Westlake Chemical Corp. is restarting its plastic and petrochemicals complex in Calvert City, Ky.
The site has been out of commission since June 1, when a mechanical failure at its ethylene unit halted production of not only ethylene but of PVC resin and related products as well.
Houston-based Westlake will see $40 million in impact from the shutdown in its second quarter and third quarter financial results, officials said in a July 18 news release. They added that Westlake will continue to work with its customers and suppliers to mitigate the impact of the outage and to meet their needs as production resumes.
Westlake has expanded production in Calvert City three times since acquiring the site in 1997. The ethylene unit there now is part of Westlake Chemical Partners, a separate public firm that was spun off from Westlake in 2014. Earlier this year, WCP said it planned to add 70 million pounds of ethylene capacity in Calvert City by mid-2017.
Westlake in June ended its lengthy hunt for rival Axiall Corp. when Atlanta-based Axiall agreed to a $3.8 billion offer. That deal will create the second-largest PVC producer in North America, and a major manufacturer of vinyl building products. Combined, Westlake and Axiall will have annual sales of $7.6 billion.