End of the Line for Dupont in Chattanooga
The staff at the Hixson plant now numbers in the dozens, where it once employed thousands.
Here is the confirmation from the plant manager.
“In an effort to streamline operations, DuPont Performance Polymers is consolidating its manufacturing footprint. As a result, the business will cease production of nylon specialty polymer at its Chattanooga, Tennessee site by the end of 2015.
There are 40 workers at the site; 26 DuPont employees and 14 contractors. We know this type of news can be difficult for those impacted, and the decision was very carefully considered.
Career transition support services will be provided and DuPont employees will be able to apply for open positions within the company.
During this transition our priority is to maintain respect for our people, high-quality service to our customers and high standards around our other core values of safety, ethics and environmental stewardship.”
-Mike Kirkland, Plant Manager, Chattanooga
It was 69 years and one day ago, when the company broke ground on what would become one of the city’s biggest manufacturing employers, December 2nd, 1946.
The plant would not go into production until the summer of 1948.
It was built on the outskirts of town in those days, in Hixson where the land and the power were cheap (thanks to the new Chickamauga Dam nearby)
Dupont’s Chattanooga plant was the third nylon producer in the country and the sixth in the world.
Over the years, the nylon would be used in clothing, tires, luggage and auto parts.
And in a 1956 industrial recruiting film, Dupont was one of the premiere plants in the city.
But the plant’s contribution to Chattanooga was more than just good paying jobs.
The 500 acres also contributed a major softball field complex, land for Dupont elementary, and the nature park across Dupont Parkway.
But the former state-of-the-art plant eventually became old, and employment has dwindled over the years to less than 50 when it finally closes its door this month.
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