A company from the small town of Burrton, Kansas, is reaching beyond the borders of the United States to help a country still ravaged by the lingering effects of a major earthquake five years ago. Southwest and Associates, a custom metal fabrication company in Burrton, manufactured equipment that is being used for a new Haitian salt processing plant. The plant will help to combat preventable diseases by providing clean, iodized salt.

“I was pleased that we were invited to participate in a project that will make a difference in the lives of the people of Haiti,” said Clinton Hageman, vice president of Southwest and Associates.

Southwest and Associates served as the project’s primary contractor and provided the brine wash system, the first of its kind in Haiti. The new plant will be fully operational in early 2015 and will allow local Haitian salt to be cleaned to food-grade quality prior to being fortified and packaged for distribution and sale. The plant will employ around 40 people when operating at full capacity in roles related to all phases of the salt operation, including processing, fortifying and packaging.

“On a broad scope, the facility is a critical milestone in the effort to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis and iodine deficiency disorders in Haiti through fortified salt,” said Jim Reimer, NDHP salt project director. “The facility means cleaner salt for consumers, a new market outlet for salt producers, new infrastructure for the country, encouragement for donors, and new employment opportunities for the local workforce.”