Expanding: Westlake Chemical Corp. is expanding its Geismar chemical facility to increase the production capacities of several chemicals, the firm announced today, part of an expansion of three chemical plants. The company’s facilities in Burghausen and Gendorf, Germany will also get upgraded as part of the move. The projects are expected to add roughly 750 million pounds of PVC and 200 million pounds annually of additional VCM to the company’s production. The expansion in Geismar—which includes suspension PVC and VMC—and in Burghausen will be completed in 2019. Chlor-alkali production will be expanded at the Gendorf facility. The expansion projects are meant to meet customer demand, Westlake says. Read more.
Trouble in Dixie: Nearly 200 Winn-Dixie locations could close as part of a bankruptcy filing by the supermarket chain’s parent company, Bi-Lo LLC, according to a Bloomberg report. The business previously went bankrupt in 2005 and 2009, and could end up avoiding court this time. But the grocery business, long a difficult industry, is facing an aggressive push from Amazon, which acquired Whole Foods last year, and Bi-Lo has more than $1 billion in debt stemming from a 2005 buyout. While it’s unclear which stores are at risk of closing, at least two Winn-Dixie locations in Baton Rouge recently got revamped as part of a push to update stores and become more competitive in the region. Previous reports said Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Bi-Lo, was mulling a bankruptcy filing itself as debts came due last fall. Read more.
Groundhog day: Louisiana lawmakers, a decade into seesawing cycles of budget gaps and short-term fixes, are opening their latest special session today still struggling to agree on how to stabilize the state’s financing. The session, beginning at 4 p.m., is the fifth special session called by Gov. John Bel Edwards in the past two years. Edwards is set to deliver a speech to lawmakers at 5 p.m. The governor’s pleas for new revenue to replace around $1 billion in expiring taxes has faced stiff headwinds in the conservative house. It’s still unclear whether he can reach a deal with enough GOP lawmakers to pass taxes, or what those taxes will look like. Read more.
