A local alternative energy company has made its second big acquisition since December.
Shockoe Slip-based Enviva said Wednesday that it acquired a deep-water port terminal in Chesapeake.
That deal comes on the heels of its acquisition in December of a manufacturing plant in North Carolina.
The company, which produces recycled wood pellets and other processed biomass as an alternative to fossil fuels, is also opening an office in Bethesda, Md., and has its sights set on further expansion in Virginia and North Carolina.
Enviva, formerly known as Intrinergy, has just under 70 employees working in Richmond and at manufacturing facilities in Mississippi and Belgium.
In its latest acquisition, the company sprung for a marine terminal to help ship products from its Ahoskie, N.C., wood pellet manufacturing facility, which is still under construction.
Enviva spokeswoman Elizabeth Woodworth said the company was not disclosing the financial specifics of the acquisition.
But according to City of Chesapeake real estate records, the 32-acre property was sold Feb. 3 for $11.7 million.
The terminal was previously owned by the Giant Cement Co.
Enviva said that acquiring the facility will allow it to have more control over its entire production and shipping process. That process includes manufacturing the pellets in Ahoskie, transporting them to its terminal in Hampton Roads and then shipping the material across the Atlantic to meet European demand.
“We can now closely monitor our product from forest to plant to port, maintaining facilities that meet our high standards for product excellence and safety,” said Enviva CEO John Keppler. “Plus the terminal’s strategic location will decrease transportation time and costs through our entire supply chain, greatly benefiting our customers and improving the environmental footprint of our logistics.”
Enviva said the terminal will have the capacity to export 3 million tons of biomass a year and will ultimately employee a permanent staff of 12. It expects to double the number of employees by the third year of operation. The Ahoskie plant will employ about 50.
Construction on the Chesapeake site is expected to be complete by November, just in time to start receiving pellets from the Ahoskie plant that is to commence production about the same time.
The company, according to Woodworth, is currently looking at acquiring additional production sites.
“We’re considering sites right now in the Virginia and N.C. region to support the Ahoskie plant,” Woodworth said.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
A local alternative energy company has made its second big acquisition since December.
Shockoe Slip-based Enviva said Wednesday that it acquired a deep-water port terminal in Chesapeake.
That deal comes on the heels of its acquisition in December of a manufacturing plant in North Carolina.
The company, which produces recycled wood pellets and other processed biomass as an alternative to fossil fuels, is also opening an office in Bethesda, Md., and has its sights set on further expansion in Virginia and North Carolina.
Enviva, formerly known as Intrinergy, has just under 70 employees working in Richmond and at manufacturing facilities in Mississippi and Belgium.
In its latest acquisition, the company sprung for a marine terminal to help ship products from its Ahoskie, N.C., wood pellet manufacturing facility, which is still under construction.
Enviva spokeswoman Elizabeth Woodworth said the company was not disclosing the financial specifics of the acquisition.
But according to City of Chesapeake real estate records, the 32-acre property was sold Feb. 3 for $11.7 million.
The terminal was previously owned by the Giant Cement Co.
Enviva said that acquiring the facility will allow it to have more control over its entire production and shipping process. That process includes manufacturing the pellets in Ahoskie, transporting them to its terminal in Hampton Roads and then shipping the material across the Atlantic to meet European demand.
“We can now closely monitor our product from forest to plant to port, maintaining facilities that meet our high standards for product excellence and safety,” said Enviva CEO John Keppler. “Plus the terminal’s strategic location will decrease transportation time and costs through our entire supply chain, greatly benefiting our customers and improving the environmental footprint of our logistics.”
Enviva said the terminal will have the capacity to export 3 million tons of biomass a year and will ultimately employee a permanent staff of 12. It expects to double the number of employees by the third year of operation. The Ahoskie plant will employ about 50.
Construction on the Chesapeake site is expected to be complete by November, just in time to start receiving pellets from the Ahoskie plant that is to commence production about the same time.
The company, according to Woodworth, is currently looking at acquiring additional production sites.
“We’re considering sites right now in the Virginia and N.C. region to support the Ahoskie plant,” Woodworth said.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].