Wilmington-based Chemours will close its First Chemical site in Pascagoula, MI by the end of the year.
The company issued the following statement:
“The First Chemical site in Pascagoula has been a valuable part of Chemours through its manufacturing of aniline, nitrobenzene, and NDPA lube antioxidant. As a result of a business review, we determined that aniline business is not core to our future strategy and we have made the difficult decision to exit the business and cease production at the site by the end of this year. We value every employee and the customers they serve, and we will support them through this time of transition. We will entertain options for productive reuse of the site,”
Chemours was spun. off from DuPont in 2015 and included an assortment of chemical businesses that include titanium mined and used in paint pigments and coatings. The long-running Edgemoor titanium site near Wilmington was closed It is now slated to become a container site for the new manager of the Port of Wilmington.
According to some critics, the spinoff was used by DuPont to offload some of its environmental burdens.
The company has since worked to reduce debt and focus on core areas.
Chemours sued its former parent in an effort to settle environmental and other cost issues outside the arbitration process but has so far lost that battle. Chemours claims that DuPont did not fully disclose the extent of the liabilities.
Chemours recently opened a research and development center at the University of Delaware STAR Campus as it focuses on new products and technologies.