primarily with the pulp and paper industry
When: Phase 1 complete by next spring
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