Staff at Dow Amines and Chelants business at Seal Sands have been told production will be idled within weeks
Staff at a Teesside chemicals plant have been told production will be idled within weeks, amid plans for a “strategic review” at the facility.
The Dow Amines and Chelants business at Seal Sands will idle production around the beginning of April due to “increasingly challenging operational and market conditions”.
The firm, which employs 29 on Teesside, has told staff it needs to undertake a strategic review of the Seal Sands site to assess the way forward for the plant and bosses are “investigating all options for the site”.
Bosses hope to have a “more defined way forward” by the summer.
The facility makes liquid chelant products and sodium sarcosinate, which is used in a range of processing and manufacturing industries such as paper production.
But a lack of cost-effective and reliable raw materials in the highly-competitive sector has led to the review.
A Dow spokesperson said: “The option to idle the facility comes on the back of increasingly challenging operational and market conditions; lack of cost effective and reliable raw material supply, alongside overcapacity in the liquid chelant sector. This makes it a predominantly price and volume driven market.
“As a result, Dow needs to undertake a strategic review of the site at Seal Sands.
“Over the coming weeks, it will assess all possible options and potential paths forward for the facility.”
Employees will continue to report to work while the facility is idled, the firm added.
“At this stage we do not envisage any organisational changes as a result of the idling and whilst the review takes place.
“The business has committed to reaching a path forward as soon as feasibly possible; understanding it needs to be thorough and diligent in its investigation and review of all possible options.
“We anticipate to have a more defined way forward in the third quarter of 2014.”
The firm used to own another site in Billingham and one in Middlesbrough. These were bought by Chemoxy in 2011.
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