BASF chemical producer to halt Muskegon Township operations – MLive.com

MUSKEGON, MI A multinational chemical company will close a Muskegon Township facility within the next two years, citing a consolidation of production.

The Germany-based BASF announced Monday that it will close a herbicide production facility, located at 1740 Whitehall Road in Muskegon Township, by 2022.

The township facility, formerly a Bayer CropScience facility, produces glufosinate-ammonium (GA) for use as a non-selective herbicide. It has been in operation since 1975.

BASF is also shuttering a plant in Knapsack, Germany, and 100 employees are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the closure. A breakdown of how many of those are employed in the Muskegon-area facility was not available.

A formal timeline for the closure has not yet been determined, according to the release.

Muskegon Township Supervisor Jennifer Hodges told MLive that she had not been informed about the closure prior to being contacted by media.

She said the local plant employs about 70 people, and she has since been told the plant is expected to be closed by July 2021.

She added that the property could be desirable for other industrial use. The campus is owned by BASF Agricultural Solutions US LLC, and spans 387 acres, according to public records.

BASF Agricultural Solutions US LLC is listed as the property owner of 1740 Whitehall Road, which includes 16 buildings totaling nearly 184,000 square feet. Most of the buildings on the property were built in 1976, with one 51,000-square-foot manufacturing building added in 1997.

A representative for BASF did not immediately respond to MLives requests for comment.

Like many companies that depend on the automotive industries, BASF has seen declining profits this year. The company said it will lose 2.12 billion in the third quarter (about $2.48 billion), and sales have fallen about 5 percent compared to this quarter last year. Shares in the company are down as well, according to market reports.

But earnings have improved since the height of the pandemic, according to a trade publication for the chemical and engineering industries. All told, the company is expected to post sales of $68 billion, down from $69 billion posted last year.

Elsewhere in the Muskegon area, manufacturers tied to the automotive industry have also faced downturns -- and layoffs -- because of the coronavirus pandemic. For example, Howmet Aerospace, a major employer in Whitehall, laid off about a quarter of its workforce earlier this year, citing decreased demand from major automotive plants.

But auto parts manufacturer Hilite International has recently signaled intentions to expand in Whitehall, adding about 108 jobs, mostly entry-level, to the area.