A Janesville food and medicine oils manufacturer wants to rebuild its factory on the south side with a second set of skin.
According to a city planning memo, Abitec Corporation wants to build a shell building on the outside of its existing surfactant factory at 1530 South Jackson Street.
Abitec is just south of the former General Motors site. The company makes lipid-based surfactants for edible and medical consumer products.
Abitec is on a triangular-shaped property that’s about 8 acres. It is packed with a 118-year-old manufacturing building alongside dozens of storage silos. Abitec’s footprint is landlocked to the north and west by rail spurs that serve the property.
Abitec says it wants to build a new factory from the outside-in. It starts with a new outer shell to give the building 1,900 square feet more space.
Abitec tells the city it aims to modernize and expand the inside of the factory alongside the build-out of a new, outer skin. The city of Janesville must issue a conditional-use permit for the project.
