City transfers pretreatment facility to Check-Mate
Published 12:54 pm Monday, September 16, 2019
THOMASVILLE — A City of Thomasville-owned facility that pretreats industrial discharge will be transferred to the Thomasville Payroll Development Authority (PDA).
Thomasville City Council voted unanimously to transfer the facility to the PDA, which will lease it to Check-Mate, a new industry in the start-up phase on the west bypass.
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Check-Mate will manufacture firearm magazines and other products, including medical tools and automotive and aerospace components.
“The pretreatment facility was built when Caterpillar opened and served Caterpillar only,” said Chris White, Thomasville Utilities superintendent.
Caterpillar owned the building. The city owned the property where the pretreatment facility was located.
After Caterpillar closed, the city purchased the Caterpillar property. Transferring ownership will allow the PDA to lease the facility to Check-Mate, White said.
Residences and small businesses have a certain type of discharge that goes into the city sewer system. Industrial discharge contains solvents and chemicals that enter the system.
“This facility removes heavy metals, solvents, oils and other industrial discharge components,” White said.
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“Dirty water” from Check-Mate, he said, will be pretreated before it reaches the city sanitary sewer system.
The city, which is permitted by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, permits and monitors local industries’ pretreatment of discharge into the city sanitary sewer system.
“The PDA will own it, and we will lease it to Check-Mate,” said Shelley Zorn, PDA executive director.
The city transferred ownership of the Caterpillar property to the PDA in 2018.
Zorn said 30 quick-start Check-Mate employees are learning to assemble products. Another 40 employees will go to work when all equipment has been installed, she added.
Check-Mate officials expect the Thomasville plant to employ a total of 230 within five years.
Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820