Texas Music star
Mark Mckinney's "Are We Doing This" seems an appropriate song for the Levelland Industrial Rail Park. This weekend crews from
Railroad Specialties Inc. began work on the much anticipated rail served industrial park located just 30 miles west of Lubbock Texas and the
BNSF interchange point which opens opportunities for Levelland based businesses to ship and receive freight from anywhere in the world.
With over 21,000 feet of rail being installed on the 300 acre site, the LIRP will offer rail service to companies looking to gain access to the booming renewable wind industry taking place throughout the High Ground of Texas. Located in the heart of the South Plains, Levelland is positioning itself as a logical hub for other fields of business as well, including agriculture, manufacturing and petroleum industries.
For more information on putting your business in the Levelland Industrial Rail Park and accessing global markets visit www.GoLevelland.com/rail today.
There have been a lot of question about the status of Levelland's newest manufacturer, Eco Blue. Well I'm here to tell you that what you see is not always what you get.
For the past month the owners of Eco Blue, a cotton insulation manufacturer located in Levelland's Industrial Park, have been working on rewiring their building, purchasing equipment and wiring it in and then running test to insure their product is ready for the customer.
The problem is that they are doing all of this behind closed doors. The parking lot is empty and the building is locked up tight with a note asking visitors to simply call a cell phone number. This obviously has caused knitting mill flash backs for some citizens.
Please let me assure the good people of Levelland that while you think you see an empty building in reality what you see is more like a cocoon.
The process that is used by Eco Blue to fire retard the cotton is a trade secret that they can ill afford to have stolen. To protect their intellectual property Rex and David simply pull their vehicles into the building and lock the doors. This keeps prying eyes from wondering into the building and keeps their process safe as a newborn baby in his mother's arms.
Sensing that the natives were growing restless Eco Blue invited the Levelland EDC board out for a tour last Friday. After signing confidentiality agreements and stopping just short of taking a blood oath we were allowed to tour the plant.
While for reasons previously mentioned I can't tell you what I saw. I can share that there has been a consider amount of work done to the building and equipment has been set into place and is now being fined tuned. With any luck Eco Blue will be up and producing cotton insulation made from both recycled denim and West Texas raw cotton before we flip the calendar page again.
So rest easy citizens of Levelland. Things are getting better every day!
The opening lyrics to the
Train Kept a Rollin' by Aerosmith:
"All aboard, all aboard
All aboard, track nineteen for the train
to freedom
Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry"
keeps running through my mind each time I pass by the Levelland Industrial Rail Park site.
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After voting unanimously to commit $1.5 million to build an industrial rail park in Levelland nearly 15 months ago the Levelland Economic Development Corporation's vision has begun to be realized. Utility companies have begun moving the necessary utility infrastructure to allow the rail portion of the project to begin.
While over the last several months the rail project has developed mostly behind the scenes the public can now see evidence of the time and effort put in by engineers, public officials and utility providers. Chi Energy Inc will be relocating flow lines and tank batteries, Xcel and Lamb County Electric will be moving overhead power lines while Atmos and Lubbock Gas Gathering will be moving underground gas lines.
In a coordinated effort resembling a George Balanchine choreographed ballet the utility companies will make way for Railroad Specialties, Inc. out of Littleton Colorado to install over 20,000 track feet of 134# rail and concrete crossties that will create the rail infrastructure of the Levelland Industrial Rail Park.
Dirt work for the site will begin in early November and the entire rail portion is to be completed by end of March 2010. Levelland EDC is working on dates for an official ground breaking for sometime in November.
The Levelland Industrial Rail Park(LIRP) is located just 30 miles west of Lubbock Texas and the Ports-to-Plains trade corridor running from the Mexico/Texas border to Alberta, Canada. LRIP's location creates a logistical dream for companies wanting to utilize rail to leverage benefits from the multimodal transportation corridor.
For more information on the Levelland Industrial Rail park and other rail access points in Levelland check out www.GoLevelland.com/rail
This morning in Levelland, two very cool things happened in Levelland's Industrial Park.
Eco Blue Inc. produced their first bale of fire retardant cotton/denim insulation from their manufacturing plant and Independent Electric broke ground on a new building and warehouse.
Both projects have been in the work for some time, but his morning a corner was turned. With board members of the Levelland Economic Development Corporation, Judy Roundtree and Wanda Lawless, present the Eco Blue owners displayed their first bale of product. 
The bale, which is headed to Tennessee for a 1000 sq. ft. home, was produced from denim from South Carolina. Eco Blue will continue to fine tune their process and begin full production in October.
While just across the street employees with Robert Mcham, a local dirt contractor began work on a pad site for Independent Electric's new building and warehouse. Independent Electric (IE), a locally owned electrical contractor,
purchased the site from the Levelland Development Foundation back in 2008 with the intention of relocating their business to the Levelland Industrial Park. IE have been awarded several local contracts including the newest shopping center next to the Wal-Mart Supercenter and both the new Levelland Junior High and the Levelland Academic Beginning Center (ABC).
Congratulations to both these companies for their new endeavors. The Levelland Economic Development Corporation wishes you all the best. Thanks for your investment in Levelland and its future.
One year and 9 days after the Levelland Economic Development Corporation voted unanimously to commit $1.5 million to create the Levelland Industrial Rail Park (LIRP) the project was put out for bid. Appearing in Sunday's paper on August 9, 2009 the rail portion of the LIRP project has seen over 20 sets of plans picked up in three days.
"We were hoping there would be some interest in what we are doing and, apparently, because we have the funding in place contractors are very anxious to bid on our Rail Park," said Levelland EDC's board chairman Elgin Conner. "With all the interest, we expect the pricing to be very competitive which is great for Levelland."
Bid opening is set for September 1, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in the Levelland City Council Chambers with a pre-bid meeting scheduled for August 19, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. at Levelland City Hall located at 1709 Ave. H. Bid packets can be obtained by contacting Parkhill, Smith & Cooper at 806.473.2200 and visiting with project engineers John Hamilton or Richard Multer.
While, there have been a number of challenges to getting this project to this point, the project is moving forward and dirt should be moving sometime in October. The utility phase of the project will go out for bid sometime soon.
The park opens up 200+ acres of industrial land that will be fully served by rail and city utilities. Permian Basin Railways will connect the Levelland Industrial Rail Park with the BNSF mainline in Lubbock, TX 30 miles to the east of the park. For more information on available lots and rail access contact Dave Quinn, Executive Director of Levelland Economic Development Corporation at 806.894.0113 or visit www.GoLevelland.com/rail
Allied Oilfield and Machine & Pump was recently named Small Business of the Year by the Texas Association of Business. The company is located in the Levelland Industrial Park just off FM 3261 and Industrial Drive.
Allied manufactures, sells and repairs oilfield equipment across the United States with annual sales over $8.5 million. Employing as many as 100 employees at the height of the oil and gas boom, they currently have 39 employees.
Allied is a community leader and works hard to stay involved in the community and to support of the local business environment in Levelland and Hockley County.
You can read more about the award and Joe Dee Brooks, controlling owner, in an article that appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on Sunday August 9, 2009. "Brooks not Done: Even after scaling back his oil pump company, Levelland man brings in prestigious award"