Flint Hills Resources to Close Texas Olefins Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In a surprise move to both employees and chemical industry watchers alike, Flint Hills Resources (Wichita, Kansas), a subsidiary of Koch Industries (Wichita), announced in November that it was closing its Odessa, Texas, polymers plant on 2505 S. Grandview Ave. The decision was quite unexpected to almost everyone familiar with the plant, since Flint Hills Resources purchased the plant from Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) (The Woodlands, Texas) in early 2007 as part of a deal that included two other Texas facilities in Port Arthur and Longview, as well as plants in Peru, Illinois, and Marysville, Michigan.

Layoffs are expected to begin in early January with a complete plant closure estimated during the second quarter of next year. Most people, including many longtime employees, expected a bright future for the plant under the leadership of a new owner. It seems, however, that the economy and the need to streamline business focus in the face of a competitive market led to the decision. New technologies and emissions regulations are forever on the minds of business strategists industry-wide. Surprises such as this may become less surprising as the world's economy struggles to regain its footing.

The Odessa plant, which opened in 1957, produced styrene before a butadiene unit was added a year later. From that point, the complex continued to develop through the years to include units producing ethylene, polyethylene, propylene, polypropylene, ammonia, nylon, APAO and finally Rex-Flex. Along the way, some units were closed, including the butadiene, ammonia, styrene and one of the polypropylene lines as equipment aged and owners changed. The complex has had eight owners throughout its history.

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