As SABIC begins to restructure its organization, the company has announced they are considering its plant in Selkirk as a possible site for some regional consolidation.
Officials at SABIC, also known as Saudi Basic Industries Corp., said they are currently considering moving a polymer laboratory from its current location in Pittsfield, Mass., to the SABIC Innovative Plastics plant in Bethlehem, which the company bought from General Electric last year for nearly $12 billion.
The laboratory is described as a research and development site for SABIC.
However, any move is very preliminary at this point, and those involved, including town officials, are saying very little in terms of detail as a possible deal is hashed out.
There are two separate things that we’re looking at, said SABIC spokeswoman Jodi Kennedy. `Were trying to reduce operational costs, and we’re looking to relocate our lab and find a new site for our headquarters within Pittsfield.`
Kennedy said the polymer lab could either be moved to Selkirk or to a new location in Pittsfield and that more won’t be known until after the New Year.
`We probably wouldn’t have more information until early 2009,` Kennedy said.
SABIC decided to cut 1,000 jobs worldwide after a nine-month operational study, out of which locally about 40 positions were eliminated at the Pittsfield headquarters, as well as one position in Selkirk. The cuts are part of a restructuring plan for the company in order to meet SABIC’s future growth and expansion, according to Kennedy.
Bethlehem’s outgoing director of economic development, George Levielle, said town officials are talking with SABIC, but could comment on little else.
`We’ve been working a lot with SABIC and on their initiatives,` Levielle said. `We can’t publicly talk about our negotiations but it would be a very positive, positive investment for the community.`
When asked how many jobs would come with the polymer laboratory, Levielle responded, `If you want to put a number on it at least 50 is a good starting point.`
SABIC currently employs nearly 500 workers at the Selkirk plant near Feura Bush.
In addition to paying local property taxes, Levielle pointed out the number of workers at the plant who buy from local stores in town during their daily commutes and even some who live and pay taxes in Bethlehem.
With the Vista Tech Park breaking ground in the spring and plenty of warehouse space near the SABIC plant in the industrial zone, Levielle said he hopes other will follow suit.
`We’re really trying to ramp up the community as a key location to businesses being so close to the CSX rail yards and the state Thruway,` he said.
SABIC Innovative Plastics manufactures thermoplastics and resins to be used for the manufacturing of goods of nearly any product that is made of plastic.
The Selkirk plant mainly produces Noryl resins, an alloy of polyphenylene oxide and polystyrene.
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