Darlington Development LLC and ARC Enterprises, LLC announced the filing of an air permit application with South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control in connection with the planned restart of the Palmetto polyester fiber facility located in Darlington, SC. Andrew Rosenfeld, ARC Enterprises LLC partner, states: “I am very excited with the achievement of this milestone as it brings us one step closer to restarting the Palmetto facility and producing staple fiber and chip.”

The Palmetto facility was shut down in 2008 due to the bankruptcy of its owner Wellman Inc. Notably, the plant was shut down with key safeguards taken to facilitate the restart. Over the course of its ownership, Darlington Development LLC has maintained the facility with the view that a potential restart of this facility could be achieved. A spokesman for Darlington Development LLC says: “We believe that, if the air permit is approved, a restarted plant will provide at least 150 direct new jobs for the local community and bring to market a new low cost domestic producer of quality polyester product.”

Further Leandro Carboni, ARC Enterprises LLC partner, states, “The Palmetto facility is ideally located that was widely known as a plant that consistently produced high quality products and was a highly efficient operation. I am confident that our customer oriented focus will enable us to deliver the high quality polyester products and service in demand from the growing domestic customer base.”

Assuming the restart can begin upon approval of the air permit, ARC Enterprises, LLC believes that the Palmetto facility can be operational in 2017.