USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia / S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 18, No. 31
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
August 8, 2018
1 Section, 8 Pages
Potential Tenant Promises Profitability for Port By Will Isern
As the City of Pensacola works to develop a new strategic plan for the Port of Pensacola, a new company is seeking to bring a $40 million initial investment to set up operations at two of the port’s vacant warehouses. Incoa Performances Materials, a calcium carbonate mining company, is seeking to lease warehouses No. 9 and No. 10 at the port to import and process calcium carbonate from the Dominican Republic. The company processes calcium carbonate down to a microscopic size for use as an aggregate in plastics, glass, rubber and other industrial applications. As part of the deal, the company would be required to create 77 full-time jobs within the first five years of operation. The average salary for those jobs would be around $65,000. The port has struggled since a sharp decline in the offshore oil and gas industry and is currently operating at a loss. The Incoa deal would restore the port to
profitability. Unlike other companies that have sought to operate at the port, Incoa is not seeking any financial incentive or aid from the city. Incoa CEO Steve Creamer said the quality of calcium carbonate that the company would produce would be unique in the market. “This investment entails us bringing in a resource that doesn’t currently exist here in the United States,” he said. “We believe it brings a great benefit tot he community by bringing in a resource that is superior to what is on the market in a lot of places.” Creamer has built several companies throughout his lifetime, including a renewable energy holding company called sPower. Creamer said he first became aware
of Pensacola when sPower operations brought him here to purchase wind turbines from the General Electric plant on Scenic Highway. “That’s the original reason we came to Pensacola was because of wind but as we searched through all the ports on the eastern seaboard and the Caribbean we fell in love quite honestly with Pensacola,” he said. Creamer said Incoa surveyed ports in the Gulf and along the East Coast and settled on Pensacola as the ideal location for their operations. “It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “It’s one that’s been in the works for quite a few years and it’s finally coming to fruition so as a company we’re excited to be here and excited to work with the city of Pensacola and hope to be future operators in your community.” The proposed lease would see Incoa pay roughly $334,000 annually for 96,000 square feet of warehouse space and another $70,000 to $90,000 for a swath of vacant land on which the company would build a storage facility. Additionally, the company’s importing operations are expected to generate $80,000 in annual wharfage fees. The Pensacola City Council gave approval in July to Mayor Ashton Hayward to enter into negotiations and
conduct due diligence on the project. The prospect comes as Hayward’s administration is in the midst of evaluating the port’s future. Hayward announced in June that the city had hired advisory firm Moffatt & Nichol to develop a new strategic plan for the port. The firm conducted a pair of public input sessions and is scheduled to present its final plan in September. If and how the Incoa deal impacts that vision is thus far unclear. City administrator Eric Olson has called for a thorough review of the company’s operations and finances. “I certainly don’t want to put a damper on what may be a really good deal but I think we owe the taxpayers a thorough research of what’s being put forward,” he said. If the deal moves forward, Hayward’s administration may have to hand it off to the city’s next mayor. Hayward has announced he will not seek a third term and six candidates have filed to run for his office. Of them, both Drew Buchanan and Jonathan Green spoke in favor of the project as it was before the council. Not all are in favor of the project. Some have said they would rather see the port developed for private use.
WE’RE SOCIAL
“We have 52 acres there at the port, if you took and made three-quarter acre patio homes there, think of how much money you could bring in and they would always be there, they wouldn’t be coming and going,” former planning board member Leonard Swartz said. “You need to consider that Pensacola has finally found its niche in this world. Palafox Street has been rated one of the finest entertainment spots in the world. Why do you want to destroy that?” Others have expressed concern about the increased number of trucks and rail cars that would move through downtown as Incoa shipped its finished product, and the potential for fine dust to escape the facility and blow over downtown. Creamer downplayed those concerns. “You’re looking at less than one truck every 20 minutes at full build out, and probably about 12 rail cars a day or 24 rail cars every other day, or however we work it out with the rail to pick them up,” he said. As for the dust, Creamer said it would be a top priority of the company that it not escape. “We sell dust, we can’t afford for it to go into the atmosphere,” he said.
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA