PALMETTO -- Air Products and Chemicals Inc. has filed its permit application with the county to develop a manufacturing plant on portions of Piney Point.

The Pennsylvania company announced in July it would build the facility near Port Manatee, which officials said will staff 250 local workers.

Air Products makes liquid natural gas heat exchangers. The equipment is sold to facilities in rural areas that want to convert natural gas into liquid for trucking shipments when other transportation for the commodity is unavailable.

Recently filed site plans for the project call for six buildings totaling 350,000 square feet, with parking and a storm water management system on about 32 acres of Piney Point. The site also is allocated for the eventual construction of a seventh building, records show.

The permit application has been classified for rapid response at the request of the Manatee Economic Development Corp. Comments on the application's compliance are due by Oct. 3.

Air Products has declined to release an estimated cost for the new facility.

The company previously said it will add the 250 jobs by late 2013, when the company expects to begin local operations. About 120 jobs also will be created during construction.

Company spokesman Art George did not return phone calls seeking comment Friday.

Air Products has been in negotiations for most of the year with now bankrupt HRK Holdings LLC to acquire the land for $5.9 million. A final closing date has been set for Oct. 23.

Air Products will receive $1.75 million in performance-based incentives from the state and another $680,000

from Manatee County if all of the jobs promised are realized. The county also approved a transportation impact fee incentive valued at $46,876.

Air Products reported $2.34 billion in sales for the fiscal quarter that ended June 30, a 5 percent drop from the same three months a year ago, according to a recent filing with the Security Exchange Commission.

The company notched $484.5 million in net income during the quarter.

Under HRK's watch, a liner in the gypsum stack reservoirs at the Piney Point property storing material from Port Manatee's Berth 12 dredging project last year sprung leaks, spilling 170 million gallons of toxic water into Bishop Harbor.

Josh Salman, Herald business writer, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow him on Twitter @JoshSalman