CLAREMONT — Jewell Transport, which first came to Claremont in 2004 and moved into a new facility in the Syd Clarke Industrial Park three years ago, will have its property at 442 River Road auctioned on Sept. 26 in a bank foreclosure to satisfy the mortgage.
The auction originally was scheduled for Sept. 5. There was no explanation by the auctioneer, James St. Jean, of Epping, N.H., for the postponement.
The trucking company built a modern 13,600-square-foot steel and wood frame building with oversized garage doors and 2,300 square feet of office space on roughly 12 acres in 2016 and moved there later that year.
Company officials said at the time the decision to remain in Claremont was due in large part to its contract to haul bridge girders for nearby Canam Steel.
Jewell Transport’s new building was followed by a new $25 million production facility for North Country Smokehouse, also in Syd Clarke Industrial Park. They joined Crown Point Cabinetry, another Claremont-based company that was started in the late 1970s, which moved into the former Flock Corp. building in the industrial park, giving city officials reason to voice optimism of more growth in the city’s main industrial area situated around River Road. And while there has been no further development in the Clarke Industrial Park, the expansion of Mikros Manufacturing into the old Eagle Times building on River Road and the relocation of New Hampshire Industries from Lebanon to Claremont, just off River Road, have helped the city realize some of those industrial development goals.
When Jewell opened its new facility, management was listed as Max Jewell; his son Chris; and Chris’ wife, Amanda. Three years earlier, in 2013, Chris Jewell had started Jewell Specialized Trucking in Wilder, according to that company’s website.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Chris Jewell briefly stated he started Specialized Trucking several years ago and was no longer affiliated with the Claremont operation but gave no details about either business.
A phone message left for Max Jewell was not returned.
According to the city clerk’s office, Jewell Transport had not paid property taxes in 2016 and the city placed a lien on the property. Eventually about $44,000 was paid to satisfy the taxes due for that year. Jewell made one payment of $6,000 for 2017 but as of this week owes nearly $120,000 in property taxes for 2017, 2018 and part of 2019.
The building and land is assessed at $1.35 million, according to the city’s assessing records. The company bought the property from the Claremont Development Authority in 2015 for $80,000.
When it first came to Claremont, Jewell operated in a 71,000-square-foot building at 356 River Road that it bought in 2004. Jewell bought the building from a company that had planned to manufacture wood pellets. Before that the owner made fiber board. Max Jewell started in the 1970s and has grown the business to include more than 30 trucks and 100 trailers.
Jewell employed 14 when it opened in the Clarke Industrial Park.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
