ISP re-starts limited SBR production at Texas facility

ERJ staff report (DS)

Wayne, New Jersey -- International Specialty Products (ISP) said it has started making SBR again at its plant in Port Neches, Texas. ISP declared Force Majeure at the plant on Sept. 15 after shutting down production in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

ISP said, "Orders will again be taken on a normal basis for several grades of styrene butadiene rubber: SBR 1006, 1009AF, 1011AC, 1011AE, 1012, 1013, and 4503."

“Force Majeure will remain in effect for all other grades until we are able to rebuild sufficient inventories,” stated Tim Gorman, Vice President - Elastomers. “For those grades, we will continue to allocate shipments by grade in accordance with the terms of our customer contracts, after which we will take into consideration the limited supply and each customer's purchasing history over the last six months.”

According to Gorman, damage to the plant itself was relatively minor. “All key maintenance projects undertaken to ensure a prompt and efficient startup have been completed,” he noted. “Electrical power and other utilities have been restored to the entire area. Key raw materials for the most part are available again, and the majority of our employees have returned to work.”