Leaner Chemical Industry Hopes For Rebound
Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail
February 17, 2008
By Andrew Clevenger
At the end of 2007, Dow Chemical Co. grabbed headlines by announcing plans to relocate 150 research and development jobs from its Union Carbide Corp. division in South Charleston within two years.
"My predecessor used to say we've gotten down to our fighting weight," said Jim Guidarini, Dow's vice president and site leader for West Virginia operations. "We've gotten to the point where we are very competitive in the businesses we are active in."
Guidarini acknowledged that economic pressures have pushed Dow out of the chemical commodities market toward the production of specialty products.
"We have specialty plants in both South Charleston and in Institute that are currently very successful," he noted.
"There's no reason why we can't continue to be around for the long term," he said. "Certainly my goal is to keep us here. But you have to stay competitive. The company's not going to give us any gifts such as new plants if we're not competitive."
Kevin DiGregorio, executive director of the Chemical Alliance Zone, echoed Guidarini's assessment of the industry's upside.
"The strengths that we have right now [in West Virginia] are that the chemical companies and the units that we have are pretty strong and seem to be making money," DiGregorio said.
While it may be tough to face the loss of 150 quality jobs, the setback does create an opportunity for the Mid-Atlantic Technology Research and Innovation Center (MATRIC), a nonprofit plastics and chemical firm that conducts chemical research that may be in a position to hire some of the displaced Dow employees, he said.
"MATRIC is in need, or will be over the next few years, for good, quality, experienced people," he said. "Now MATRIC has a highly qualified, experienced work force that they can capitalize on."
DiGregorio spoke from the New Orleans airport, where he had just attended a chemical trade show. The event left him with a positive outlook on the Chemical Valley's future.
"We will continue to find good quality candidates that have an interest in West Virginia. Whether that leads to actual business in 2008, I don't know," he said. "We made same great contacts just this week, and some of those might turn into business six months from now, a year from now, or seven years from now."
One recent addition is the Kureha Corporation, a Japanese plastics and chemical firm that announced plans last year for a plastics plant on DuPont's site in Belle.
In 2008, Kureha will break ground on a $100 million facility, said Elizabeth Gershon, executive vice president of Kureha America Inc. While the plant - which could create up to 50 new jobs - isn't scheduled to be fully operational until 2010, the, upcoming year will see a lot of construction, she said.
"We know the Kanawha Valley has a rich history in the chemical industry, and we're very excited to be a part of that history," she said.
In the meantime, the Charleston Area Alliance has provided Kureha with free office space at its business incubator on Smith Street. "That's just another example of just how much support we've gotten not only from government agencies but from the local business community as well," Gershon said.
To contact staff writer Andrew Clevenger, use e-mail or call 348-1723.