Decision for New Polymers Plant in Louisiana Expected Soon

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--SNF Incorporated (Riceboro, Georgia) has plans to construct a grassroot water-soluble polymers plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana, and expects both permit and capital approval decisions before the end of the year. If approved, the plant could be among the largest to begin construction during the start of 2010 in Louisiana, with a price tag estimated at more than $100 million for the initial phase of the plant.

Almost two years ago, SNF began searching the United States' Gulf Coast region, looking for a suitable home for the plant. SNG considered sites in Texas and Alabama, among others, before settling on the current proposed location. The site is nearly 800 acres and will accommodate future growth initiatives, which already include plans for several additional expansion phases, bringing the site's total investment value over five years to about $350 million.

Despite an improved and increasingly optimistic view of the industrial market in recent weeks, there are a rather slim number of major projects planned for Louisiana in 2010. Air Liquide (Houston, Texas) is among the few companies planning to move forward with a major addition next year that will include a third air separation unit at its Geismar, Louisiana, site. This new unit will have an estimated capacity of 1,500 tons per day when completed in early 2011.

As the economic picture for the approaching year comes into focus, there are several very large capital projects with the potential to begin construction next year, some of which could drastically increase overall spending in the region if approved. There is nearly $2 billion in planned CPI spending identified for Louisiana in 2010 based on projects identified as part of Industrial Info's North American Project Database and an additional $200 million in planned maintenance turnarounds. As the outlook continues to improve for 2010, so will the odds for a greater portion of these projects being realized.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.