Columbia Gas Makes First Jobs Growth Fund Award to Coll Materials Exchange
Grant will create 25 jobs in Zanesville area, retain 48 more
March 4, 2011 – Columbia Gas of Ohio today announced its first award from its Jobs Growth Fund, a $50,000 grant to Coll Materials Exchange, a plastics recycler which plans to create 25 new jobs in the Zanesville area.
Columbia Gas launched the Jobs Growth Fund in July 2010 to provide financial assistance to new and existing companies that create new jobs in its 61-county Ohio service territory.
Coll Materials has committed to invest $2.27 million in a new equipment to increase recycling capacity at its Zanesville plant. The expansion will create 25 new jobs and retain 48 existing positions.“We are very pleased to make our first Jobs Growth Fund award to Coll Materials,” said Columbia Gas of Ohio President Jack Partridge. “The company is at a critical point in its development and the increased production capacity will ensure not only additional jobs, but retention of good existing jobs in the Zanesville community.” The Jobs Growth Fund expects to invest dollars in industrial and regionally diverse job-creating projects. It has $1.55 million to award through April 2012, or until the funds are exhausted.“As a local natural gas utility, we simply cannot pick up our pipes and move to another state or country,” Partridge said. “We have a vested interest in the economic growth and vitality of the communities we serve. Ohio needs jobs, and Columbia Gas is stepping up and investing dollars in companies that can make that happen.”“As a rapidly growing company in the region, Coll Materials appreciates the resources Columbia Gas of Ohio is making available to business through the Jobs Growth Fund, and the recognition that our region can create employment opportunities in a challenging economic climate,” said Renee Coll, Coll Materials’ co-owner and vice president of sales and marketing. “We are proud that our company, and our region, is receiving the first award from the Jobs Growth Fund.” Coll Materials was founded in 2008 by Renee and Brian Coll and is a woman-owned minority enterprise (WBE). The company purchases consumer and industrial plastic wastes and recycles it into material that is reused by plastics manufacturers throughout North America. Columbia’s Jobs Growth Fund makes awards to new and existing companies in its service territory which meet standards for the size of the capital investment, the number of jobs created, and other factors. For small businesses with less than 50 employees, Columbia prefers companies which create at least 10 full-time jobs, pay at least 175% of the federal minimum wage and that have been in business at least three years. For larger companies, Columbia gives preference to projects that involve a capital investment of at least $1 million, create at least 50 new jobs and add at least 20,000 square feet of new floor area. The funds may be used to offset costs associated with new projects and existing company expansions, excluding the costs of natural gas infrastructure improvements.
Columbia’s economic development manager works with local and regional economic development organizations and the Ohio Department of Development to identify eligible projects.
For more information on the Jobs Growth Fund, visit ColumbiaGasOhio.com/JobsGrowthFund.
Columbia Gas of Ohio, with headquarters in Columbus, is one of the nine energy distribution companies of NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI). With approximately 1.4 million customers in 61 of Ohio’s 88 counties, it is the largest natural gas utility in the state. NiSource distribution companies serve approximately 3.8 million gas and electric customers primarily in seven states. More information about Columbia Gas of Ohio is available at: ColumbiaGasOhio.com.
Coll Materials Exchange LLC, is a post-consumer and post-industrial plastics recycling business serving all of North America, with headquarters in Zanesville, Ohio. Coll Materials purchases plastic waste from waste haulers, recyclers and landfills. Processed material in flake and pellet form is sold to a variety of plastic manufacturers. The company currently has the capacity to process 50 million pounds. of plastic waste annually at its Ohio facility, and is committed to providing recycling solutions while helping build a sustainable world.