By Portia Williams
Haverhill Chemicals, LLC, has announced Friday that the Haverhill Chemical Plant it will begin the suspension of operations at the facility, effective immediately.
According to a release provided by Tom Wells, vice president, since acquiring the plant three years ago from Sunoco, the company has incurred tens of millions of dollars in unbudgeted and unanticipated expenses required to improve the condition and reliability of the plant. That unexpected investment of time and capital made operations unsustainable.
During the shut-down phase, the company will be seeking a solution that may allow the plant to resume operations.
Wells had no comment after announcing the suspension on Friday, but on Thursday he told the Daily Times there have been numerous problems at the Haverhill Chemical Plant.
“This facility has never operated based upon what our expectations were,” he said. “And that has led to additional problems as you know. The company had a fatality last year in the BPA Unit. The BPA Unit was down for a number of months and that clearly had an economic impact. It has been a significant capital investment made in that plant, which has a financial impact as well.”
According to Wells, the Haverhill Chemical Plant employs 141 people.
Reach Portia Williams at 740-353-3101, ext. 1929, or on Twitter @PortiaWillPDT.
