IWD plans $1.2M plant upgrade

Press, 23 July 1986, Page 38

IWD plans $1.2M plant upgrade

PA New Plymouth Ivon Watkins Dow, Ltd, will spend $1.2 million restoring and upgrading the part of its New Plymouth plant which broke down in April producing a chemical leak. About 30 per cent of work on the trichlorophenol (tcp) plant was demanded by the Health Department before the plant could operate to the department’s satisfaction. The rest was upgrading work which IWD planned to carry out over the next two years. The tcp plant makes the main raw material for the production of the herbicide, 2,4,5-T. In a statement yesterday, IWD’s public relations manager, Mr Tony Jaques, said the expenditure confirmed the company’s intention to keep making 2,4,5-T in New Plymouth. “It should answer the rumours about a possible move,” he said. Work to be carried out would be divided into three categories: © Modifications to the badly fitted safety disc that caused the April leak. ® Increases to fire protection within the plant and the automatic deluge system.

• Further automatic process control by com-

puter, already planned by IWD before the accident Asked how the enforced expenditure would affect the company’s cash flow at a belt-tightening time, with IWD product sales hit by the rural recession, Mr Jaques said he would rather not comment Results of IWD’s performance in the first half of the year should be public next month. Most of the money for restoration and upgrading would be spent in the second half of the year, instead of over two years as planned. However, Mr Jaques said IWD would save in the long run because the enforced shutdown took the place of the annual shutdown required for the planned modifications. . The tcp plant would restart in November or December, with most of the work being done by IWD staff. The production of 2,4,5T should continue uninterrupted as the company had sufficient tcp stockpiled to meet the market demand. Without the rural downturn, supplies of 2,4,5-T could have been threatened, Mr Jaques said. “At this point, IWD expects no problems meeting customers’ demands.” There was plenty of product in the distribution

pipeline. Upgrading work would be monitored by the Health Department to ensure the plant complied fully with all health and environmental protection requirements.