Industrial Sealing Company From Hingham Seeks Headquarters in Braintree

A family-owned industrial sealing company founded more than 50 years ago with a focus on municipal bridge and road work has begun the process of moving from what it calls a cramped location at a business park in Hingham to a larger facility in Braintree formerly used as a distribution hub by Coca-Cola.

Representatives for the company, Sealcoating Inc., presented a comprehensive plan to the Braintree Planning Board on Monday night, outlining how they would modify the existing warehouse on Lundquist Drive just off Granite Street by updating the fuel depot, adding large tanks for dispensing coating material, securing the parking area and improving stormwater drainage and landscaping.

They also faced questions on safety and odor from board members, who sought to ensure nearby residents would be protected in worst-case scenarios, as they have faced difficulties in the past with noisy business activity in the Granite Street area.

"We have to be sensitive to that," member James Eng said. He urged the company to craft a contingency plan in case odor becomes a problem.

Darryl Mikami asked about the company's safety record in Hingham. Richard Goodick, a part-owner and vice president for operations, said that there had never been a spill of materials. Attorney Frank Marinelli, representing Sealcoating, added that the storage area for the seal coating and other materials for the paving work would be in a spill-containment area in an already-depressed four-foot deep section of the property at the west end next to the loading docks.

There has been at least one over-heating incident, Goodick said, involving the failure of a safety valve, but the equipment has been upgraded and he said that the new facility would allow for more efficient rotation of trucks.

Traffic will likely be less than what Coca-Cola brought to the area, Marinelli said, based on a study done for the proposed project. In addition, Sealcoating would add numerous trees and shrubs to the property, working to offset more pavement in one corner that the company believes would be necessary for proper traffic flow within the site.

Right now, Marinelli said, the property has stormwater drainage systems dating back to the 1960s, and so the upgrade by Sealcoating would vastly improve that aspect of the surrounding environment.

First-shift trucks will leave the facility, headed to jobs by 6 a.m., Goodick said. A second shift begins at about 3 or 4 p.m. Sealcoating has been at 120 Industrial Park Road in Hingham for many years, Goodick added, and there have been no complaints by its business neighbors, but the current facility is getting too small. He said Sealcoating has no plans to expand it operations once in Braintree.

The board continued review of the project's site plan and special permitting until its next meeting, on Dec. 13, for members to "digest" the proposal, chair Robert Harnais said. Also shifted to the next meeting was a long-standing proposal for on Ivory Street.

is similarily in the midst of a prolonged request for approval to on the south side of West Street. At issue is whether that section of the property is designated for use as a cemetery. It currently houses offices and a garage.

The Board of Health must determine that issue, planning director Christine Stickney said on Monday night. They meet next on Dec. 15, two days after the next Planning Board meeting. So the Blue Hills proposal was shifted to the following meeting of the Planning Board on Jan. 10.

Blue Hills Cemetery contends that it has been in existence since before the Massachusetts law regarding cemeteries went into effect and therefore the property should be open to their proposed use.