BASF SE (BASFY)

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BASF Delays Closing Washington Plant As Work Continues On New Louisiana Facility
By Edward Sieger | The Express-Times on November 15, 2014 at 11:15 AM, updated November 15, 2014 at 1:53 PM

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BASF has delayed closing its Washington plant until some time next year while it completes construction on its new plant in Louisiana.

The company announced in 2011 that the roughly 15-acre property on Pleasant View Avenue was scheduled to close at the end of this year. BASF spokeswoman Maureen Paukert said in an email that the company is scheduled to transition production from Warren County to its new facility in Geismar, Louisiana, by mid-2015.

She said the closure process is a "fluid" one and based on production start-up at the new Louisiana plant and customer requirements. The transition is expected to take a few months, after which BASF will begin closing the plant, according to Paukert. The company employs about 65 people in Washington.

Plant managers have previously said employees were given opportunities to relocate to Louisiana and some were also eligible for retirement. BASF first announced the move in 2011 and at the time estimated the Washington plant closure date would be in late 2014.

"This process involves decommissioning equipment, evaluating the need for any remediation and preparing the property to be sold," she said. "It's not possible to estimate more exact timing at this point."

BASF closed its Belvidere facility in December 2010 and demolished the building in fall 2013. It's unclear whether the building in Washington will be razed.

But as borough officials work to attract an investor for the property, the head of the business district said it might be easier to market an empty parcel of land.

Sandi Cerami, executive director of the Washington Business Improvement District, said she has been searching for tenants or uses for the property once BASF does leave. The borough would lose a tremendous ratable if BASF demolishes the building, but a chemical plant is a very specific use for a very specific tenant, she said.

"And the reality is a chemical plant does not want to operate in a residential neighborhood," Cerami said.

The delayed move gives the business district more time to search for alternatives to fill the financial gap left by BASF, Cerami said. She said some developers have shown interest in the property but said it's premature to discuss prospective uses.

"We have been exploring a variety of uses, some commercial some residential," Cerami said.

Mayor Scott McDonald said the delay gives the borough a little more time to plan for BASF's departure. Officials are expecting to take a major hit with the closure, but the delay would likely now push the impact back until the 2016 budget, he said.

Along with the loss of property taxes, the borough will lose sewer revenue, McDonald said. On the flip side, that's less sewage coming into the borough system and fewer overall services necessary for the property, he said.

A residential development would bring tax revenue to the borough and also bring a demand for services and, potentially, students to the school district, McDonald said. Everyone is looking for another industrial use for the property, he said.

"But there's not a lot of medium-size businesses that can go in there right now," McDonald said.




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