Expanded Great Lakes Solutions Facility Opens in Arkansas

A new 11,000-sq-ft research and development pilot plant was inaugurated on Monday at the Great Lakes Solutions facility in El Dorado, AR, the Arkansas Economic Development Corp (AEDC) announced.

A subsidiary of global specialty chemicals firm Chemtura Corp, the Great Lakes site produces materials and provides services a variety of industries, including electronics, electrical components, building and construction, fine chemicals, agriculture, power generation, transportation, water treatment, and the oil and gas industry.

“The new pilot plant is part of Chemtura’s ongoing commitment to innovation and new product development,” said Dave Bartley, technology manager of Great Lakes’ Arkansas operations, in a statement, adding that the facility is intended as “a scale-up and test facility within the global technology group” that will “bridge between traditional laboratory experimentation and full-scale commercial production.”

According to the AEDC, the El Dorado site is located above “the second largest” bromine-rich brine reserve in the world, the Smackover Limestone Formation. The Great Lakes facility and two other manufacturing sites in Arkansas use bromine to manufacture chemical-intermediates.

“Seeing the company invest in a pilot plant facility speaks to the future plans for continued innovation and growth potential, and to have that investment made here in our El Dorado plant further speaks to the confidence in our employees’ ability to produce quality products that meet our customer’s needs, and produce those products in a safe and environmentally-responsible manner,” said a statement by Joey Hamlin, site manager for Great Lakes’ southern Arkansas sites.

Six “high paying” jobs will be added as a result of the expansion, the AEDC’s release said.

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