Coll Materials Inc. To Expand to Township, Create Jobs

Industrial plastics recycler Coll Materials Inc. is expanding to a 105,000-square-foot facility in South Whitehall, with a promise to create 75 new jobs over three years, Gov. Tom Corbett announced in a prepared release Tuesday.

The company, based in Ohio, received $333,750 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development for its $4 million project. That public money includes a $150,000 economic opportunity grant, $33,750 in job-training assistance and $150,000 in job creation tax credits, the release said.

The Morning Call reported that Coll Materials also will close Nicos Polymers, a Northampton County company it acquired earlier this year, and bring those 70 workers to the new plant on Crackersport Road.

Coll Materials purchases and processes plastic waste from waste haulers, recyclers and landfills, then sells it to plastic manufacturers in flake and pellet form. Established in 2008, gross sales for 2011 is estimated at $48 million, the release said.