FOOTINGS FOR NEW PLANT • Workers pour the footings for the FiberTEK insulation plant south of the Juab County Jail in Nephi on Tuesday. Juab County Commissioners signed off on the plant on Monday and construction has begun. The plant will manufacture fiberglass insulation and will supply the western market.

By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent

FiberTEK Insulation (FTI) is building a manufacturing plant south west of Nephi near the county jail.
The building size will be 300,000 square feet and will include a 150,000-square foot warehouse, a 100,000-square foot production area and a 50,000 -square foot office and maintenance department.
Glenn Greenhalgh, county planning commission director, said builders have been preparing the site for concrete which they will now begin laying mid-week.
“The company has projected the project investment will be $20 million including $6 million for the land and building and $14 million for the equipment,” said Greenhalgh.
FiberTEK offers a complete selection of temperature and acoustic control products in the form of the Big Batt batt line and the InsulTEK1 premium blow-in insulation.
Greenhalgh said, in Juab County Commission meeting on Monday, that the site is now ready.
“They do need to begin the concrete work before the cold weather comes,” said Val Jones, commission chairman.
The four major costs of the company in locating in Nephi, according to a confidential presentation made by the company to Nephi and Juab County elected officials back in June, were labor, raw materials, energy and transport. The site selection involved the review of those inputs which would impact the success of the company.
The company will require 60,000 gallons of water per day, 6 MW electrical load operating at 90 percent load factor, and a sewer connection to handle 25 people’s sanitary requirements.
The plant will have no industrial waste.
“They will build in Juab County to Nephi specs,” said Blair Painter, city recorder.
Following construction, the company will then apply for annexation, he said.
“It is my understanding,” said Painter, “that if they annex to the city, they will receive city services.”
The big concern, said Painter, is the electric power needed by the plant. Unless a substation is constructed the city may not be in a position to supply the amount needed, therefore, the company is talking to Utah Power and Light (now Rocky Mountain Power) about ways to supply the needs of the company.
Meanwhile, FiberTEK is moving forward with construction.
“It is my understanding that they want to be up and running next year,” said Painter.
Greenhalgh said the officials indicated, at the confidential meeting, that the community would receive $10 to $15 million of taxable sales within Utah.
The company indicated to county officials that there would be 100 quality jobs with benefits which will include 401k plans, health insurance, life insurance and paid vacation.
“They said there would be a $3 million payroll annually,” said Greenhalgh.
The average wage at the plant will be $15 per hour.
In addition, there will be a round 20 jobs created within the community for maintenance support and material supplies.
Several locations were identified in Texas, Utah and New Mexico. The potential sites were evaluated with local incentives taken into consideration before the county site was selected.
Company officials, in meeting with city, county and planning officials, said that important selection criteria were electrical power rates, water service rates, sewer rates, the tangible property tax rate, local and state incentives and site specific installation costs.
“FTI is one of several businesses owned by the Radman family,” said Greenhalgh. “The company is a manufacturer of fiberglass insulation sold into the residential, commercial and industrial markets.”
Greenhalgh, who also has served as county economic development director and as chair of the Nephi City planning commission, has worked with the company to encourage their location in the area.
The Radmans have been producers of insulation for 40 years and their central Florida plant serves the Eastern United States market with sales around $40 million.
“This proposed project is an expansion of manufacturing capacity to serve existing national clients in the West,” Greenhalgh said.
The plant is being constructed by WF Engineering, an engineering construction company specializing in building fiberglass insulation factories and equipment. WFE has built plants and has operating equipment in Korea, China, Thailand, Canada, Australia and the United States.
WFE focuses on building fiberglass insulation capacity internationally.
Additional American Diamond Tool is a manufacturer of deep hole and exploratory drill bits with sales of $10 million per year and 45 employees. ADT sells product to major oil fields, mines and drillers world wide.
The market the company will be supplying is approximately $4 billion per year with the company planning to sell and additional $45 million per year which is less than 1 percent of the market share.