Builders of a temporary wastewater treatment system for the proposed leather tannery at Ceres industrial park will get to stay on the job to build the permanent apparatus.

Florence-based Hemphill Construction was the lone bidder to build the system for Mississippi TanTec Leather Inc., which expects to start basic operations Jan. 1. Their offer for $741,800 was opened in the Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting room.

Commission chair Johnny Moss said he expects the commission to approve the bid in January. Moss, Chancery Clerk Donna F. Hardy and District 5 Supervisor Richard George attended Tuesday’s bid opening.

Construction of the permanent system will take about six to eight months, officials have said. The facility plans to employ 366 in five years at the 140,000 square-foot former Calsonic building at Ceres.

A $2.65 million loan from the state geared to industrial expansion and development is paying for the treatment system and other construction items at the plant.

ISA TanTec, which tans and packs raw leather at plants in China and Vietnam, sells leather to shoe makers including Timberland, Wolverine, Deckers, Clarks, Merrell, Sperry, Rockport and New Balance, among other apparel makers.