Koppers has sold its plant in Follansbee, W.Va., to Petro Empire Liquids and Storage.
The price was not disclosed.
The sale is part of Downtown-based Koppers’ ongoing strategy to restructure and downsize its carbon materials and chemicals business segment.
The plant is about 40 miles from Pittsburgh.
Koppers ceased coal tar distillation processing at the plant in 2016 and stopped naphthalene refining there in 2018.
The deal “represents the latest action furthering our multi-year plan to streamline our operations and increase our focus on our businesses that play a greater role in building our global infrastructure,” said Leroy Ball, Koppers’ president and chief executive.
In recent years, Koppers has focused on growing its wood treatment products and chemicals business as it sells off its carbon materials plants.
The company last year divested its share of a chemicals venture in China for $107 million.
Petro Empire is a subsidiary of Empire Diversified Energy, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based business that provides logistics and services including storage facilities for the energy industry.
Empire owns other facilities near the Koppers plant in Follansbee and is expanding barge and terminal operations there along the Ohio River.
Joyce Gannon: jgannon@post-gazette.com
First Published: February 18, 2021, 4:07 p.m.