One of Orange’s oldest petrochemical plants is going to close one of its units, but will keep others open.
Arlanxeo Tuesday announced it will close the Keltan Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) elastomers unit in the second quarter of 2020.
The release does not have the number of employees at the unit. Last year, plant officials reported to the city of Orange it had 289 full-time employees and an average of 200 contract workers at the facility. The annual payroll was given as $33.4 million.
The company plans to continue production in Orange of Butatdiene Rubber and Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber.
The plant is on FM 1006, known as “Chemical Row.” The operation through the years has been owned by B.F Goodrich, Polysar, Bayer, and Lanxess. The name changed to Arlanxeo in 2016 after Lanxess joined 50-50 investment venture with Saudi Aramco.
In a media release, the company said it will try to keep down the number of “involuntary” layoffs and to provide other “opportunities” for the employees.
“We realize that the closure of ARLANXEO´s Keltan EPDM unit will have a deep impact on our people in Orange. Taking care of our employees that devoted time and efforts for the company over the last decades will be our first priority,” said Christian Widdershoven, an executive vice president with the company.
Last year, the company went to the Orange City Council to ask to be named a state enterprise zone to get tax incentives for a $19 million improvement project. The company gave the employment and payroll figures at the time and said the incentive was needed to keep jobs.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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