New chemical mixing plant to be built on Midway

The lot where Cesco's new plant will be built sits just behind Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix Inc.'s main operation. With the foundation-only permit approved, construction of the plant will begin soon.

Cesco Solutions, Inc., an industrial chemical company based in the Irongate industrial park, will at least double its business with the construction of a new mixing plant at the east end of Midway Lane, according to owner and president Karl Larsen.

In addition to mixing equipment, the 13,000-square-foot building, at 2215 Midway Lane, will house a larger research and development laboratory and upstairs office space, allowing for larger operations than their current plant at 3715 Irongate Rd., Larsen said.

“We’ll have the ability to have things laid out more efficiently than we do now,” he said. “And as the company grows, we’ll have the ability to support that.”

Construction of the facility will likely take six to eight months, according to Larsen. The facility will be built by Credo Construction, Inc., of Bellingham.

Brian Smart, a planner with the City of Bellingham Planning and Community Development Department, confirmed that a binding site plan had been filed and a building permit was under review. He also said that a foundation-only permit had been issued to allow work on the foundation to begin.

Dawn Harju, who runs the Whatcom Construction Resources Plan Center across the street from the site, said she doubts the new facility will affect her business much. Although it is prime walking territory for her dog, Samson, she said.

According to documents filed with the City of Bellingham Planning and Community Development Department, the new facility will have a low impact environmentally.

Larsen said Cesco focuses on making products for petrochemical, pulp and paper, transportation, water treatment and food processing applications that are more environmentally friendly than traditional products.

“People think about solvents being harmful, but we use products like soybean-based solvents,” which are low-risk to the environment, Larsen said. “We try to develop products that replace more hazardous products.”

Larsen said Cesco has developed soybean-based solvents for oil cleanup which are far less environmentally harmful in both production and application.

Jeffrey A. Hegedus, an environmental health supervisor with the Whatcom County Health Department, said the production and use of soybean-based products is healthier for the community and makes sense for oil cleanup.

“The first thought that comes to mind, as a chemical engineer, is the old adage that ‘like cleans like,’” Hegedus said. “And soybean oil would be desirable because it’s readily biodegradable and it’s not toxic.”

Hegedus said that production of soybean-based products is preferable from an environmental standpoint compared to traditional, petroleum-based solvents such as acetone – often used as paint thinner for oil paints – or methyl ethyl ketone.

“Acetone, MEK, you know, these very light ends of the crude oil refining process, they’re dangerous because they’re ‘hot,’” Hegedus said. “They have low flash points so they could blow up. They (also) generate odors that are toxic and so when you’re working around it you have to be very careful, far more careful than if you’re extracting soybean oil.”

Hegedus also said that leaks and spills of highly refined petroleum products would require a hazardous waste cleanup operation, where soybean products likely would not.

“I think...it’s going to be way better for the community, because it’s not going to blow up, it’s not toxic and it’s not persistent in the ground,” Hegedus said.

Beyond soybean oil products, Larsen also said the company uses citrus-based products for detergents and other applications.

Before purchasing the company in 1992, Larsen was a sales representative for Cesco in the mid-1980s. He soon began making products custom fit to their clients’ applications and eventually led the company in a new direction, Larsen said. He said the company has grown consistently since he took over and expanded the application of their products.

Larsen said he will keep the main plant after the new facility is complete. The company also operates a plant in Baytown, Texas.