Tire recycler to bring 35 new jobs to Louisa Co.

Calvin R. Trice, Media General News Service
Published: September 3, 2008

A tire-recycling business is expected to bring a green industry to Louisa County along with 35 new jobs next year.

C3RS will process waste tires into rubber crumb and sell the recycled material to users of rubber, steel and fiber, the office of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced in a release.

Plans call for the company to locate in a 50-acre expansion of Louisa’s Industrial Development Authority Air Park off state Route 22 on the eastern edge of the town of Louisa.

Willie L. Harper, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said the new industry will be a double benefit.

“You get a new business locating in the park, and it’s the type of business that will help you with the recycling process for a problem item,” he said.

The state collects a 95-cent fee on each tire sold in Virginia.

In turn, it uses the money to aid recycling businesses and tire-dump cleanup through the Department of Environmental Quality.

The county anticipates the business will get started in the spring of 2009, said Bob Gibson, director of Louisa County Economic Development.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership joined with Louisa County and The Thomas Jefferson Partnership to win the project in a competition with North Carolina.

Kaine approved a $65,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Louisa, the governor’s office said in the release.

Louisa benefited from its central location and its proximity to Richmond, Charlottesville and Washington, said Chad Koslow, chief executive officer of the tire-recycling company.

Calvin R. Trice is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He can be reached at (540) 932-3674 or ctrice@
timesdispatch.com.