A fire last Friday morning has disrupted operations at Crompton Corp.s Elmira, Ontario, factory, which produces polyalphaolefins and lubricant antioxidants, among other materials. A spokeswoman said the plant is operating at approximately 20 percent capacity and that deliveries will probably be affected.
At this point we are only making products that do not generate much wastewater, Stacey Ferris-White told Lube Report. About 80 percent of operations have been interrupted, so it will definitely impact the business.
The plant makes polyalphaolefins and petroleum additives for the lubricant industry, as well as urethanes, rubber chemicals and crop protection products. Just three weeks ago, Crompton announced it had increased the plants capacity for alkylated diphenylamine antioxidants.
The fire began the morning of June 11 at a wastewater treatment tank and, according to news reports, sent clouds of black smoke over much of southern Ontario. There were no injuries, but 250 employees were evacuated. The company said yesterday that it is still trying to determine the cause and has not yet set a timetable for resuming normal operations.
Crompton said customers of the plant are being sourced from inventory stock. In cases where product is in short supply, it added, customers are being notified on an individual basis.