COPPERHILL, Tenn. — Intertrade Holdings Inc. announced at noon today it has sold its organic sulfates plant to Cincinnati-based Pilot Chemical Corp., which plans to shut it down and lay off workers.
Pilot Chemical did not immediately return a call today.
Intertrade comptroller Sandy Forrister said this morning it’s not known how many of the 40 or so workers will keep jobs with Intertrade once the plant is shut down in four months. The organic sulfates plant, which opened in 1952, manufactures chemicals used in detergents.
She said Intertrade decided to sell the plant because of increasing costs for transportation and replacing equipment. The Copperhill plant opened in 1952.
She said Pilot, an Intertrade competitor, will buy the product line and customer base.
Intertrade previously bought and dismantled the sulfuric acid plant that was a fixture in Copperhill.
Ms. Forrister said Intertrade will continue to sell calcine, a byproduct of past mining operations, and will keep operating a water treatment plant that is helping purify contaminated water from nearby Davis Mill Creek. She said Intertrade also may run a small chemical blending operation in Copperhill.
For complete coverage, see Friday’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.
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