A re-refinery that will convert used motor oil into a base product to create new motor oil reached a milestone at its site in Peachtree City last week.
Universal Environmental Services held a ceremony last week to recognize its “tree topping” which is known as the construction of its tallest piece of equipment for the refinery, said UES President and CEO Juan Fritschy.
The tree topping ceremony is part of a German tradition to recognize the tallest piece of equipment installed when the project has not had any safety issues, Fritschy explained.
Construction on the $60 million plant is on schedule to end in the last week of December, and there will be a period of three to four months of testing, training and startup activities following completion of the plant, Fritschy said.
The refinery is expected to be fully operational in the second quarter of 2013, Fritschy said. It will be capable of handling 82,000 gallons a day of used motor oil.
In addition to creating a new base product for motor oil, the re-refining process also will produce clean fuel to power the refinery plant and a compound for use by asphalt plants. All contaminants will be trucked off-site for disposal, Fritschy has said.
UES, located in Peachtree City’s industrial park, has a collection system that includes trucks collecting used motor oil. It also accepts product via tanker cars that come onto the UES site via rail.
UES is preparing to make the transition from being a simple used oil collector, having increased its customer base by 20 percent in the last eight months, Fritschy said.
“We introduced some improvements to the service for our customers and that was the result,” Fritschy said. “We expect that growth to keep going.”
Fritschy said this fall the company will begin ramping up its hiring process for team leaders and plant operators. The email address to send resumes is available at the company’s website at www.universalenviro.com.
Some of the new hires will go to Denmark for training at the UES refinery there.
