NATCHEZ — Delta-Energy could have its first of eight production units running and in production within the month, company officials said.

Delta-Energy President Jeff Flannery said the first of eight planned production lines has been assembled and is in the final stages of commissioning.

“We had wanted to start earlier in the year, but we had underestimated the amount of work that was needed in the building,” he said. “The delays were not with equipment, but with the amount of work that was needed.”

Delta-Energy announced its plans for a $45 million, 91-jobs carbon solids and hydrocarbon recapturing facility on 30-acres of the former International Paper property in February. The production floor will be located in the former IP warehouse.

“The second (production) line should take a little while after we start up while we work out a few things, but lines three through eight should be fairly quick,” Flannery said. “My goal is to be fully up by the first quarter of 2017.”

The company uses a proprietary process that renders shredded rubber for carbon solids and hydrocarbon liquids to be used in rubber compounds.

The company plans to source its rubber from used tires, and Flannery said when it runs at full capacity the plant will be able to process 200 tons of tires a day, or approximately 10 million tires a year.

“That’s probably all the tires we can source from Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas,” he said.

The solid products the company will produce can be sold back to tire manufacturers, Flannery said, and the company has already entered into an agreement with “the significant tire producer.”

Flannery said he could not name the company right now, but expects the partnership will be announced in mid-September.

“They were so impressed with our process here that they actually made an equity investment,” he said.

The company currently has approximately 20 employees, including floor crew and white-collar workers.

Flannery said he plans to reach out to local colleges and universities for interns and for recent graduates looking for jobs.

“I am not just looking for workers,” he said. “I am looking for people who have degrees and are looking for careers.”

Delta-Energy has entered into a lease-purchase agreement with Adams County for the warehouse.

“The initial payments all credit to the purchase price, but with every quarter the amount that is credited to the purchase price reduces so it provides incentives for Delta to close, which Delta was satisfied with because they always intended to close quickly,” Adams County Board of Supervisors Attorney Scott Slover said.

Delta-Energy has paid its lease through May, and is in an ongoing discussion with the county about other payments because it installed water and fire improvements on the property that benefitted not only the company but the county’s property outside the Delta-Energy portion of the IP property, Slover said.

Flannery said the company is waiting for a final report from an appraiser before closing on the purchase.

“If there are no surprises, we are supposed to close it by the end of the year, if we don’t do it sooner,” he said.

Hiring for Delta-Energy is being done through the WIN Job Center at 107 Col. John Pitchford Parkway.