EMR Eastern to make major investment in New Jersey

EMR Eastern LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMR (USA Holdings) Inc., has formally submitted a request to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) for financial assistance to undertake a fairly significant expansion project in Camden, New Jersey.

The assistance for the project will come from New Jersey’s Grow New Jersey Assistance (Grow NJ) Program, which is available to businesses creating or retaining jobs in New Jersey and making a qualified capital investment at a qualified business facility in a qualified incentive area.

According to a report by the NJEDA, EMR Eastern LLC is looking to erect two new buildings and occupy 10 existing buildings in Camden, for a total of 715,000 square feet. The company initially had considered constructing seven new buildings and taking over seven existing buildings, including a waste-to-energy facility.

According to the New Jersey EDA, EMR Eastern LLC’s recent submission excluded the construction of the WTE facility. That facility was estimated to cost $166 million and take up about 103,000 square feet.

The decision to scale back the expansion plan has resulted in a 41 percent reduction in capital investment from its initial $253 million to $147 million. Because of the reduction, and because this is a Camden Alternative project with an award set by the amount of capital investment, a corresponding reduction in the Grow NJ award from $253 million to $149 million. There will be no overall reduction in the number of originally projected new jobs (285) or retained jobs (62), totaling 347.

Board action is required because the existing delegated authority to modify a Qualified Business Facility (QBF) does not encompass the proposed changes and the 41 percent reduction in capital investment exceeds the 25 percent staff delegation to approve such a change.

Last September members of the NJEDA approved a $253 million 10-year Grow NJ tax credit to incent the creation of 285 new jobs and the retention of 62 jobs in Camden. The project is a Camden Alternative Project, which receives a per-employee tax credit obtained by dividing the eligible capital investment contributed to the project by the number of Grow employees.

However, following discussions the company had with the city and utility providers, it decided to table the construction of the waste-to-energy facility. During the discussion, EMR learned that the required utilities to support the facility would not be available in tome for the company to build the facility and certify its costs within the four-year period from approval time of the Grow award.

Following the decision to rescind the WTE plant, EMR says it plans to expanding its remaining QBF, which will provide the jobs that would have gone to operating the WTE. The location will serve as an auto recovery staging area.

Secondly, EMR will be building a 267,000-square-foot facility that will serve as the headquarters of its U.S. operations and provide additional warehouse space, as opposed to the 25,000-square-foot building that was original proposed. Third, because EMR has experienced organic growth in its scrap handling business since approval of the Grow project, the company is seeking approval to add 42,400 square feet of additional leased industrial warehouse space. This space will be used to continue EMR’s metals recovery activities performed on the main campus. The company estimates that 25 new jobs and $3 million of capital investment are planned for the expanded site.

The expansion request is consistent with the Sept. 9, 2016, board-approved policy as it has the same characteristics as the original approved QBF as they are industrial buildings and would have been considered as part of the complex of buildings if it had been contemplated at the original approval, is within the same municipality, is directly related to business growth and the company’s proposed eligible capital investment is sufficient to meet the increased minimum capital investment eligibility requirement.

Multiple calls to EMR Eastern LLC were not returned.