A compressed natural gas facility recently opened at the Satsop Business Park, the first in the Northwest for Xpress Natural Gas (XNG).

A ribbon cutting was held on Aug. 10, with local elected officials, business leaders, Port of Grays Harbor commissioners and Port staff in attendance.

XNG, a Boston-based company, will use the Williams’ natural gas line to fill portable tubes of compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport to Port Townsend Paper and other regional customers.

According to a press release, XNG has invested more than $6 million in equipment, trucks and trailers to support the first phase of its project with Port Townsend Paper.

The company was founded 2011 and provides trucked natural gas solutions to clients in locations where a pipeline does not provide gas service. They are the only CNG provider using CNG-powered tractor-trucks. Other clients of XNG include Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, and Pineland Farms in Maine.

Matthew Smith, XNG executive vice president of sales and marketing said in a press release the company looked at other locations in the Puget Sound but decided on the Satsop location for their facility.

“We look forward to growing our customer base and being a part of the community for years to come,” Smith said.

The Satsop Business Park, originally built to house a nuclear power plant, is a Port of Grays Harbor facility located south of Elma, Wash.

Alissa Shay, manager of business development at the park, welcomed XNG to the business park. She said, in a press release, that the unique infrastructure and strategic location of the business park, combined with the capability to encourage growth provided value to customers such as XNG.