Wilmington, DE, Dec. 22--DuPont's Invista fibers unit said it might relocate its headquarters once its sale to Koch Industries Inc. closes in the first half of 2004, according to the delawareonline.com.
Invista is considering options ranging from relocating elsewhere in New Castle County to moving management and support personnel closer to the Southern textiles belt, where its U.S. factories are located, except for its nylon plant in Seaford. Invista also employs people at DuPont's Experimental Station. Koch's KoSa polyester subsidiary, which will be combined with Invista once the sale goes through, has its headquarters in Houston, with U.S. and Canadian operations based in Charlotte, NC.
"Lock, stock and barrel is not the way we're thinking about it," said Koch spokeswoman Mary Beth Jarvis, referring to a possible relocation. "It's frankly a chance to take a fresh look at from what location people can manage the business most profitably."
DuPont last month announced the sale of Invista to Koch for $4.4 billion, ending a 19-month quest to shed the division whose nylon, polyester and Lycra products created the manmade fibers industry, but whose profit margins increasingly were being squeezed by cheaper Asian imports and oil and natural gas costs.
Local real estate brokers said Invista is in the market for about 125,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet of office space in Wilmington, New Castle County or nearby Pennsylvania.
Leigh Johnstone, real estate broker with CB Richard Ellis in Greenville, said his client Little Falls Centre, an office complex off Centerville Road not far from Chestnut Run, has been asked by Invista to submit a proposal. The center has an 84,000-square-foot building that is completely empty and the capability to be expanded to 140,000 square feet, Johnstone said.
In addition, Wilmington has put an incentive package on the table to try to attract Invista to the city from its suburban location, said John Rago, director of communications for Mayor James M. Baker. Rago said incentive packages can range from tax breaks to relocation costs.
"We're hopeful that something comes to fruition, but we also understand other factors come into play in these kinds of situations," Rago said.
