An aluminum smelting plant is moving into a vacant industrial building 2000 feet west of the entrance to the upcoming Bonnet Springs Park.
Stiefel’s Aluminum Consulting Services was cleared by the Florida DEP to move its secondary-smelting operation into a 12,000-square-foot building at 1220 George Jenkins Blvd. And on Monday the Lakeland City Commission approved a zoning change on 7.18 acres.
According to LinkedIn, The Stiefel Aluminum is a secondary aluminum smelter located in Dade City, Florida. Specializes in refining scrap aluminum rims (wheels). The finished product includes 32 lbs ingot and 2300 lbs sows. Product is shipped internationally and includes OEM and aftermarket wheel manufacturers as well as other industries. And was founded in 2001.
According to Teresa Maio, community planning and housing manager said the company previously operated in Dade City but a fire in a neighboring business forced it to close.
The 7.18 acres was previously zoned for medium industrial use. Planned unit development zoning allows the city to impose conditions, which include requirements that:
- The smelting and associated manufacturing take place in a fully enclosed building
- No aluminum wheels, metal scrap or reclaimed materials be stored outside
- No odors be detectable at or beyond the property line
Stiefel, the company president, told city planners that more than four million pounds of clean aluminum wheels are exported monthly from Florida for smelting, mostly to China. He plans to tap into that market with a 24-hour-a-day operation that at full capacity would produce 3 million pounds of aluminum ingots a month and employ 45 to 50 workers.
City Manager Tony Delgado said that at commissioners’ request staff had added the condition that odors could not be detected at or beyond the property line.
The staff report said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection confirmed that emissions generated by secondary smelting of clean aluminum would be limited to particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds associated with burning natural gas, the report said.