Quebec's Petromont Will Shut Down

Pétromont, the polyethylene and olefins joint venture of Dow Chemical and Société Général de Financement du Québec, will suspend operations on April 30. The Montreal-based firm has annual sales of about $750 million and employs 325 people at two plants. The firm says the shutdown is the result of factors including a strong Canadian dollar and "persistent" difficulty in obtaining petroleum-based feedstock at competitive prices. Other firms are also shutting down operations in eastern Canada. LyondellBasell says it will stop producing high-melt-strength polypropylene in Varennes, Québec, in April, following earlier plans to close most other capacity at the site. Dow Chemical is closing a facility in Sarnia, Ontario, and the Ineos Nova joint venture is closing a polystyrene plant in Montreal.