Published Saturday, October 5, 2002
Herald Business Editor
When painting is finished in a few weeks on the interior of the former Westinghouse Electric Corp. plant in Sharon, James E. Winner Jr. figures about 15,000 gallons of paint will have been used.
Painting began after all the walls, ceilings and floors of the massive 880,000-square-foot industrial complex were power-washed to rid them of toxins. That work didn't include other restoration or the new roof on the separate 160,000-square-foot office building.
"It was one big job. Nobody with good sense would have done this,'' Winner joked.
For nearly three years, Winner's Sharon company, Winner Development LLC, has steadily been toiling at the plant to transform it into Winner Industrial Park, designed for multiple tenants.
Winner said he expects all the environmental cleanup to be complete within six weeks. Once that happens, he said, his company will begin marketing the plant to prospective buyers.
In all, it's taken about $25 million to rid the plant of toxins, with Westinghouse footing $15.5 million of the bill and Winner Development and state money accounting for the rest.
Closed in 1985, the former transformer plant was placed on the federal Superfund list in 1990. Winner bought the plant in 1999 for slightly less than $1 million and mapped out a plan to clean the area and develop the site.
Winner pointed out some of the features of the sprawling 1,100-foot-long abandoned plant, which includes various connected buildings -- some dating to 1923. Cranes, with lifting weights ranging from 5 tons to 125 tons, are scattered throughout the buildings.
"There's sections of ceilings that are 3-foot-thick reinforced concrete,'' he said. "I don't think you could build a building like this today."
The project has come under scrutiny since Gov. Mark S. Schweiker's office acknowledged on Sept. 19 the state pulled a $7 million state grant originally awarded to the project in the spring of 2000.
Funding was yanked because the company didn't provide information required to get the grant, such as engineering drawings and proof that matching dollars were in place, by a March 6 deadline.
Winner blames the Mercer County Industrial Development Authority, which was overseeing the grant application, for stymieing the project. MCIDA says the company never provided information demanded by the state, despite repeated requests.
"People kept saying work wasn't being done here,'' Winner said. "The project never really stopped.''
Winner says he's negotiating with an Israeli company on a joint venture to produce gas hoods at part of the plant. If finalized, the hoods would be sold back to Israel.
Not far from the abandoned plant, work is under way at a Winner-affiliated company, Winner Steel. A $35 million expansion is under way at the steel-galvanizing operation. A 155,000-square-foot building is being constructed to house a third 72-inch-wide line.
"The most recognizable feature of this plant is going to be a 200-foot-high cooling tower which will give us more speed in running the line,'' Winner said.
Set for completion in late 2003, the new line will be able to produce the same tonnage as its other two lines, which run between 40 and 45 tons monthly. The new line is expected to add up to 100 jobs on top of the company's current payroll of 225.
Still, Winner said he has his eyes focused on getting the existing abandoned section of the former Westinghouse plant ready for market. He plans to keep the huge Westinghouse symbol on the plant, a large W in a circle.
"When we get done here, I want to have an open house for all the former employees of the plant so they can see what it looks like now,'' he said.
Keeping memories alive is important, but it's the future that counts, he said.
"We'll be happy when we see at least 500 people working here,'' Winner said.