VIDALIA — The only step left in the three-year rubber plant process is construction.

Mayor Hyram Copeland announced Wednesday the paperwork for the project was completed Monday in Vidalia.

Construction will begin within the next two months, Copeland said.

The company, Louisiana Elastomer, LLC, will locate its plant in the Vidalia Industrial Park at the corner of Louisiana 131 and D.A. Biglane Road.

“This is something we have been working on with a lot of tenacity for three years,” Copeland said.

The plant will be the first to locate in the industrial park, and company officials announced they will initially employ 50 people and will increase to 65 employees by the end of its first year.

Depending on the market, the number of employees will gradually be increased to about 130, officials said.

Mike Wells, Chief Executive Officer for LAEL, said Vidalia was chosen because of its location and the professional and aggressive nature of its spokespeople.

LAEL was considering nine other locations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

The main LAEL office is in Abbeville, and the Vidalia facility will be the company’s first full plant.

The plant campus will be spread across 25 acres, and will include a 50,000-square foot building.

Old tires will be shredded into pellets or sheets, and will be recycled into products that will include car bumpers, truck bed liners, mats and shoes.