Wellman's Pearl River facility to resume production
21 Sep '05
2 min read
International Fortune 1000 corporation Wellman, Inc. announced its Pearl River facility, located in Hancock County, Mississippi, is expected to resume PET resin production in November 2005. The facility, which was shut down in anticipation of Hurricane Katrina, did not sustain any major structural damage. However, one consequence of the storm surge, which resulted in between 2-3 feet of water on the site, is that many of the pumps, drives and electrical controls for the plant need to be refurbished or repaired.
Over 200 individuals are now cleaning and repairing the site. While the facility is expected to resume production in November, it is expected to operate at less than its full capacity until transportation and other support infrastructure is totally operational.
The lack of production from the Pearl River facility is expected to reduce Wellman's total sales by approximately 15-20 per cent for the period from the shut down at the end of August until the plant resumes operations. As previously stated, Wellman expects its losses from the hurricane to be covered by casualty and business interruption insurance with a $20 million deductible.
Wellman expects the start up of the 300 million pound PET resin expansion at the Pearl River facility to be delayed from the first quarter of 2006 until the second quarter of 2006.
Thomas Duff, Wellman's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, 'They are very fortunate to have no serious injuries and not to have suffered any major structural damage at the facility. They appreciate the extraordinary efforts of their employees to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.'
Wellman Inc. manufactures and markets high-quality PermaClear brand PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging resin and Fortrel brand polyester staple fibers. They believe they are one of the world's largest PET plastic recyclers, utilizing a significant amount of recycled raw materials in their manufacturing operations.
marketing@alchempro.com
