According an article that appeared in the Times Free Press on Saturday, January 13, 2007:

Velsicol Chemical Corp. is shutting its Chattanooga production plant, and about 70 workers will lose their jobs, a company official said Friday.

The Alton Park plant, which Velsicol has operated since 1963, will close in mid-April, said Virginia Buttala, global human resources director for the Rosemont, Ill.-based company.

"The increasing competition of the global marketplace demands we find the lowest cost source for customers," she said.

The future of the plant site is uncertain, Ms. Buttala said.

"At this time, the plant is not for sale," she said. The facility makes benzoic acid and plastic additives.

The Velsicol official said six employees who work at the Central Avenue facility in Velsicol's corporate engineering group will remain.

"There are no plans at this time to relocate them to another location," Ms. Buttala said.

Dwight Jones, a 40-year Velsicol employee, said the mood at the plant since employees learned of the shutdown is "terrible."

A lot of employees aren't just losing their jobs but their health insurance as well, he said.

"We've got a lot of people in their upper 50s and lower 60s; they can't retire with insurance," said Mr. Jones, who also is president of United Steel Workers of America Local 15329.

He said the union is negotiating a severance package for the workers at the plant, which was built in the 1940s.

Ray Childers, the Chattanooga Manufacturers Association president, cited the international competition the plant has been fighting.

He said it has been "struggling to compete for some time."

"We regret having to cease manufacturing operations. The decision will help provide a more secure future for the company," Ms. Buttala said.

Velsicol was bought in 2005 by New York-based private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners, which invests in middle-market manufacturing and service companies.

"Arsenal Capital's only concern is the dollar bill," Mr. Jones said.

Velsicol had bought the plant, which at one time employed about 200 workers, from Tennessee Products and Chemical Co.