SGL-BMW facility in Moses Lake will need rail connection

Online, May 21, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Moses Lake, Wash. - SGL-BMW expects to break ground in June on its carbon fiber plant near Moses Lake, Washington.

According to Pat Boss, a government affairs consultant for Columbia Basin Railroad, the project elevates the need for a connection off the main line by constructing a rail spur.

"We have to think about how to best link them to the Northern Columbia Basin Railroad Project," said Boss.

Already, $2 million has been obtained from the state to pay for the start of construction.

But another $3.5 million is required to complete Segment 2.

The Port of Moses Lake submitted a federal request for funds. The outcome probably won't be known until late summer or early fall.

Boss referenced a letter written by ASPI Group President Andy Chen, to the railroad, which brought up some good issues.

The ASPI Group developed the industrial park near Moses Lake where SGL's facility is to be built.

"As the production of carbon fiber at the SGL-BMW facility ramps up, the company will need rail service.......SGL-BMW will ship rayon feedstock for fiber from Otake, Japan to Grant County, and after being processed into carbon fiber, it will be shipped to an east coast port to be transported to Wackersdorf, Germany for the final manufacturing process.......the existence and support of Foreign Trade Zone #203 (in Grant County) will be critical to the logistics equation of moving these parts within the BMW global supply chain.........by providing rail access to the SGL-BMW site, it will help ensure that future expansion of the facility will continue to occur at the Moses Lake site as opposed to competing locations in Canada or other locations outside the U.S.," Chen wrote.

Chen concluded his letter by requesting that the railroad "convey the importance of completing the Segment 2 rail extension and the related rail spur to the Grant County International Airport Industrial Area, including the SGL-BMW site."

Jon Smith, managing director of the Grant County Economic Development Council (EDC), said the EDC has worked closely with the Port of Moses Lake, the railroad and local industries to secure funding for the rail extension.

"Rail at the Port of Moses Lake would complete the transportation package that is available," Smith explained. "They already have easy access to air cargo, (state Route) 17 is only a mile away and it is four lanes all the way to I-90. Rail is the only missing transportation piece."

Existing companies at the port would benefit greatly from shipping their product by rail. They currently use trucking services, which is more costly for their situation, he said.