Associated Asphalt builds local plant

PETER JENSEN

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Each week, The Bellingham Herald takes a look at an ongoing commercial construction project in Whatcom County. This week: Associated Asphalt.

What is happening?

Associated Asphalt is building a 60-foot-tall plant on five acres in Ferndale that will produce its own asphalt and help cut costs, owner Loren Vander Yacht said. Currently he has to buy asphalt from the two biggest asphalt companies in Whatcom County, Wilder Construction and Whatcom Builders.

DANNY GAWLOWSKI | DANNY GAWLOWSKI THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

NEW PROJECTS
- A tenant improvement permit for electrical work at the former Izzy’s Classic Buffet building at 4179 Meridian St., which will become a Lovers store, was issued April 29 by the city of Bellingham.
- A tenant improvement permit was issued April 24 by the city of Bellingham for renovation at 1315 Girard St. to turn a dentist’s office into office space for Bayview Property Management.
SOURCES: LOREN VANDER YACHT, OWNER OF ASSOCIATED ASPHALT

Where is it?

The plant will be at 4950 La Bounty Road in Ferndale.

Who is doing the work?

Vander Yacht has his own crew putting the plant together and working six, 12-hour days a week to get the project finished.

How much does it cost?

Vander Yacht would not disclose a specific cost.

Scheduled completion date?

The project will be finished by June 1, Vander Yacht said.

What is noteworthy about the project?

Vander Yacht purchased the plant from a company in Tennessee and had it shipped to Ferndale in 20 pieces, where it is being reassembled. A 16-year veteran in the asphalt business, he started the company in December after leaving his job as a project estimator for Whatcom Builders. He started getting permits for the project in January and began work in March.

Since this is the peak contract season, the company is bidding work every day, he said. He recently won a contract with the city of Bellingham to patch its streets, which is worth more than $230,000 and will provide work throughout the year. Building the asphalt plant is expensive — it cost more than $200,000 just to ship it to Ferndale — but Vander Yacht said it will increase the amount of work his company can contract for.