The plant caught fire in April, with the manufacturer announcing its closure in June.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The Pinova manufacturing plant, beset by a massive fire in April that led to evacuations, could be fully decommissioned by December 2024.
The Brunswick manufacturing plant is set to shut down permanently, Pinova Inc. announced in June. After a review, Pinova due to it requiring substantial demolition, reconstruction, costs and time.
At a special called meeting Tuesday, attorney Mark Johnson, of the Gilbert Harrell Law Firm, said the focus was now on clean-out, dismantling the equipment, ultimately decommissioning the plant. Decommissioning calls for making sure pipes are empty and removing chemicals from tanks.
The roughly 300 acres marks on of the largest conveyances of land Brunswick has seen in hundreds of years, he said. Johnson said a goal next year is talking to residents about the future of the site.
“We think it can accommodate numerous potential projects,” Johnson said.
Pinova Senior Director of Operations Ron Kurtz said the decommissioning begins in February with all buildings removed by August. Kurz said the plant currently has 17 employees on site, declining from 213 employees at the time of the fire. The company has held four job fairs to place employees.
“Personally I was sad to see it shut down, I was hoping to retiring here,” Kurz said.
Between employees and contractors Kurz gave an estimate of the plant’s yearly value to the county at $60 million.
“This void has to be filled,” Kurz said.
The Pinova plant, which makes wood resin, has operated about a mile and a half from downtown Brunswick for more than 100 years, formerly under the company, Hercules. Hercules produced the pesticide toxaphene until 1980, according to the company’s website. Toxaphene is now classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a “probable human carcinogen.”
