PORT ANGELES — A ceremonial ribbon will be cut on the newly completed Composite Recycling Technology Center on Thursday.
The ribbon-cutting will be from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Composites Manufacturing Campus, 2138 W. 18th St.
Prearranged tours of the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) will be provided after remarks by community leaders, the Port of Port Angeles, Peninsula College, the city of Port Angeles and those involved directly with the center. RSVPs were taken until Friday.
In July 2015, the Port of Port Angeles was awarded a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to retrofit a facility to house the center. Further funding came from a $1 million Clallam County Opportunity Fund grant and $1.35 million in port funding in 2015-17 for economic development services.
Construction on the new facility began in September.
Supporters say the facility will bring 200 new jobs to Port Angeles over the next six years and could attract new business to the area.
Thursday’s ribbon-cutting is to have a “focus on the local community that came together to establish infrastructure for advanced manufacturing and composite recycling,” said Jennifer States, vice president of external affairs for the center.
A larger event is planned in November, with state, national and international guests invited to the grand opening and a celebration of production, she said.
CEO Bob Larsen said in July that the fledgling center will unveil plans by Oct. 31 to begin producing its first commercial product, with the center’s second carbon-fiber-scrap-based manufactured product to be announced by Jan. 31.
The first product is classified in the “high-performance sporting goods” category, he said.
Larsen predicted that income from total sales is expected to be $100,000 by Dec. 31.
