At its meeting next Monday, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners will be asked to consider incentives to support the growth of a local chemical plant.

The meeting agenda includes an item listed as “Public Hearing and Consideration of Industrial Investment Grant.”
 
Wilmington Business Development (WBD) is asking the county to partner with Fortron Industries LLC by offering an incentive grant of up to $100,000 per year for five years. Incentive payments would be predicated on Fortron’s expenditure of at least $50 million in capital improvements to its New Hanover County facility and the retention of the company’s 60 existing jobs – with the potential of offering additional “high quality, well-paying job opportunities in New Hanover County,” the county commissioners’ agenda stated.

Fortron Industries, formed in 1992 as a joint venture of Celanese Corp. and Kureha Corp. of Japan, produces a high-quality engineering polymer called polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), according to Celanese's website. Since Fortron was created, the Wilmington plant has expanded several times to respond to global demand.

Polyphenylene sulfide, according to the website, is often used to replace metals and thermosetting resins for applications in harsh environments for the automotive, electronics, aerospace, fluid handling and consumer appliance industries.
 
The agenda item includes an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposal. County manager Chris Coudriet has recommended approval of WBD’s request, according to the published agenda.