Officials toast Jeannette Glass site's transformation to cryogenic testing facility

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Friday will be one of the memorable days in Jason Rigone's career.

He has seen the former Jeannette Glass site transform into Elliott Group's $60 million cryogenic pump test stand and experienced the behind-the-scenes work to make it happen for years as a member of the Westmoreland County planning department and now as director of its Industrial Development Corp.

Seeing the decrepit site littered with remnants of glass production turn into a new industrial facility over the past 20 years has made him proud of what the public-private partnerships behind the project did for the community.

"The site has made an enormous transformation," he said. "The vision that Elliott had of what could be here" was an extraordinary investment in Jeannette.

Officials gathered Friday inside the new facility — complete with a sparkling grape juice and sake toast — to commemorate its completion. It was a remarkable feat in the middle of a pandemic, said Michael Lordi, CEO of Elliott Group. He and Toichi Maeda, chairman and director of Ebara Corp., lauded the project team that worked long hours to keep the work going.

"We are all proud of this moment," Lordi said. "It's quite a construction feat."

Ground was broken in December 2019, and crews built the 13-acre testing facility on Bullitt Avenue, about 1.5 miles from the company's U.S. headquarters in the city. It is in stark contrast to the dilapidated site that was left behind when the Jeannette Glass plant shut down in 1983.

"Less than two years from that (ground breaking), a dream has come true," said Mayor Curtis Antoniak.

Cryogenic pumps and liquid expanders will be tested at the site with liquid nitrogen, natural gas or propane for Elliott Group customers. There are six buildings and a liquid storage tank farm surrounded by trees and a fence in the heart of Jeannette's downtown area.

"There is no other like it in the world," Lordi said.

Project manager Jeff Watters said the team had a few months’ head start on the pandemic and weren't affected much by supply chain issues until more recently. The facility is ramping up and expects to be fully operational in early December. More than 100 jobs are being added to support it.

Some of those jobs will be at the facility while others will work at the company's headquarters off Harrison Avenue. There are a few job postings related to cryodynamics on Elliott's website at www.elliott-turbo.com/Careers.

Rigone praised the investment Elliott Group made in Jeannette, as well as local, state and federal dollars that were directed to the redevelopment project with the help of many, including state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield.

Abraham Zion of New York bought the property after Jeannette Glass closed. Then he left it dormant for decades. The Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. purchased it for $305,000 at a 2012 tax sale, but progress was hampered by years of legal challenges from Zion. He died in 2016, and a settlement was reached that year, allowing the county to move forward with a multi-million dollar project to clean up the remnants of glass production, decrepit buildings and asbestos contamination.

The property was sold to Elliott Group for $600,000 in October 2019, the year after the project was completed.

Fire Chief Bill Frye said he has created a 52-page fire system manual for firefighters to use when responding to incidents at the site. Elliott Group officials plan to add in January three silencers to liquid nitrogen vents after a noise complaint.

"Our attempt is to make sure we’re quieter than the crickets," Watters said. "We’re mindful of the neighbors. We want to be a good neighbor."

Elliott Group is one of a few companies in the world that make cryogenic pumps and expanders. Elliott, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Ebara Corp., supplies compressors and turbines for liquefied natural gas plants.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .

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