General Chemical To Idle 0.5M/Tpa Soda-Ash Plant

General Chemical Group Inc. (GCG) plans to idle 500,000 tpa of synthetic soda ash capacity at its Amherstburg, Ontario facility to improve operating efficiencies, generate cost savings and better utilise capital. The Hampton, new Hampsire-based company will complete the shutdown by 31 March 2001. Its customers will be served from its natural soda ash facility in Green River, Wyoming. The shutdown will remove about 15% of the company's total soda ash production capacity - all its Amherstburg production - leaving it with annual capacity of roughly 2.8m tpa in Green River.