Bob, my understanding is that the DHEC first issues a 60-day temporary operating permit. According to previously released information that 60-day period began in mid-March. If at the end of this period the DHEC has not found any obvious problems, the temporary permit is extended for 90 days while the DHEC conducts a legally required public hearing. Again, assuming no problems, the DHEC issues the operating permit. If there are delays through no fault of the company, permits are continued until decisions are reached. Permits are subject to renewals (requiring more monitoring and inspection to insure that there have been no significant changes).
While I deplore the way the DHEC blindsided the company in denying the previous application for a permit, rather than working with GRNO on solutions, the fact of the matter is that the company was having some problem with methane emissions and the location of the previous site was not as appropriate for their purposes as the one they now occupy. There have been no known problems with the present processor, according to the company's own tests, primarily because of the much improved performance of the current thermal oxidyzer, and Bill does not expect any difficulty with obtaining a permit.
I've been fascinated with Bill's outsourcing model for company development ever since I realized in February that these were his intentions. Almost nobody except Bill (and Donna, the secretary) work directly for GRNO. Other employees are technically hired and paid by an outside service, which is responsible for all bookkeeping, benefits, money management, etc. International sales are run by a separate corporation (there are tax advantages). Each of the local operations in the US will be set up as a separate corporation, and will be run on similar very lean models--collection drivers will be turned into independent contractors (GRNO will help finance truck purchases if necessary); operating employees are likely to be provided by an outside service similarly to the one in Charleston; companies will lease but never own real estate, etc.
With regard to outsourcing as much construction of processors as possible, this method permits great flexibility to the company and minimizes capital intensive start-up costs. If sales heat up quickly, it is much easier to add additional outside contractors that to hire and train additional employees. If sales hit a slow period sometime in the future, the company can simply not renew contracts rather than be saddled with employees who are not fully productive, but who cannot be released in a cost-effective or morale-effective way. As far as final assembly goes, the company can use a much smaller space and simply increase the number of shifts--if final assembly of one unit takes one crew three weeks (the stated goal), then three crews working round the clock could effectively produce one unit each week, should that rate prove necessary, before additional space was needed. About the only increased up-front cost will be for increased inventory.
I expect a number of these plans will be enlarged on by Bill at the May 16 meetings.
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