Chemical Project Activity in Arkansas Remains Constant So Far

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Arkansas is home to fewer than 40 Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) plants employing approximately 3,500 people. Despite its small size, ongoing CPI investments in the state are actually high compared with spending of recent years, with currently ongoing capital and maintenance project activity totaling an estimated $142 million. Future CPI project spending already identified in the state as part of Industrial Info's North American Project Database totals $80 million more over the next two years.

Some of the largest ongoing projects include plans by Tetra Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TTI) (The Woodlands, Texas), which is constructing a calcium chloride plant in El Dorado, Arkansas. Plans for this project have been in progress for several years with construction getting under way late last year. Hunt, Guillot & Associates (Ruston, Louisiana) and PCE Constructors Incorporated (Prairieville, Louisiana) both are serving as contractors for this project, with the expectation that construction will be complete by the end of the year. Chemtura Corporation (NYSE:CEM) (Middlebury, Connecticut) is in the process of replacing multiple brine pipelines totaling an estimated 140 miles in the El Dorado area that collect brine from area supply wells for use as feedstock. Georgia-Pacific Corporation (Atlanta, Georgia) is nearing the midway point of a multiyear initiative to upgrade and replace process controls plant-wide at its formaldehyde and tall oil site in Crossett, Arkansas.

Looking ahead, an almost equally attractive number of projects are planned to begin construction over the next year. Linde Gas North America LLC (Murray Hill, New Jersey) is considering the construction of an estimated 500-ton-per-day air separation plant in the state. Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP (Houston, Texas) expects to begin work in the next few months on a series of process upgrades for a separation plant in Armorel, Arkansas. These upgrades include work in each of the plant's three air separation units and liquefier to increase the reliability of the plant site.

These projects and others still in the planning phase in Arkansas signal the state's ability to stay focused on growth despite the poor economics currently facing all of North America.

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