It's been nearly a decade since the storage tanks, distillers and boilers at the former Essex Chemical plant in Fairfield were used.
But the equipment -- much of it rusted though usable -- could be back in operation this spring recycling antifreeze and motor oil.
Four local businessmen have begun converting the facility at 3520 Fairfield Road -- positioning their company to be among the first new companies to locate in the Fairfield section of Baltimore's $100 million federal empowerment zone.
When the company, Mid Atlantic Environmental Inc., reaches capacity, it will employ about 50 workers processing old antifreeze and motor oil, company officials said.
The company decided to locate in Fairfield because of the tax breaks available to businesses in the empowerment zone and the ecological-industrial park proposed for the decayed industrial section of South Baltimore, officials said.
"We went in there because of the empowerment zone," said George W. Clampet, one of the partners.
"We thought Baltimore City had something to offer us," he added. "We said, 'What better thing would fit?' "
City officials hope Mid Atlantic's interest in Fairfield is a sign of things to come.
"I think it's encouraging," said Larisa Salamacha, a Baltimore Development Corp. official who has been working with the empowerment zone. "BDC has gotten many calls about companies that want to move into Fairfield before we've even started a formal recruitment effort."
Under the city's empowerment zone proposal, Fairfield was envisioned as the site of an ecological industrial park, where one company's waste could be another's source of energy and raw materials. The park's centerpiece would be a plant designed to convert tires and other organic wastes into oil, according to the proposal.
Last week, Michael V. Seipp, principal author of the city's application, told the empowerment zone's board that the federal Environmental Protection Agency "pushed aggressively for our application because of the ecological industrial park."
"This is a place where over the next five years there is a potential to look at 1,200 acres of unused land and convert it into a new industrial park in the city," he said.
The empowerment zone, which will receive $100 million in social service grants, includes decayed areas of East and West Baltimore, as well as Fairfield. Tax breaks include credits of up to $3,000 for each zone resident hired. Low-cost loans and grants also are available.
Mr. Clampet is especially interested in plans for the tire recycling plant. "If they come up with an oil byproduct, they'll fit right in with us," he said.
According to a Mid Atlantic Environmental financial plan dated Jan. 31, the partners have invested nearly $400,000 of their own money and plan to put up an additional $300,000. But the company needs another $1.5 million worth of equipment and renovations, the plan says.
Mr. Clampet hopes to meet soon with empowerment zone officials about tax incentives. But he and other officials say the company will go ahead with its plans anyway.
"The whole thing's going to happen regardless," said Jeffrey J. Robitaille, another of the partners.
Mr. Robitaille is the founder of Mid Atlantic Oil Management Services Inc., a 6-year-old company that collects waste oil and antifreeze from gas stations and factories and sells it to recyclers.
Seeking a larger market by getting into the oil recycling business, Mr. Robitaille formed Mid Atlantic Environmental last month with Mr. Clampet and two other partners, merging his company with the new firm. A state waste permit, good for five years, was issued Feb. 12, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The company plans to extract trace metals from used oils and to remove the water from used antifreeze. In recycling antifreeze, it plans to package and resell the purified ethylene glycol.
"We'll be running 24 hours a day. We'll need a pretty good work force," said Mr. Clampet. He said the company eventually would add about 45 employees to the 18 workers now collecting used antifreeze and oil for Mid Atlantic Oil Management, which has begun moving its operations from Highlandtown to Fairfield.
Mid Atlantic Environmental's financial plan includes letters from a handful of companies interested in its product. Among them is Powerline, a New Hampshire-based auto products firm. "It's in the right location," said Marlow H. Paulson, Powerline's president. "It's going to be a great facility."