$19M Synsil factory being built in Cleburne

Synsil Products Inc., the subsidiary making the product, broke ground on the 200,000-square-foot plant Feb. 15. The highly automated, state-of-the-art facility will employ 16 skilled laborers. It´s expected to come online by the fourth quarter, according to Rick Honey, vice president of investor relations for Minerals Technologies (NYSE: MTX). The plant will sit on 15.5 acres in the 1,500-acre Cleburne Industrial Park West, which is owned jointly by the city of Cleburne, some private landowners and the Cleburne Economic Development Foundation.

The site on Windmill Road just north of State Highway 171 puts the plant within a 30-mile radius of silica sand and limestone mines in western Johnson County. Those will supply about half the raw material needed for the plant, said Joe Dintino, Minerals Technologies´ vice president of engineering and project manager. Good location The plant is also strategically located near major manufacturers of various glass products, including Johns Manville International in Cleburne, which makes glass for fiberglass insulation products; Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp. in Waxahachie, which makes building insulation; and Certainteed Vetrotex in Wichita Falls, which makes fiberglass reinforcements, said Jerry Cash, economic development director for Cleburne.

Honey said there are 10 to12 glassmaking operations within a 200-mile radius of the new plant. Minerals Technologies in January opened a similar plant in Chester, S.C.

The two facilities will make Minerals Technologies´ trademarked Synsil, a new composite mineral used in making glass. "This is just the beginning of what we hope will be multiple plants around the world," Dintino said. While Synsil costs three to four times more than standard raw materials, Honey said, the company believes it saves a manufacturer money in the long run. They cite the fact that Synsil melts faster at a lower temperature, bringing raw materials for making glass to a molten state more rapidly, he said.

That, in turn, saves wear and tear on furnaces, increases throughput and reduces energy use. Typically, Synsil makes up 15% to 20% of a glassmaker´s raw material mix and can be used with existing technology, Honey said. The plant will initially produce 100,000 tons annually of Synsil, which Honey said looks much like sand. Production could double within 12 months, Dintino said. The building -- equipped with computerized machines to mix, weigh and dry the product -- is expandable to 400,000 square feet.

Minerals Technologies picked the site itself, based on a recommendation from an existing business in Cleburne, said Cleburne´s Cash. The park is about 50% built out and has water, sewer and streets already in place. Officials in Gov. Rick Perry´s office and within state agencies worked closely with Minerals Technologies to fast-track the company´s required permit for particulate matter emissions, Cash said. The streamlined agreement made it possible to get the permit in four to six months, he said. Minerals Technologies qualified for a five-year, 40% tax abatement from the city and county, Cash said. The abatement is valued at $440,000 over the five years.