Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal Alberto Montejano works on the tumbling line at the Basalite Concrete plant Thursday afternoon. Officials unveiled the recently completed $15 million facility.
With a flick of the scissors, Gov. Jim Gibbons officially opened the new $15 million Basalite manufacturing plant Thursday afternoon in North Carson City.
The plant adds 14 supervisory level employees with an additional 11 positions expected to be added as the plant expands production to additional shifts. The plant manufactures interlocking pavers and is capable of producing 9.5 million square-feet of pavers a year when operating at capacity.
Pavers are bricks of hardened clay used as a paving material in place of concrete and can be used for both commercial projects, like streets or sidewalks, or personal uses, like patios and terraces.
"What you see here is a lot of hard work by a lot of people," said Gordon Hinkel, Basalite general manager for Nevada.
Construction of the plant began in May 2006 and was completed in February 2007. The new plant is adjacent to the company's existing concrete block plant on Boeing Way.
Scott Weber, president of Basalite Concrete Products, said, "We are very fortunate in our business to be able to grow and one of the areas where we can continue to grow is in Northern Nevada."
The plant was constructed in response to growing demand for the products, whose sales have doubled since 1999, according to the interlocking concrete pavement institute.
Basalite was established in 1972 under the name Glass Mountain Block. It was purchased by the Sacramento-based Pacific Coast Building Products in 1979, which renamed the company Basalite Concrete Products.
The new plant is operating only one shift and has the ability to provide industrial, commercial and residential blocks at a rate of 275 tons a shift. The process sifting and mixing aggregate material to the proper quality and color, shaping the blocks and curing them for 16 hours before they are distributed. After hardening, the blocks are designed to withstand a minimum of 8,000 pounds of pressure without cracking if properly installed.
Representatives from Northern Nevada Development Authority and the Nevada Commission on Economic Development praised the company's impact not only in Carson City but throughout Northern Nevada.
In addition to the manufacturing plants in Carson City, Basalite also operates an aggregate quarry in Dayton and a distribution yard in Sparks. Together the three facilities employee 115 employees.
The company also manufactures concrete masonry units, retaining wall blocks, concrete landscape products as well as sack concrete and mortar for use in Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho and Oregon.
• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.