A Canadian pipe manufacturer has opened a multi-million-dollar plant in Saratoga Springs, bringing sustainable technologies and jobs to the region.
Soleno’s 45,000-square foot production plant is already pumping out large diameter plastic pipes — giant machinery is slowly molding a set of pipes more than 10-feet in diameter.
Soleno has already invested $22 million into this factory, located in the back of the WJ Grande Industrial Park, and plans to ramp up construction in the coming months.
Democratic state Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner of the 113th District was there for Thursday’s ribbon cutting.
“They see in our community a place that they can grow and that’s a really positive thing. And so I’m thrilled about this and I don’t think that they are the only companies that are looking at New York, but I think they are a great example of a company that is working on environmentally positive solutions to existing problems like the need for 130-inch pipes under the ground for water and that they want to do it in a way that is protective of the environment, and is going to solve a problem by reusing all of the plastic that we don’t have a market for,” said Woerner.
Soleno says up to 95% of the high-density polyethylene plastic that goes into its pipes is made of recycled material.
“These pipes, if your grocery bag is going to stay a million years in a landfill, that six-inch thick pipe is going to be there for—it’s going underground, right? We say 100 years because we have to say something, but it’s going to be more than that,” said Mathieu Cornellier.
Soleno USA manager Mathieu Cornellier is giving a tour of the facility.
“So large-diameter pipes, just in the New York, New England area, there’s a market study that we have that is about a billion dollars a year. And that’s where in my speech I said if all we do is sell our capacity, we will have sold ourselves short,” said Cornellier.
His vision for Soleno goes beyond pioneering the plastic pipe market in the United States. He wants the company to be an upstanding corporate citizen in the region. Of the 35 workers currently at the plant, 30 come from the recently closed Quad Graphics plant just down the road.
“It’s been a blessing in disguise. I mean, just finding labor fast was a—could have been a bigger challenge. But also, like I said, all of these employees come from Quad, they know how to work. We’ll teach you plastic, but all of the intangibles they already knew,” said Cornellier.
Michael Prime was one of more than 400 workers at Quad Graphics when the company began relocating and laying off employees this spring.
“It was unbelievable, the timing couldn’t have been better. It was—we literally finished on May 4th, almost all of us, and started here on May 6th. So, Friday we left and it was bittersweet, sad, but quickly jumped right back into something new and different. And they sent us to Canada to train, they sent us to Estonia because this equipment doesn’t exist not even in Canada, so it was a blessing,” said Prime.
With minimal experience in plastic pipe manufacturing, Prime says he and the other Quad employees had to hit the ground running.
“I went from high school to Quad, so now I’m like, ‘what am I going to do now?’ So, like you just said, this is the beginning. It’s only going to grow from here. And people have mentioned maybe I could go help train a new plant when they go start a new one. So, tons of opportunities, we still have so many positions we need to fill,” said Prime.
Saratoga Economic Development Corporation President Greg Connors says Soleno, which is based in Montreal, is a welcome addition to the business community.
“Today marks the beginning. And in speaking to Soleno leadership, they fully intend to start ramping up their employment numbers very quickly. And hopefully not only for those former employees of Quad who still may be looking, but there’s a lot of opportunity for Saratoga County residents here looking for a high-paying, reliable job that’s going to be here for many, many years to come,” said Connors.
According to Soleno, a second construction phase that would add 25,000 square feet to the Saratoga Springs plant is under review.
