North East still holds the cards
21 Sep 2009
Croda linked its closure directly to the loss of the Dow facility, which supplied it with ethylene oxide. The concern is that many other UK chemicals facilities now face a similar fate due to the lack of supply of this important feedstock.
However, as Stan Higgins points out in our News Analysis section (see p9), chemical manufacturers have for many years tapped into a global supply chain, with chemicals - including ethylene oxide - constantly being shipped around the globe.
Basically, the Dow and Croda situation is a one-off, Higgins insists, whereas Artenius is a victim of the credit crunch - Spanish parent La Seda's bankers having pulled the plug on its loan facilities - rather than any domino effect at Wilton.
The loss of these facilities, along with the severe cutbacks at steel-maker Corus, is clearly a major blow, not least for the many hundreds of workers who are losing their jobs. However, the many new projects coming into the region suggests that talk of a widescale collapse is very much wide of the mark.
Indeed, while it is tempting to dismiss government talk of a low-carbon economy ushering in an era of green jobs as hot air, the list of new projects in the North East gives significant credence to the official view.
The hope is that these green jobs will be as well as - and not instead of - the traditional process jobs, with all the experience, expertise and industrial heritage that they have built up over many decades past.
However, as Stan Higgins points out in our News Analysis section (see p9), chemical manufacturers have for many years tapped into a global supply chain, with chemicals - including ethylene oxide - constantly being shipped around the globe.
Basically, the Dow and Croda situation is a one-off, Higgins insists, whereas Artenius is a victim of the credit crunch - Spanish parent La Seda's bankers having pulled the plug on its loan facilities - rather than any domino effect at Wilton.
The loss of these facilities, along with the severe cutbacks at steel-maker Corus, is clearly a major blow, not least for the many hundreds of workers who are losing their jobs. However, the many new projects coming into the region suggests that talk of a widescale collapse is very much wide of the mark.
Indeed, while it is tempting to dismiss government talk of a low-carbon economy ushering in an era of green jobs as hot air, the list of new projects in the North East gives significant credence to the official view.
The hope is that these green jobs will be as well as - and not instead of - the traditional process jobs, with all the experience, expertise and industrial heritage that they have built up over many decades past.
