Bottle plant real ‘monster’ for economy
WINDSOR –When Owens-Illinois Inc. announced last month that it would build a new 550,000-square-foot bottle-manufacturing plant in Windsor, one company official described the facility as “a monster.”
The monster will have tentacles, reaching across the Northern Colorado economy.
Even before the Ohio-based company breaks ground on the new factory, which is scheduled to open in early 2005, potential beneficiaries are adding up the positive impact of the facility:
The estimate projects local salaries — $7 million a year — and money spent in the community by Owens-Illinois and its workers.
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In the wake of significant job losses in Northern Colorado, Owens-Illinois will create150 full-time jobs — roughly 120 will be local hires — which will pay an average salary of $49,000.
Construction on the plant is also likely to generate work for subcontractors.
Carey expects Owens-Illinois to have a peak demand of 18 megawatts, second only to Kodak Colorado Division’s 26 megawatts. The REA’s total peak demand is 145 megawatts.
Owens-Illinois’ annual electric bill will be in the range of $4 million to $5 million, or 10 percent of the REA’s current revenues.
“Their rate is not a subsidized rate,” Carey said. “So, to that extent, they will over time help to keep our rates down and cover the fixed costs of our employees.”
Atmos Energy Corp. will provide natural gas for the plant.
Great Western currently runs 14,000 railcars a year on the Northern Colorado system. The Owens-Illinois contract will boost business by 3,000 cars, or 21 percent, said Alex Yeros, managing director for Broe Cos., the parent company for Great Western.
One lucky trucking firm will also get business from the plant. Approximately 50 trucks a day will deliver finished bottles from the plant to the Anheuser-Busch Inc. brewery in Fort Collins, the end user for the bottles.
One potential winner is the TMSI company, which already operates a distribution warehouse in Windsor. TMSI now ships cans to the A-B plant from Metal Container Corp., also in Windsor.
Because schools collect about half of all property taxes, the jurisdiction with the most to gain is the Windsor School District Re-4.
Schools superintendent Brian Lessman expects the Owens-Illinois plant to add up to $35 million in assessed value to the district’s existing $225 million value, a gain of about 15 percent with one new taxpayer.
Based on school-financing laws, the additional assessment doesn’t mean more dollars per pupil in the school district. However, it means Windsor Re-4 can lower its mill levy across the board to collect the same amount of funds.
“That provides taxpayer relief,´ said Lessman, who estimated that the district could eventually shave 2.25 mills off the current 16.6 mill levy, based on the district’s existing debt load.
Additionally, the school district would have greater latitude when raising funds for new-school construction. That’s because state law limits a school district’s debt to 20 percent of its assessed value.
A higher assessed value means the district can ask for more bond funding when it goes to voters. Furthermore, the security of another major taxpayer improves the district’s bond rating, which means better interest rates on its bonds.
Still, commercial real estate in east Windsor, where the Owens-Illinois plant will be located, is bound to get a charge from having a major corporate neighbor, which could spin off some support businesses.
Martin Lind, developer of the proposed Water Valley shopping center at the intersection of Colorado Highway 257 and Eastman Park Drive, said he expects the bottle plant to hasten demand for his retail project.
“I don’t have a big anchor grocery,” Lind said of the center, which is projected for 150,000 square feet. “I’d be surprised if this doesn’t solidify some deal on that corner.”
If the Owens-Illinois monster has a scary side, it’s the potential traffic impact on Windsor roads.
However, hardly a discouraging word can be heard from public officials.
The 50 trucks a day projected by Owens-Illinois will be parceled out over 24 hours because the plant will operate around the clock.
“I think it will be pretty unnoticeable,´ said Rod Wensing, Windsor’s town administrator.
“At this point I can’t identify any negative aspects to the project,” Wensing said. “At this point, it’s a great company for Northern Colorado.”
WINDSOR –When Owens-Illinois Inc. announced last month that it would build a new 550,000-square-foot bottle-manufacturing plant in Windsor, one company official described the facility as “a monster.”
The monster will have tentacles, reaching across the Northern Colorado economy.
Even before the Ohio-based company breaks ground on the new factory, which is scheduled to open in early 2005, potential beneficiaries are adding up the positive impact of the facility:
The…
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