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Takeover company to restart tire recycling operations, generating revenues for Adams County

Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
John Mott Coffey
Jan 3, 2024 | 8:21 AM


NATCHEZ, Miss. – The company that plans to take over Delta Energy’s operations here is expected to generate $500,000 or more a year in revenues for Adams County and employ about 70 people, said the county’s chief industrial developer.

Delta recently closed its tire-recycling facility at the former IP paper mill site now owned by the county. However, “the best-case scenario” emerged with Phibro stepping in to avert an economic-development “disaster” for Adams County, said Chandler Russ.

Russ met with Adams County supervisors on Tuesday to discuss Phibro’s plans for resuming Delta’s operations. The Connecticut-based renewable energy investment company last month bought Delta’s Natchez fixtures and other assets, Russ said.

He said Phibro executives are “excited” about leasing the county-owned land on Carthage Point Road that Delta Energy occupied. He noted Phibro will pay the county what Delta did: $300,000 a year to lease the property and around $200,000 or so annually in taxes. He also said Phibro is expected to employ about 70 workers as Delta did. 
 
The Natchez facility converted old tires into specialty oils and recovered carbon black for tire manufacturers, such as Bridgestone and Continental. Bridgestone was a plant co-owner.  

The site is where International Paper operated its huge paper mill that once employed more than 1,000 people before closing in 2003 after 53 years of operations.

The Adams County Board of Supervisors in 2013 bought the 478-acre property on Lower Woodville and Carthage Point roads for $9 million to be parceled out to new industries.  Delta began leasing a former IP building and about 30 acres from the county in 2015.

After openly discussing Phibro’s plans for restarting Delta’s operations, supervisors closed the public out Tuesday to go into more details with Russ about the industrial property. Russ is executive director of Natchez Inc., the city-county’s industrial recruitment agency. 

Along with Delta Energy, two other businesses have been leasing parts of the old IP property: Winnwood and NetCo, which are forest-products companies.

 

For more information about Phibro, go to its website: www.phibro.com

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