AUBURN – Safe Handling, a full-service, bulk product transportation and toll processing company on Rodman Road, announced Tuesday that it has opened the first rail-to-truck transloading terminal for ethanol in western Pennsylvania.

Located in Mount Pleasant, Pa., the terminal can receive 30 rail tanker cars at one time, each holding approximately 29,000 gallons of denatured ethanol, according to a release from the company. The ethanol will be trucked to regional petroleum terminals for blending into E10, a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline that can be used by all gasoline cars.

“We’re delighted to make this new terminal location a reality,” said Ford Reiche, Safe Handling’s president, in the release. “We have made a significant investment and have been met with interest from both ethanol producers and gasoline blenders. This terminal provides an efficient, safe and cost-effective transportation opportunity for fuel wholesalers, marketers and retailers.”

Previously, wholesalers supplied the Pittsburgh market primarily through long-haul trucking.

Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities Coordinator Ryan Walsh said the facility was critical to the success of ethanol use in the region.

“While ethanol’s environmental and economic benefits are clear, the infrastructure has to be in place first and PRCC applauds Safe Handling for making this strategic investment in southwestern Pennsylvania,” he said in the release.

Safe Handling was founded in 1989 in Auburn. It operates biofuel terminals there and in Mount Pleasant. In addition to ethanol and biodiesel, the company handles recycled glass, asphalt, plastic, baking flour, lumber and industrial chemicals.