HOUSTON, March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- North American Pipe Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Houston-based Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE: WLK), announced today it has completed the acquisition of a majority of the assets of the Janesville, Wisconsin PVC pipe plant formerly owned by Freedom Plastics, Inc.
The plant has the ability to produce PVC pipe in sizes varying up to 24 inches for use in a variety of applications including sewer, water, plumbing, and irrigation. In its initial operating phase North American Pipe intends to begin limited production over the next several months and will be assembling a workforce to support this activity level. When operating at full capacity the plant is designed to produce as much as 190 million pounds of PVC pipe per year.
Mike Powell, Vice President & General Manager of North American Pipe, noted, "We are pleased to have concluded this transaction and to add the assets of the Janesville plant to the operating platform of North American Pipe. This facility has the capability and history of producing high quality PVC pipe consistent with North American Pipe's standards and objective of providing quality products and services to our customers."
North American Pipe Corporation
North American Pipe Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Houston-based Westlake Chemical Corporation and a leading manufacturer and supplier of PVC pipe. It currently operates nine PVC pipe plants throughout the United States including the recently completed Calvert City, KY and Yucca, AZ facilities. North American Pipe's broad range of PVC pipe products allows it to be an important supplier in the municipal water and sewer, residential plumbing, irrigation, agricultural and do-it-yourself markets. For more information, visit http://www.northamericanpipe.com.
Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK)
Westlake Chemical Corporation is a manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and fabricated products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC and PVC pipe, windows and fence. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.westlake.com.
The statements in this release relating to the new PVC pipe plant, as well as any other matters that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially. For more detailed information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, please refer to Westlake's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, which was filed in February 2009.