Korean group Lotte in deal to rescue Artenius Wilton operation
27 Jan 2010
Wilton, UK – Lotte Chemical UK Ltd (LCUK) has acquired the assets of Artenius UK Ltd, subject to European Commission competition clearance, administrators for Artenius have announced. The deal covers all Artenius’ operational assets, including both the PTA and PET manufacturing facilities at Wilton, Teesside, with the remaining 41 employees moving to LCUK, a UK-based subsidiary of KP Chemical Corp., part of the Korean Lotte Group.
According to regional development agency One North East, it has approved a Grant for Business Investment of £1.8 million to support the deal. The package, which is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund, will be used to help LCUK acquire the Artenius UK assets, which could also create 132 new jobs at the Wilton plant.
Daniel Butters, partner in the Reorganisation Services practice at Deloitte, said the asset transfer agreement would secure the employment of the remaining workforce at Wilton as well as creating significant new employment opportunities in the local area.
“I believe the sale will also be a boost to the considerable number of stakeholders of [Artenius UK], both locally and globally, that are eager to see the PTA and PET businesses at Wilton survive,” Butters commented.
Soo-Young Huh, CEO and president of KP Chemical Corp. added: “We welcome the employees transferring from [Artenius UK] into the Lotte family. LCUK looks forward to a long and successful partnership with key suppliers and customers in Europe, this acquisition represents the next steps in the globalisation plans of the Lotte Group which intends to reach around $40bn turnover in its chemical division over the next eight years.
The Korean group CEO went on to highlight the support of One North East, Sembcorp Utilities UK Ltd, Northumbria Water and Sabic in securing the acquisition. The start up of this new business in as short a time as possible will be another significant challenge but I am confident that the team will achieve this, and I am eagerly anticipating watching the first product leave the site in early April.”
This is a significant development for the Tees Valley and the process industry and shows that the Wilton site remains an attractive environment for business investors, according to Ian Williams, director of Business and Industry for One North East.
“This project has been delivered as a result of close and effective working between a number of public and private partners. Attracting new investment to the Tees Valley is a key priority and with the additional £60m from the Tees Valley Investment Programme we anticipate further progress on accelerating new investments,” he said.
Likewise NEPIC chief executive Dr Stan Higgins said: “This is great news for the Process Industry in the North East of England and particularly for those based on the Wilton International campus. Those of us responsible for marketing the region’s capabilities in the sector have worked hard to find new owners and new opportunities for those facilities that have had problems recently. We will now work closely with partners One North East and Tees Valley Regeneration, as well as the new owners JP, to ensure a sustainable future for this unit.”
