Huntsman Corporation has announced that it has resumed production at two manufacturing facilities that were closed in the face of Hurricane Rita.

Huntsman's titanium dioxide joint venture facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana and its Butadiene plant in Port Neches, Texas resumed production on October 10. Neither of the sites sustained serious structural damage but both needed minor repairs, and both were hampered by a loss of electrical power and availability of raw material from facilities affected by the hurricane. The

Butadiene facility is currently running at reduced rates due primarily to storm-impacted customers of butadiene and co-products being unable to receive product.

President and CEO, Peter R Huntsman, commented, "We are pleased with our progress in restarting our facilities. We are extremely fortunate that our sites sustained relatively minor damage, especially given where the storm's eye came ashore.”

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and commodity chemicals. Its operating companies manufacture basic products for a variety of global industries including chemicals, footwear, textiles, plastics, automotive, aviation, and packaging.