Port of Port Angeles released a report today entitled “Economic Impacts of the Composite Recycling Technology Center: A Preliminary Analysis.” Dr. Daniel A. Underwood, an economist from Olympus Consulting conducted the preliminary study which shows potential gains in employment, income and business taxes stemming from the establishment of a recycling center in Port Angeles.
Carbon fiber has exceptional strength and is extremely lightweight, but the material’s relative high cost often sways product developers to select less expensive materials. Research engineers from University of Washington, Washington State University, University of Alabama-Birmingham and University of California, Los Angeles provided letters of interest and have been instrumental in shaping the center’s development. The Composite Recycling Technology Center would be able to host the county’s advanced manufacturing workforce training programs and enable product development, demonstration and full scale manufacturing using recycled composite raw materials.
County economic benefits were calculated using employment data for a sample user-end-product that was developed by a project team of composite industry and workforce experts. Additional innovative products are currently being analyzed by the project team, each targeting a high growth, high value market. By the end of year 5, the annual impact from this production example would be:
• Creation of family wage jobs in Clallam County
• 105 direct manufacturing jobs, with an average income of $67,000
• 66 supporting jobs (indirect & induced)
• ~$580,000 in annual business taxes (sales, property, fees)
• Repurpose of 250,000 lbs. of waste raw carbon fiber materials
Annually two million pounds of scrap raw carbon fiber composite materials are landfilled. Applying the local production example to the statewide waste stream, at end of year five is projected to create:
• 840 direct family wage jobs state-wide and 533 additional support jobs
• Annual business tax revenues of $4.7 million
• Elimination of 2 million lbs. of composite waste.
The Port of Port Angeles commissioned the study as due diligence for the evaluation of the potential impacts of establishing a recycling center in Port Angeles focused on repurposing composite waste materials into new products. "This analysis confirms that a center leveraged by researchers, workforce, local entrepreneurs and industry across the state would potentially have a huge economic impact in our county," said Ken O’Hollaren, Executive Director for the Port of Port Angeles.
The Port of Port Angeles is responsible for promoting and enhancing the economic vitality of Clallam County through business development. The Port is a diverse enterprise that operates, manages 5 deep water berths, extensive industrial and commercial properties, two airports, two marinas (Port Angeles Boat Haven & John Wayne Marina), a boat yard and a log yard. The Port also operates a Composite Manufacturing Campus, supporting composite related businesses that currently occupy 192,000 square feet of building space.