JOE CAPUTE PREDICTS WHAT'S UPτο KEEP US ONE UP.
Coal
Coal
And that helps make Olin a more dependable chlor/alkali supplier. Joe is Director of Business Evalua tion and Planning. His department analyzes the complex economic fac tors affecting our business. It detects trends we should act upon, before they can act upon us. For example, five years ago Joe's group forecast a change in the rela tive mill rates of coal- and gas-based power. It ran counter to conventional wisdom, but we acted on that predic tion. And our action has already paid
Coa\ unexpected dividends for our chlor/ alkali customers. Here's how: Energy accounts for 50% of chlor/ alkali costs. So a reliable, low-cost energy supply is crucial for long-term dependability. Five years ago, the place to find it was in Texas and Louisiana where natural gas was then the cheapest available source. But our forecast told us that within a few years gas-based energy would cost as much as coal. Or more. So we built our new $150 million chlor/al kali plant in Alabama, using the then more costly — but also more abun dant — coal-based power. (All of our chlor/alkali plants, in fact, operate on coal-, hydro- or nuclear-based power.)
Today, the mill rates of gas-based power are even with coal. And rising faster. What's more, gas-based power isn't always available. For ex ample, during the Great 1980 Heat Wave, power shortages forced some chlor/alkali producers to cut back output. Not Olin. Our one upmanship in prediction is just one reason Olin is an extra-relia ble chlor/alkali source. Isn't that the kind you'd pick to help you stay one up? Write Market Manager, Chlor/Alkali, Olin Chemicals, Dept. 2G-133CA, 120 Long Ridge Road, Stamford, CT 06904.
Olin
CHEMICALS
