The Opportunity
Encina is an advanced manufacturer with a mission to catalyze the transition to a sustainable, circular economy. The company recently deployed new technology to convert post-consumer waste into raw, virgin quality material necessary to manufacture 1000s of new products. SDG was hired to determine an appropriate search region for Encina’s first full-scale production facility based on factors including feedstock availability, access to logistics infrastructure, and total delivered costs.
The Challenge
The driver for Encina’s project was proximity to feedstock; specifically, post-consumer recycling streams. Working in conjunction with our logistics consulting partner, PLG, our first step was to define the search region based on inbound and outbound logistics costs. At the same time, Encina continued to negotiate with potential feedstock suppliers and identify new offtake partners. With each new supplier and partner identified, the logistics analysis shifted, cost curves changed, and our search region identification became increasingly complex.
The Solution
The schedule was an important component of this project, and as a result, the site selection and logistics analysis had to be run concurrently. Ultimately, SDG site identification efforts focused on 16 states. While this broad search geography meant a bit more work on the front end, it saved critical time and resources by not having to start over in a new search region as the supplier and offtake logistics came into clear view.
Because rail access was required, and barge access was highly desirable, the number of potential sites was limited even within our broad search region. During the site identification process, SDG evaluated and ranked several greenfield and brownfield sites based on these criteria. The finalist site was chosen based on several factors, including access to raw materials, readily available land, and ease of permitting. SDG searched in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The project was ultimately announced in Northumberland County, PA.
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