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Article: INVESTING BILLIONS IN NEW CAPACITY PAINFUL FOR CHEMICAL INDUSTRY/MANUFACTURERS CAUTIOUS ABOUT CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
- Article from:
- THE JOURNAL RECORD
- Article date:
- April 21, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright (null) The Journal Record. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW YORK - The Exxon Corp.'s petrochemicals
business is enjoying good times. Profits are rising, demand is
brisk and most of its plants are operating nearly flat out.
In days gone by, Exxon would have almost automatically built a
new plant or two so that impatient customers would not be tempted to
take their orders elsewhere.
No more. Instead of expansion, Exxon is squeezing additional
production from existing facilities through small and inexpensive
steps such as installing pipes with wider diameters, reducing
maintenance downtime and teaching staff to operate high-tech
equipment more efficiently.
Investing billions of dollars in new capacity on the basis of
forecasts of ...