PSC opens West Memphis location; facility enhancements continuing
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM
PSC CONTAINER Services Division's leadership probably couldn't have picked a better spot for a new tank wash rack to serve the greater Memphis market. The facility sits almost exactly between Interstates 55 and 40 in West Memphis, Arkansas.
The wash rack is the latest addition to the PSC network, which now stands at 21 US locations. It is part of the company's current campaign to expand operations in southeast, mid-South, and southwest. In addition, the West Memphis wash rack reflects PSC's continuing push to offer more foodgrade cleaning services.
“West Memphis is another step in PSC's effort to grow our tank wash network and offer high-quality tank cleaning services to our customers across the United States,” says Greg Winters, PSC vice-president of sales. “We listen to our customers, and we add facilities in markets where there is demand. We had not previously had a presence in the Memphis market.
“We are making a significant investment in the tank cleaning network expansion. We are spending somewhere between $1.5 million and $2 million on each new location.”
Five wash bays
PSC's five-bay West Memphis wash rack offers chemical and foodgrade cleaning and is located at 400 Mound City Rd. The phone number is 870-732-2255, and the fax is 870-732-2289. Wash rack operating hours are 6 am to 11:30 pm, Monday through Friday, and the facility accepts weekend callouts. Customers should call ahead for cleaning limitations. Customers also can request a copy of the National Tank Truck Carriers Cleaning Audit for the facility.
“We will increase to a 24-hour operation as tank cleaning volumes grow,” says Lamar Promise, PSC service center manager in West Memphis. “We can clean more than 50 chemical tanks a day with the current wash rack staff of five workers. We project cleaning 20 or so tanks a day on the foodgrade side as that operation comes up to speed. We hired two more wash workers for the foodgrade side.
“We can handle just about any product on the chemical side of our operation, with the exception of PCBs (polychlorinated biphyenyls) and a few other substances. We certainly can clean tank trailers that have handled the typical products moving through this area — water treatment compounds, light oils and additives, latex, and foods (such as sweeteners and edible oils). We are in the final stages of obtaining the kosher and other certifications we need for foodgrade cleaning.”
As is the case at a number of the PSC wash racks, the West Memphis location will be able to handle both tank trailers and ISO tank containers. However, the wash rack currently lacks a lift, which means tank containers will have to be on a chassis throughout the cleaning process. A yard tractor is available for repositioning trailers.
“We believe that tank container activity will grow in the Memphis area in coming years,” Winters says. “Memphis has been targeted as an inland port that can alleviate growing congestion in west coast ports by placing containers on rail into Memphis. With this new wash rack, we are ready to serve that market.”
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