Chemical Company to Retool its Kentucky Plant

Sekisui Specialty Chemicals America plans to invest more than $2.6 million to retool its acetic acid facility in Calvert City, Ky., in an effort to continue operations and improve productivity at the site.

The reinvestment project will allow the company to upgrade its infrastructure and components and retain its 77 existing employees, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

The companys infrastructure and components in the Calvert City plant require well-planned maintenance to keep in good operating condition, the agency said in a news release. The commonwealth is partnering with Sekisui with an incentive package that will not only allow the company to replace a section of its distillation tower with super-high-alloy metal, but will also encourage the company to make additional investments in the future.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved Sekisui for tax incentives up to $888,000 through the Kentucky Reinvestment Act, a program that was expanded in the Governors Incentives for a New Kentucky bill last summer to assist companies that need to make significant capital investment in Kentucky facilities in order to remain competitive.

The commonwealth of Kentucky has always been very helpful to Sekisui Chemical, said Tsuyoshi (Tony) Okano, Sekisui Specialty Chemicals America COO and president. The support from Gov. Beshear and the Kentucky government was the main reason why our headquarters in Japan approved this huge investment for the distillation tower. I would like to show my deepest appreciation for all the support given to us so far, and I would also appreciate the continuous support of Sekisui Specialty Chemicals America.

Sekisui, a manufacturer of high-performance resins, purchased the Calvert City polyvinyl alcohol facility in 2009. The plant produces 99.9%-pure glacial acetic acid used in products such as paints, coatings, pickling and dialysis.