KANSAS CITY, MO. - Cook Composites and Polymers of Kansas City will open a 36,000-square-foot gel-coat facility in Arlington, Wash., by March. George Kunkle, Cook's vice president of manufacturing, said the plant initially will employ eight and will make gel coats for fiberglass and other applications. It also will provide warehouse space for the company's line of resins.
Cook also manufactures unsaturated polyester resins. It produces gel coats at plants in Kansas City; Milpitas, Calif.; San-dusky, Ohio; Orlando, Fla.; and Arlington.
Georgia Gulf fire damages limited
PLAQUEMINE, LA.-A minor explosion and fire Dec. 30 in a methanol production line damaged an adjoining cooling tower and shut down a chlorine/caustic soda production line at Georgia Gulf Corp.'s Plaquemine petro-chemical complex.
Damage from the explosion and fire was limited to the methanol and chlorine/caustic soda lines, and did not affect production of vinyl chloride monomer, PVC, or phenol/acetone compounds, a company spokesman said.
The fire was brought under control within 40 minutes, and the firm returned the chlorine/caustic soda line to full production Jan. 4, said spokesman Will Hinson. The methanol line was expected to be back in full production by Jan. 8, according to Hinson.
Additives supplier boosting capacity
LOUISVILE, KY.-Rohm and Haas Co. has broken ground on an addition to its plastics additives plant in Louisville.
Construction is due to be complete by the final quarter of 1995.
J.T. Sullivan, spokesman for the Philadelphia-based additives firm, said the addition will increase capacity at the plant by 60 million pounds; he declined to give its current capacity.
Sullivan said the bulk of the added capacity will be used to produce the firm's Paraloid-brand acrylic impact modifiers and processing aids.