Altivia completes acquisition of Haverhill Chemicals

0

By Wayne Allen

[email protected]

Altivia Petrochemicals announced Friday; its acquisition of Haverhill Chemicals in Haverhill, Ohio is complete. Local officials have been working out finer details of the deal with Altivia for a number of months.

Prior to being acquired by Altivia, Haverhill Chemicals was owned by Sunoco.

According to released information, plant operations will resume immediately with product shipments anticipated to begin November 16.

“One of the big things that’s helped keep that project here is the (Scioto County) commissioners. The commissioners have agreed to help fund some road improvements on Haverhill Ohio Furnace Road. There’s going to be some funding from various state and regional sources, but the commissioners have steeped-up to help fill in the gap on that,” said Jason Kester, Executive Director of the Southern Ohio Port Authority.

Kester said the road improvements will serve as the local incentive to the project.

When asked about the improvement Kester said, “Haverhill Ohio Furnace Road is currently your normal country road. We have not locked in how wide we’re going to make it; we’re going to bring it up to standard for truck traffic a minimum of 12 foot lanes”

Kester said the Scioto County Engineer is assisting with the project by doing a lot of the engineering work on the roadway. He said the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth and the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission are also assisting with the project.

According to released information, the Haverhill facility is the third largest producer of merchant Phenol and Acetone in the Americas, after Ineos and Shell. Phenol and Acetone are petrochemical intermediates utilized in the production of phenolic resins, epoxies, polycarbonates, paints and coatings, pharmaceuticals, acrylics, and heat resistant polymers.

“This has been a challenging transaction to complete, however, the outlook for the business is strong. Altivia is entering this market at a very competitive price and at a low point in the Aromatics cycle, enabling it to compete effectively with Gulf Coast producers. With the renewed operation of the plant, Altivia will also restore over 100 jobs in south eastern Ohio,” said J. Michael Jusbasche, Chief Executive Officer of Altivia in a released statement.

Kester said, Altivia will retain 50 jobs with $5 million in payroll. Kester said it is anticipated there will be additional job creation after the plant is back up and running over the next two-three years. Altivia will invest $3 million in improvements to the facility.

Wayne Allen can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 1933 or on Twitter @WayneallenPDT

No posts to display