United in Elementis fight

Mar 31 2009 By Sue Scott

UNION leaders on Teesside have launched a campaign to save the last chromium plant in the UK.

Staff at the threatened US-owned Elementis manufacturing facility in Eaglescliffe have been sent letters with which to petition local MPs while a presentation is being used to rally wider political support for more than 100 workers who stand to lose their jobs if management order a shutdown.

In February, the company began a strategic review of the plant, citing "changes in market dynamics", which made it "less confident of delivering sustainable earnings and cash flow from this segment of the business". As a result, Elementis recorded an impairment charge of £20.5m against the Stockton plant for 2008, which otherwise proved a profitable year for the firm with operating profit before tax and exceptional items up by nearly £14m.

But union bosses maintain the UK chromium business, which announced a 41% surge in profits as recently as July last year, can pay its way and staff have accused its American backers of protectionism. Elementis’ only other other chrome processing facililities are in the US - at Castle Hayne, North Carolina, and Corpus Christi, Texas - where it is the only chrome manufacturer in the country.

Unite regional secretary Bob Bolam said the plant was not only important for the local supply chain, but also strategically important for the European chemical industry.

"It’s the only one in the EU that manufactures that particular product. If it was to go, the EU would be reliant on Kazakhstan and China. We want to put together a case for the board to keep this site."

He said he "fundamentally disagreed that the Eaglesclifffe plant is not productive ... it’s a good performer". And he claimed closure would hit Teesside’s processing sector, already weakened by world events.

He said saving the plant was part of an "ongoing campaign on Wilton to make sure it (the chemical sector) survives. Elementis is part of that supply chain". His comments were the clearest indication yet that processing industry bosses have been seriously unnerved by a sequence of plant closures and redundancies.

The loss of Elementis would also be felt at Teesport. "The raw materials for Elementis come from South Africa and go to America via Teesport," said Mr Bolam.

The company, which is in a 90-day consultation with staff, insisted that no decision on closure had been taken, but it has notified government of the possibility of large scale redundancies.