Activity possible at Flint Hills

More activity could be coming soon to the former site of Flint Hills Resources Odessa chemical plant.
Sales on two 40-acres sites on the east side of the plant, which shut down earlier this year, are currently pending, Gary Vest, economic development director for the Odessa Chamber of Com-merce, said at Thursday’s meeting of the Odessa Development Corp. The sale of property on a 10-acre parcel in the southwest corner of the plant’s east side is also close to completion.
“We’re starting to see some activity,” Vest said.
The projects are in addition to work being done by REXtac LLC, which is restarting a polypro-pylene production line, also on the plant’s east side. That project, which is scheduled to open Oct. 15, is expected to keep 100 people employed at the plant that once had 395 full-time workers plus more than 100 contract employees.
Redevelopment of the plant’s west side is unlikely until Flint Hills demolishes structures there. Vest said the company is currently getting bids to do that.
Vest said the city of Odessa has entered an agreement with Flint Hills to market the property.
A rail spur at the plant makes it attractive to potential buyers, Vest said. He would eventually like to have a rail loop surrounding the site to improve access and make loading from trains to trucks easier.
The plant’s closure was announced Nov. 5, 2008. The company cited a deteriorating economic outlook for the industry and multimillion-dollar investment needed to make the plant competitive globally.
Enrique Romero, the new director of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin’s Small Busi-ness Development Center, made his first presentation to the ODC’s board.
He said he plans to conduct seminars for area businesses in subjects like accounting and Web design, and do them in both English and Spanish. He also plans to have a “bank tour” to grow rela-tionships with financial institutions and a “community tour” to cities the center serves like An-drews, Big Spring and Midland.
Though the center has little advertising budget, Romero said he said he would find ways to get exposure.
“I told the team we’re going to figure it out,” he said. “Think like entrepreneurs.”
Mike George, chamber president, said he was pleased with a recent presentation Tommy Lloyd of Longview-based Jackson-Lloyd Insurance Management made to area chambers about an alterna-tive to state workers’ compensation insurance plans.
Lloyd’s injured workers insurance program can save companies up to 50 percent over workers’ comp, while getting workers back on the job faster, George said. But it’s not yet ready to be sold in the area because the company is still contacting area hospitals and setting up a network of local providers.
The board also approved an audit agreement with Elms, Farris and Company LLP to perform au-dit services for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.