BPB to Build $100M Plant Here
Neal F. Rattican, Courier-Times
February 17, 2004

Coming off a year when the unemployment rate averaged nearly nine percent, Person County was due some good news, and, ironically, it came on Friday the 13th.

Carefully timed joint announcements by Gov. Mike Easley, Progress Energy and the company itself, declared Friday morning that British-owned BPB, a maker and marketer of wall and ceiling products for residential and commercial buildings, intends to build a $100 million plant in Person County that potentially will create 200 jobs.

The facility, which will be designed to produce 700 million square feet of gypsum wallboard each year, is to be built on a 110-acre site adjacent to Progress Energy's Roxboro plant at Hyco Lake . BPB has an option on the tract, which is owned by Progress Energy.

In production of its wallboard product here, BPB plans to use synthetic gypsum collected as a byproduct from new anti-pollution devices targeted for installation by Progress Energy on all 11 of the utility company's coal-fired power plants in North Carolina , including its Roxboro and Mayo plants in Person County . The utility is installing the equipment in connection with the recent North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act.

Flue gas desulfurization units, or "scrubbers," as the devices are called, remove sulfur dioxide by passing gases produced from burning coal through a tower in which a water and limestone mixture is sprayed. The process forms synthetic gypsum, which can be used for making wallboard.

The first scrubber at the Roxboro plant is scheduled for operation in 2007, when BPB also hopes to begin production at the completed Person County facility.

Glen Newsome, executive director of the Person County Economic Development Commission, which has been quietly working with BPB on the development for about 18 months, said the company hopes to start construction on the plant in 2005.

According to a spokesperson for Progress Energy, the BPB site is off Lake Shore Drive near the Hyco Plant canal.

BPB and Progress Energy have fashioned a "long-term agreement" for Progress Energy to supply synthetic gypsum to the BPB facility, according to officials from both companies.

"Synthetic gypsum is an excellent raw material for manufacturing gypsum board. Using our advanced process technology it provides highly consistent products in addition to very positive environmental benefits," Brent Thomson, president and chief executive officer of BPB America Inc. , said in prepared news release. "We will put to productive use what would otherwise have been sent to landfills."

In his own announcement hailing the news of Person County 's latest industrial catch, Gov. Mike Easley touted the positive environmental aspects as well as the highway improvements that will be brought to Person County as a result.

Easley said the state has agreed to use $3.9 million from Easley's $630 million "N. C. Moving Ahead!" highway improvement initiative to widen and improve 12.9 miles of existing roads that will serve the BPB plant.

Noting that the Person EDC "contributed significantly to the development of this project," Easley, in a prepared release Friday said, "BPB's announcement to locate in Person County provides our state with an important environmentally aware company that will not only hire highly skilled workers but will also use synthetic gypsum produced from newly installed scrubbers at Progress Energy's Roxboro plant."

He added, "Highway improvements made as a result of our N.C. Moving Ahead! program will enable the company to transfer its products to market. North Carolina is seeing the benefits of our continued investments in infrastructure, workforce development and the environment."

The scheduled improvements connected to the project will be on road situated between N. C. 57 and U. S. 501, specifically:

• 1.3 miles of Concord-Ceffo Road (SR 1340)
• .2 miles of City Lake road (SR 1336)
• 7.4 miles of Edwin Robertson Road (SR 1322)

Additionaly, $850,000 from the state Transportation Improvement Program has been appropriated for improvements to the bridge over Marlowe's Creek on Edwin Robertson Road . That work is already in progress.

Person EDC Executive Newsome told The Courier-Times on Friday that Person County will make water and sewer service available to the BPB site through the county's existing policy, which generally provides that the county will underwrite utility lines to an industrial site when there is reasonable expectation that the county will recoup the cost from tax revenues generated by the industry within seven years.

At the conclusion of its regular February session last week, the Person Board of County Commissioners went in to closed session for discussions concerning "an industrial prospect." Newsome confirmed Friday that the closed session related to BPB.

"The consensus of our board was to extend water and wastewater to the site, consistent with our policy," Newsome said. "We will also assist BPB in expediting the permit process, something we accord all of our companies, whether new or expanding."

Newsome also said Friday, "BPB is an excellent corporation and a worldwide leader in the manufacture of building materials. We are extremely pleased that this company has chosen to locate a new world class facility in our community. The job creation and capital investment associated with this project is substantial and will accord significant benefits to the city, the county and the State of North Carolina. We look forward to continuing our relationship with officials of BPB, Progress Energy and the North Carolina Department of Commerce, and are committed to bringing this very important economic development project to fruition."

Newsome voiced appreciation to county commissioners, County Manager Steve Carpenter, EDC Chairman Alan Hicks and Person EDC members, as well as the City of Roxboro, the state Departments of Commerce and Transportation, Progress Energy, PSNC Energy and Norfolk & Southern Railway "for their cooperation and assistance in making this project possible."

Speaking for his company, Skip Orser, group president of energy supply at Progress Energy, said, "This project represents an innovative way to protect the environment and boost economic development in Person County . Progress Energy is a leader in reducing emissions from our coal-fired power plants, and we are excited to work with BPB on this project."

Orser added, "We appreciate the work of the Governor's Office and the departments of Commerce and Transportation in making this new plant a reality," Orser said. "Their involvement shows a commitment to Person County , its economy and its environment."

State Rep. Gordon P. Allen, D-Person, who serves on the Person EDC, commented, "Person County and the state of North Carolina have worked hard to bring good, quality jobs to hardworking families. It will create exciting opportunities for the people of Person County and neighboring areas.

Based in Tampa , Fla. , BPB America Inc. is a part of BPB Group, which has 31 locations in North America and operations in more than 50 countries. The company's BPB North American operations are headquartered in Canada .

Founded in the United Kingdom in 1915 as British Plaster Board, BPB was incorporated as private company two years later. It went public on the UK stock market in 1932, and the company has grown globally since.

In 2000, the company's acquisition of Celotex of the USA made BPB one of the world's three leading ceiling products businesses. Two years later, it acquired the United States wallboard business of James Hardie Industries, making BPB the leading plasterboard producer, according to the company's Web site.

The company's products include ProRoc Brand wallboard and Celotex Brand ceilings.